DC* just drives me crazy (transportation oversight edition)

I could probably write 4 or 5 posts/day using this title, if only I had the time to write about everything that drives me crazy about governance and policy development and "planning" in DC.

And not getting around to being able to discuss the Mayoral race (Vince Gray = ethical issues too; Don Peebles = more connected to developers and a benefitee of extra-normal access to govt. decisionmaking (a/k/a "self-dealing") in his favor as anyone else; Leo Alexander = umm, interesting cognitive processes; etc.) we'll just have to discuss transportation, to wit, Councilmember Graham's proposal to create, according to "New bill would create DC transit board" in Greater Greater Washington, "a new board to oversee DC's Circulator and streetcar systems, routes and fares."

As is typical in the city, it appears that there is no point in considering developing a comprehensive framework for transportation oversight and system improvement, when some kind of piecemeal proposal will do.

Two of the jurisdictions in the U.S. with the very best transit-placemaking decisionmaking and practice are Arlington County, Virginia, and the City of Tempe, Arizona. Both have Transportation Commissions that consider transportation issues widely and deeply, comparable to how Planning Boards and Zoning Commissions consider land use and building regulation issues (and how they should but usually do not consider transportation aspects of land use).

From the ArCo Transportation Commission website:

The Transportation Commission is an advisory body to the County Board on transportation related items. This includes streets, transit, pedestrian, taxicabs and bicycle modes and their relation to site plans, local area and sector plans and the Master Transportation Plan. The Commission was formed in 1972 and is comprised of no fewer than 7 members nor more than 13 members. The members are typically appointed to four year terms and the chairman is designated by the County Board in June of every year. The Transportation Commissions generally meets monthly and the activities/agendas are coordinated by a county staff member.

From the City of Tempe website:

Transportation Commission
(City Code Chapter 2, Art. V, Div. 8)
The Transportation Commission advises and makes recommendations to the City Council and assists City departments and the City Manager regarding:

• a balanced transportation system within Tempe which incorporates all forms of transportation in a unified, interconnected manner and complements land use, making a positive environmental impact through reduction of energy consumption, air pollution and congestion, while promoting economic development and providing mobility for all persons, including elderly and disabled;

• appropriate performance standards and benchmarks for use in evaluating the City’s transportation system and program;

• transportation plans, projects and ordinances;

• elements of prioritized, unified operating and capital improvement program budgets for transportation;

• providing a forum for public hearings and other public involvement mechanisms to assure community-based transportation plans, projects and issues, and to meet all federal and other guidelines where applicable.

The Transportation Commission has fifteen (15) members. Members must be Tempe residents and may include at least two neighborhood association representatives, one member of the transportation profession, one chamber of commerce representative, and one transportation management association or large employer representative. The members of the Transportation Commission are appointed for a term of three years. The Commission usually meets monthly throughout the year on the second Tuesday of every month at 7:30 p.m., at City Hall.

(The City of Tempe webpage on Boards and Commissions also has a powerpoint on the responsibilities of members of boards and commissions. It's a good guide for ethical behavior.)

* Even though the song "She Drives Me Crazy" by the Fine Young Cannibals is about "relationships," many of the stanzas of the song are relevant to my relationship with DC governance, all I have to do is change one word, "she" to "DC":

I can't stop
The way I feel
Things you do
Don't seem real
Tell you what I got in mind
'Cause we're runnin' out of time
Won't you ever set me free
This waiting' 'round's Killeen' me

DC drives me crazy
Like no one else
DC drives me crazy
And I can't help myself
I can't get any rest
People say I'm obsessed
Everything [that's serious lasts]
But to me there's no surprise
What I have, [fatal last truth]
Things go wrong, they always do

Why not do something comprehensively and best practice, considering all aspects of transportation, rather than just a component or two? The Taxicab commission could be amalgamated into this body, reducing the opportunity for corruption, and the bicycle and pedestrian advisory committee could be a subcommittee.

Anyway/1, I do think that if a Planning Commission were to be created in DC that it should include the purview of a transportation commission as laid out by the City of Tempe. Or that a full blooded transportation commission should be created in DC to push a sustainable transportation agenda.

People might counter that CM Graham's bill is a good first effort, and provides the opportunity for incremental change, that the purview could be expanded later. That's true. In theory. But in practice, government improvement in operations is incremental only over multi-decade periods of time.

It's better to get it right the first time as the amount of organizational, social, and political capital necessary to create the initial entity usually is about all the capital that exists that can be tapped for the accomplishment of the change. There is nothing left for future improvement.

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The idea of zero defects courtesy of the Mind Tools website

Zero defects is a way of thinking and doing that reinforces the notion that defects are not acceptable, and that everyone should "do things right the first time". The idea here is that with a philosophy of zero defects, you can increase profits both by eliminating the cost of failure and increasing revenues through increased customer satisfaction. ...

"Zero defects" is referred to as a philosophy, a mentality or a movement. It's not a program, nor does it have distinct steps to follow or rules to abide by. This is perhaps why zero defects can be so effective, because it means it's adaptable to any situation, business, profession or industry.

The question that often comes up when zero defects is discussed, is whether or not zero defects is ever attainable. Essentially, does adopting a zero defect environment only set users up for failure?

Zero defects is NOT about being perfect. Zero defects is about changing your perspective. It does this by demanding that you:

• Recognize the high cost of quality issues;

• Continuously think of the places where flaws may be introduced; and

• Work proactively to address the flaws in your systems and processes, which allow defects to occur.

Zero defects is a standard. It is a measure against which any system, process, action, or outcome can be analyzed. When zero defects is the goal, every aspect of the business is subject to scrutiny in terms of whether it measures up.
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Anyway/2, in the Bicycle and Pedestrian planning process I am managing in a county in Maryland, I have been putting out there the idea of creating a "sustainable transportation commission" rather than a "bicycle and pedestrian advisory committee" (one was recommended after the first phase of the county-wide plan a few years ago but never implemented; I am working on the second phase plan). Of course, the model ideally is what Arlington and Tempe are doing, but the County isn't there yet (although I am putting forward the idea of a more hard core transportation element in their master plan update and reframing the element around sustainable transportation and reframing transportation planning within the county as sustainable transportation).

The advocacy group Starkville in Motion in Mississippi is another source of inspiration, and maybe a good interim model for how cities and counties can position oversight and advocacy on walking, bicycling, and transit issues, but not as comprehensively and as thorough as Tempe and Arlington. But it is more than what a typical bike and ped advisory committee is likely to do.

There are many other groups that are good models for what a local bike & ped advisory committee can be, such as Livable Streets organizations in various communities, and of course, the great Transportation Alternatives in New York City.