Transportation Summit 2008: Sustainable Transportation Networks

The Transportation Summit in 2008 will take place in Charlotte, N.C. North Carolina has been at the forefront of network related connectivity policies and standards (Raleigh, Conover, Cary, and others are a few examples). Danny Pleasant and the Charlotte Department of Transportation are hosting this summit.

Sustainable Transportation Networks
At the 2006 Transportation Summit in Boulder, a working group that addressed the challenges of the Network began exploring the idea of a Network-focused summit. Networks also turned out to be a critical topic at a CNU XV session on future transportation subjects that deserve CNU's attention. Thomas Kronemeyer and Phil Erickson led this group and have some initial ideas about the continuing work on the Network subject prior to the Charlotte Summit. Here are their initial thoughts:

1. Definition and Design of Network: It seems to us that we need to do some more work on defining what we all mean by network (building on the results from the Nashville work). It is important that this work include definitions and descriptions of appropriate design elements of networks for all modes.

2. Methods and Design Guidance for Assembling a Network: This core piece of the effort would endeavor to define methods and give design guidance for the assembling of modern networks in a way similar to the "CSS in Designing Urban Thoroughfares for Walkable Communities" recommended practice document.

3. Measuring Performance of Network: In order to evaluate the quality of "modern networks" vs. old-paradigm networks, we need to develop an accepted method for measuring performance. This is going to be a challenging component of our work, but it can build on a number of case studies from cities that have delved into this subject.

4. Methods to Enhance Network Performance: This subject is closely related to the issue of retrofitting existing networks (or poorly performing new networks). We feel that addressing methods for retrofitting networks is essential, since so many networks are already established and relatively fewer opportunities exist to build an idealized new network from scratch). After establishing an accepted method for measuring a network's performance for all modes ( Item 3), we need to determine how its performance can be enhanced and with which design elements? Item 4 therefore is closely related to Item 2 and somewhat of a feedback loop back (after each measurement of performance and added network element).

5. Barriers to Modern Network Design and Implementation: Finally, from our discussions in Boulder it has become clear that - even more so than with thoroughfare design -, network design guidance will need to address a lot of questions about implementation (how to create networks where development is incremental, who pays for network elements, federal funding guidelines, local vs. regional planning, etc). Our work needs to thoroughly look at barriers to implementation and present approaches to their solution.

How to Get Involved
In the fall of 2007 this group began to move things forward by having team conference calls during which we discussed our approach to creating work products for the Charlotte Summit as well as initial research assignments.

Some of the work outlined above can occur in sub-groups of the larger network working group. This may create "some creative overlap" that then can be carried into the Charlotte Summit for further discussion by the summit at large. If you would like to get involved in this work please email Heather Smith at hsmith@cnu.org

Reading Materials

1. Summaries of Network working sessions held during CNU XVI: The Metrics of Networks, The Network and Transit, Defining the Network, Implementation Barriers and Networks and Sustainability.

2. The summary of our Network/Implementation group discussion (Word) from the 2006 CNU Transportation Summit in Boulder.

3. PowerPoint on Connectivity (PPT, 6.7 MB), kindly provided by Scott McCarey of Charlier Associates, presented at the Colorado APA conference.

4. Summary of Previous CNU Network Group (PDF 1.4 MB) (convened at the Nashville CNU Transportation Summit). This document remains (in parts) unfinished but was submitted for comment to CNU (which is where the effort ended at the time). It represents an excellent starting point for a continuing discussion of the subject.