Posts tagged with transportation
As the hub for NE Georgia, Athens is a major employment, education, health and entertainment center growing in popularity and population. A steady stream of new residents and a burgeoning daytime population brings increased challenges related to demand for energy, transportation infrastructure, and increasing air quality degradation.
According to the EPD, 62% of smog-forming emissions in Athens-Clarke County come from tailpipes of cars and trucks. This represents a significant problem for our air quality, particularly with respect to ground-level ozone. Indeed, Athens-Clarke County stands on the verge of failing to meet federal air quality standards designed to protect the public's health. With tighter standards likely to come later this year, non-attainment status could lead to stricter permitting requirements in the county, more regulatory controls, depressed economic growth, and a generally negative stigma about the quality of life in Athens.
But, with stricter regulatory and volunteer actions, Athens can face this challenge head on! By working together, every local employer, commuter, and resident can make a huge difference in improving and protecting Athens' air quality. This is one of the reasons why Athens-Clarke County partnered with the Clean Air Campaign and created Travel Smart Week as a way to showcase how choosing alternatives to driving alone can help improve the air we breathe.
Thanks to an expanding network of transportation alternatives, including Athens Transit, sidewalks, and bike lanes, individuals can travel with increasingly less dependency on their cars. Everyone is encouraged to get out of their cars, enjoy the fresh air, get some exercise and Travel Smart!
Heidi Davison is the mayor of Athens-Clarke County and serves on the Northeast Georgia Regional Development Center Board. Through their use of commute options programs in the past year, Athens-Clarke County Unified Government employees have kept more than 8,000 pounds of pollution out of the air we breathe.
It's incredible to think that Earth Day turns 40 today. But as we blow out the candles, it's certain that Earth Day is far from being "over the hill." The movement toward environmental sustainability is celebrated every day in Georgia by employers, commuters and schools to the tune of 800 tons of pollution kept out of the air we breathe.
In some ways, Earth Day transcends many of the important days on our calendars:
It's like New Year's Day, when we resolve to make changes that make us better stewards of the place we call home.
Earth Day is like the Super Bowl, when champions are crowned for their accomplishments.
Telemanager of the Quarter Connie Hickey, Director of Information Services at ADP (L), with Clean Air Campaign Alternative Work Arrangement Specialist Erin Clark (R).
It's like President's Week, too, with an eye toward the big decisions and the key figures that make history.
It can even bear similarities to Tax Day, when fiscal responsibility is top of mind.
It's like a wedding anniversary, commemorating the start of something special and the journey toward something extraordinary.
Another way to look at it is like Labor Day, in that we've still got a lot of work to do to achieve our shared goals.
Earth Day can also resemble Halloween sometimes, when we discover the scary facts about neglecting our home state.
And it's also like Thanksgiving, when we get together and express our gratitude for all that has been done in Georgia by 1,600 employers, tens of thousands of Georgia commuters, hundreds of schools and dozens of partners to improve our quality of life.
Earth Day is every day. And when more Georgia employers, commuters and schools choose to think in these terms, the place we call home is made better … for us to enjoy today and for future generations to enjoy tomorrow.
Happy New Year and welcome to the next decade. Coming off an economic meltdown in 2009 on par with the Great Depression, it has been a lean year for good news in Georgia. Let’s gear up for a fresh start.
What's in store for 2010 on the transportation and air quality front? Lots of unfinished business on transportation, and what will likely be new and tougher regulations on air quality, including first-ever regulations on greenhouse gas emissions.
Consider this a preview of coming attractions of what we're watching for in policymaking circles over the next 12 months:
Georgia Transportation Funding
Georgia policymakers have been stuck in what seems like an endless loop of discussion on how to fund transportation in our state without ever moving to a conclusion. A lot has been said on the subject but not much has gotten done. Last session there were significant changes made within GDOT, and its new Planning Director just released this report as a vision for transportation infrastructure across the state for the next 2-3 three decades. The report leverages the work of McKinsey last year and its IT3 findings last year. It’s long (77 pp), but worth a read, at least the Executive Summary.
There are lots of ideas on the table to get Georgia moving: a statewide master list of projects and a commitment to transit, but these projects need funding in order to become real. And the State has been under-investing on transportation for decades, compared to its peers. As the report points out, at current levels of funding, “over the next 20 years, congestion costs across all of Georgia’s metro areas will increase dramatically, and many transit services will be reduced or eliminated due to lack of operating funds. In metro Atlanta, congestion costs per person will double.”
What is needed is new funding, “equivalent to a 1 percent sales tax statewide, in addition to a robust approach to tolls.” Will this be the year that transportation funding legislation clears the gauntlet and the voters will be allowed to decide the issue? We’ll see. For many, “election year” and “new taxes” don’t necessarily go together.
