EPA Releases Guide to Sustainable Transportation Performance Measures

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) supports a State and Local Climate and Energy Program that provides technical assistance, analytical tools, and outreach support to state, local, and tribal governments. The following information was delivered recently via email listserv: 

EPA's Office of Sustainable Communities has published a Guide to Sustainable Transportation PerformanceMeasures. The guide describes opportunities for transportation agencies to incorporate environmental, economic, and social sustainability into decision-making through the use of performance measures. Performance measures allow decision-makers to quickly observe the effects of a proposed transportation plan or project, or to monitor trends in transportation system performance over time. The guide describes 12 performance measures that can readily be used in transportation decision-making, and for each, it presents possible metrics, summarizes analytical methods and data sources, and illustrates its use by one or more transportation agencies.

The Guide to Sustainable Transportation Performance Measures is available at http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/transpo_performance.htm.

Transportation Secretary on biking, walking, and "what Americans want"

In an April 5 interview with the New York Times, Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood talks about the recently updated United States Department of Transportation Policy Statement on Bicycle and Pedestrian Accommodation. Secretary LaHood continues to characterize the policy update as a "sea change." He also states that the support for bicycle and pedestrian investments is "what Americans want."

April 14 Note: "Transportation's Bicycle Policy Hits Potholes"
The Seattle Times / Associated Press reports some backlash from "some conservatives and industries dependent on trucking" concerning the recent announcements of Secretary LaHood.

Transportation Satire, Anyone?

The Project for Public Spaces isssued an e-newsletter today that makes for some interesting early April reading. ;-)

Cars illegally occupy prime real estate in Atlanta.

"The Transportation Prescription"

A coalition consisting of PolicyLink, Prevention Institute and Convergence Partnership has published a report entitled, The Transportation Prescription: Bold New Ideas for Healthy, Equitable Transportation Reform in America that accompanies an edited volume of detailed transportation and health policy advocacy.

The policy perspective addresses a wide variety of issues and choices in the broad field of transportation, while continually returning to public health as a focal point.

The Foreward to the report is contributed by Congressman James Oberstar, Chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Congress is currently considering a successor to the current surface transportation legislation, last enacted in 2005. This legislation will directly affect the investment of billions of dollars in transportation infrastructure and programs.

“Environmental sustainability, access, and our collective well-being must combine with mobility and safety as the cornerstones of our transportation investments. The following report represents an important contribution to our emerging understanding of the connections between transportation and public health and is an invaluable resource for policymakers and all those interested in building healthy communities. With a greater recognition of the strong linkage between public health and transportation, I believe we can build a network that supports our mobility and creates access and economic strength while promoting equity, sustaining our good health and quality of life.”

Representative Jim Oberstar

Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee