What should the program for a Transportation Management District look like?

So for almost 20 years, I've suggested DC create TMDs, based on the concept of what Montgomery County Maryland does for its business districts but also what are sometimes called "Transportation Management Associations" like the one that covers Potomac Yard in Arlington/Alexandria (FAST Potomac Yard) or the Robinson District in Suburban Pittsburgh (Airport Corridor Transportation Association).  There are tons of these organizations across the country.

-- "Parking districts vs. transportation/urban management districts: Part one, Bethesda," 2015
-- "Parking districts vs. transportation/urban management districts: Part two, Takoma DC/Takoma Park Maryland," 2015
-- "Parking districts vs. transportation/urban management districts: Part three, jitneys/shuttles/delivery and the tertiary transit network," 2015
-- "Transportation demand management requirements for large developments and the MGM National Harbor Casino as an example of why this is absolutely necessary," 2015

Note that DC has created a MID, a "mobility innovation district" to support an electric shuttle in the Southwest Business Improvement District.  And they had "parking innovation districts" for awhile, but they were idiosyncratic, not systematic, and had many restrictions.  

A TMD is the way to go, focusing on everything, not just parking, which is more typical.  The famed Don Shoup approach in Anaheim includes revenue from parking meters, parking structures, and parking tickets as part of the business improvement district (I hope they are investing in the kinds of programs listed below).

At the time, my focus was trying to create a shared parking scenario, and to invest in sustainable mobility.  Often places have "lots of" parking, but it's spread out across multiple properties, and they don't coordinate. So people spend most of their time complaining about lack of parking.

-- "Testimony on parking policy in DC," 2012

It happens that Salt Lake has the potential for a TMD, in the Sugar House business district which is mixed use commercial and taller multiunit housing, as well as for the residential neighborhood which is across the street and mostly single family housing, not so much to coordinate commuter traffic and throughput, but to encourage sustainable mobility in response to the surgical addition of significant density, the existence of a streetcar and bus service, etc. 

This came up in an email discussion a few weeks ago, and I started listing what I thought should be the elements of an ideal TMD program.

Transportation Demand Management programming

The reality is, especially in a place like Salt Lake, most people drive.  The issue is two-fold, dealing with nonresidents working in or visiting the district, and with residents in their trips outside of the district and within the district.

Photo: Leah Hogsten, Salt Lake Tribune.  While this might not be dense for a much bigger city, Sugar House is becoming the densest SLC neighborhood outside of downtown, especially along the Trax light rail line.

But Sugar House is intensifying, the area is served by multiple bus routes traveling east-west and north-south, as well as a (minimally used) streetcar service which connects to the light rail line further west.  

Note that the streetcar has been particularly useful in stoking development ("Streetcar through Sugar House and South Salt Lake has spurred up to $2B in economic growth," Salt Lake Tribune), which contributes to density, which helps to build the foundation for shifting more trips to sustainable modes.

The best way to do this is to put out a survey on people's travel behavior, for the businesses, the residents of multiunit buildings, and the residents of single family and small apartment buildings.  In serious TDM programs there are people ready to help individual clients make the shift.

One thing the downtown district did in Columbus, Ohio is give all the workers free transit passes as a traffic management strategy ("Columbus Shows What Free Bus Passes Can Do for Ridership," Columbus Dispatch, "Free bus passes for workers: Columbus's big idea to relieve a congested downtown," Guardian).  

The program, by a different organization, has also been extended to the Short North neighborhood ("Free Bus Passes Coming Back for Short North Workers and Residents," Columbus Underground).

I would think that such a program should be encouraged for workers, and it should be offered promotionally for the residents of multiunit buildings, especially along the streetcar route, to get them to experiment with transit.

The Tribune article asks the question of whether or not the streetcar is contributing to traffic reduction.  I'd say definitely not, the ridership is abysmal.  But that is partially the result of expecting changes to "trickle down" rather than working to make the change in purposeful ways.

Promoting biking, walking, and other sustainable modes is another element of TDM.