Federal Transportation Funding Reauthorization
The federal funding mechanism for how we fund transportation has been broken for years. The Federal Highway Trust fund is spitting foam, paying out more than it is taking in with gas tax revenues – hardly a winning combination. This funding was scheduled to be reexamined this past fall, but given all the lofty issues in play in Washington, Congress applied a few band-aids and put it on the shelf until 2010. When it is revisited, what will the next chapter in our nation's transportation policy look like? How do we fund transportation beyond the motor fuel tax? Mileage-based fees? How can we wring more efficiency out of the systems we already have?
Air Quality Standards … the Sequel
Something noteworthy happened last summer: the EPA reopened review of federal air quality standards for ground-level ozone (set in early-2008) years ahead of schedule. Several areas in Georgia failed to meet the standard before it was placed on hold, which has bought more time to make improvements. A new standard will be set by the feds, rooted in health and science studies about the effects of ground-level ozone exposure on public welfare. My money is on the new standard being tougher than the previous one. The proposal comes out in the next couple of weeks, and the EPA can expect lots of comments and lawsuits. Meanwhile, air quality standards for an unprecedented number of other pollutants are now in the process of being tightened (sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, lead, toxics). But the real game changer is the fact that EPA is poised to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from millions of stationary and mobile sources never before regulated … potentially the most sweeping environmental regulation in history.
2010 holds the promise of a year of big changes that affect the future course on transportation and air quality. Much more to come…
Labor Day is fast approaching, and The Clean Air Campaign has quite a few irons in the fire, from PACE Awards to telework tax credit opportunities for Georgia employers. So, roll up your sleeves and multitask away with this installment of Merging Lanes.
Green Streak Keeps Smog at Bay
Good news on the air quality front. Metro Atlanta has gone “green” – and just a handful of times yellow – on the Air Quality Index for nearly three weeks straight, meaning air quality has been “good” or “moderate” at a time of the year when things can turn smoggy for days on end. With one month remaining in the 2009 Smog Season, it’s like déjà vu all over again compared to 2008, when cooler weather and more rainfall helped keep the region free of Code Orange and Code Red days for the final 6 weeks of Smog Season, which ends September 30. Let’s hope these conditions keep up, but let’s also continue taking actions to reduce our contribution to metro Atlanta’s smog problems.
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ACTing for Change … and Getting Results
This week, many of Atlanta’s transportation demand management leaders are in Washington, D.C. for the annual conference of the Association for Commuter Transportation to share ideas and best practices for getting cars off the road and reducing traffic. The breakthrough work being done in Atlanta to address these issues is often recognized by other cities and this forum will be used to announce several recent successes that have happened here. Stay tuned for more coming out of the ACT Conference.
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Work smart to prevent H1N1 from stalling your business.
H1N1 isn’t coming. It’s already here. The pandemic flu is hitting classrooms and workplaces, and the numbers in Georgia are steadily beginning to add up. Individuals can make decisions about how to protect their well-being. So can employers. It begins with business continuity planning. The topic could not be more timely for the business community as we head into National Preparedness Month. Whether it’s flu or natural disasters
Lane ends 500 feet
PACE Awards – November 10, 2009
The 2009 PACE Awards are fast approaching, with a goal to recognize the region’s most outstanding workplaces for commuters. The awards event has undergone major changes and so have the applications, which were revamped to strike more balance between exceptional performance and innovative ideas for reducing traffic and improving air quality. If you’re an employer or property manager, now is a great time to take inventory of the success of your commute options programs and use the PACE Awards to create positive news about your efforts. Apply for a PACE Award by October 9.
Merge
A new marketing survey finds commuters in "The City Too Busy to Hate" have ample time to project anger towards each other as they jockey for position on the region's congested roadways.
Don't drive angry. |
Atlanta, the genteel metropolis where people say "hey" and open the door for one other, checks in at #4 on the list of cities with the least courteous drivers, behind New York, Dallas and Detroit. Meanwhile, on the other end of the spectrum, Portland, Oregon, topped the rankings as the most courteous city for motorists.
The worst part is that Atlanta moved up on the list, from 6th in 2008. Guess lots of the 84% of commuters in the region who drive alone each day need to smooth out some anger issues.
How did we go from bad to worse? A few thoughts:
1. Population growth has brought a million new residents to metro Atlanta in the past decade, and the region expects to add another two million people by 2030. We're fighting for our "personal space" on a crowded transportation network that projects to grow even more crowded. And we're not happy about it.
2. We're not paying attention to what we're doing because we're preoccupied with multi-tasking, talking on the phone or texting. Of the 24 cities participating in the survey, Atlanta was the city most likely to see other commuters slam on their brakes at the last minute.
