Montgomery County, Maryland: Mobility Planning Beyond the Purple Line

8/7/2019 Montgomery County, Maryland: Mobility Planning Beyond the Purple Line

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Montgomery County:Transit Beyond the Purple Line

ACT meeting: October 2006

Richard LaymanCitizens Planning Coalition

Washington, DC


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-- Average suburban household generates 10+ trips/day.

-- Most suburban single family households have two cars.

-- Many suburban single family households have three or more cars.

Suburban residents drive. . . .everywhere


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Mobility rithmetic

Mode (one lane/mile) Capacity (per hour)

Freeway (car) 2,200 cars

Off-ramp (car) 1,800 cars/hour/laneUrban small blocks 900 cars/hour

Urban superblocks 1,350 cars/hour

Regular bus 6,250 passengers/hourRapid bus 10,000 passengers/hour

Light rail 16,000 passengers/hour

Rapid rail transit 30,000+ passengers/hour


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DCs Competitive Advantages

1. (Historic) architecture [historic preservation]

2. Pedestrian-centric urban design [walking city]

3. History and authenticity

4. A rich transit infrastructure that allows time- and

cost- efficient mobility without being car-dependent.

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5. The fifth competitive advantage is the federal

government and its generation of anagglomeration of jobs and businesses, with asignificant number of both being located in thecore of the center city


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Define Montgomery Countys

Competitive Advantages Does transit and mobility rate?

If not, why not?

If not, should it be strengthened to becomea competitive advantage? (Arlington!)

Many employment centers are located

within range of subway stations (S

ilverSpring, Bethesda, Rockville, White Flint,Shady Grove-Gaithersburg)


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Seven reasons why people dont ride transit

It doesn't go where they need to go from where they are. It's not time-efficient. It's not cost-efficient to take transit compared to driving. Metro goes where they need to go, and they would ride, if they

could get to the station somewhat efficiently. Otherwise, it's easieror faster to drive. (This is related to but subtly different from [2]).

Transit can't be counted on; it is no longer reliable when planningtime-sensitive trips, and therefore another mode is chosen.

Transit riding isn't conducive to the requirements of the trip(parent with children, transporting something big and bulky, etc.)

Driving is subsidized in so many ways (cost of roads, cost of

military protection of access to oil, land use planning, free parking,etc.) that people dont pay the real cost of the trip, and itseemingly is cheaper than transit


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The auto-centric paradigm


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Rockville Pike


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Every parking space is an automobiletrip generator


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Think differently about how to get around


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More to think about

Donald Shoups points about car subsidy, that a freepublic parking space is worth at least $1,800/year

People say transit is subsidized. It is. Roads are tooto the tune of 50%. Gasoline taxes come nowhere near

to covering road costs. Average fuel cost: $1,500/year.

Cost to own and maintain a car: $6,000/year

Avg. household spends 20% of income on transportation

(automobiles) The less you spend on automobiles, the more there is to

spend on housing & other necessary and discretionaryspending


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RideOn: national best practice

suburban bus transit Is best practice from the 1980s still good enough?


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Jurisdictions should adopt aPlaces First-Transit First-Complete Streets

land use and planning paradigm


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Transit First policies

Reduce subsidies to the private automobile through increase in user-basedfees such as tolls, gasoline taxes, parking fees, and parking cash-outs.

Reward smart land use planning decisions by making greater regionaltransportation investments in communities that take real steps to discourageurban sprawl and reinforce city centers.

Fund transportation projects based on performance measures or criteriawhich consistently increase the share of non-automobile trips, improve airquality, and reduce average vehicles miles traveled per capita.

Ensure adequate funding for maintenance of the existing transportation

system before spending money on expansion through major capitalinvestments.

Maximize funding flexibility at the regional level so that local jurisdictions areable to program funds where they are most needed.


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Transit user demographics

Graphic: Washington Post


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The original WMATA system was designedto connect the suburbs to Downtown DC

Rail Rapid Transit for the (suburban) Motorist


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The subway wasnt designed topromote compact development


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Sprawl/automobility vs. efficiency

Polycentric vs. monocentric transitplanning

S

prawl land use patterns make transitcostly and inefficient, therefore infrequent

Priming road building shapesdevelopment patterns

Exurban development (people keepmoving farther and farther out)

How to attract choice users?


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Transit planning needs to be basedaround the mobility-shed


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Modes and the Mobility Shed

-- Walking

-- Bicycling

-- Segways/scooters/Vespas

-- Transit

-- bus

-- rapid bus/streetcar-- streetcar

-- light rail

-- subway

-- Taxi

-- Car Sharing

-- Motorcycle-- Van pooling

-- Railroad

-- Personally owned automobile


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Transit is more than WMATA or MARC Mobility is more than transit


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One mile radius from transit stops


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Focus on linking modes

Metrorail

Metrobus

Ride-on Bus System Maryland Commuter Rail

Bicycling

Walking Transportation Management Districts


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Whats the Countys plan?


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Is this a Plan?


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Or a bunch of ideas listed in a report?


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Automobility versus mobility


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Montgomery County has multipledistinct transit sheds

13 subway stations (including Takoma)

11 MARC railroad stations

Other transit centers (i.e., Langley Park)

Major employment centers-- some with subway stations (Bethesda, SilverSpring,White Flint, Rockville, Shady Grove) and some without

Other activity centers (shopping centers, MontgomeryCollege, etc.)

