1. Item_0_Agenda_For_12-9-20 _Teams_Meeting

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ITEM_0_AGENDA_FOR_12-9-20 _TEAMS_MEETING.PDF

2. Item_6_Action_Items_Tracking_201112_(003)

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3. Item_8_DRAFT_CACT_Guiding_Principles_For_Neighborhood_Sidewalk_Program

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ITEM_8_DRAFT_CACT_GUIDING_PRINCIPLES_FOR_NEIGHBORHOOD_SIDEWALK_PROGRAM.PDF

4. Item_12a_CACT_Comments_Broad_Washington_November_2020_(003)

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6. Item_12c_How_Four_European_Cities_Are_Embracing_Micromobility

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7. Item_12d_Metros_Proposed Budget Cut

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Citizens Advisory Committee on Transportation Meeting Agenda Wednesday, December 9, 2020  7:00 PM Virtual Meeting: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup- join/19%3ameeting_MTg2YjQ0OGYtMGM1ZC00Y2Q1LWI0NGQtNTg3MTM2MGRhNW M5%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%2273ba5b04-4ace-4ae3-a6b2- 65cbc403418b%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22d21d8abe-3a0c-4875-ad5b- 3986dbf20bf2%22%7d

NOTICE: This meeting will be held pursuant to and in compliance with the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, Section 2.2-3708.2 and state and local legislation adopted to allow for continued government operation during the COVID-19 declared emergency. All participating members will be present at this meeting through electronic means. All members of the public may view this electronic meeting via the meeting link listed above and in the City’s website calendar.

Public comments may be submitted to [email protected] until 6:30 PM on December 9.. All comments will be provided to the Citizens Advisory Committee on Transportation members and comments received by the deadline will be read during the meeting. PLEASE NOTE: This meeting will be conducted using Microsoft Teams. Don't have the Teams app? You can still join a Teams meeting. See the instructions attached to this meeting agenda. Please email [email protected] if you need assistance with installation. During the meeting, staff will likely not be available to assist with installation.

1. Call to Order 2. Reading of Virtual Meeting Notice 3. Roll Call 4. Public comment 5. Discussion Item: Police Crash Data 6. Information Item: CACT 2020 Tracking sheet 7. Discussion Item: CACT Annual Report to Council 8. Discussion Item: Neighborhood Sidewalk Program Principles 9. Discussion Item: Racial and Socio-Economic Equity 10. Information Item: NTC Updates 11. Committee/Staff Reports 12. Attachments a. Broad and Washington Comments b. Tactical Urbanism memo to Council c. Article: “How 4 European Cities are embracing micro-mobility to drive out cars”

The City of Falls Church is committed to the letter and spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act. To request a reasonable accommodation for any type of disability, call 703-248-5027 TTY711. d. “Metro proposed budget eliminates weekend rail, closes 19 stations”

Citizens Advisory Committee on Transportation, Staff liaison: Jeff Sikes, 703-248-5296. [email protected].

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Status of 2020 CACT Action Items Updated: November 12, 2020 March – June Meetings canceled because of the COVID emergency.

Action Item Responsibility Status

Refine the Neighborhood Staff 2019 * Traffic Calming Program: All CACT Oct 9 – Jeff presented City Manager’s report to Council on Continue review of the NTC transportation projects and goals for advancing the NTC Program and examination of Program. Invited ideas from CACT members. alternatives to speed the delivery Nov 14 – Jeff distributed draft proposing: of effective and cost-efficient -Use of currently available $636K grant for: solutions. ---Construction of Annandale/Gundry with completion in Jan 20 Source: Continuing ---Construction of Great Falls/Little Falls -Use of $632K grant for bundle of Greenway Downs streets intersecting Rt. 29 -Use of approx. $200K from Jan 2020 budget amendment for NTC queue streets: N. Oak, Noland, Jefferson, S. West, Lincoln, S. Lee Nov 21 – CACT letter to Council recommending use of surplus budget funds for traffic calming. 2020 Feb 12- Council approved $400,000 for traffic calming. Jul 21 – Jeff advised that $350,000 has been put on hold until Council determines financial impact of the COVID emergency. Oct 14 – Jeff reported that Council had voted to release the $350,000, most of which will be used for the Great Falls/Little Falls project. Nov 12 – Jeff reported that $48,000 was recently received from 301 W. Broad Street voluntary concessions. Neighborhood Pace Car Staff 2019 * Program Andrea Feb 13 – Jeff advised that since VPIS is funding materials, Dave CACT can arrange printing and distribution without staff Source: 2014 Annual Report Shaun involvement. - Andrea to determine next steps. Oct 9 – Dave and Shaun volunteered to help complete project. Nov 14 – Andrea reported she and Shaun received an estimate of $2K to print pamphlet and stickers. Plan to reformat pamphlet and order magnets at $1 each. Dec 11 – CACT commented on revised pamphlet, online pledge form, and sticker design. Andrea will make changes, and attempt to get sample stickers and magnets for committee review. 2020 Feb 12 – Andrea distributed revised brochure for review. Sticker/magnet design should be ready in March. Jul 21 – Further action deferred until COVID emergency subsides.

Action Item Responsibility Status

Tactical Urbanism: Research Paul 2020 projects in other jurisdictions for Nov 4 - Paul prepared draft memo from CACT to Council on potential application to the City. Tactical Urbanism and Traffic Calming. Nov 12 – The CACT discussed the memo and approved its Source: 2019 Annual Report submission to Council. Walking and Biking Access to Andrea 2020 MEH and GMHS campus: Doug Feb 12 – The CACT approved Doug’s and Andrea’s draft Explore immediate options for memo to Council supporting the Health and Welfare safer routes Committee letter and offering CACT assistance. Jul 21 – Further action deferred until COVID emergency Source: subsides. 2019 Annual Report

Nov 16, 2019 letter from the FCPS Health and Welness Committee asking that the Superintendent and City Manager work together to establish safer walking and biking routes to MEH and GMHS. Meet with Rec & Parks Andrea Jul 21 – Further action deferred until COVID emergency Advisory Board to discuss subsides. hosting an Open Streets event.

