Streetsblog Capitol Hill

Source: Center for Neighborhood Technology via Better Cities and Towns

$10,860 in New York City. $5,694 in St. Louis. $4,199 in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

That’s what it will cost you, on average, in additional transportation costs to live in a sprawling, car-dependent neighborhood over one that is well-connected and transit-rich. That’s according to a new analysis by the Center for Neighborhood Technology, produced for Better Cities and Towns.

CNT analyzed 20 “representative” metropolitan areas. Each area was divided into seven quartiles ranging from most walkable and transit-friendly to the most disconnected and car-dependent. The difference? Well, it adds up.

Transportation costs varied widely from a low of $5,053 in New York City’s most well-connected neighborhoods, to a high of almost $17,807 in Olympia, Washington’s low-density suburbs.

Some of the most striking differences in transportation costs were between cities with extremely vibrant urban cores and strong transit systems — New York, Washington, Boston — and those without. Notice that residents of average neighborhoods in Atlanta, Georgia pay $3,337 more in transportation costs annually than those from New York City’s comparable neighborhoods.

Even though many of these transportation bargain cities are known for having relatively high housing costs, the analysis showed that their residents of more location-efficient neighborhoods come out ahead in every MSA.  In the most walkable ‘hoods in all 20 areas, combined housing and transportation costs accounted for 30-51 percent of area median household income. In the most sprawling neighborhoods — the least efficient — these same costs ate up 50 to 75 percent of the average household’s budget, according to CNT.

Notably, in some poor-transit, especially sprawling areas, transportation costs were well in excess of annual housing costs. In an especially remarkable case — Fayetteville, Arkansas’s distant suburbs — transportation costs were more than double those of housing costs.

This research builds in an earlier study from CNT that found combined housing and transportation costs were rising faster in exurban areas than urban. No wonder the exurbs are losing their luster!

One of the most exciting transit expansion dramas unfolding in the United States right now is Atlanta’s transportation referendum: the Transportation Investment Act, or TIA, for short.

The Atlanta Beltline, shown here in an artist's rendering, would be funded by a one-cent sales tax referendum to be considered by Atlanta area voters in July. But the local Sierra Club is urging its members to vote against the proposal. Photo: FHWA

This one-cent sales tax would raise more than $7 billion for local transportation projects — at least $3.14 billion of which would be dedicated to transit. This issue — up for vote in July — will determine whether Atlanta can move forward with the rail portion of its groundbreaking, ring-shaped “Beltline.” It would help bring relief to some of the country’s most harried commuters.

This plan would give a badly needed boost to transit funding. And that’s why a recent announcement by the local Sierra Club was so jarring.

Yesterday, the Sierra Club of Georgia announced it was urging its members to vote against the proposal in favor of what it calls “Plan-B.” The Sierra Club hopes that after the referendum is defeated, a new proposal funded by the gas tax with “a fix-it-first roads strategy” “that emphasizes transit expansion and improvement” will emerge, according to a statement from the group printed in the local alt-weekly, Creative Loafing.

The Sierra Club plan sounds like great transportation policy, but it currently lacks the political and organizational support underpinning TIA. And compared to the region’s current transportation, TIA is pretty good policy. If Atlanta lets the current moment slip by, there’s no telling when the region will have another good opportunity to raise billions in revenue for transit.

The Sierra Club is planning a joint press conference with — oddly enough — local Tea Party officials this week where they will discuss their concerns further.

Meanwhile, more mainstream groups were quick to criticize the Sierra Club’s position. Citizens for Transportation Mobility, a group of business interests that is pushing for TIA’s passage, responded with “dismay.”

Read more…

This is the third part in Streetsblog’s series profiling 11 officials who are bringing American cities and towns into the 21st century when it comes to transportation and planning policy. Read the earlier profiles in part one and part two.

Joe Calabrese

General Manager, Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority

Joe Calabrese, head of Cleveland's RTA, is an American BRT pioneer. Photo: GCRTA

In 2007, Greater Cleveland’s Regional Transit Authority (RTA) was named best public transit system in North America by the American Public Transit Association. And it wasn’t because this struggling Ohio city has the best trains and buses in the nation — clearly it doesn’t have the resources of New York’s MTA or DC’s Metro. The award recognized RTA’s management, which is truly world class. And no one deserves more credit than Joe Calabrese, the organization’s long-time general manager.

Calabrese has a reputation, inside Northeast Ohio and out, for getting the job done. He’s resourceful. He’s politically astute. And thanks in part to its legacy rail system, greater Cleveland has managed to maintain a respectable transit network despite its dependence on an auto-centric state bureaucracy.

