GOP Can Go Urban to Win

Former Republican vice presidential candidate Rep. Paul Ryan, one of the GOP's intellectual leaders, opined that the sharp disparity between Republican and Democratic support in urban areas was a principal reason why President Obama won a second term.  A suburban strategy worked for the GOP during the Reagan era in the 1980's, but floundered beginning in 1992.  Looking back a quarter century from the end of President Obama's second term in 2016, Democrats will have controlled the White House for 16 years, compared to 8 years for Republicans.  The tide shifted most strongly a half a decade ago, when young people started moving back into urban environments, turning their backs on suburban tract living.  The fact that Democratic support is getting younger and Republican support is getting older is not a welcome trend to those concerned about the GOP's long-term future.   

It's not a matter of "communicating better."  The communications were quite clear.  The GOP Platform embraced the nutty notion of opposing a non-existent United Nations conspiracy with local officials to implement sustainability called "Agenda 21."  The GOP, and Rep. Ryan's own budget, called for severely cutting funding for Amtrak, even though its subsidies are only 15% compared to more than 50% for highway projects.  High speed rail was mostly jettisoned due to opposition from GOP Governors in Ohio, Wisconsin, and here in Florida and by GOP members of Congress, ensuring that our intercity transportation infrastructure will remain far behind Europe and many developing countries.  (Private industry would have operated the Florida system and borne any cost overruns--guaranteed by a surety bond.)  An America where kids can't walk to school is an America that has lost part of its heritage.  Yet Republican members of Congress tried to gut funding for bicycling and pedestrian safety, including the popular Safe Routes to School program, which funds sidewalk construction to protect children. 

If the GOP wants to win national elections, it should adopt pro-urban policies consistent with Republican ideals--lean, efficient government, with responsibilities and funding mechanisms shifted from the Federal to the local level.   Republican Rep. Daniel Webster, one of our most decent local elected officials, realizes that small town values resonate inherently with the GOP, as seen in this political ad, featuring the safe, walkable streets of downtown Winter Garden:

 


As a member of the House Transportation Committee, Rep. Webster has an opportunity to take over the mantle of departing Republican Rep. Steve LaTourette and outgoing Republican Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, who recognize the reality that communities designed for walking and bicycling are essential elements of efficient and cost-effective transportation networks.  Funding sprawl is expensive and inefficient.  Moreover, the GOP cannot maintain its ascendancy in small towns when highways plow them over, devastating central business districts.  The GOP cannot credibly talk about enabling people to rise out of poverty while, at the same time, cutting transit funding, a vital link for those living under the poverty line to get to work.  Development patterns making it impossible for kids to walk or bike to school safely undermine the conservative value of self-reliance.  The bipartisan Complete Streets movement, dedicated to making our thoroughfares safer, is one that Republicans should more fully embrace as part of a wider urban strategy.   

You can find more thoughtful analysis of the urban political divide HERE, HERE, and HERE.

11/26/12 NOTE: Locally, the Republican Mayors of Orange County, Florida and Winter Park, Florida, both of whom are fiscal conservatives, have publicly supported Complete Streets.   

Winter Park Fire Department Respects Narrow Streets

Phelps Avenue, Winter Park, FL, is narrower than the typical 24 foot or wider roads found in newer suburbia.    Narrower roads slow traffic and are safer for kids, although the curb radius shown in the photo above is somewhat excessive and induces higher speed turns than necessary.    

Fire departments around the country often oppose construction of narrow streets out of concern such streets could delay a life saving response.  Unfortunately, wide streets make vehicular travel faster and more dangerous for kids playing, bicyclists, and other motorists.  I have heard more than one planner lament that fire departments do not purchase smaller and more maneuverable trucks.

Winter Park, Florida has many beautiful, tree canopy-covered narrow streets, many paved with bricks generations ago.  The Winter Park Fire Department recently purchased a new fire truck to better maneuver those narrow streets.   The story below, summarizing a City Commission meeting, appears in the Winter Park-Maitland Observer at this LINK:

  More than a year ago, the department initiated discussions that led to a change in the type of aerial apparatus it would purchase to replace the existing unit. Seeing an opportunity to improve efficiency and mobility, the modern design of this unit will offer the department the following efficiencies and added benefits:
• Increased maneuverability through traffic,
• Quicker access to some of the city’s narrow streets and turns which are more difficult to negotiate,
• Additional 300-cubic-feet of storage space
o The use of a long trailer design where one firefighter sits in the rear allows for the consolidation of existing tools and equipment onto one unit
This new firefighting unit combines the technology of today with the proven maneuverability of tiller-driven trucks. The new tractor-drawn aerial truck represents the return of an apparatus style that is seeing resurgence around the country. Winter Park joins other Florida cities such as Tampa, Jacksonville and Clearwater, which have recently returned these maneuverable units to their fire apparatus fleet.

Paint Bike Lanes Green

One of the green bike lane configurations approved by FDOT for  State-maintained thoroughfares.

Various studies conclude that bike lanes painted green are safer than conventional bike lanes.  The Florida Department of Transportation determined that more motorists signalized their intention to turn and a significantly higher percentage of motorists yielded to cyclists after painting a bike lane green.  In another study, painting a bike lane green reduced motorist encroachment on the bike lane by 40%.   The Portland Bike Lane study supports coloring bike lanes and cites additional studies from around the world.  Green paint (or in some cities, blue paint) undoubtedly makes motorists more aware of bike lanes.   