Source: 2019 Annual Report Meet with Environmental Andrea 2020 Sustainability Council to Feb 12 – Discussed ESC request for meeting with CACT and discuss ways to improve possible elements of public meeting on what can be done to walking and biking. encourage biking. CACT/ESC meeting scheduled for March 11. Source: 2019 Annual Report Jul 21 – Further action deferred until COVID emergency subsides. Meet with Police Department Paul 2020 to discuss availability of crash Feb 12 – Paul compiled 2018 Crash Report from online data. VDOT data. Spoke with Police Captain Rau who expressed willingness to assist if we identify objectives and data Source: 2019 Annual Report elements that interest us. Paul will prepare list of desired data elements for March meeting. When refined, these will be submitted to Police for discussion at a future CACT meeting. Jul 21 – Further action deferred until COVID emergency subsides. Oct 8 – Paul compiled 2019 Crash Report and suggested objective and data elements for CACT discussion. Oct 14 – The CACT agreed on a draft objective and data elements. Paul will contact Captain Rau and invite him to the Dec meeting. Oct 20, Nov 3 – Paul sent email to Captain Rau requesting Police rep attend Dec 9 virtual CACT meeting. Nov 12 – Paul reported conversation with Capt. Rau who will produce a report of 2019 crashes, both DMV reportable and non-reportable. Capt. Rau or another Police Dept. rep will attend the Dec 9 CACT meeting to discuss crash data

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Action Item Responsibility Status

and answer CACT questions. Paul will submit a list of questions in advance of the meeting. Work with staff to develop a Andrea Oct 14 – The CACT discussed the sidewalk policies of Neighborhood Sidewalk Dave neighboring jurisdictions, copies of which were provided Program. by Andrea. Andrea and Dave will collaborate on guiding principles for discussion at the Dec CACT meeting. Source: 2019 Annual Report

*Pre-2019 history of these items in the January 15, 2020 report.

Ideas  Family Cycling Event: Host an event like Kidical Mass Rides.  Bike Rodeo / TOPS Event  Volksmarch / Scavenger Hunt: Plan walking event using the City’s greenways.

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City of Falls Church Citizens Advisory Committee on Transportation

SUBJECT: Guiding principles for Neighborhood Sidewalk Program

DATE: December 2020 ______

Like the Neighborhood Traffic Calming (NTC) program, a Neighborhood Sidewalk Program should be citizen-led.

Citizens should submit applications during a certain period each year before funding decisions are made for the City’s Capital Improvements Program (CIP). Rather than accepting applications on a rolling basis, this will enable City staff to prepare for reviewing and responding requests during one period each year. This will also ensure equal consideration of all requests. This process should provide transparency and consistency to citizens, City Council, and staff.

All requested sidewalks should be analyzed using a scoring and prioritization system that considers:

1. Buildability  How difficult or expensive is the requested sidewalk?  Are easements required?  Are there fences, walls, stairs or slopes?  Are there poles or hydrants?  Can the increase in impervious surface be managed through pervious strips or plantings to manage stormwater runoff?

2. Equity  Is the requested sidewalk on a street that completely lacks sidewalks?  Is it in a neighborhood the City considers underserved?  Will it help people who use mobility devices more safely navigate the city?

3. Connectivity  Would the requested sidewalk complete a missing link in a neighborhood or improve access to transit or community destinations (schools, parks, commercial areas)?

4. Safety  What are the street characteristics that are leading to the request (street width, traffic volumes, speeds, poor sightlines due to topography)?

5. Tree preservation  Would the requested sidewalk require the removal of mature trees or adversely impact mature trees if installed?

6. Neighborhood support  A to-be-determined percentage of residents would need to support a request.  Required easements would need to be granted by property owners.

Date: Nov. 20, 2020

To: Mayor Tarter and Members of Falls Church City Council

From: Citizens Advisory Committee on Transportation

Subject: CACT comments on proposed Broad and Washington project

Dear Mayor Tarter and members of Council,

The Citizens Advisory Committee on Transportation (CACT) appreciates the opportunity to share our comments on the proposed Broad and Washington mixed-use development project. We discussed the proposal at our November 2020 virtual meeting after a presentation from the developer. Our comments are as follows:

Walkability, pedestrian access, accessibility • We’re quite pleased with the 10-foot minimum sidewalks, even when accounting for the areas used by café seating on Broad Street. This provides adequate room for people who use mobility devices and pedestrians. • All four legs of the Broad and Washington intersection should be improved as part of this project, not just the two legs abutting the project. • The proposed brick crosswalks are very attractive but they would likely require a great deal of maintenance due to constant heavy truck traffic. Arlington County is phasing out brick pavers and brick-like printed asphalt on crosswalks and medians because of maintenance, costs, difficulty in maintaining appearance when street repairs are made, and various other reasons. (source) They have switched to “high-visibility white thermoplastic markings that are extremely reflective — particularly at night and in rain, and, with less needed maintenance, more cost-effective.” • This project will help the City realize its goal of becoming a walkable community. • The reduction in curb cuts is a great benefit for pedestrians. • The developer’s commitment to keeping the sidewalk accessible to pedestrians during construction is commendable, and the City should ensure that promise is kept. • The pedestrian path connecting Park Place to Lawton improves connectivity and offers green space. It should be well-lit, but not intrusive to Lawton Street neighbors. • We look forward to seeing plans for street light coverage to ensure that it provides adequate visibility for pedestrians and drivers while respecting the nearby businesses and residents.

• The pedestrian plaza at Broad and Washington will be a community asset. We’re pleased that the developer is collaborating with Creative Cauldron and Tinner Hill to create a Unity & Justice Plaza to showcase the City’s civil rights history. We’re glad to hear that community groups may also use the plaza. Mr. Brown’s Park has proven to be a good model. • The pedestrian plaza at Broad and Washington should be reviewed to minimize the risks to park users being struck by vehicles accidentally or maliciously driven off of this busy intersection. Many downtown D.C. buildings are “hardened” with bollards, but this protection could be accomplished through more attractive landscaping, such as large rocks that could double as seating (though people seated near the intersection could still be at risk) and planters.