That’s all background for the real reason we chose Calabrese for this list.

Perhaps you’ve heard of Cleveland’s six-mile bus rapid transit system? With dedicated, center-running bus lanes; elevated, pre-paid boarding; and extra-large, frequently-running hybrid buses, Cleveland’s HealthLine is the most advanced BRT corridor in the U.S.

It’s been a big success despite slower-than-anticipated run times. The New York Times swooped into Cleveland recently to remark on the relative bonanza of development taking place along the BRT corridor, which links the city’s two major job centers. Euclid Avenue, the site of the project, once heavily blighted and dangerous, also underwent a road diet. It now includes bike lanes and wide, landscaped sidewalks and medians. The project has led to half a billion dollars in new development.

Pushing this project forward in a region not known for embracing change was no small feat. But with Calabrese spearheading the effort, the Federal Transit Administration gave Cleveland the resources to become a national innovator in bus rapid transit. Calabrese built a broad political coalition in support of the project, including the regional chamber of commerce, the metropolitan planning agency and the state of Ohio.

“Joe was the key to making that project happen,” says Ryan McKenzie, a Cleveland-based sustainability consultant and advocate who helped shape the HealthLine. “The idea of building something in that corridor had languished for decades [though] voters had approved funding for a subway at least 60 years ago.”

Now the project is inspiring other cities. When Detroit made its shift from a light rail plan to BRT, city leaders were quick to point out the success of Cleveland’s system.

Read more…

On our walk down the memory lane of 2011 so far, we’ve talked about some downers, some inspirations, some triumphs, and some struggles. Check out our first two installments of year-end Streetsie award nostalgia. Here’s some more.

Best Obama Plan That Died a Slow and Horrible Death This Year: How to choose, when there were so many? The president laid out a big, bold, ambitious transportation plan for the next six years but then stayed mum on the all-important question of how to fund it, and so, predictably, it died. His American Jobs Act included $50 billion for infrastructure projects, including at least $13 billion for rail and transit. It, too, went nowhere fast.

Obama's high-speed rail plans took a fast train to nowhere. Photo: America 2050

That wasn’t Obama’s fault, but if you’re looking for a reason to be angry at him, look no further than the ozone pollution rules the EPA was going to strengthen. The president froze at the last minute and decided to hold off another couple years, to give the economy a chance to recover (or business interests a chance to vote for him). The new ozone standard would have saved an estimated 12,000 lives and made transportation reforms essential.

But who could blame the 47 percent of you who awarded the Streetsie for saddest death of an Obama program to high-speed rail? Congress takes every opportunity to yank money away from the program, three Republican governors have very publicly thumbed their noses at federal funds, and the only true high-speed rail line with the potential to be truly transformative is in deep doo-doo in California. So much for 80 percent access in 25 years.

Non-Presidential Vices: Yes, we had our share of letdowns from President Obama this year. But not all our disappointments were related to him. We were also bummed to see plans scrapped for the Woodward Light Rail line in Detroit, and the failure of the Seattle car tab fee, which would have gone to transit, bike/ped and road maintenance. And certainly we were disappointed that the Senate transportation bill, in the end, didn’t keep dedicated funding for bike/ped. But the Streetsie for the biggest letdown has to go to the bait-and-switch the House Republicans pulled about funding their transportation plan.

It was simple enough when they were threatening to cut spending by a third so as not to overspend Highway Trust Fund receipts. Just about everyone hated the idea. But then the GOP said they’d match current levels and it seemed the best of both worlds – reasonable spending levels and a longer-term bill than the Senate was offering.

Hallelujah! So what’s the catch?

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The first shocking thing about Raquel Nelson’s conviction for vehicular homicide was simply that it happened at all. After all, the mother of three wasn’t even driving a car — she was crossing a wide street with poor pedestrian infrastructure when her four-year-old son was killed by a hit-and-run driver.

Image: The Today Show

The second shocking thing about the case was that it captured so much media attention. Sure, Streetsblog was going to cover it. But the Today Show? Fox News?

As encouraging as it was to see so much mainstream broadcast media focused on Nelson’s case — and all in a sympathetic light — little of that coverage got to the root of the problem: dangerous street design in auto-centric communities.

So we’re glad to see the Washington Post remedying that situation by printing an op-ed by David Goldberg, communications director at Transportation for America. In his piece yesterday, Goldberg said:

Nelson was found guilty of killing her son by crossing the road in the “wrong” place. But what about the highway designers, traffic engineers, transit planners and land-use regulators who placed a bus stop across from apartments but made no provision whatsoever for a safe crossing? Those who ignored the fact that pedestrians always take the shortest possible route but somehow expected them to walk six-tenths of a mile out of their way to cross the street? Those who designed this road — which they allowed to be flanked by apartments and houses — for speeds of 50 mph and more? And those who designed the entire landscape to be hostile to people trying to get to work or carrying groceries despite having no access to a car? Are they not culpable?

