The Future of Mobility Reimagining Walton County's Route 30a Table of Contents Produced in partnership with: P3 / About this Report P5 / Introduction P8 / Principles for the Future of Mobility along Route 30A P12 / Recommendations P12 / Locate two-way multi-modal lanes on the southern (Gulf ) side of Route 30A P16 / Reimagine Route 30A along the town square in Seaside as a shared street P18 / Create a transit system along the 30A Corridor P22 / Reform county policies to expect (and encourage) a decreased demand for parking P24 / Develop micromobility options suited for trips on 30A’s multi- modal lanes P27 / Code for an evolving mobility future Funding provided by: P30 / Tactical Urbanism Projects to Test the Future of Mobility P32 / Moving Forward Cover Photo: Seaside, Florida by air. Credit / Seaside Institute™ 2 THE FUTURE OF MOBILITY: ROUTE 30A ›› 3 About this Report The mass production of private automobiles, to manually drive, do patterns of development marketed at a price affordable to the majority become that much more sprawling? Even of Americans, did more than just transform the technology that is here today has already the way we travel; it changed our way of life. presented challenges, from the management of It enabled the construction of low-cost, mass- fleets of scooters on city streets and sidewalks produced housing outside of the traditional to the equity issues posed by the smartphone city centers. Work life and home life became ownership required to access new mobility-on- physically separated, with longer and longer demand solutions. commutes between the two. The National Interstate Highway System developed alongside Over the coming years, cities and communities this lifestyle and added 46,876 miles of highway will face all these questions and more. They will in the 50 years since its inception in 1956. Cities need to articulate a vision for how new mobility modified their streets to cater to automobile technologies can best serve all of their residents traffic and ensure it had sufficient space to park. and help them achieve a higher quality of life. Travel by car led to the rise of shopping malls Informed by this vision, they will have to put and corporate campuses, surrounded by a sea of regulatory policies in place to make it a reality. parking. These are just a few of the far-reaching But they will also have to consider how the effects this revolution in transportation had on design of their built environment will affect the One of many potential 30A street designs incorporating an autonomous shuttle. Produced by Nue Urban Concepts, which is preparing the built environment and settlement patterns. use of AVs and vice versa. Walton County's 2040 Mobility Plan. Credit / Nue Urban Concepts We now stand at the cusp of another In 2017, the National Association of government officials, and community activists) With the generous funding from the Seaside transportation revolution, one that once again City Transportation Officials (NACTO) to identify the design and policy solutions for Institute™, CNU has produced its first Future will affect more than how we get around. released its firstBlueprint for Autonomous real-world cities and towns that make this of Mobility report, to address transportation Autonomous vehicles (AVs), advances in Urbanism, which lays out a design vision for vision a reality. issues along the Route 30A corridor. The micro-mobility such as e-scooters, and incorporating AVs into the urban fabric in report was generated through the efforts dynamic parking pricing will all change the a way that encourages and accommodates This report is an initial effort in this endeavor, of CNU staff members Ben Crowther and design of cities and how we move about them. walking, bicycling, and mixed-use development. with a focus on Route 30A and South Robert Steuteville. CNU board members When deployed at scale, these new mobility NACTO’s manual marks an important turning Walton County, Florida. County planners Larry Gould (Nelson\Nygaard) and Matthew technologies will reshape the way cities and point in the AV debate, in which we stop asking are currently preparing their 2040 Mobility Lambert (DPZ CoDesign) also contributed towns across the world look and operate. whether and instead ask how we can integrate Plan, which anticipates future travel demand and authored sections of the report. Finally, AVs into communities in ways that preserve the by transitioning from a transportation many of the principles and recommendations But there is also the potential for negative public realm. system focused primarily on moving cars within rely upon the insights of Patrick consequences, especially if new modes of to a multimodal system that provides safe Siegman (Siegman & Associates), Rick transportation are implemented without a Building on this blueprint, the Congress for mobility and accessibility for people of all ages Hall (Hall Planning & Engineering, Inc.), sensitivity toward community outcomes. Certain the New Urbanism (CNU) has committed and all abilities. At the same time, the plan and Joachim Taiber (Clemson University projections and models for AVs warn of an to assisting communities implement new seeks to integrate new mobility technologies International Center for Automotive increase in vehicle miles traveled, which could transportation technologies that will support into its future multimodal system, such as Research). lead to a knee-jerk reaction of doubling down thriving urbanist communities decades an autonomous transit shuttle and shared on the amount of street space required for travel. from now. CNU has leveraged its national multimodal mobility programs. If commuters are willing to extend the time and membership (composed of architects, urban distance they travel, because they no longer have designers, transportation planners, local 4 THE FUTURE OF MOBILITY: ROUTE 30A ›› 5 Introduction The widespread introduction of new drawbacks. During peak season, the traffic on transportation technology is coming, and cities this road becomes congested at key intersections can start planning for its arrival now. and there are few alternative routes. Providing mobility for residents, extended-stay tourists, As a champion of walkable urbanism and commuting workers, and day-trippers is a top placemaking, the Congress for the New priority for the county, which is developing a Urbanism is exploring how these new 2040 Mobility Plan that will address multi- technologies affect the overall planning and modal transportation, land use, and parking development patterns of cities, towns, and along the corridor. regions. We are also offering recommendations for the implementation of these new The 2040 Mobility Plan also looks to new technologies in ways that support complete transportation technologies along 30A—like neighborhoods and create vibrant, inclusive electric, shared autonomous vehicles (AVs)—as places. Regardless of how we travel in the future, a potential solution for the mobility issues faced the first and last part of every journey will always by those who travel the corridor. However, these Beep's autonomous shuttle operating along a pilot route in Seaside's town center. Credit / Rob Steuteville take place on foot. solutions need to be implemented in a way that does not compromise the qualities that make the Workshop Description and 30A communities places people love. Route 30A Division, individuals, organizations, and Based on these principles, it also makes Context is an important test of how to reconcile design businesses who participated in the workshop and short- and long-term recommendations for for local walkability with the demands of new exposition. street design along 30A, transit planning, Forty years ago, Route 30A in Walton County, mobility technologies. pricing policies for parking, micromobility Florida, began an experiment with New The Report implementation, and coding. Urbanism—with the development of Seaside— On February 6th, 2020, CNU and theSeaside that would spread across America and overseas. Institute™ convened a workshop in Seaside Formulated from the results of the workshop in Finally, it offers two tactical urbanism projects This coastal corridor, anchored by a series of to discuss national trends in autonomous Seaside, this report includes seven principles to that Walton County can implement right away small, walkable towns like Seaside, Rosemary urbanism as they related to Walton County’s guide the development of Walton County’s 2040 as demonstrations of these future mobility Beach, and Alys Beach, is one of the region’s 2040 Mobility Plan for Route 30A. Speakers Mobility Plan: principles. unique assets and there is a strong desire to addressed topics including the design of 30A, 1. Design walkable streets preserve its special, walkable character. transit along the route, the right price for While the principles and recommendations it parking, and the infrastructure required to 2. Prioritize community over includes are geared toward Walton County’s The 17-mile-long 30A provides access to the operate autonomous vehicles. Following these transportation technology 2040 Mobility Plan, they are also highly relevant beachfront in Walton County, which has a presentations, the public was invited to test ride 3. Design efficient and effective transit to other communities about to undertake similar rapidly growing population of 71,000. This an autonomous shuttle, provided by the company transportation plans and projects. section of beach has become an international Beep, which operates