Bicycle Access and Parking, , Scooters • We were pleased to hear that the garage features more than 100 bike parking spaces. Perhaps some bike racks could be spaced further apart to accommodate parents pulling bike trailers with kids in them. We would like to see locations around the perimeter of the development for more than 20 bikes to be locked. • A public bicycle repair station in the garage would be an added incentive to cyclists to use the garage parking. (map of locations around D.C.) • The developer’s commitment to fund the Capital Bikeshare at Park Place near the N. Washington Street intersection is appreciated. • Will there be specified areas for rental scooter parking?

Public Transit, Taxis, App-Based Ride-Sharing • We hope the two proposed bus shelters on N. Washington and E. Broad streets are inviting and protective from inclement weather. With Creative Cauldron nearby and the prominent proposed locations, perhaps one or both shelters could offer a chance for low-cost public art similar to Pittsburgh’s “smallest jazz club” bus stop (source). • The bus shelters should have adequate space for multiple people, their purchases, and be easily accessible to people who use mobility devices. • The 2-car lay-by/drop-off locations will be popular for app-based ride-sharing and people getting a ride from someone they know. Will there be a maximum allowed time in these spaces? How will that be enforced? • We like that parking spaces are reserved for carshare options such as Zipcar.

Motor Vehicle Traffic/Parking/Garages • Please explain how delivery truck traffic will be separated from pedestrian areas. • We’re pleased that the developer was able to find a parking solution that will support the popular nearby businesses, whose survival remains critical to the City’s charm and character. • The project is forward-looking with five electric vehicle stations and conduit for more. • Smart parking technology should be incorporated in the garage to include wireless sensors and messaging signs that provide real time information on parking space availability. • The proposed garage interior concepts shown by the developer were well-lit, colorful and inviting. How will pedestrian paths through parking garages be designed for safety and accessibility?

• The preservation of 64 City-owned public parking spaces is a must, and the developer is meeting that requirement. We support the developer’s intention to match the branding of the City’s other public parking. • We would encourage the developer to avoid aggressive towing practices that punish patrons who visit multiple businesses in the vicinity. This issue remains a problem at neighboring lots and gives the City a bad reputation. • The parking reduction requested for residential units is in line with previous developments that have been successful in the City • The developer has provided a robust transportation demand management (TDM) plan that will help support the parking reduction request and make good use of the central location of the development. • The redesign of the Washington Street intersection with Park and Park Place is necessary for the viability of the project, but we worry that drivers may get confused. We hope the developer will continue to work closely with City staff and VDOT on the details to ensure clarity and safety. • How will the redesigned Park/Park Place/Washington intersection function when the lane in front of the State Theater is blocked, as it often is? Under the current design, the bottle neck created in front of the State Theater can lead traffic to back up down across Broad Street and may lead drivers to make turns they didn’t intend to (such as left onto Broad) to exit the intersection before Broad Street’s traffic gets a green light. • How will the redesigned Park/Park Place/Washington intersection affect traffic into Kaiser Permanente’s garage and driveway on Washington? • The $50,000 contribution for Lawton Street traffic calming and permit parking program is appreciated.

City of Falls Church Citizens Advisory Committee on Transportation

TO: Mayor Tarter and Members of City Council

FROM: Citizens Advisory Committee on Transportation

SUBJECT: Tactical Urbanism and Traffic Calming

DATE: November 16, 2020

______

Recommendation

Add Tactical Urbanism (TU) methods and materials to the Neighborhood Traffic Calming Program.  Where appropriate, TU can deliver demonstration traffic calming projects faster and less expensively than the Neighborhood Traffic Calming Program’s light and heavy solutions.  Although TU projects are temporary, they allow residents to experience and provide input on proposed changes before the City incurs the expense of a permanent installation.

Tactical Urbanism Defined

TU is a movement within the international planning community that refers to low- cost, temporary changes to the built environment that encourage long-term change. Projects have a short-term commitment, realistic expectations, low risks, and the possibility of high reward.

TU:  Expedites the delivery of public benefits.  Tests a program, project, or plan before substantial investments are made.  Allows people to physically experience alternative solutions.  Expands public engagement.

Streets Plan Collaborative www.streetplans.org, an urban planning and design firm, is one of the leading proponents of TU. The firm has produced several e-books that support the concept and provide examples from cities around the world. Also, YouTube has numerous videos that explain and show TU applications.

Some well-known TU examples include:  Park(ing) Day  Play Streets  Open Streets – Streets closed to motor vehicles on an established day of the week  Pavement to Plazas – Temporary, inexpensive materials like planters and chairs are placed to repurpose excess motor vehicle space for pedestrians and bicyclists.  Pop-Up Cafes – Outdoor public seating in parking lanes adjacent to restaurants  De-paving – Unnecessary pavement is removed to transform driveways and parking into green space.  Guerilla Gardening – Gardens on vacant and underutilized land  Pop-Up Retail – Temporary retail stores in vacant storefronts or properties  Food Cart and Food Truck Corrals – Underutilized public spaces are used to attract people and offer small business opportunities.

Tactical Urbanism Traffic Calming

TU literature is rich with traffic calming guides. All of the following are online publications:

 Tactical Urbanist’s Guide to Materials and Design, Street Plans Collaborative: https://issuu.com/streetplanscollaborative/docs/tu- guide_to_materials_and_design_v1

 Slow Your Street: A How-To Guide to Pop-Up Traffic Calming, Trailnet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1b1LlnIRmN9vaHyY- dspcu0aaKVhhEJaV/view

 Quick Builds for Better Streets: A New Project Delivery Model for U.S. Cities, People for Bikes: https://nacto.org/wp- content/uploads/2016/05/2016PeoplefoBikes_Quick-Builds-for-Better- Streets.pdf

 Urban Street Design Guide, National Association of City Transportation Officials: https://nacto.org/publication/urban-street-design-guide/

TU traffic calming applications rely on low-cost, readily accessible materials that are suitable for demonstration projects of a single day to a year or more. Often materials can be repurposed when the demonstration is complete.

