Sustainable Transit as an Engine for Economic Growth

1. Sustainable Transit as an Engine for Economic Growth Harriet Tregoning, Director of Office of Economic Resilience, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

2. Early Lessons on Sustainable Transit

3. Early Lessons on Sustainable Transit Goals of Smart Growth • Support and enhance existing communities • Preserve natural resources and farmland • Save on the cost of new infrastructure

4. Early Lessons on Sustainable Transit Vision of change Visualizations courtesy of Steve Price www.urban-advantage.com

5. Engageleading local governments

6. Early Lessons on Sustainable Transit Below Ground Utilities Mixed-UseResidential and Commercial TOD District High Density Development Median forLight Rail Bike Lanes Street Trees Each of these is a zoning change

7. Early Lessons on Sustainable Transit

8. Moving DC into the Future “In just one generation—20 years—the District of Columbia will be the healthiest, greenest, and most livable city in the United States.” – Mayor Vincent C. Gray

9. Multi-Modal Transportation: investments in quality of life Moving DC into the Future 1977: Metrorail opened 1991: Metrorail Green Line opened 2005: Public-private funded New York Avenue Metro Station opens 2005: DC Circulator Bus launched FY2008: $8 million in street improvements 2009: DC’s first bike sharing station opened; 1st on East Coast 2010: Capital Bikesharelaunched 2011: 11th Street Bridge reconstruction completed 2012: 1st segment of Anacostia RiverwalkTrail completed 2013: 6 million Capital Bikeshare trips completed; bike counts up nearly 20% from 2012 2013: Streetcar testing on H Street began, service to start Spring 2014

10. Moving DC into the Future Jobs/ Quality of Life/Affordability Fiscal benefits Real estate development Expanding Choice

11. Savings add up to $4,000 to $16,000 per year DC spends 11 percent ontransportationvs. 19 percent US = discretionary income • 81.6% of DC households are car-lite (<1 cars) • 38% of DC households do not own any vehicles • 46% of all trips by foot, bike or transit • 54% of all commuting trips by foot, bike or transit

12. Transit accessibility = Real estate value & competitiveness 84% of regional office space under construction within ¼ mile of Metro station 28% of region’s real estate value within ½ mile of Metrorail but only 4% of land area 1812 North Moore St Rossyln Metro (VA) (under construction) Park 7 Minnesota Ave Metro (DC) (under construction)

13. Transportation as a revitalization strategy: NoMa Transportation as a revitalization strategy: H Street, NE Photos: NoMa BID

14. Sustainable Communities Initiative • In total, 1,500 applications over two years from every state in the nation • 400 Congressional letters of support • We have 74 Sustainable Communities Regional Planning grantees, and 69 Community Challenge grantees. • SCI grants cover 119 million people in 48 states and the District of Columbia. • This represents 39% or two-fifths of the US population.

15. Grantees Map

16. Transit Trends • Americans want public transit– now more than ever • In 2013 Americans took 10.7 billion trips on public transportation • Highest annual ridership in 57 years! • Statistic courtesy of APTA  • In 2013, public transit rides rose by 1.1%, while miles driven increased 0.3%

17. SCI Grantees and Transportation • Of our 143 Grantees, 86 are working on increasing transportation choice • Transportation choice includes making transit available for bikes, pedestrians, having mutimodal transit options, and complete streets • 70 Grantees are working on public transit– which includes bus, Bus Rapid Transit, light rail, and subway systems City of Columbia Mall Frontage

18. Location Affordability Portal • Housing and transportation go hand-in-hand • Together, they make up almost half of the average household’s budget • HUD and DOT’s new tool– the Location Affordability Index– measures the cost of housing while taking transportation into account • It was even mentioned in a recent BusinessWeek article on income and housing • www.locationaffordability.info

19. City of Boston, MA • Awarded over $1.8 million in a HUD Community Planning Challenge Grant in 2012 • This helped fund the Fairmount Line Smart Growth Corridor Project, which facilitates mixed-use and transit-oriented development along the Fairmount Commuter Rail Line • This project connects residents of neighborhoods along the line with downtown, job centers, and each other www.mtba.com

20. City of Providence, RI • Awarded a $1.75 million HUD Community Planning Challenge Grant in 2011 • Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) is using this grant to improve 3 existing routes, and to create Rhode Island’s first rapid bus route, the R Line • Through the TransART program, local artwork is displayed at bus shelters to enhance both beauty and community connectivity www.ripta.com

21. Denver, CO • Denver Regional Council of Governments received a $4.5 million Regional Planning Grant • This helped to We specifically helped to support work around three rail lines: Gold, East, and Northwest Rail (Commuter Rail and US 36 BRT) • This will result in access to job opportunities, lower combined transportation and housing costs, reduced consumption of fossil fuels, reduced strain on our air and water resources, and “urban centers” along transit lines www.denverregionalequityatlas.org/

22. Metropolitan Transportation Commission: Oakland, CA • Awarded over $4.99 million to develop a San Francisco Bay Area Regional Prosperity Plan for the Nine County San Francisco Bay Area Region • The Plan preserves affordable housing in transit-served communities • Its many goals include job creation through investment in regional infrastructure, and creation of jobs in and small businesses in transit-served job centers www.mtc.ca.gov

23. Future Transit is: • Green • Reliable • Inclusive • Safe • Affordable • Fast • Smart • Available