Coordinating Parking/Developing a shared parking scenario

One of the big problems with capitalism is every property does its own thing.  Ideally there would be a shared parking scenario so people would park once, and go to multiple places, without worrying that their car will be towed.  Ideally this is complemented by district wide valet systems where you can drop your car off at one location but get the car at another location.  

This is discussed in the links above.  Two examples are the Chestnut Hill Parking Foundation in Philadelphia, which coordinates off street parking, and College Park, Maryland, where a number of shopping centers gave their rights to the city to manage the parking lots, as a way to discourage all day parking by commuter students.  The lots are metered, the city collects the revenue, and maintains the lots.  And in many "neighborhood commercial districts" across the country, the city will maintain off street parking comparably.  

Arlington and Montgomery Counties provide parking structures in certain districts, and these are usually paid parking but not always (e.g., pay in Silver Spring but not Bethesda).

Intra-district shuttle systems

Item # 5 in "Creating a Silver Spring "Sustainable Mobility District" | Part 2: Program items 1 - 9," discusses how to implement an integrated parking-shuttle system in Silver Spring, Maryland.

This is an example of what I call tertiary transit ("Intra-neighborhood (tertiary) transit revisited because of new San Diego service," 2016), focused on movement within a neighborhood district, although mostly it's done in tourist areas and downtowns ("Low cost electric shuttle services debuts in Lake Worth Beach and Boynton Beach" Palm Beach Post, "Looser rules on transit tax bringing ‘Freebee’ shuttles to cities. Is Uber next?," Miami Herald, Long Beach, California, "FRED, San Diego's subsidized shuttle, will give free rides Downtown for another year," San Diego Union Tribune, "They're like Uber but free new electric shuttles are popping up all over South Florida," Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel), and using vans and small buses, to from and to transit stations ("It was very fast’: A shuttle service starts free rides from this Tri-Rail station," Sun-Sentinel).

The Turkish bus firm Karsan produces a 16 passenger electric bus which would also work but is bigger ("What Kind of Big Impact Will a New Minibus Have on North America’s Small Bus Market?," Mass Transit Magazine).  

The idea is that intra-district transportation, especially by SFH residents, could be shifted to shuttles rather than by car.  Go to the grocery store, bring back your purchases, without driving.  Go out to dinner, you don't have to drive.  Get to and from the transit station, you don't have to drive.

Getty Images photo of buses in London.

Marketing Transit. Besides the general TDM approach, utilize other methods to promote transit. 

I hadn't thought about it, but maybe SLC is ripe for the double deck bus approach ("Making bus service sexy and more equitable," 2012) for rebranding and repositioning of bus service as sexy, even though the ridership numbers wouldn't justify it otherwise. 

The route on 2100 South would be a great place to start.

-- Marketing in the Transit Environment, National Rural Transit Assistance Project
-- Best practice guide #5: Public transport | Citizens requirements, Hi-Trans, EU
-- Marketing your transit agency: a step by step getting started guide, TripSpark
-- "Public Transit Marketing 101: Why and How Public Transit Agencies Need to Market," Agora, 2012

The Times has an article, "Could Better Buses Fix Your Commute?," on improving bus service.  It's not particularly scintillating, and one of the points, dedicated bus lanes, won't work in Salt Lake because ridership is so small it doesn't justify it.

UTA does do different liveries for BRT.  Maybe they could do an exciting one for 2100 South.  I think a Roy Lichtenstein influenced livery, or the Multiplicity branding from Luxembourg would work.

Above: Multiplicity bus.  Below: Roy Lichtenstein did do a painting of VW microbuses.

Campaigns, especially focused on workers and the multiunit buildings, are in order.  

Arlington County requires transportation information kiosks for multiunit and public buildings, like libraries.  A TMD should create the same for its district.  The Palo Alto school district has safe routes to school maps posted in building foyers, which is another strategy.  Surprisingly, a Walmart in DC had a map posted similar to Palo Alto's.