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TU projects can be quickly and easily installed and modified. They allow people to experience a project and provide input before a significant investment is made in a permanent installation.

Tactical Urbanism Traffic Calming Materials

Temporary curb extensions, median islands, roundabouts, protected bike lanes and other projects requiring physical barriers can be constructed with:  Traffic cones  Free-standing delineator posts/bollards (weighted base)  Flexible delineator posts (Installed with adhesive for short term projects and bolts for long-term projects.)  Traffic barricades (sawhorse style)  Plastic jersey barriers (can be filled with water)  Plastic barrels  Rubber or concrete curb stops  Armadillos – low-slung, recycled plastic bumps  Planters – wooden and plastic crates, galvanized tubs, polymer pots  Straw bales  Straw wattles - cylinders of compressed straw 8-12” in diameter and 20-25’ long

Surface treatments for crosswalks, curb extensions, and bike lanes can be made with:  Traffic tape  Spray chalk and spray paint  Tempera and acrylic paint  Black floor mats – Sold in rolls. Can literally roll out a crosswalk by painting or taping white rectangles on a mat.

Public art: Many TU projects are enhanced with brightly painted barriers and surface treatments.

Signs: TU projects often have informational signs to advise the public of the demonstration or pilot nature of the project, its purpose and goals, and to solicit comments.

Tactical Urbanism Traffic Calming Examples

New Haven: Residents painted a mid-block crosswalk that was removed by the city. The residents then submitted a formal request and the city reconsidered. It is now a raised crosswalk with curb extensions.

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Fremont CA: In response to pedestrian-vehicle collisions at a wide, unsignalized street crossing, the city narrowed traffic lanes with flexible delineator posts, plastic planters, and painted enhancement of existing striping.

Seattle, Boston, Kansas City: Through crosswalk art programs, local artists paint colorful or 3D patterns on/or adjacent to crosswalks to attract motorists’ attention and slow speed. Sometimes a crosswalk design that reflects community identity is placed at the entrance to a neighborhood.

Portsmouth NH: Installed pilot curb extensions with traffic cones, planters, traffic tape, and tempera paint.

Austin: Created interim curb extensions with flexible delineators, painted stripes, and colorful, thermoplastic dots.

Philadelphia: Repurposed an underutilized concrete traffic island and slip lane into a pedestrian plaza with wooden planters and movable tables and chairs. Four years later, the plaza was installed with permanent materials.

Long Beach CA: Constructed a mini-roundabout with plastic jersey barriers and planters.

Palo Alto: Built a pilot traffic circle in a residential area with traffic barricades and bolted-down, rubber curb stops.

Burlington VT: Tested a protected bike lane and curb extensions with flexible delineators and armadillos.

Denver: Created a one-day protected bike lane demonstration with spray chalk, planters, and traffic cones. Public response was favorable and the city extended the design with paint, flexible delineators, and concrete pedestrian islands.

Saint Louis: With grants from the American Planning Association and American Public Health Association, the city held a well-publicized one-day traffic calming demonstration in selected neighborhoods. Curb extensions, medians, chokepoints, chicanes, and mini-roundabouts were constructed with brightly-painted traffic cones, tires, planters, and reflective tape. With public support generated from the demonstrations, several of the installations have been made permanent, and the materials have been reused for demonstration projects in other neighborhoods.

Conclusion

Falls Church already includes paint and signage as light solutions in the Neighborhood Traffic Calming (NTC) Program. The City has also installed flexible

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delineator posts in some locations while awaiting funding for curb extensions and median islands.

Adding TU methods and materials to the NTC program would allow the City to test traffic calming solutions sooner and less expensively than light or heavy solutions. And although TU projects are temporary, they would provide earlier benefits and allow input on proposed changes before the City invests in permanent installations.

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How four European cities are embracing micromobility to drive out cars A look at urban transformation in Paris, Barcelona, and Milan

Natasha Lomas, Romain Dillet/ 5:47 AM EST• November 20, 2020

Image Credits: Natasha Lomas / TechCrunch

The coronavirus pandemic is acting as a catalyst for urban transformation across Europe as city authorities grapple with how to manage urban mobility without risking citizens’ health or inviting gridlock by letting cars flood in.

Micromobility and local commerce are being seen as both short and long-term solutions for urban revival in a number of cases. We’ve run down key policy developments in four major cities, Paris, Barcelona, London and Milan, which — at varying speeds — are pushing to rethink and reclaim streets for feet and two wheels. Paris’ 15-minute city

Every year, around 2,500 people die prematurely because of air pollution in Paris. Like most European cities, the number one cause of pollution is motorized traffic. Due to consistent policy changes over the past two decades, pollution has been slowly decreasing. It’s a long and difficult process and each step provides a new set of challenges.

The city has only had two different mayors for the past twenty years — Bertrand Delanoë and Anne Hidalgo. That consistency combined with long terms as mayor has led to some divisive changes and long-term thinking.

Paris has a long and conflictual relationship with cars. Nearly 20 years ago, bus lanes were highly controversial because it reduced space dedicated to cars. Today, nobody is asking for the removal of those lanes.

That’s why it’s a bit ironic that the same thing is happening again and again. For instance, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo banned cars from the right bank of the Seine in 2016. Many political opponents and car enthusiasts criticized the decision. Earlier this year, none of the candidate in the municipal election mentioned the right bank of the Seine — it became a non-issue.

But the city’s policies aren’t just focused on banning cars. Paris has become a mobility lab for European cities with many public and private initiatives. If they work in Paris, chances are those initiatives will be reproduced elsewhere.

There are two reasons why Paris is an interesting city for mobility experiments. First, the Paris area is the 29th metropolitan area in the world by population density. Georges- Eugène Haussmann initiated some radical urbanization changes in the second half of the 19th century leading to the city’s modern layout — mostly seven-story buildings circled by the ring road.

As the limits of the city haven’t changed in over 100 years, it is still relatively small compared to other major cities. For instance, San Francisco, which is a small city by American standards, is still larger than Paris when it comes to area.

Second, Paris attracts a lot of tourists (in a normal year). In 2019, 38 million tourists came to Paris. These tourists tend to do normal touristy things — they move around the city all day long. Vélib’ as the epicenter of mobility changes

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo and a fleet of Vélib’ bikes. Image Credits: Loïc Venance / AFP / Getty Images

In addition to a dense public transportation network with subways, regional trains, buses and trams, other transportation methods have emerged. In 2005, the city of Lyon introduced Vélo’v, a publicly subsidized bike-sharing service based on a network of stations spread across the city.

Two years later, the city of Paris introduced a similar servie called Vélib’. It’s hard to overstate how big of an impact Vélib’ has had on transportation. Just a few years after its launch, Vélib’ had hundreds of thousands of subscribers generation over 100,000 rides per day.

Other cities in Europe and the U.S. have followed course and introduced their own bike- sharing service. But nobody has come close to reaching the success of Vélib’. Despite some growing pains, Vélib’ now has over 400,000 subscribers. On September 4th, 2020, the service handled 209,000 rides. There are around 15,000 bikes on the service, which means that each bike is used nearly 14 times per day.

The reason why Vélib’ is much more successful than in New York or in London is that Vélib’ is much cheaper. A standard Vélib’ subscription with unlimited ride costs $3.70 per month (€3.10). In London, you pay nearly $10 per month (£90 per year). In New York, it costs $15 per month. Subscribing to Vélib’ is a no-brainer.

And this is all due to political will. Vélib’ is a subsidized service. But it’s hard to understand the financial impact of Vélib’ as there are fewer cars on the road, which means that it’s less expensive to maintain roads. Additionally, the impact on pollution and physical activity means that people tend to be healthier, which reduces the pressure on the public health system. Bike-sharing services can’t work without public money as it fosters network density, which boosts usage. Once the network reaches a critical mass, it’s a never-ending virtuous circle of network expansion and new clients. Micromobility’s key battleground

Image Credits: Romain Dillet / TechCrunch

Many startups have tried to enter the lucrative market with their own take on bike-sharing without docks. Gobee.bike, Obike, , and more recently Bolt have all deployed thousands of bikes in the streets of Paris. They’ve all shut down since then. Jump, which is now a Lime subsidiary, is the only remaining contender.

But bikes are just one transportation method among what people call ‘soft mobility’ in . A French startup called Cityscoot has also been thriving with tens of thousands of rides per day. The company operating free-floating electric moped scooter service.

And then, there are scooters. At some point, there were just too many scooter startups — Bird, Bolt, Bolt by Usain Bolt, Circ, Dott, Hive, Jump, Lime, Tier, Voi, Ufo and Wind. They all had funny-sounding names and there were even two different companies with the same name (Bolt). And I’m probably forgetting a couple of companies.

Image Credits: Romain Dillet / TechCrunch

This shows once again that Paris is an attractive city for micromobility startups. There are many tourists and you can go from A to B quite easily.

The city of Paris had to regulate the market because scooters were taking over urban space. There are now three permits to operate shared electric scooters in Paris — Dott, Lime and Tier. They each operate a fleet of 5,000 scooters and there are now dedicated parking spots. The 15-minute city

Up next, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has some ambitious plans to accelerate the pace of changes. During her reelection campaign earlier this year, she laid out a clear multiyear plan with a key concept: the 15-minute city.

“The 15-minute city represents the possibility of a decentralized city. At its heart is the concept of mixing urban social functions to create a vibrant vicinity,” Carlos Moreno, a professor at University of Paris 1, told Bloomberg.

Essentially, Moreno believes that there shouldn’t be residential neighbourhoods, business districts and commercial areas. Each neighbourhood should be a tiny town on its own with workplaces, stores, movie theaters, health centers, schools, bakeries, etc.

In addition to reducing carbon emissions, the 15-minute concept has the potential of revitalizing neighbourhoods altogether. By prioritizing social functions, roads immediately become an afterthought. The 15-minute city is a concept that sums up a lot of things in three words. Suddenly, there’s a clear political agenda with a strong brand for the next decade of urban planning.

If I paraphrase neoliberal ideology, many policies trickle down from the 15-minute city. Car ownership is relatively low in Paris — more than 60% of households don’t have a car. Even more striking, people going to work use their car extremely rarely — in 9.5% of cases.

There are two consequences. First, cars are no longer the priority. In 2024, you won’t be able to drive a diesel car in Paris. In 2030, gas-powered cars will be banned.

Some major roads are now primarily focused on ‘soft mobility’. Due to the coronavirus outbreak, the city of Paris took advantage of the lockdown to accelerate their mobility agenda with new bike lanes and repurposed roads. It feels like they’re copying the neoliberal shock doctrine, as explained by Naomi Klein. And yet, in that case, it feels like a reverse shock doctrine as the administration is focusing on green initiatives.

For instance, the Rue de Rivoli used to be a major road that connects the Champs- Elysées to Bastille. Now, one-third of the road is dedicated to buses and two-thirds are reserved for bikes and e-scooters.

Rue de Rivoli. Image Credits: Romain Dillet / TechCrunch

Second, the City of Paris wants to reclaim space. Cars in Paris remain parked 95% of the time. That’s why Paris is going to remove 50% of parking spots. Instead, the city of Paris wants to turn some streets into gardens. There are bigger plans for new parks as well in front of the city hall and between the Eiffel Tower and Trocadéro. After decades of incremental changes, everything is lining up for a drastic transition. In Paris, change happens progressively, then suddenly.

Image Credits: Romain Dillet / TechCrunch Barcelona’s Superblocks

The Catalan capital — ’s second largest city — approved a new Urban Mobility Plan in 2013 with the aim of flipping street space in favor of pedestrians and away from prioritizing private vehicles. The city has the highest vehicle density in Europe and that’s a major problem.