Read more…

UPDATE 7/27: Raquel Nelson has, in fact, chosen the option of a new trial.

The last thing the jury heard from Raquel Nelson’s defense lawyer, before they convicted her, was the tape of her frantic 911 call after her son, A.J., was hit by a car. “1-2-3-4-5-6, doing chest compressions on her son, screaming,” recalls attorney David Savoy. “There was not a dry eye in that court room.”

The jury then decided to convict her of vehicular homicide, jaywalking, and reckless conduct.

A.J. Nelson, age 4, was killed while crossing the street between a bus stop and his home with his mother and two sisters.

The jury, as has often been noted, was all white and not transit-dependent. Indeed, Savoy said, the entire pool of 15 jurors they had to choose from was white. And Cobb County jurors are selected for service based on drivers license information.

While certainly many car-free people have drivers licenses – Raquel Nelson included – it’s a symbol, at least, of the auto-centrism of the entire process that convicted Ms. Nelson.

At sentencing, Judge Kathryn Tanksley handed down a relatively light sentence – involving no jail time, at least – but also granted a motion for a new trial before the defense even made a motion asking for a new trial. “We had motion for a new trial ready to file,” Savoy said. “I didn’t even need to pull it out of my briefcase.”

“It’s one of the most shocking things I’ve ever been involved with,” Savoy said. “A judge, on her own motion, granting a new trial.”

He wouldn’t speculate as to why the judge was moved to do so. But he did mention that the jury had made its decision based on the evidence that the judge allowed, indicating that there was other defense evidence that the judge did not allow. Perhaps she regretted that decision, disagreed with the jury’s harsh verdict, and thought a new trial would wipe the slate clean.

Despite the trauma that the case has caused Nelson and her family, Savoy is “pretty certain” she’ll take the option of a new trial. “Three misdemeanors, for crossing the street,” Savoy said. “That doesn’t sit right with her, or with me.”

Given the avalanche of negative attention the case has brought upon the Cobb County court system, the county may decide not to re-try the case at all. Indeed, although judges are supposed to be immune to public opinion, Judge Tanksley must have been aware of the packed courtroom, full of reporters, that greeted her on the day of sentencing. Even if she hadn’t watched the broadcast coverage, seen the petitions, or read the blogs about the case, she must have known the case was attracting major national attention.

“I’ve never understood the power of the blogosphere,” Savoy told me, “and now, I’m humbled.”

We’ve written quite a bit about Raquel Nelson over the past week or so, but now, we’ll let her speak for herself. The Today Show devoted an eight-minute segment to her case this morning, including an interview with Raquel.

Nelson’s lawyer, David Savoy, also contacted me this morning to respond to my inquiries about how people can help. (He wouldn’t answer questions about the case itself until sentencing is over.)

Savoy says that while the petitions that are circulating are an important show of support, what really counts are letters to the judge from residents of Cobb County, Georgia — the judge’s own constituents. He emphasized that people should not contact the judge directly, but if Cobb County residents want to email me at tips@dc.streetsblog.org today, I will send the emails on to Savoy and he will present them by hand to the judge. Time is of the essence, because sentencing is tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. This is your chance to respectfully ask the judge for leniency. And remember, she’s not the one who convicted Nelson in the first place — a jury did that. Please include your address on the letter.

Nelson’s aunt, who appears next to her on the Today Show, is setting up a legal defense fund. Many readers expressed interest in contributing to such a fund. I spoke to Nelson’s aunt myself, in between their appearances on the Today Show and MSNBC. She thanks people for their generosity and says they can send contributions to Chase Bank, 1050 E Piedmont Rd, Suite Y, Marietta, Georgia 30062. You can make the check out to Raquel Nelson Legal Defense Fund.

This photo shows the bus stop on Austell Road and the path taken by Raquel Nelson to get to her apartment complex across the street. No marked crossings are visible in the photo. Source: T4America

Last week, we reported on the horrific story of Raquel Nelson, whose four-year-old son was killed as she attempted to cross the street with him to reach their home. Nelson was convicted of reckless conduct, improperly crossing a roadway and second-degree homicide by vehicle, all for the crime of being a pedestrian in the car-centric Atlanta suburbs. The conviction carried a sentence of up to 36 months, while the driver who killed Nelson’s son — who’d been drinking and using painkillers before getting behind the wheel — got off with six months on a hit-and-run charge.

