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The Source for Public Transportation News and Analysis November 19, 2012
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Conference Speakers Promote a ‘New Era’ for Light Rail
BY JENNIFER DOBNER, Special to Passenger Transport

How are light rail and streetcars changing and enhancing the way people live and work in North American cities? How do these systems get financed and built—and what happens in communities who reject forward-thinking transit proposals in favor of the same old models?

These were the among the questions and topics at the core of the 12th National Light Rail Conference, hosted by APTA and the Transportation Research Board, Nov. 11-13 in Salt Lake City, UT, attended by almost 250 people.

The conference, hosted by the Utah Transit Authority (UTA), brought together planners, engineers, community decision makers, and other public transit professionals to explore ways to plan and design light rail systems, improve maintenance and operations, and develop strategies for community engagement and stakeholder collaboration.

Richard Krisak, chair, APTA Light Rail Technical Forum, opened the event Nov. 12 by asking how many people in attendance had also been present in 1975 for the first APTA-TRB light rail-centered gathering. Only a few stood or raised their hands.

He noted that at that time he was a student considering a career in the field. “We have grown. We have moved forward.”

In 1975, when a private automobile cost just over $4,200 and gasoline was 44 cents a gallon, North America was home to only seven light rail-type public transit systems. “Fast forward to 2012, and there are 24 light rail systems and eight streetcar systems,” he said. “We’re in a new era.”

Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker said the city, also the capital of Utah, prides itself on being at the forefront of public transit development. He credited forward-thinking leaders at UTA for promoting public transportation: in the early 1990s, the agency realized that it was a logical way to deal with the combination factors of a concentrated, growing population and the geographic constraints created by twin mountain ranges and the Great Salt Lake.

UTA began construction of the first 15 miles of TRAX light rail in 1999; the system now covers 38 miles. More recently, the agency introduced service on the 45-mile FrontRunner commuter rail line, and Salt Lake City will launch a modern streetcar next year.

“We look at transit as the key to our success today and increasingly in the future,” said Becker, who is in his second term as mayor.

Utah state Rep. Greg Hughes, also chairman of the UTA Board of Trustees, emphasized the importance of collaboration and shared vision in developing Utah’s system—or any other public transportation system. For example, a unified vision pushed Utah lawmakers to approve a sales tax increment increase to fund public transit projects and access federal funding.

UTA managers have also worked hard to get projects done ahead of schedule and on or under budget, earning the agency great credibility with governments and the public alike, he said. Current light rail and commuter rail expansion projects should be completed by 2013, two years ahead of schedule.

Hughes credited these successes, along with the state’s visionary planning, as helping Utah grow its economic base: “We’re seeing the benefits.” Specifically, he noted, many companies cite the public transit system as a factor in their decision to move to the state.

TRB Executive Director Robert E. Skinner emphasized the central role of transportation in everyday life and work, saying: “The way we organize ourselves in so many ways is influenced by transportation.” He suggested a connection between the current popularity of light rail and a collective renewed interest in urban living and preserving the environment, also saying this focus sends a hopeful message to communities:

“It represents a public commitment that we are going to provide new service options, that we are going to be here and invest in our community.”

John Schumann, LTK Engineering, Portland, OR, presented a cross-continental tour of North American cities that have added or are adding light rail since the first light rail conference 37 years ago: from Edmonton and Calgary, AB, to Boston, St. Louis, Seattle, San Diego, and other locations in between.

“There’s a place for every mode and every mode in its place, in a multimodal system,” he said.

Kathryn D. Waters, APTA vice president-member services, welcomed attendees and offered remarks at the opening session.

What Happens When Public Transit Systems Don’t Get Built?
Schumann was also a featured speaker at an afternoon conference session that considered the impact of public transportation development on communities. He cited examples of public transit agencies that made the investment in light rail, which he compared with metropolitan regions of similar size and qualities that did not.

Other presenters demonstrated how the decision whether or not to build light rail can present a multitude of challenges.