City authorities report vehicle density at around 6,000 per square kilometer — highlighting the deleterious impact on air quality and public health. Per official stats, traffic pollution causes 3,500 premature deaths annually, 1,800 hospital admissions for cardiorespiratory problems, 5,100 cases of bronchitis in adults, 31,100 cases in children and 54,000 asthma attacks in children and adults.

The city’s solution to this public health crisis is an ambitious pedestrianization plan focused, in recent years, on creating ‘superilles’ — also known as ‘super islands’ or ‘superblocks’ — which switch the function of a number of streets from carrying cars to putting neighbourhood life first.

One of Barcelona’s early superblocks in the Poblenou . Image Credits: Toni Hermoso Pulido / Flickr under a CC BY-SA 2.0 license

A handful of superblocks have been established over the years. Some, such as one in the Gracia barrio, is already so well established it’s all but invisible to the eye unless you stop to ask yourself how come there are so many pedestrians out and about and the cars that pass have to creep along behind them? Or why the edge of the pavement blends seamlessly into the road with no change of level.

But Barcelona is now planning a major expansion of the policy, championed by mayor Ada Colau, that will see it transform the dense, central Eixample district — creating masses more green (and low speed) urban space over the next ten years. They’re dubbing this the Barcelona superblock, given its central location and the larger scale vs what’s come before.

The superblocks model is naturally suited to micromobility — and building out the city’s network of bike lanes is a key part of the urban mobility plan.

Barcelona has had a red-liveried docked bike rental scheme — called — since 2007. Recently upgraded to include e-bikes alongside mechanical rides, the scheme isn’t yet as heavily used as its equivalent in Paris (and isn’t open to tourists as the subscription requires a local ID to obtain) but it is very popular with residents.

Per official data, Bicing had more than 127,000 subscribers as of September 2020 who racked up around 1.3 million journeys in the month.

In recent years e-scooter ownership has also mushroomed, with no specific legislation preventing private use on public roads, though rental companies have faced regulatory controls. Not that that’s prevented plenty of scooter startups — from Bird to Bolt to Wind — from scooter-bombing the city seeking to workaround restrictions.

A pair of Wind e-scooters parked in a Barcelona street in the barrio of Gracia where pedestrians and bikes already have priority over cars. Image Credits: Natasha Lomas / TechCrunch

As well as boosting biking and micromobility, the superblocks plan also aims to boost local commerce as streets flip from being ‘for cars’ to greener and more pleasant spaces where people are encouraged to meet, gather and do business.

In other traffic control policy measures, Barcelona began applying restrictions to vehicles based on their emissions at the start of this year — banning older petrol and diesel cars from entering during peak times. (The policy will apply to delivery transportation from next year.) While residents who own polluting vehicles have been encouraged to give up their cars in exchange for a free three-year public transit card (nudging people toward the existing metro, train and bus network). Righting a historical wrong

With the superblocks transformation, there’s a historical architectural challenge that Barcelona’s urban planners are aiming to overcome.

The grid structure of the central Eixample district — conceived in 1856 by Catalan civil engineer, Illdefons Cerdà — aimed to extend the growing city in a healthy way by allowing for green space within every housing block.

However, the plan was implemented with a lack of regulation that allowed infill by developers and speculators over time, fuelled by rising land values and housing prices. That gobbled up gaps in the blocks intended as open public spaces. The result is a far denser city than Cerdà had planned. And one with streets that — so long as they remain packed with petrol and diesel vehicles — are noisy, polluted and unpleasant places to hang around in. The Barcelona superblock is thus an attempt to right a historical wrong in the implementation of the city’s urban planning. Or “to modernize the Barcelona of the late nineteenth century and achieve better conditions for public health,” as city authorities put it.

It’s also a cautionary story about the need for proper regulation to accompany urban planning to ensure it serves the public interest — to protect residents’ health, quality of life and local commerce — guarding against deleterious external forces powered by private economic interests.

Around a third of Eixample’s 61 streets will be flipped to make way for a “green axes” of pedestrianized carriageway by 2030, under the Barcelona superblock plan. It will also create 21 new public squares at diagonal intersections.

The transformation of the zone will be slow, with city authorities wanting to make sure they bring residents along with them. But they have data to champion the plan — drawing on the success of a handful of existing superblocks, such as one in the Poblenou district — and can point to examples such as a third less NO2 pollution at one of the flipped interchanges and a similar increase in street level commercial activity.

The detail of the new street model has not yet been determined — the city is holding a design competition to choose that next year — but it’s set key parameters such as the need for 80% of the street to be shaded by trees/vegetation in summer, and at least 20% of its surface to be permeable rather than paved.

The city’s vision for the evolution of streets in the Barcelona superblock. Image Credits: Barcelona City Council

“It will be necessary to generate walking spaces, spaces that facilitate spontaneous children’s play and comfortable living spaces,” it writes in a press release [translated from Catalan]. “The design will have to allow for flexible spaces that can accommodate various occasional uses such as fairs, concerts and other acts. All with a feminist vision, prioritizing children and the elderly and promoting services and local trade.”

City authorities describe the aim as “a more sustainable model of public space, healthy and designed for people” — and one which “promotes social relations, which encourages local trade and focuses on the needs of children and seniors.”

They have also committed to maintain access to public transport throughout the superblocks. Work on converting the first four streets is slated to begin in the first quarter of 2022: In Consell de Cent, Girona, Rocafort and Comte Borrell. City authorities have committed $44.8 million (€37.8 million) to these first transformations — though clearly a lot more public funding will be needed to deliver the full switch.

The coronavirus pandemic has acted as a small-scale opportunity for accelerating pedestrian-focused urban remodeling — enabling city authorities to expand Barcelona’s network of bike lanes during the relative quiet of lockdowns, and install some emergency pedestrian zones to expand outdoor space as an anti-COVID-19 measure.

Some street parking around the city has also been requisitioned and repurposed to make outdoor terrace space for cafés and bars during the pandemic.

