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SSTI news for April 9, 2019

A crosswalk and bus stop along Nolensville Pike creates a safer crossing for people walking or rolling in Nashville. (Image courtesy of Jessica Wilson, TDOT)

The Tennessee Department of Transportation adopted a "multimodal access" policy in 2015, but recognized that the policy alone would have limited impact without a more comprehensive approach to improving safety for everyone. Since then, TDOT has taken steps to update its practices across the department to improve safety and access for people walking, biking, and taking transit, bringing a Complete Streets approach into all of the internal machinery that makes the agency run. Many of the changes TDOT has made could be replicated or adapted by other states. [more]

As part of its recently passed budget, the state of New York is allowing for congestion tolling to be implemented in New York City. Lawmakers believe congestion tolling will not only reduce city vehicle traffic levels but also provide a new source of revenue to fund and maintain New York City’s aging subway system. More importantly, however, New York’s plan may serve as a tipping point for other cities in the United States to finally move forward with their own congestion tolling systems. [more]

As suburban and urban areas infill, more bicyclists and pedestrians may use arterial corridors, and conflict with motor vehicles and resulting crashes can increase. When residents demand protection from traffic dangers to create more walkable, livable neighborhoods, state DOTs are increasingly called on to shift their focus from exclusively measuring the level of service provided to drivers, to designing for the safety and accessibility of pedestrians and cyclists. [more]

The Whim app, launched a year ago in Helsinki, partners with local public and private transportation providers, bundling transit and taxi fares, bike share trips, and other mobility services into a monthly subscription, with tickets based on the regional mode choice and travel behavior. A recent analysis of the data shows that this Mobility as a Service app allows residents to use the existing system more efficiently and improve their choices for each trip. [more]

There’s no shortage of research suggesting that longer commutes can take a toll on workers’ health and happiness. But if that doesn’t concern employers and public officials, a new study out of Australia shows that longer commutes also translate into lower job performance and considerably more missed work. [more]

• VMT moderates after recession-driven swings
• Methodology for prioritizing streets for multimodal treatments
• A tool to estimate the added VMT from highway expansions
• Lessons from nine states bringing ‘practical solutions’ from policy to practice
• Larger cities offering TNC trips to improve transit options