Mobility First: A Competitive Transportation Strategy for Northern Virginia

1. Mobility First: A Competitive Transportation Strategy for Northern Virginia Samuel R. Staley, Ph.D. Director, Urban and Land Use Policy, Reason Foundation (e) sam.staley@reason.org Presentation at “Partnerships in Transit” workshop, sponsored by the FTA and NCPPP, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 18 September 2008.

2. Congestion in the Washington, DC region will exceed levels in today’s LA by 2030 (Note: $4 gas prices won’t change the long-term trend) Reason Foundation, http://www.reason.org

3. Why congestion is a problem American Businesses Reason Foundation, http://www.reason.org

4. Reason Foundation, http://www.reason.org

5. How Do We Expand the Opportunity Circle? • Manage the system more efficiently • Traffic signal optimization • Road pricing • Build more capacity • Redesign the transportation network Reason Foundation, http://www.reason.org

6. Today’s Travel Is Complex Reason Foundation, http://www.reason.org

7. Most regional urban transportation networks are not designed for current travel behavior • Capacity has not kept pace with VMT • Arterial network is among the least well developed • “Hub and spoke” system doesn’t recognize complexity of modern travel patterns Reason Foundation, http://www.reason.org

8. We need to consider a new kind of transportation network • A “spiderweb” approach to design • More connections through local roads and arterials • Fewer major “trunk” roads • More balanced road network Reason Foundation, http://www.reason.org

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10. Does building capacity work? Reason Foundation, http://www.reason.org

11. Can we build the new capacity? Reason Foundation, http://www.reason.org

12. It’s not just expressways Reason Foundation, http://www.reason.org

13. Can We Afford to Build New Capacity? Hint: Not if we rely primarily on taxes

14. Reason Foundation, http://www.reason.org

15. What We Need • Sufficient physical capacity to handle travel demand • New capacity where demand warrants the investment • ITS to ensure network efficiencies are maximized • Web-like connections to different components of the road network • Market-priced to manage regional flows along major corridors based on consumer demand and choice Reason Foundation, http://www.reason.org

16. What about transit? Reason Foundation, http://www.reason.org

17. We don’t hear about the ne’er do wells and failures… Reason Foundation, http://www.reason.org

18. Ballston vs. Clarendon Reason Foundation, http://www.reason.org

19. Context is Important to TOD Success Reason Foundation, http://www.reason.org

20. Transit Ridership and Investment Around DART Stations: 1999-2005 Reason Foundation, http://www.reason.org

21. A Few Rules of the Road • Success depends on economic conditions • Good planning enables markets to capitalize market values, but does not create the value • Property values increase when travel efficiencies (benefits) are tangible and measurable • “generalized travel costs” fall • Transit, highways are mechanisms for providing transportation benefits, not ends in themselves • Market conditions that lead to the success of value capture differ depending on the technology Reason Foundation, http://www.reason.org

22. Getting From Here to There • Public Private Partnerships • Road Pricing • Decentralizing transportation investment decisions Reason Foundation, http://www.reason.org