3. We're short on patience because we're always running late due to delay from traffic (which burns up 60 hours a year for the average metro ATL commuter). This shows up in the finding that Atlanta is second-most likely to see other commuters run through red lights on a daily basis or change lanes without warning.
What can we do to suppress some of the asphalt angst we fling at our fellow commuters?
Here's an idea: next time you're behind the wheel and that vein pops out of your neck because the dummy in front of you just swerved into your lane and cut you off, share a laugh about it with your carpool partner. Or, tuck away that middle finger and thank your lucky stars you don't have to do battle in traffic the next day because you're working a compressed workweek. Or, ease up on the horn and make a mental note to ask your employer about getting a discounted transit pass.
Maybe these are the things the happy commuters do in Portland.
With the nation’s economy experiencing so many interrelated failures, investors in the stock market have experienced the equivalent of a financial root canal. After feeling that huge jolt of pain, people are devoting their attention to two things:
1. Making the best use of the resources they have
2. Finding a safe place to get a good return on their investment
It’s no different for policymakers in Georgia, as they come to grips with the challenge of fixing what is regarded as the nation’s second-worst traffic on a shoestring budget.
Enter the state’s transportation task force and the “Investing in Tomorrow’s Transportation Today” (IT3) initiative. IT3 is the state’s vision for better mobility in the future. But the realities of the statewide funding shortfall today dictate how far the plan can go. That’s why the focus of IT3 is unquestionably on getting the biggest bang for the buck.
A report issued in late-November provided a glimpse into the “return on investment” of different activities. What was found to move the needle the most on improving mobility? Getting cars off the roads and rethinking the daily commute.
Spending $220 million on demand management initiatives like telework, flexible work arrangements and other programs that make an immediate impact on reducing traffic is projected to yield $40 billion in reduced congestion costs over the next 30 years.
By comparison, spending $26 billion (that’s billion with a “b”) on new infrastructure is projected to yield the same $40 billion result.
Certainly the state needs to invest heavily in new transportation options as the population continues to surge. But the reality is that we cannot afford to wait years for new projects to come online. While the state sorts through funding options for transportation, the IT3 task force’s findings confirm that we must concentrate on making the best use of the resources we have.
So, where do you think the smart money is? More commuter rail? Expanded telework options for employees? More carpooling incentives? Post your ideas and be part of the conversation.
The Association for Commuter Transportation (ACT) convened in Atlanta this week for its annual meeting, bringing together transportation professionals from across the U.S., Canada and several other countries. This event was my first opportunity to meet others outside the Atlanta region who work in the same field: “transportation demand management,” or TDM for short.
It’s tough to throw out TDM in casual conversation outside the 2008 ACT International Conference without getting blank stares …
“What do you do for a living?”
“I work in the transportation demand management industry.”
“Huh?”
… but TDM is a core concept for The Clean Air Campaign’s efforts to reduce traffic and improve air quality.
What is transportation demand management? TDM is related to the economic principle of supply and demand. It’s the notion that mobility can be improved by making better use of existing transportation infrastructure, instead of just adding more capacity.
Still scratching your head? Think of it this way: If you’ve ever been crawling along in traffic, you’ll agree metro Atlanta’s roadways are in high demand with too many cars competing for a limited supply of navigable space. So there are two possible remedies:
1. Increase the supply of roads by laying down more asphalt.
2. Decrease the demand for use of those roads by promoting alternatives to driving alone, like carpooling, vanpooling, bicycling, riding the Xpress Bus, teleworking or even compressing workweeks. Not only do these solutions fight off gridlock, they also help improve air quality, as 50% of all smog-forming emissions come from the tailpipes of cars.
TDM was borne out of the energy crisis of the 1970s, when every motorist wondered if the supply of oil could keep pace with the growing demands of an increasingly mobile nation. TDM provided immediate relief while car companies worked on developing more fuel-efficient vehicles and the government worked to develop more research for alternative energy.
Fast-forward to this decade and it might seem like déjà vu all over again. Nationwide, the question today is whether the supply of oil can keep pace with the simultaneous demands of several growing nations. And in many locales, including Atlanta, the question is how the supply of transportation infrastructure can keep pace with unprecedented demand stemming from population growth.
Fortunately, there is increasing demand for TDM solutions among employers, commuters and municipalities … and there is an increasing supply of bright TDM professionals who came together to share their wisdom at the 2008 ACT International Conference.
To borrow from the ACT Conference’s theme, “the road leads back to you.” So, how are you making smarter use of the transportation options available to you? Do you hop on MARTA to go the airport? Do you carpool to work? Do you walk to do simple errands? Tell us how you’re reducing demand … and your transportation footprint.
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