By visually narrowing the drive area, motorists will slow-down somewhat, improving safety for everyone.  Motorist speeds at Prospect Park, where New York City installed a protected green bike lane, declined by about 25%.  Green buffered bike lanes--also known as "cycle tracks"--will significantly increase bicyclist use.  One study concluded that the green buffered lane increased cycling 52 percent overall, 250 percent overall on weekends, 100% overall among women, and 650% among women on weekends.  Cyclists obviously feel safer with this type of infrastructure, and one study showed cycle tracks as the safest available biking infrastructure in an urban setting.  New York City reports cycling increased more than 50% after installation of a protected bike lane, while  car crashes decreased by more than a third.  Yet another study found a strong correlation between adding this type of infrastructure and economic development--in fact a 49% increase in retail sales on one street.  


Prospect Park Buffered Green Bike Lane (www.Streetfilms.org) -- inspiration for Central Florida.

The Florida Department of Transportation has approved of green bike lanes on State Highways, but only where the lanes conflict with turning motorist traffic.  Take a look at Chapter 8.4.2.2 of FDOT's Plans Preparation Manual.  It's a start. 

In June 2011, the American Journal of Public Health published a study whose authors conclude, "To prevent crashes at intersections, we recommend installation of 'bike boxes' and markings that indicate the path of bicycle lanes across intersections."  You can view the abstract HERE.      

Finally, here is a LINK to the Federal Highway Administration's interim approval of green bike lanes.

In Winter Park, green bike lanes should be considered for next to Brookshire Elementary School (under reconstruction), Fairbanks Avenue (an FDOT thoroughfare set for reconstruction with a new sewer system),  and where cross streets intersect the Lakemont Avenue bike lanes.

Green paint costs pennies per linear foot.  It's well worth the lives it could save.  

Government Subsidies for Highways Far Exceed Amtrak's

The Atlantic Cities is running an interesting piece by Eric Jaffe about Amtrak's record-setting ridership.  Notably, ticket purchases cover 85% of Amtrak's costs overall, and the northeast corridor turns a profit.  The 15% subsidy given to Amtrak--which primarily sustains long-distance interstate travel--pales in comparison to the 54% subsidy the Federal Government gives for highway spending in excess of gas tax receipts.   

Federal Housing Administration Raises Cap on Commercial Space

The Congress for the New Urbanism ("CNU") won a battle with the federal government to loosen a pernicious regulation restricting commercial space in mixed-use residential buildings.  The new regulation, which increases the cap on commercial space from 25% to 35%, will enable U.S.-government chartered Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac to purchase mortgage debt on the secondary market for a larger variety of mixed-use buildings.  The goal is to make primary lending for such development more attractive.  Here is a LINK to the CNU write-up and related press coverage. 

Rise in Childhood Obesity Concerns U.S. Military

Reuters is running a story that concern is growing within the United States military about the impact of childhood obesity on future recruitment.  Here's the LINK. 

Life Expectancy Declining in U.S.

The New York Times today published a story at this LINK about declining life expectancy in the United States over the last decade, particularly among lesser educated segments of the population.  Remarkably, more than 40 countries have achieved a longer life expectancy than those of us living in the United States.  Our sedentary lifestyles resulting from suburban development patterns are a chief cause of this trend, along with the prolific availability of high-fat, cheap fast food.  Very concerning. 

Complete Streets Spreading in South Florida

Here's a LINK to a recent article about the spread of "complete streets," that is, streets designed for all modes of travel, in South Florida. 

Chicago's Ambitious Pedestrian Plan

The Chicago Department of Transportation has released an extensive plan with an ambitious goal of eliminating pedestrian fatalities within a decade.  Here's a LINK to the Plan.

Page on Road Diets from the Chicago Pedestrian Plan

I took this photo of a pedestrian plaza outside the Wrigley building.  Chicago is one of my favorite walking cities. 

A More Sophisticated "Level of Service" Needed

The Florida legislature repealed Florida Statutes § 163.3180(10), which required the Florida Department of Transportation to adopt rules for Levels of Service on highways and thoroughfares maintained by the FDOT.  FDOT is in the process of repealing the regulations that implemented the repealed statute.

In Florida, the concept of Level of Service grades thoroughfares on a scale of "A" though "F," based on standards set by the Transportation Research Board Highway Capacity Manual and the FDOT's Quality/Level of Service Handbook.  Level of Service "A" generally means free-flowing motorist traffic while "F" means gridlock.  The concept seemed like a good idea in 1992, when the Florida adopted the statute.  However, along with other factors, including transportation concurrency, the concept of Levels of Service resulted in ever-widening thoroughfares that have become incredibly expensive to maintain.  In fact, Levels of Service became a measure impossible to attain in many instances, based on available financial resources. Interstate 4 is an "F," while the cost of raising its grade to a "D," much less an "E," as required by the Florida Administrative Code, reaches into the billions. 

Walking and biking have become increasingly unpleasant and hazardous, with hundreds of Floridians (including dozens of children) killed each year.  The wider thoroughfares ironically made driving more stressful and generated increased traffic.  A simple crossing of the roadway became hazardous, if not in a car.

The goal of enabling traffic to pass through an area quickly--think Pine Hills--facilitated economic disinvestement.  Access to properties at corners became more difficult, resulting in gas stations and other corner businesses closing and creating highway slums. 

While Florida remains on a deregulation streak at the State level, I am not aware of any local government with plans to discard the concept of Level of Service.  A more appropriate measure of Level of Service would incorporate all modes of transportation--motorist, walking, and biking--with differing weight to each mode depending on the context of surrounding development.  In a compact urban area--think downtown--walking and biking would have greater weight than on a suburban or rural highway.  The existing model, however, gives no weight whatsoever to walking, biking, or the context of surrounding development. 

As FDOT repeals these outdated regulations, I can only think, "Good riddance."