Portland, OR Safe Routes to School Project

The City of Portland SR2S team* has kicked off its Safe Routes to School Program (SR2S) with an exciting set of activities at 8 pilot schools, including:

• National Bike/Walk to School Day
• Bicycle & pedestrian safety information and training
• Helmet giveaways
• After school bicycle activities

At each school, we have also established School Teams, initiated a process of assessing physical impediments to bicycling and walking for engineering improvements, conducted baseline surveys of the number of kids bicycling and walking, developed a parent travel profile survey, and assessed bicycle parking needs. All 8 schools are actively engaged in the program, which is based on the national model developed by the Marin County Bicycle Coalition and its partners and is designed to get more kids bicycling and walking to schools.

For more information about this project, contact Alta Principal Mia Birk in our Portland office.

*City of Portland, Alta Planning + Design, Bicycle Transportation Alliance, Willamette Pedestrian Coalition, Alliance for Community Traffic Safety, Parisi Associates, Marin County Bike Coalition.

California Staff Member Pioneers SR2S Efforts

Alta Senior Associate Brett Hondorp recently co-wrote an article for the ITE (Institute of Transportation Engineers) Journal. Entitled "Transportation Professionals Get Involved with Safe Routes to School," the article focuses on a variety of ways that transportation planners and engineers can work to improve safety and promote walking and bicycling around schools. A generation ago, two-thirds of all children walked or bicycled to school; today that number has dropped to around 15%, and as a result we are seeing a tremendous increase in traffic around schools during drop-off and pick-up. The growing SR2S movement is an attempt to reverse this trend through a multi-disciplinary approach combining the "4 E's": Engineering improvements, Educational training, Encouragement and promotional activities, and increased Enforcement of traffic laws. The article is available in the March 2005 issue of the ITE Journal.

As part of his emphasis on SR2S projects, Brett recently helped lead a major SR2S workshop in Sacramento, California sponsored by the Local Government Commission and WalkSacramento. Brett was brought in to help lead an intensive five-day charrette at three schools that included walking audits, a series of community workshops, classroom activities with children, meetings with school district officials and City DOT staff, and the development of detailed recommendations that were presented back to the community at a final workshop. A report summarizing the results and recommendations of the charrette process is being compiled and will be produced later this year.

In funding news, the recently-passed SAFETEA transportation reauthorization bill created a new, federally funded Safe Routes to School program that provides specific funding to States to administer SR2S programs at the local level. Funding will be provided for both infrastructure (engineering) and non-infrastructure (education, enforcement and encouragement) projects, and each state will be hiring a full-time SR2S program coordinator. Specific details of the program are still being worked out at this time, but jurisdictions that have conducted preliminary SR2S planning efforts will be well-positioned to be competitive for funding opportunities under the new program.

Alta is available to provide a variety of SR2S technical assistance, ranging from conducting school walking audits to conducting workshops. Brett has been certified as a National SR2S Instructor and has visually-compelling Powerpoint-based curriculum available to give local elected officials, traffic engineers, city planners, health officials, and school officials an overview of the SR2S program and its benefits. For more information, contact Brett Hondorp in our Berkeley office.

Alta's research for the FHWA Rails-with-Trails: Lessons Learned study was recently highlighted in the September 2005 edition of Trains magazine. To download the full article, go to Alta's website at www.altaplanning.com.

One of the greatest challenges facing the bicycle and pedestrian planning and design fields is the lack of data on walking and cycling. Existing sources of data either cover a limited segment of the population or do not provide all of the needed information. For example, the U.S. Census only records commute trips and, as a result, undercounts recreational walking and cycling trips. This lack of information makes it challenging for transportation professionals to justify new bicycle/pedestrian investments, accurately model regional mode share, and correctly measure the effects of pedestrian investments.

Recognizing the need for local, accurate walking and cycling data that can be compared nationally, Alta has teamed with the Institute of Transportation Engineers' Pedestrian and Bicycle Council to establish a uniform national count and survey effort. The result is the National Bicycle and Pedestrian Documentation Project (NDP). The goals of the NDP are to:

• establish a consistent national bicycle and pedestrian count and survey methodology;
• establish a national database of bicycle and pedestrian count information generated by these consistent methods and practices; and
• use the count and survey information to begin analysis on the correlations between local demographics, climate and land-use factors, and bicycle and pedestrian activity.

The NDP assists agencies and advocacy groups to conduct bicycle and pedestrian counts in their areas by providing count and survey forms and instructions. These groups then submit their results to the NDP for inclusion in the national database. Participating groups maintain ownership of their data and have access to the national database. Preliminary counts have occurred in several areas around the country. Results from these counts have helped Alta refine the forms and methodology.