But the need to reset an urban infrastructure that’s unhealthily monopolized by motorized traffic is an issue the city has been grappling with for decades — slowly chipping away at the problem with a variety of policies, such as those that allow for temporary road closures for local events and at weekends.

So, for many Barcelona residents, it’s not controversial to say that creating healthy, commercially active urban spaces means cars giving way to foot traffic. And the 2030 ‘Barcelona superblock’ looks like it will tip the balance for good.

That said, criticism of the project includes that it’s not radical enough — leaving a number of high-speed thoroughfares to keep on slicing right through the heart of the city. So Barcelona’s creep away from cars doesn’t yet look as radical as what’s being planned in Paris.

A Bird e-scooter parked next to a bike lane in Barcelona’s Poblenou district. Image Credits: Natasha Lomas / TechCrunch London’s Low-Traffic Neighbourhoods

The UK capital has operated congestion charging in central zones of the city since 2003 — charging motorists to drive into the area in a bid to reduce road use during the busiest times. The policy made London a major European pioneer in applying controls on urban car use.

However, a lack of public and political consensus on the issue has restricted policy development for long periods — and even led to a rolling back, at the end of 2010, when then London mayor, Boris Johnson, scrapped a portion of the zone known as the western extension.

London’s huge population and sprawling size — with commercial zones tending to be clustered and concentrated away from large swathes of residential housing (which are often segregated by income) — means the issue of how to get around can be a divisive one, for people and businesses. So, it’s not an obvious candidate for going ‘car free’.

Yet, at the same time, London is extremely well served with public transport (buses, subways, trams and trains) — meaning plenty of journeys can be made without owning or using a private vehicle. There has also been investment in expanding the city’s network of cycle lanes in recent decades. And since 2010 a pay-as-you-go docked bike rental scheme has been in operation — racking up more than 10 million trips in total as of 2017.

Though, again, car-clogged streets and a Northern European climate can put limits on people’s willingness to brave the elements on two wheels.

London’s docked bike hire scheme. Image Credits: Elliott Brown / Flickr under a CC BY-SA 2.0 license Existing UK regulations have also held back the uptake of modern alternatives like e- scooters — though there are now moves to open up streets to this type of micromobility, with the city’s transport regulator preparing a trial for scooter rental companies.

While a lack of decisive political action to curb car use has undoubtedly contributed to decades of terrible air quality in London — with drastic impacts on public health (one study in 2015 suggested deaths from long term exposed to pollution could be as high as 9,500 annually) — rising awareness of the health risks associated with urban traffic has led city authorities to push policies that aim to deter the most polluting vehicles from driving through the congestion zone by applying a surcharge, which appears to have led to a decline in peak pollution levels.

London’s ‘ultra-low emission zone’ (Ulez) will be expanded to cover a larger area of the city next year. So, there’s been a centralized and somewhat sustained push to make urban car use cleaner and less harmful, even though there’s been an inconsistent approach to discouraging car use itself.

But, in a more radical recent development, the shock of the coronavirus has fuelled grassroots campaigns at a borough/neighbourhood level to bar through-traffic in residential neighbourhoods.

This is done by implementing so-called low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) which use a variety of interventions to limit traffic — such as strategically placed planters or bollards and/or timed road use restrictions to block rat runs.

Residents in a number of London boroughs who are sick of living alongside the noise and pollution generated by traffic have seized on the opportunity of COVID-19-related mobility restrictions to restrict access to roads in their immediate vicinity to through traffic.

Per Bloomberg, there were 114 plans for LTNs in the works in London as of late July.

There’s push and pull here too, with LTNs generating opposition, including complaints that rat-running cars are simply being displaced to other streets.

There are also important socioeconomic critiques that they disproportionately benefit wealthier areas at the expense of more deprived neighbourhoods.

Such opposition may in part reflect the relative rapidness of implementation since the pandemic — something a more participatory process and well-rounded monitoring and consultation might be able to avoid.

But for those lucky to be living in LTNs the gains look hard to ignore. “Now, instead of speeding cars, the streets carry street chalk, murals, flowers, and signs with children’s illustrations asking people to step out of their car and explore the neighborhood,” Bloomberg reports on the changed character of street life in one LTN.

A pedestrianized junction in Dulwich as part of emergency coronavirus measures to create more street space for people Image credits: Richard Baker / In Pictures / Getty Images

In May, London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan — who has pledged to make London carbon neutral by 2030 if he’s reelected next year — announced a ‘Streetspace’ plan: Pushing a range of policies aimed at “rapidly transforming London’s streets to accommodate a possible 10x increase in cycling and 5x increase in walking.”

The plan also explicitly encourages scooting alongside walking and cycling as an urban mobility priority in London.

Part of the motivation for the policy push has been trying to steer Londoners away from a mass regressive switch away from London’s public transport — and into cars — as lockdown restrictions ease yet the risk of COVID-19 infection lingers.

Khan’s Streetspace plan also voices support for LTNs. But, ultimately, the power to restrict London traffic rests with local councils (or central government) — leaving the mayor to “urge” government/borough councils to get on board with measures aimed at persuading Londoners to switch to “cleaner, more sustainable forms of transport”.

The lack of a central London authority with a policy plan for LTNs may limit how far or fast these through-traffic-free neighbourhoods can spread in the UK capital.

Nonetheless it’s an interesting development that shows how much appetite there is among Londoners to reclaim residential streets for neighbourhood life.

Planters block a road to through traffic as part of the London’s mayor’s Streetspace plan Image credits: Photo by Richard Baker / In Pictures / Getty Images Milan’s Open Streets

Italy’s industrial north was among the hardest hit regions in Europe during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic. An extended lockdown was implemented — clearing cars off the streets of cities like Milan for months, as businesses got shuttered and residents were confined indoors — which in turn led to a noticeable improvement in air quality in a region infamous for pollution.