Purple Line adds 8 stations Purple Line will connect the east and west legs of the

Red Line Subway system within the County


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Plenty of opportunity for mode shift

The mobility-shed (transit-shed) provides aconceptual framework for planning

Mode shift within transit-sheds should be a

priority for planning and marketing transit MoCo extant Transportation Management

Districts and Mitigation Plans

How effective are Mitigation Plans? Minimum

20% reduction in automobile trips. The TravelSmart method as a way to implement

mobility-shed approaches


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Transit-shed planning integrates modes

-- Walking-- Bicycling-- Bus

-- Other modesare linkedto

-- Subway-- Railroad

and eventuallyto-- Light Rail-- Streetcar


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Bus isnt sexy but cant be ignored

Buses are cost-effective way toget people to stations (RideOnis a national leader)

Parking lots at transit stationswaste precious land resources

Transit shed planning focusesservice improvementsfrequency and headway

based on better calibratedopportunity, potential, anddemand


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Bus marketing

Bus shelters as primary points for transitmarketing

Quality shelters Signage-Identity systems

Bus-based identity systems

Schedules Ad-supported shelter programs can

include bike sharing


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Bus stop quality indicates whether we valuetransit and the bus system


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Integrate public art, historic interpretationand wayfinding information


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Improve Marketing and Promotion!


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Walking: Every transit trip starts and ends on foot

People will walk further to transit and when they have interesting, well-

maintained, and safe places to walk.


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Bicycling

Montgomery County Bicycling Master Plan

-- I am not conversant with it

Does it propose Bike Stations withshowers in each major employmentcenter? (Bethesda, SilverSpring,Rockville, North Bethesda, Gaithersburg,

Germantown) A separate part of Purple Line Planning

Check out Washcycle.typepad.com


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Reduce automobile use andautomobile acquisition

Carsharing

Location efficient mortgages

Arlington Countys Master TransportationPlan is focused on reducing singleoccupancy vehicle trips

Each plan element is congruent with thispolicy objective


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MoCo Transportation Planning:

In Flux?

Corridor Cities Transit plan?

Bus Rapid Transit? -- few people with

choices ride buses willingly State Administration not committed to

transit planned failure, designed tomaximize opposition? (Purple Line)

Inter County Connector!

Go! Montgomery & Ike Leggett?


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One role of advocates isto push the envelope


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Rebar Art Collective: Parking Squat, San Francisco, Sept. 2006


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Road Witch project, United Kingdom


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Simulation: MARC train in Crystal City, Virginia. Steve Dunham, Virginia

Association ofRailway Patrons

-- MARC trains could go south from Union Station to LEnfant Plaza, Crystal

City, Alexandria; could stop in Takoma Park (WalterReed); Brookland (CUA,

Washington Hospital Center, Providence Hospital)

MARC Extend within DC & Virginia -- or


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Instead of commuter rail, create aregional railroad system - 1

Concept: Dan Malouff, www.beyonddc.com


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Instead of commuter rail, create aregional railroad system

Merge VRE and MARC into one system

Regional, not commuter, passenger railroad

Service in both directions

Include service to parts of Pennsylvania andWest Virginia

7 day/365 day service

That means weekends Add DMUs to provide variable levels of service

where practical


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Bombardier Diesel Motive Unit (DMU) in Ottawa City, Ontario


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Budd Self Propelled Vehicle, Metro-North CommuterRailroad, Connecticut


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Budd RDC Vehicle, MTA, deaccessioned


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Think of MoCo as a grid

East-West Streets

-- Viers Mill Road

-- Randolph Road

-- University Boulevard

-- East-West Highway


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Think of MoCo as a grid

North-South Streets

-- I-270

-- Rockville Pike

-- Connecticut Avenue

-- Georgia Avenue

-- Colesville Road


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Come up with your own unconstrainedCounty transportation plan

Use the grid as a framework

Promote compact development withineach box of the grid

Use transit-shed planning within each boxon the grid to enhance the current system

And to shape the future Dont forget to look at maps of old

streetcar and interurban systems


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Come up with your own unconstrainedCounty transportation plan

Streetcar or (ugh) Bus Rapid Transit

More light rail a middle purple line?

Extend the Subway line north at each end,to Frederick, Carroll, Howard Counties?

-- from Shady Grove to King Farm, I-270,

Marriott, Kentlands, Frederick?,Westminster?

-- from Glenmont to Olney?


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Subway extension planning?

Proposed extended green line to BWI.

-- Where is MoCo in all the crazy talk

about extending subway lines?-- What about extending the red line

north beyond Shady Grove, beyond

Glenmont?


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Bus Rapid Transit vs. Rail:DC region is not Bogot or Curitiba

Most people riding buses in those placesare transit dependent.

Buses are their only transit option

The more successful BRT lines in NorthAmerica have ridership not much higherthan highly used Metrobus lines

Mode shift key priority

Transit-economic development connection


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Bus Rapid Transit


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Whats Old is New Again:Streetcars?


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Portland Streetcar, Oregon


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Simulation: Skoda/Inekon Streetcar on Charles Street,

Baltimore.


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Regional Transit Advocates Unite!

We need to develop an annual cross-jurisdictional transit advocates conference

Develop a consensus, unconstrained

agenda (publish-publicize) Alternate meetings annually, between the

Baltimore and Washington regions

Legislative advocacy conferences eachyear in Annapolis, Richmond, and DC (DCsession to include lobbying Congress)


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Theres more

Peak oil/supply anddemand

The economic,

environmental,political and socialcosts of oildependency

And the need toaccommodate morepopulation in theregion


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Documents

Montgomery County, Maryland: Mobility Planning Beyond the Purple Line