Many of you responded with outrage. The more information that came out, the more outrageous the charges against Nelson became. From an Atlanta Journal-Constitution story that came out the month after the incident:

On April 10, she and her three children — Tyler, 9, A.J., 4, and Lauryn, 3 — went shopping because the next day was Nelson’s birthday. They had pizza, went to Wal-Mart and missed a bus, putting them an hour late getting home. Nelson, a student at Kennesaw State University, said she never expected to be out after dark, especially with the children.

When the Cobb County Transit bus finally stopped directly across from Somerpoint Apartments, night had fallen. She and the children crossed two lanes and waited with other passengers on the raised median for a break in traffic. The nearest crosswalks were three-tenths of a mile in either direction, and Nelson wanted to get her children inside as soon as possible. A.J. carried a plastic bag holding a goldfish they’d purchased.

“One girl ran across the street,” Nelson said. “For some odd reason, I guess he saw the girl and decided to run out behind her. I said, ‘Stop, A.J.,’ and he was in the middle of the street so I said keep going. That’s when we all got hit.”

Look at all the ways the design of the city’s transportation system failed Nelson and her family. Bus service runs once an hour. There is no crosswalk to connect a bus stop with an apartment building it serves – nor any crosswalk for three blocks. A convicted hit-and-run driver who is half-blind and has alcohol and pain-killers in his system is considered less of a threat to the public than a woman who rides the bus and walks with her kids.

Read more…

A Google Street View image of the intersection where Raquel Nelson's four-year-old son was killed. There are no crosswalks in sight.

We don’t normally report on vehicle crashes here on the Capitol Hill blog, but this was so outrageous we couldn’t help ourselves.

A 30-year-old woman in Marietta, Georgia was convicted of vehicular homicide this week – and she wasn’t even driving a car. The woman was crossing the street with her three children when a driver, who had been drinking, hit and killed her four-year-old. The driver, Jerry Guy, was initially charged with “hit and run, first degree homicide by vehicle and cruelty to children,” Elise Hitchcock of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. “Charges were later dropped to just the hit and run charge.”

The man has previously been convicted of two hit-and-runs – on the same day, in 1997, one of them on the same road where he killed Raquel Nelson’s son.

Guy will serve six months for killing the boy, but Nelson will serve up to 36 months – just for crossing the street with her child. Yes, it’s true: they were not in a crosswalk. Are there any crosswalks on that street at all?

Hitchcock at the AJC says:
Read more…

Local transit agencies that are planning service cuts and fare hikes as a result of budget constraints have been warned: cost-cutting measures shouldn’t unfairly affect people of color.

Peter Rogoff, head of the Federal Transit Administration, sent out a letter to local transit authorities last week reminding them of their duty to comply with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which “prohibits federally-funded programs and services from discriminating on the basis of race, color, or national origin.”

Transit as a civil rights issue: Suburban bus riders would disproportionally benefit if MARTA brings back the Braves Shuttle after cutting routes that served city residents' daily needs. Photo: CBS Atlanta

The Transportation Equity Network notes that people of color are up to six times more likely to depend on public transportation than white Americans. “As a result,” said TEN’s Laura Barrett in a statement, “the epidemic of service cuts and fare hikes around the country are having a devastating impact on the ability of millions of Americans to access jobs, education, health care, and opportunity.”

TEN applauded Rogoff’s letter, stating that “a budget crisis is no excuse for violating civil rights.”

This issue has been raised recently with respect to the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority. MARTA was forced to impose widespread cuts to bus service and raise monthly and weekly fares last fall. Laurel Paget-Seekins of the Atlanta Transit Riders’ Union said the pain was distributed more or less equally, but since then, there has been a call to reinstate the Braves Shuttle, which took mostly-suburban baseball fans from the train to the ballpark. Paget-Seekins said MARTA is being pressured by some business and political interests to bring back the service. Meanwhile, she says her bus route has been folded in with two other routes and is often overcrowded.

“That’s why people are upset about this idea of putting back the Braves shuttles,” she said. “Because those of us who ride every day are still kind of suffering from the cuts that happened last fall.”

MARTA riders are 78 percent black and 14 percent white, she said. In addition, more than 50 percent do not have access to a car and more than 60 percent make less than $30,000 annually.

The Atlanta Transit Riders’ Union watches MARTA and local and state government agencies closely for civil rights abuses. The union has filed a complaint against the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority, which runs a commuter bus service that doesn’t serve low-income communities, Paget-Seekins said. The FTA is now performing a compliance review in response.