The Utah Example
Before the early 1990s, the only real form of public transit in Utah was city buses, and the only rail service was Union Pacific’s freight service. Public transportation officials, however, could see problems and snarled roadways in the future if the state failed to invest in public transit.

Under the leadership of UTA, Utah has built—in just over a decade—a successful multimodal system that continues to capture new riders, Paul O’Brien, the agency’s rail services general manager, said at a luncheon program. “We’ve come a long way,” he said.

To reach this point, UTA first sought buy-in on the concept of public transit through tabletop exercises with community and government leaders. The goal was to get the community partners to see how growth would impact the region’s roadways by by adding stacks of plastic `chips to a state map, said Robert Grow, chief executive officer, Envision Utah. Once participants placed an additional two million plastic “residents” on the table, they could easily see how an investment in transportation was really an investment in Utah’s economy and way of life.

“Transportation is the lifeblood of the economy because it gets people to and from work. It gets goods out to market,” said Grow. “More importantly, it allows people to have more time with their families—and they’re willing to pay more if it means they won’t be stuck in traffic.”

Lane Beattie, a former state senator who now runs the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce, said securing the backing of Utah’s business community was key to making public transit a success.

“Your key to success is collaboration,” Beattie told conference participants. “Without it, you’re not going to make it.”

Case Studies: Light Rail and TOD
A Monday afternoon session examined the relationship among light rail transit, streetcars, and transit-oriented development, with presenters representing the U.S., Canada, and Sweden.

In the Swedish cities of Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Norrkoping, there is “continual coordination between building houses and building railway,” said Todor Stojanovski, a Ph.D. candidate at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm.

In Gothenburg—the home of Volvo—he said public transit ridership fell sharply in the 1960s when cars became a more fully established part of daily life. However, both Stockholm and Gothenburg have maintained a strong advocacy for urban living. Norrkoping, a formerly industrial city, is implementing tramways that are becoming a driver for development and renewing neighborhoods built in the 1950s.

Dennis Gratton, manager, rail planning, for the city of Ottawa, ON, said his city’s future light rail line is considered a catalyst for transit-oriented development. When the nine-mile system, with 13 rail stations, enters service in 2017, Canada’s capital city hopes to focus on connectivity for pedestrians and cyclists and restricting park-and-rides, he added.

Gratton said Ottawa’s plans, which have progressed through a study partially funded by an IBM Smart Cities grant, have informed the development of three stations on the line. The plans also include construction of skyways and sidewalks to maintain connectivity. 

Rick Gustafsen, executive director, Portland Streetcar Inc., discussed the economic model used in Portland, OR, to project development. The streetcar opened in 2001 with the primary objective of redeveloping areas of the city, particularly by connecting a field north of downtown to a patch of land to the south.

Officials had projected the system would have 4,200 daily riders, but actual ridership has reached 120,000, he said. In addition, the corridor now provides 10,000 new housing units.

“This has had a very dramatic impact in the region in terms of the local amount of traffic,” Gustafsen said.

City building permit records also indicate that developers now snap up about 90 percent of available sites along the rail line. Before the streetcar, only about 30 percent of available sites were used, he added.

Wesley Marshall, assistant professor of civil engineering, University of Colorado at Denver, spoke about the need to understand the importance of integrating light rail transit into communities. He called for planning to make sure light rail stations fit into existing neighborhoods: for example, installing a walkway that connects riders to adjacent mixed-use development.

Marshall cited a study that shows fewer vehicle miles driven in the area of more integrated public transit stations. The lesson is to find “how to best build transit stations, especially in second generation auto-oriented cities,” he said.

A Nov. 13 session, “State-of-the-Art Light Rail: Lessons from France,” brought together tramway experts from Lyon and Orleans, France, to describe the widespread implementation of this mode in cities across the nation.

 

Photo by Eric Vance, UTA

Attendees at the APTA-TRB Light Rail Conference listen to a presentation.

 

 

 


 
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