Feds fund innovative street guidelines, tap CNU planning expertise

In late July, the federal government agreed to fund the development of a context-sensitive design guidebook for major streets. The project, funded by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) — brings transportation reformers closer than ever to making America a walkable place. CNU and the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) are working jointly on the project. The funds will pay for CNU and ITE staff time to develop the guidebook, as well as contract work from the engineering, planning, and urban design disciplines. Competitive bidding for these contracts will be announced on the CNU and ITE websites as details are available. CNU is maximizing the quality of its input into the guidebook through meetings and discussions of the Transportation Task Force. CNU’s Transportation Summit in December 2002 was the first step in that process. More details were hashed out at CNU XI, and future events and on-line conversations will advance development of concepts and techniques for inclusion in many parts of the guidebook. The book will be part of FHWA’s resource library and will complement the administration’s earlier publication, Flexibility in Highway Design, which is oriented mostly toward rural highways. The new publication will be about streets serving collector and arterial functions — the major streets in built-up areas. Transportation leaders in CNU welcomed the news that FHWA will be funding reform research. GB Arrington, formerly head of CNU’s Transportation Task Force, says, “FHWA’s involvement verges on historic. When we started these discussions at CNU V in Toronto, we never imagined the transportation establishment and CNU could conspire together to create change. It’s a testament to how far we’ve come.” Transportation Task Force Chair Phil Erickson says the guidelines will help almost every urban design project. “There’s almost always a street involved,” he says. Urban designer Gregory Tung says, “It will open the minds of engineers who hold sway. Urban designers who try to innovate won’t be able to do just whatever they want, but it will change the conditions for them. It will open ears for discussions, especially at the federal level.” Transportation engineer Peter Swift says that having the feds involved will make the project more credible. “The FHWA buy-in doesn’t dictate the outcome, but it gets them interested in the outcome,” he says. Erickson says the most important federal contribution will be, simply, money. “The ITE would give this work credibility with the state departments of transportation. But ITE and CNU both lack money to do this kind of research. The federal government is able to offer funds.” Brian Bochner, former International President of ITE and a senior research engineer with the Texas Transportation Institute, leads ITE’s Smart Growth Task Force. He explains that the grant funds the first phase of work on the guidebook — the first two years, from conception to publication. Once it is published, the book will go through a round of evaluation and critique, followed by a period of refinement. Bochner says the final refined document should be ready in about four years and, “We’ll start seeing it really take hold five years” after the revised guidelines are released — almost ten years from now. “Transportation changes are very slow,” says Arrington. “I hope people aren’t frustrated when they don’t see rapid changes from this.” CNU members who would like to participate in developing innovative design guidelines for major streets are encouraged to contact CNU’s task force initiative leader Fred Dock at Meyer Mohaddes Associates, 612 379-3885 or fdock@ mmausa.com.