Creative treatments of bus and streetcar shelters--my point is that shelters are marketing touchpoints for transit.  An exciting livery for the streetcar, which is super boring.  Work with UTA to support free transit days.  Etc.

Bobby Fouther public art on the Portland Streetcar.

Salt Lake Streetcar reminds me of the little girl next door saying:

"boring, boring, boring boring."

Marketing Biking

Salt Like is doing a nice job putting in dedicated cycle tracks.  Sugar House has some on Highland Drive, by Fairmont Park on 900 East, is adding more cycle tracks on 1300 East and other streets.  

Cycle tracks are proven to qualm safety concerns and increase the number of cyclists.  

There are also some trails in the neighborhood, including along the streetcar line.  Bike parking is pretty abysmal.  

There are at least two bicycle shops, one dedicated to e-bikes.  And there are some bike sharing stations, with an expansion coming.  There aren't many free air pumps or bike stands.  I don't know if some apartment buildings have high quality bike parking.  

The journal article "Making Cycling Irresistible," inspired my own blog entry in 2008,  "Ideas for Making Cycling Irresistible in DC."  Besides investing in better facilities, and Sugar House has some trails, traffic calmed streets, bike sharing stations, and bicycle boulevards,  

-- I argue that there needs to be real assistance programs in helping people transition to a bike for transportation, this entry, "Revisiting assistance programs to get people biking: 18 programs," lists a number of ways to do it.  One of the methods lends bikes, helmets, and locks, so people can try biking without having to pay for it up front.

-- Electric bicycles are maybe a quantum leap forward in getting people willing to commute longer distances by bike, plus they have significant environmental benefits over cars. E-bike promotion through voucher-based discounts, as some communities are doing, including Salt Lake, might be worth doing by TMDs.

-- There should be a program to promote high quality secure bicycle parking in large apartment buildings.

-- Bicycle sharing is expanding.  I've suggested a special parks focused concept with stations at Sugar House Park, Allen Park, Westminster University, Fairmont Park, Highland High School and other locations, including along the streetcar line and in the abutting City of South Salt Lake up to the Central Pointe station.  Ideally we could get a sponsor so that trips starting and ending in parks can be free. 

-- also special tours and occasional promotions to encourage people to use bike share.

-- There needs to be a system of secure bicycle parking, especially with the adoption of more expensive electric bikes.  Bike theft is a problem in Salt Lake. Currently, bicycle parking quality is pretty hit or miss.  Much, even at public facilities, doesn't meet the most basic standards of the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals.  

I've argued for creating such a network at the metropolitan scale ("May is National Bike Month too: Part 1 -- a good time to assess planning and programming").  No reason to not start by creating such a network in Sugar House.  It could include high quality air pumps and bike stands as accessories.  (At the very least, the library and post office could have them.) 

-- Some places have Bicycle-Friendly business districts programs and ride to shop days, which should be offered (Case Studies: Bicycle Friendly Business Districts, League of American Bicyclists).  In Denmark, Ikea stores have borrow-able cargo bikes.  Is that something to promote at the local supermarket?  Or to develop a community-based delivery service using bikes.

E.g., it bugs me that supermarkets offer free gas points based on sales, but nothing for people who walk or bike or use transit.

-- Regularly scheduled community bicycle rides are a way to get people out and biking.  I am always amazed seeing photos from Open Streets events, and I wonder, how come I don't see that many bicycles out in the community ordinarily?

-- Produce a brochure promoting biking in the greater neighborhood.  Like the old bikeways brochure produced by the Silver Spring Maryland urban district.

-- Bicycle shops in the area are more oriented to recreational bicycling.  Work with shops to better support biking for transportation. (E.g., I got pissed at the bike shop on 2100 South, when--because I am old--they suggested a cruiser bike.  Cruisers are totally unusable for real transportation.) Install mobility kiosks at their stores.  Maybe wall maps of the area bike routes, like at the Takoma Park shop in Maryland.  Or a brewpub in Pocatello.

