Doing Errands While in Transit

The need to do errands on the way to or the way home from work is a major hassle of taking transit. These are a couple of recent examples of transit bringing the errands to the station; perhaps, one day, coming to a bus stop or subway station near you.

Farm stands at bus stops? Markets at transit stations? How about virtual grocery shopping, with just pictures of supermarket products? Virtual shopping at stations is happening in Korea and, perhaps, coming to places around the United States if we all learn a lesson from Philadelphia's transit agency.

Next Bus: 10 Minutes; Milk and Bread Available

Read Commuters and virtual storefronts - a match made in heaven? from the Sydney Morning Herald, via the TransitWire. Phillie transit riders will soon be able to use a smartphone app to shop from a virtual wall of grocery items. Reminds me of being a little girl and having a milk machine in the basement of our apartment house and seltzer and soda delivered weekly (yes, we had a seltzer man). As a New York native, any delivery or convenience pick up resonates; I am sure across the demographic and density spectrums, convenience is appreciated (though few have experienced seltzer delivery).

This is a nice solution for cities and suburbs, anywhere where delivery services work well. But can something like online ordering or shops at the bus station work in rural areas? Can supermarkets deliver pre-ordered items to bus stops? The answer is "it depends," which means odds of success probably increase with flexibility to try an idea that is developed with local conditions, culture and partners.

And Pick Up the Kids

Two of the biggest logistical concerns for working parents are transportation and child care. One transit agency is doing both. To attract good employees who can work the nontraditional hours that transit and other industries demand, Prairie Transit in Spearfish, S.D., "opened its own state-licensed child care facility right in its new transit center." The article, Community care: Day care centers draw workers to towns, appeared in the Rapid City Journal.

Barb Cline, the executive director of the Prairie Hills Transit system and a CTAA Board member, explained the symbiotic needs of employers and parents.

"One of the things we found in our hiring process is that when potential candidates were given the hours they needed to work, they said, ‘I'm sorry we can't work before 6, or I'm sorry we can't work after 5, I'm sorry we don't have child care on weekends,'" Cline said.

Cline knew that she wasn't the only employer with that problem. As a United Way agency, she had visited with others who agreed there was a need for more, quality day care providers in the community.

So the system, which operates a public bus system as well as a dial-a-ride service for people of all ages, decided to take the problem under its wing.

Now transit riders can arrive at the transit center and get the kids. Perhaps groceries will be next.

Local Opportunities for Transit and Alternative Transportation

The American Public Health Association has a Transportation and Health Toolkit, which will help those interested and involved with transportation alternatives to explain and advocate for the public health benefits of transit and other community transportation, as well as zero-emission modes. The toolkit offers fact sheets linking public health to transportation choices in a community, outreach materials to the press, advice for dealing with local leaders, and archived webinar and factual material about public health consequences of the local transportation network.

Six Chosen Cities

Investing in Community Change reports that the Administration has selected six pilot cities for a new initiative. The Administration explains that it is encouraging local partnerships and empowerment.

Strong Cities, Strong Communities is a new interagency pilot initiative that aims to strengthen neighborhoods, towns, cities and regions around the country by strengthening the capacity of local governments to develop and execute their economic vision and strategies. Strong Cities, Strong Communities bolsters local governments by providing necessary technical assistance and access to federal agency expertise, and creating new public and private sector partnerships.

The six city pilot locations are:

Chester, PA - the Community Solutions Team will help Mayor Butler diversify the local economy, support small business development and revitalize the downtown.
Cleveland, OH - Strong Cities, Strong Communities will support Mayor Jackson in his efforts to coordinate workforce and economic development and to maximize the economic potential of the Cleveland Port.
Detroit, MI - the Community Solutions Team will partner with Mayor Bing and Governor Snyder to increase coordination and alignment on workforce and economic development issues, and to leverage U.S. DOT's investments in High Speed Rail and the Woodward Avenue light rail project to spur economic revitalization in the downtown corridor.
Fresno, CA - Mayor Swearengin and the Community Solutions Team will work to capitalize on the coming high-speed rail station to improve the downtown area, and will also build on a successful neighborhood development program.
Memphis, TN - Strong Cities, Strong Communities will partner with Mayor Wharton and his team to pursue his vision to strengthen the education system and attract new industries.
New Orleans, LA - Mayor Landrieu and the Communities Solutions Team will work to integrate existing federal resources to improve the delivery of health services, manage public safety and rebuild public infrastructure.

Potential for Transit and Mobility

The highlighted text shows just a few places where there is potential for transit and other mobility components to larger development and revitalization projects.

And here is more from Ray LaHood, the Secretary of Transportation, about how the pilot programs will be conducted.

Earlier this week, Deputy Secretary [of Transportation] John Porcari traveled to Memphis to announce that as part of this new initiative, the Obama Administration will send five full-time federal staff people to Memphis. Their job will be to listen to local leaders, learn what they need from the federal government, and help them secure that assistance or expertise. And the Obama Administration will also work with private partners to create a fellowship program that will connect new graduates looking for jobs with city governments looking for well-trained professionals.

This seems like the kind of technical assistance that many in our network are involved in, with perhaps an opportunity for networking with those new graduates to teach them about the link between a quality transportation network and a thriving town, small city, big city, and a metropolitan area.

[Central Park South with buses during morning rush hour.]

Within Our Network

One example of transportation technical assistance is Joblinks' list of case studies on its homepage. The list, with brief descriptions, gives visitors a good idea of the range of employment transportation programs, with links to detailed information.

Examples of planning in non-auto transportation are featured on NADO's Ruraltransportation.org among the Excellence Award Winners. The 2011 winners include planning for a Safe Routes to School program, sidewalks, bicycling, a volunteer driver initiative, and transit development.

