Transportation Lessons from Europe

SPUR Presentation

Andrew Nash, P.E.Transportation Planner

Outline

• Initial reactions to being back in the USA.• What’s different in Europe.• Discussion.

1. Public Transit here is for second class citizens.

• Travel time.• Cleanliness.• Hassle-factor.• Safety.

2. Streets here are really wide.

• High speed.• High volumes.• Poor pedestrian/bicycle environment.

3. There are no alternatives.

• There’s really only one way to get where you are going … and most of the time it means driving.

4. It really is a conspiracy.

• Everything works together to reduce options and confound improvement.

• Example: transportation and land-use coordination.

• Example: political projects.

The Promised Land

Good land use planning.

Public agreement on density.

Source: Selle, Klaus (Ed.), Freiraeume fuer Gemeinschaften in der Stadt Hannover, 1993, p. 14

Street space for everyone.

But, there is hope …

Paris Beach: Creating a beach out of a freeway.

Zurich Lake Promenade: High quality of life permeates all aspects of public works.

Zurich: Former parking lot … changed by citizen initiative.

Zurich Street Parade: Alternatives create options.

Zurich Street Parade: Alternatives allow city to close streets = real urbanity.

And, returning to the Paris Beach:Cars or people?

But …

Is this really the question?

Vienna: Shottengasse: Pedestrian improvements, traffic calming, urban design … and parking?

Paris Traffic Calming: Narrow streets, pedestrian and bike priority … underground parking?

Paris Traffic Calming: Creating pedestrian environments.

Traffic Calming Lessons

1. Traffic calming has been well integratedwell integrated into the general transportation planning process. It is no longer a special case and is intended to help meet traffic reduction goals.

2. Adequate funding is unavailable for traffic calming. This has forced cities to implement less ideal techniques and has reduced their ability to implement more effective areawideprograms. Therefore, cities are searching for less expensive ways to implement traffic calming and are linking traffic calming with other better funded programslinking traffic calming with other better funded programs(e.g. street resurfacing).

Stadtverträgliche Umgestaltungen im StrassenraumTiefbauamt der Stadt Zürich, Verkehrsplanung

Tempo 30 und seine Folgen – Markierung als Gestaltung? (1)

Traffic Calming Lessons - 23. Cities are working closely with the communityworking closely with the community on

implementation of traffic calming projects. They work proactively using such techniques as partnership programs, citizen involvement, and expert commissions.

4. This process has led to compromisecompromise on the policy and project level, but has enabled the programs to progress. An example of compromise is replacing parking taken to implement traffic calming with underground parking, this is controversial and requires careful balancing of interests.

5. Finally, a new generation of projects including arterial street narrowing is challenging some challenging some ‘‘obviousobvious’’ traffic traffic engineeringengineering ideas.ideas.

Neat Ideas

Munich & Vienna: Bikes for hire …… don’t just build the paths.

(Although that would be a good start!)

Munich: Call A Bike … simple, easy, convenient, and multiple languages.

Krakow: Small trucks for urban deliveries.

Bordeaux: Who says a bus terminal needs to be ugly?

Public Transit: What’s really important?

• Travel time.• Cleanliness.• Hassle-factor.• Safety.• Cost.

Public Transit: What’s NOT important?

• Type of vehicle.• Number of transfers.• Cost.

With caveats!!

Public Transit Concepts

•• NetworkNetwork = You can get there from here.

•• LandLand--useuse = You have alternatives for living, working, shopping.

•• Transit PriorityTransit Priority = Customer Benefits & Operational Efficiency.

Zurich: Focus on the Network

•• Fare Regions:Fare Regions: … Simply buy a ticket for the number of regions you want to travel through.

•• Coordination:Coordination: … All transit coordinated based on S-Bahn “Takt”.

Zurich’s S-Bahn: Half-hour service throughout the region from 6 AM to after midnight … a rare

example of poor design: steps at entry.

Zurich: Level boarding … intercity trains … you can get there from here. Note: no steps!

Switzerland: Transit connections … nationwide.

Zurich Stadelhofen S-Bahn Station: Transportation and land-use … making the

connection … new possibilities for passengers.

Bahnhofstrasse Zurich: Among the highest commercial rents in world, … on a transit mall.

Supposed relation between urban density and car use (e. g. total length of car trips per household and per week)

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

0.1 1 10

density (floor space divided by ground space)

leisure purposeseveryday purposestotal (all purposes)

Urban Density and Inhabitant Car Trips(Average Mileage)

Source: Johannes Gielge; City of Vienna

London Heathrow Express: Airport to Center-City in 20 minutes … terminal redevelopment.

Transit Priority1. Transit priority has been integratedintegrated into transportation

planning process.

2. Important to have strong technical staff, but just as important is commitmentcommitment of all involved.

3. Funding … huge problem, has led to thinking about new ways of doing business … transit priority = efficiencytransit priority = efficiency …e.g. machine collection of fares, competition

4. Quality … transit priority = better customer servicetransit priority = better customer service.

Munich: Low floor transit vehicles … saves time (money) for agency … easier for passengers.

Zurich Transit Priority: Intelligent traffic engineering and commitment.

Zurich Transit Priority: Combining traffic calming with transit priority = win/win …

comprehensive planning.

Zurich Transit Priority: Streetcar tracks don’t have to be ugly … win/win … comprehensive

planning.

London Bus Lanes: Camera enforcement …anyone can paint lines on the road.

Zurich: A typical transit stop: information, fare collection, weather protection, seats

= operating efficiency & customer service .

Zurich Tram Stop: Transit priority + passenger safety + traffic calming.

Comprehensive Planning

• Agencies work together on projects. Result is greater than the sum of the parts.

– Reduce costs.– Less disruption to the public.– More opportunities for quality design.

Stadtverträgliche Umgestaltungen im StrassenraumTiefbauamt der Stadt Zürich, Verkehrsplanung

Schaffhauserplatz – Ausgangslage (1)

Motorisierter Individualverkehr Zu Fuss Gehende

Stadtverträgliche Umgestaltungen im StrassenraumTiefbauamt der Stadt Zürich, Verkehrsplanung

Schaffhauserplatz – Projektidee (2)

Closing Thoughts

• Competition … Not a dirty word.– “Privatization” of transit services.– Toll roads … congestion pricing (London).

• Organization …– Regional coordination agencies.– How service is provided.

Closing Thoughts - 2

• Not what you do … How you do it.– We need to think about improved ways to

manage the system … Zurich Verkehrsverbund.– Privatization … but what does this mean?

• System Planning …– Everyone can’t have BART … better ideas

languish because of poor politics.

Questions and Discussion