-- Annual Urban Mobility/Biking Expo during Bike Month.  There are various forms.  Years ago, Arlington County, Virginia used to sponsor a sustainable mobility expo.  The UTA transit agency in Salt Lake City a Bike Expo.  Berlin has an annual Urban Mobility Day ("Berlin’s Urban Mobility Day showcases E-Mobility and new Apps," Urban Transport Magazine), and some colleges have Bike Weeks ("This week is Bike Week at the University of Utah").  NYC sponsors(ed?) a Bike Expo in association with the 5 Boro Ride, which had more than 100 exhibitors and 50,000 attendees in 2014.  Richmond hosted a Bike Expo in association with the UCI Race.

The TMD should sponsor at least two.  One in September when school starts with Westminster University and Highland High School as primary targets.  And one during Bike Month.  Such an activity should be a key event during National Bike Month, in every major metropolitan area.

Although major colleges should have a Bike Week/Bike Expo event during the first few weeks of the Fall Semester.  And for K-12 schools, 

-- During Bike Month, support "Bike to Work" Day.

-- There's talk about doing an Open Streets event at Sugar House Park.  A TMD should be a lead partner.  Open Streets events could also be held on Sugarmont Avenue, along the streetcar line and adjacent to Fairmont Park.

-- consider misters on the S Line Trail for hot summers.

-- map signage for bicycle trails and routes (we're adding the first such signs in the area to Sugar House Park).

Marketing Walking 

The blog entry, "Planning for place/urban design/neighborhoods versus planning for transportation modes: new 17th Street NW bike lanes | Walkable community planning versus "pedestrian" planning," suggests planning for walkable communities versus "improving pedestrian conditions."  

Some cities like Boston, Denver and Seattle have active pro-walking groups which are a model for improving places, technical assistance, and advocacy.

-- In Arlington County, WalkArlington does community walks.  Sometimes they're led by the elected official for that district.  Sometimes they are in parks or commercial districts, or cover history, etc.

-- improve sidewalks and street conditions along sidewalks.  Salt Lake is hot in the summer.  Maybe have misters.  More trees for shade.  Etc.

-- address lighting at night and in the early hours, especially an issue in winter.  Sugar House's main commercial streets do have light poles with "car lighting" and lower lights placed to light sidewalks for pedestrians.  But probably this can be expanded.

Safe Routes to Schools/TDM for schools.  Not typically part of a TMD, but increasingly traffic is generated in the morning and afternoon by parents dropping off/picking up students after school. 

Cars lined up to pick up students at a school in Reading, Pennsylvania.  Reading Eagle photo.

Apparently it can be quite gnarly ("Tantrums and Turf Wars: The School Car Line Is Chaos," Wall Street Journal).  All the reason to include it in TMDs.  Plus improvements to the walking and biking environment for children also helps neighborhoods simultaneously.

-- "Why isn't walking/biking to school programming an option in Suburban Omaha | Inadequacies in school transportation planning," 2022
-- School Walk and Bike Routes: A Guide for Planning and Improving Walk and Bike to School Options for Students
-- Safe Routes to School program, Washington State
-- City of Tacoma SRTS program, including SRTS Action Plan.  

-- Like with a TMD, the approach at a school should be the creation of a transportation demand management plan for teachers and staff, and students/parents.  

In 2009, I was able to spend half a day at Stoneleigh Elementary School in Baltimore County Maryland on International Walk to School Day.  They had a very sophisticated approach.  I've heard a school in Oxnard, California does something similar.  But it's rare.  What's needed is a school-based full scale TDM plan dealing with cars, buses, and kids on foot.

-- While SRTS is oriented to elementary schools, some districts like Palo Alto, do it across K-12.  In Boulder, Colorado, certain schools with SRTS programs have 50% or more mode split of kids coming to school by sustainable means.

-- organize "Walking School Buses" and "Bicycle School Buses" for each school in the TMD.

-- Promote International Bike and Walk to School Day which is October 6th, or the US one, when the dates differ.