Within our network, there are new events, initiatives, and even great website redevelopment. Feel free to send an email to Sheryl Gross-Glaser (grossglaser@ctaa.org) with information about your technical assistance center's great work.

[Morning taxi exodus from Central Park.]

Postscript: I promise to take transit pictures outside of New York during my travels this summer. I should have taken a photograph of one of the express buses I rode on while in the city, but I was in a rush to and from Queens.

DOT/HUD Livability Etc. Funding Sources

I am confused. It's all livability; there is funding and different programs. Are they all the same or different and what are the rules? I need to explain all of these funding opportunities to myself. Hoping that this information provides some clarity to the rest of you. This entry will also appear today in the Express Stop because my brain will not allow me to revisit the Federal Register documents again today.

Staff of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will together review applications and select grantees for some of these programs. The interagency partnership seeks to help states, regions and communities:

Develop safe, reliable, and affordable transportation choices to decrease household transportation costs, reduce energy consumption and dependence on foreign oil, improve air quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and promote public health.
... ... ...
Enhance the unique characteristics of all communities by investing in healthy, safe, and walkable neighborhoods—rural, urban, or suburban.
... ... ...
Support metropolitan areas and multijurisdictional partnerships that commit to adopt
integrated plans, strategies, and management tools to become more sustainable.
... ... ...
Facilitate strong alliances of residents and regional interest groups that are able to maintain a long-term vision for a region over time and simultaneously support progress through incremental sustainable development practices.

Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant Program

Department of Housing and Urban Development
$100 million available.

Not less than $25 million shall be awarded to regions with populations of less than 500,000.

Purpose: Support metropolitan and multi-jurisdictional planning efforts that integrate housing, land use, economic and workforce development, transportation, and infrastructure investments in a manner that empowers jurisdictions to consider the interdependent challenges of: (1) economic competitiveness and revitalization; (2) social equity, inclusion, and access to opportunity; (3) energy use and climate change; and (4) public health and environmental impact. The program is calling for development and implementation of Regional Plans for Sustainable Development (RPSD).

Bottom line for transit and alternative transportation programs: Transit, vanpooling, carsharing, and bike/ped accessibility fall into the The Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) planning and implementation categories for transportation investment, energy conservation, and consistency with Department of Transportation (DOT) programs.

Serving marginalized populations: HUD is looking for initiatives that engage residents and stakeholders substantively and meaningfully in the development of the shared vision and its implementation early and throughout the process, including communities traditionally marginalized from such processes, while accommodating limited English speakers, persons with disabilities, and the elderly.

The application is due August 23, 2010.

There is way more and plenty of the terms mentioned are explained in detail in the NOFA. Transit and transportation are mentioned throughout and are integral to this program.

HUD's Community Challenge Planning Grants and DOT's TIGER II Planning Grants

$35 million in TIGER II planning grants as part of the National Infrastructure Investments program

DOT is referring to the grants for National Infrastructure Investments as TIGER II Discretionary Grants. The FY 2010 Appropriations Act permits DOT to use up to $35 million of the funds available for TIGER II Discretionary Grants for TIGER II Planning Grants.

Purpose: Fund the planning, preparation, or design of surface transportation projects that would be eligible for funding under the TIGER II Discretionary Grant program. Those include public transportation projects.

Bottom line for transit and alternative transportation programs: The two types of transit and transportation-related planning projects that the TIGER II planning grants envision are (1) Planning activities related to the development of a particular transportation corridor or regional transportation system, that promotes mixed-use, transit-oriented development with an affordable housing component; or developing expanded public transportation options, including accessible public transportation and para-transit services for individuals with disabilities, to allow individuals to live in diverse, high opportunity neighborhoods and communities and to commute to areas with greater employment and educational
opportunities.

Pre-applications are due by July 26, 2010.


DOT TIGER II Discretionary Grant Program

Pay attention to the specific information in the
NOFA for rural areas.

Minimum $10 million grant size, except for projects located in rural areas (as defined in section V (Projects in Rural Areas)), the minimum TIGER II Discretionary Grant size is $1 million.

Not less than $140 million of the funds provided for TIGER II Discretionary Grants are to be used for projects in rural areas. Also, 100 percent funding is only available in rural areas; 80 percent is the federal share otherwise.(For purposes of this grant, "DOT will consider a project to be in a rural area if ‘all or a material portion of a project is located in a rural area’. ... DOT will only consider a material portion of a project to be located in a rural area if the majority of the project is located in a rural area.)"

Up to $150 million of the $600 million available for TIGER II Discretionary Grants may be used for TIGER II Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 1998 (TIFIA) Payments.

Purpose: DOT is looking for long-term outcomes that include livability, economic competitiveness, job creation, state of good repair, safety, environmental sustainability. An emphasis is put on innovation and partnerships - "the project’s involvement of non-Federal entities and the use of non-Federal funds."

Again, there is explanatory material in the NOFA and read the details. Concepts such as livability and economic competitiveness are defined in detail. Rural areas are considered to have underserved populations. Others are also discussed.

Bottom line for transit and alternative transportation programs: This is an opportunity friendly to transit, bike/ped modes and other alternative transportation. There is great room for flexibility, creativity and coordination.

Pre-applications are due July 16, 2010. The NOFA only mentions DOT as reviewing the applications and not HUD and EPA.

Webinar

PolicyLink, Smart Growth America, Reconnecting America, the Local Initiatives Support Corporation and the National Housing Conference will co-host a special informational webinar to discuss the HUD elements of the regional planning program next Wednesday, June 30th from 3-5 pm Eastern Time (noon-2 pm Pacific time).