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Repair Priorities 2019It's Infrastructure Week again and politicians are back at it—bemoaning our "crumbling roads and bridges" and insisting we must spend more to fix the problem. But we've got some cold water to throw on this pity party: Despite more transportation spending over the last decade, the percentage of the roads nationwide in “poor condition” increased from 14 percent to 20 percent. Two thirds of states actually saw the percentage of their roads in poor condition increase from 2009-2017. That's the headline from a new report by Transportation for America—Repair Priorities 2019—which finds that states are still neglecting basic repair in favor of costly road expansions and widenings. Even when given more flexibility by Congress to spend money as they see fit, states, on average, routinely spent as much money expanding their road networks ($21.3 billion) as they did repairing their existing roads ($21.4 billion) each year. In short, our infrastructure issue isn't the money problem that the president and policymakers in Congress would have you believe it is. It's really a policy problem. “While a handful of states are doing an admirable job putting their money where their mouth is by devoting the bulk of their federal dollars to repair, " said Beth Osborne, director of Transportation for America, "many other states are spending vastly more on expanding their roads or building new ones—creating new liabilities in the process—even as their existing system falls into disrepair.” See the full report for a breakdown of spending and road conditions by state and recommendations for federal policy makers to get our nation back on track. And join us for a webinar tomorrow at 3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT to learn more and hear directly from some state DOT officials.
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The Best Complete Streets Policies of 2018In 2005, just 35 communities had adopted Complete Streets policies. By the end of last year that number stood at 1,477 policies—in rural areas, small towns, mid-sized suburbs, and big cities that have all realized the benefits of Complete Streets. A new report, The Best Complete Streets Policies of 2018, celebrates the work of these communities to make their streets safer, healthier, and more equitable and evaluates the 66 Complete Streets policies that were passed in 2018. This is the first time that our new and improved grading framework that emphasizes equity and implementation was used to grade policies, raising the bar for policy language. But the high scores in our top 10 are evidence of the fact that communities can, and will, rise to the challenge. Check out the full report for the grades and profiles of a few of the top communities. For more information about the new grading framework and what other communities can learn from 2018's policies join us for a webinar this Thursday at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT.
Opportunity rising at this year's Leadership SummitLast November, Amazon selected part of Arlington County, VA as one of the locations for its HQ2. Across the Potomac River from DC, Amazon's new home—rebranded as "National Landing"—will be the site of this year's LOCUS Leadership Summit from June 23-25. The Summit will kick off on Sunday, June 23 with a walking tour of National Landing covering the vision for walkable urban development to come. On Monday, sessions will cover lessons that other communities can learn from Amazon's HQ2, the impacts of climate change on the real estate market, how communities can attract responsible Opportunity Zone investment, and the role of transit-oriented development in solving the housing crisis. We'll also unveil our landmark Foot Traffic Ahead report, which ranks walkable places in America's largest metros. If you like smart growth, there's a place for you at the LOCUS Leadership Summit. Register to reserve your spot at the conference today.
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ON THE BLOGBike to work/school days often highlight failures of public policy: It's Bike to Work Week (and Infrastructure Week, yes) and advocates and policy makers around the country are working hard to make streets safer. But the messages some twitter accounts were sending on Bike to School Day—which was last Wednesday—inadvertently highlight how far we still have to go to make sure everyone can safely use the road. Read more on the blog >> Getting the pulse of Richmond, VA: This month on the podcast Building Better Communities with Transit we’re joined by Maritza Pechin, a planner with AECOM who works with city staff in Richmond, VA on long-range planning. On the podcast, Maritza talks about the city's new bus rapid transit line—the Pulse—and the broader bus network redesign. In a wide ranging conversation, Jeff Wood and Maritza discuss how the new system is bringing people back to transit, how the city might tackle housing affordability, and what big ideas the city is considering for the future. Catch the new podcast episode on the blog >> Trump administration undercuts multimodal funding: Under President Trump, the U.S. Department of Transportation has effectively turned the formerly innovative BUILD program—created to advance complex, hard-to-fund, multimodal projects—into little more than a rural roads program, dramatically undercutting both its intent and utility. That's the main finding of a new analysis from Transportation for America using a decade of data on the TIGER/BUILD program. Learn more and read the full analysis >> What makes a good form-based code? It’s time to pick the nation’s top form-based code! While this type of zoning is catching on, some form-based codes can miss the mark if they deviate from best practices. That’s where the Form-Based Codes Institute’s standards—and the Driehaus Award—come in. Learn more about what seperates a so-so zoning code from the truly commendable on the blog >> Small-scale manufacturing hits its stride in Knoxville and Youngstown: This year’s small-scale manufacturing technical assistance funded by the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) is well underway with six new communities. We recently caught up with two communities we helped in 2016—Knoxville, TN and Youngstown, OH—to learn about their achievements with local makers. Their progress illustrates the potential for high-quality jobs and placemaking opportunities tied to this emerging sector. Read the full story on the blog >> |
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AnnouncementsSponsor a class on form-based codes: The Form-Based Codes Institute (FBCI) at Smart Growth America is looking for communities to sponsor their highly-regarded classes on form-based codes. Our expert instructors engage participants at all levels, provide professional accreditation, and build a comprehensive understanding of what’s wrong with current regulations and how form-based codes can be a remedy. Join the smart growth team: We're currently hiring for three different positions: Economic Development Program Associate, LOCUS Massachusetts Policy & Communications Fellow, and Senior Executive Assistant to the President and CEO. Think you know someone who might be a good fit? Share these posting with your network! FTA proposes update to joint development guidance: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has proposed updating its guidance on joint development. According to FTA, "the changes would increase flexibility for transit agencies to pursue joint development projects, resulting in more value capture opportunities that help create value for both transit systems and surrounding communities." Comments are open until June 3, 2019. Nominate a smart growth developer: Do you know a real estate developer, investor, or company creating great walkable places and demonstrating public leadership to advance smart growth development? If so, nominate them for the 2019 LOCUS National Leadership Awards. Nominations close this Thursday, May 16. HeadlinesStories being shared around the Smart Growth America office this week
ON THE CALENDARConnect with SGA staff in all corners of the country
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