-- schools need high quality secure bicycle, scooter, and skateboard parking too.  Showers and lockers in schools can encourage teachers and staff to bike to school instead of drive.

-- lighting is also an issue in mornings, evenings--especially as school buildings are used more in the evenings, and in the winter

Public space maintenance including public spaces like plazas, trees, and public art/Aesthetic qualities of transportation infrastructure.  A lot of communities dependent on the car have pretty ugly roads.  And by default, this is the environment that defines the community.  

In "Extending the "Signature Streets" concept to "Signature Streets and Spaces"," I argue for a focused approach to improve these aesthetic conditions and to address all modes.  Ed McMahon, now of Urban Land Institute, has made this point for decades.

Like business improvement districts, TMDs could take more responsibility for public space design and maintenance than is currently the case.  I suppose my model here is half a transportation district, half business and neighborhood promotion.

One thing would be to promote public art lighting of the freeway underpasses.  But also expanding the tree cover, providing and clearing trash cans.  Here a big thing is medians, and too often they don't have plantings.  Which yes, are tough to maintain, but add a lot of aesthetic value when they are.  Lighting is also an issue of public space maintenance as well.

Light Channels, Bill FitzGibbons, San Antonio.

Public art crosswalk by Carlos Cruz-Diez commissioned by the Broad Museum, Los Angeles.

Provision of wayfinding and identity systems ("Basic planning building blocks for urban commercial district revitalization programs that most cities haven't packaged: Part 2 | A neighborhood identity and marketing toolkit (kit of parts)").   

Salt Lake has a couple different systems which can be integrated.  Basically there are two scales, for pedestrians and for cars, with identity signs for civic spaces like parks.  Nothing for transit.  And there are some monument signs identifying the district.  Downtown they also have map signs.

Map and historic interpretation signage should be added to the system.  And business district brochures focused on the independent businesses.  

Boise has a great identity system for neighborhoods, which could be adapted for Salt Lake's residential areas.

Newcastle's Ride and Walk wayfinding brochure, also made available as signage, is a model too.

Traffic calming.  Salt Lake already has a best practice program called Livable Streets, and they are implementing it across the city.  A separate citizen initiated project by a friend is interesting because rather than focus on one street in Sugar House, it addresses multiple streets simultaneously.  

In those communities where there aren't good programs, a TMD could step up.  For example, the Memphis Medical District Collaborative created a Streetscape Lookbook to shape the look of the streetscape and road network.

Car sharing. Car sharing works in certain conditions ("Car sharing and integrated sustainable mobility planning," 2013, "Another example of DC's failures in transportation planning: carsharing," 2011, "When the one over neighborhood is in the county next door, and housing prices have been in the tank: Mount Rainer, Maryland," 2016, section on car sharing).  While it won't work across Salt Lake, it could potentially work in Sugar House and maybe Central City/Downtown.  (And don't muck it up with EV requirements.  That adds complexity and seems to have doomed many programs.)

It's worth exploring providing it, perhaps on a nonprofit basis, to discourage car ownership and promote sustainable mobility, while still providing access to cars as necessary.  

Hoboken, New Jersey has been particularly successful (""Car-sharing program finds home in crowded Hoboken":," AP) as has been DC.  Those places and their successes alongside the many failures prove that the necessary preconditions are very specific, although I do think Sugar House could pull it off.  But the mode split for transit, walking, and biking has to increase simultaneously.

EV charging.  I'm going to put EV charging as an issue, but I wouldn't say the TMD should install it per se, because management and maintenance is a problem, but it should actively encourage its provision in larger commercial properties, in multiunit housing buildings, parking structures, maybe at certain public facilities, etc.  

TMDs could regularly inspect such facilities (and inspect secure bike parking, air pumps, repair stands too) to ensure that they are working and to take the necessary steps to make them work when they aren't.

Planning and advocacy.  Goes without saying.  The TMD should be planning all these elements, and advocating for improvements as needed.