Since then, authorities in Milan have seized on the enforced break with a smog-filled ‘norm’ to push forward with an experimental citywide expansion of cycling lanes and pedestrianized zones — under a mobility plan called Strade Aperte (aka Open Streets) that’s aimed at adapting city infrastructure to find space for social distancing as urban life gets opened back up.

The Open Streets plan includes dropping the speed limit to 30kmph on a majority of Milan’s roads (replacing a 50kmph maximum), via signage and incorporating some structural elements for speed control; and adding 35km to its existing bike network before the end of the year.

The city launched its docked bike rental scheme, BikeMI, in 2008.

Milan is looking to boost cycling after lockdown by expanding its network of bike lanes Image credits: Emanuele Cremaschi / Getty Images

“As the Milan 2020 Adaptation Strategy foresees, the current health crisis can be an opportunity to decide to give more space to people and improve the environmental conditions in the city, increasing more sustainable, non-polluting, means of travel and redefining the use of streets and public spaces for commercial, recreational, cultural, and sport purposes, while respecting physical distance requirements,” city authorities write in a memo on the plan.

The overarching policy push is toward the same goal as Paris’ vision: Supporting what’s described as “the neighbourhood dimension” — aka making sure every citizen has access to almost all services within 15 minutes’ walk.

This is a strategic aim while residents are forced to live alongside the virus — and some of the measures are being couched as ‘temporary’.

But while the pandemic is acting as a catalyst/justification for rapid changes, city authorities were already looking for ways to repurpose urban infrastructure to deliver health benefits to citizens, environmental gains and boost local commerce by getting people out of cars and peddling/walking through the neighbourhood.

So, it’s hard to see where the impetus would come from to advocate a reversal back to noisier, more polluted, less playful streets.

In Milan, it’s the same story: The direction of urban travel is about rethinking streets as open public spaces for people and hyper-local micromobility, rather than letting cars colonize the commons and render its roads default highways elsewhere. Addio macchina.

Scooting on a Milan street Image credits: Mairo Cinquetti / NurPhoto / Getty Images

From: https://techcrunch.com/2020/11/20/how-four-european-cities-are-embracing- micromobility-to-drive-out-cars/ Metro’s proposed budget eliminates weekend rail, closes 19 stations

Jose Umana and Dick Uliano December 1, 2020, 2:54 AM NBC Washington's Adam Tuss on Metro's proposed budget cuts With sharply reduced ridership and lacking fresh federal relief, Metro is proposing a new operating budget with a nearly $500 million deficit.

Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld said Monday the proposed 2021 budget includes closing Metrorail at 9 p.m., ending weekend service, closing 19 rail stations and reducing the number of trains, which would result in longer wait times.

“We’re facing. obviously, a historic budget crisis. It started in (fiscal year) 21 and will continue in (fiscal year) 22,” Wiedefeld said.

Everything would be reduced to “bare bones service” meant to support essential travel, while ensuring Metro survives to serve the region during a recovery.

Under the proposal, Metrobus service would be reduced to about 45% of pre- pandemic levels. Weekend bus service would be increased to account for the lack of weekend rail service.

According to Metro’s budget proposal, the 19 stations that would close are:

 Arlington Cemetery  Archives  Cheverly  Clarendon  Cleveland Park  College Park  East Falls Church  Eisenhower Avenue  Federal Center SW  Federal Triangle  Greensboro  Grosvenor-Strathmore  Judiciary Square  McLean  Morgan Boulevard  Mt. Vernon Square  Smithsonian  Van Dorn Street  Virginia Square

“This is by no means a doomsday scenario,” Wiedefeld said. “It’s really not even a worst-case scenario. A worst-case would be if revenues stayed totally flat … a doomsday would be if we had to shut down service or something worse.”

Metro’s proposed FY2022 budget includes salary freezes, layoffs and deferring wage increases for union employees.

The changes, if approved, would be effective in July.

WTOP has contacted the union representing Metro employees for comment.

While Metro is forecasting sharply lower revenue next year, its expenses are rising. In addition to employee benefits, the agency is still paying for the second phase construction of its Silver Line expansion while adopting expenses from its Cinder Bed Road Bus Garage.

Metro’s expenses have grown because of the pandemic, as it has paid more than $10 million for testing, increased personal protective equipment and cleaning.

The transit agency said riders have slowly returned, with Wiedefeld saying current data shows the return of 20-25% of the pre-pandemic ridership. While numbers are expected to increase next year, they plan to remain far below historic levels. Projections, Wiedefeld said, depend on the availability of a coronavirus vaccine and the willingness of riders to use the system.

The effects of the pandemic caused Metro to scale back its operations, with Metrorail opening at 5 a.m. and closing at 11 p.m. on weekdays. It received $876 million in federal funding in May through the CARES Act to help maintain a balanced budget, while scaling up its operations for reopening and providing coronavirus protection supplies to employees. While the transit agency restored the majority of its rail and bus services to its pre- pandemic schedule in August, Wiedefeld said at the time it faces a “looming crisis” without more federal funding.

Metro Board member Matt Letourneau of Loudoun County, Virginia, agreed, saying in September that the influx of riders expected had not returned to use mass transit.

“Quite frankly, the big ticket for our Metro system is the federal government … And I think it’s fair to say we that we were expecting more ridership to return when the federal government started recalling employees than has been the case,” he said earlier this year.

The addition of more federal aid from Congress could help avoid the cutbacks, Wiedefeld said.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser called the proposal “deeply troubling” but also a reminder of why more federal aid needs to be provided. She also said it was important for everyone “regardless of party or ideology” to come together to help Metro.

The problems Metro is facing, from reduced ridership to a budget shortfall, are not exclusive. Wiedefeld said transit agencies in Boston, New York, San Francisco and Chicago are wrestling with similar issues with no “clear sense” of when their revenues sources will return.

“The reality is, in the short term, $500 million is what we would need from the federal government basically to get back up to where we were,” Weidefeld said. “Right now, that’s basically what we’re talking about, and the sooner, the better.”

From: https://wtop.com/tracking-metro-24-7/2020/12/metros-proposed-budget- eliminates-weekend-rail-closes-19-stations/