The NDP has established four count periods: optional count weeks in January, May, and July, and the official National Documentation Week in September. The next count dates are January 10-12, 2006. Agencies and advocacy groups that are interested in participating in the National Documentation Project may download the count and survey instructions and forms from Alta's website. For more information about this program, please contact Lauren Buckland, a Planner in our Berkeley office.

Rory Renfro, Planner - Portland, Oregon
Rory Renfro joined Alta in October 2005. Rory brings strong skills in technical and analytical research and writing, transportation planning, and sketch rendering. Prior to joining Alta, Rory participated in various projects including bicycle/pedestrian plans, corridor studies, subarea plans, transportation impact studies, and intelligent transportation systems (ITS) plans. He also has extensive experience in streetscape design, urban design, design charrettes, and environmental documentation, including preparation of transportation technical reports for Environmental Assessments and Environmental Impact Statements.

Recognizing the value of greenways and trails within our communities, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's (DEP) Office of Greenways and Trails brought together national and state experts for the Greenways and Trails Forum for Orlando Area Development Professionals on November 3rd, 2005. The forum was designed to inform development professionals about the planning, design, and benefits of trail systems.

"Coordinating the planning efforts of the private sector with public projects is essential to create a regional network of greenways and trails, and this forum is a critical step towards forming the partnerships to make that network a reality," said Jim Wood, Assistant Director for DEP's Office of Greenways and Trails.

The event brought together developers, resort designers, planners, public sector and non-profit organizations to develop a regional greenways system. More than 100 people attended, and significant momentum was generated for moving a wide range of initiatives and projects forward. Presenters at the forum included Bob Searns of Urban Edges; Jeff Olson of Alta Planning + Design; Erik Larsen of Palmer Design Company; Beat Kahli, Developer of Avalon Park; Joe Parinella of Universal City Property Management; Linda Chapin of the University of Central Florida; and Harris Rosen, of Rosen Hotels and Resorts.

The Forum sessions provided an overview of greenway and trail system planning, case studies from resort and community development projects, and also facilitated work sessions to identify priority regional projects and proposed improvements to processes and policies. Signature projects were discussed, such as the Shingle Creek Trail at the headwaters to the Everglades and developing a regional Greenways and Trails marketing initiative. The Florida Office of Greenways and Trails and the East Central Florida Regional Planning Council agreed to continue the Forum process and will be posting a Next Steps report and the presentation files on-line at www.FloridaGreenwaysandTrails.com.

The Waterfront Center, a non-profit organization that promotes good design, public access, economic development, and environmental education for urban watrerfronts around the world announced this week that its 24th annual conference will be held in Portland, OR in September 2006. Alta Senior Associate Steve Durrant serves as conference co-chair and is a member of the Center's Board of Advisors. Portland was selected for Urban Waterfronts 24 because of the region's strong support for the Center. The 2006 conference will mark the 20th annivesary of Excellence on the Waterfront, the Center's awards program. Several Northwest projects have received the award, including Vancouver, WA for the Columbia River Rennaisance Project, Corvallis for Riverfront Park, and the Eastbank Esplanade in Portland, among many others. For more information, visit the Waterfront Center's website at www.waterfrontcenter.org.

On October 6th, 2005 the Automobile Club of New York presented the New York Bicycling Coalition (NYBC) with the Outstanding Achievement Award in Traffic Safety. In recognition of their efforts to educate motorists on safely sharing the road with bicyclists and pedestrians, AAA of NY awarded NYBC with their annual award in the Organization category. "It's a real honor to receive this prestigious award from AAA," said NYBC Executive Director, Joshua Poppel. "They are a wonderful organization to work with and we look forward to partnering with them in the future on more Share the Road programs." Jeff Olson Alta's Regional Manager in the Saratoga Springs, NY office, helped develop the NYBC Share the Road program by working in cooperation with AAA of New York and NY State Governor’s Traffic Committee (GTSC). The program is based on a train-the-trainers approach that integrates pedestrian, bicyclist, and motorist safety education into existing driver re-education and point reduction programs. For more information on the award or the Share the Road program, contact NYBC at 518-436-0889 or on-line at www.nybc.net.

• Pro-Bono Assistance: Alta staff are available to help community groups and agencies on a pro bono basis, whether it is answering questions or assisting with research. Every year we donate hundreds of hours to help our colleagues in a variety of areas. Call an Alta professional today to find out more about this, or come into one of our offices and use our library of resources.
   
• Conference Support Program: Alta offers help to deserving individuals who wish to attend conferences in fields related to bicycles, pedestrians, and trails. This may include plane tickets, other travel costs, and conference costs. Contact Alta Principals Michael Jones or Mia Birk to find out more about this program.