The TDM Professional

Vanquishing the Density Demon

In an in-depth article (Vanquishing the Density Demon, August 13, 2007) this morning by Jim Bacon, of Bacon's Rebellion - The Op/Ed Page for Virginia's New Economy - we learn that Arlington County's efforts are an example for growing without making traffic congestion worse. Says Mr. Bacon:

"There's no reason that higher density has to mean worse traffic congestion. In the face of population growth and commercial development, Arlington County has kept its streets gridlock-free...Arlington is the leading jurisdiction in Virginia -- and a pace-setter nationally -- in creating innovative alternatives to the auto-centric society. It has come as close as anyone to finding the formula for reconciling population growth, commercial development and quality of life."

Mr. Bacon interviewed County officials, did some extensive touring and with the help of some traffic statistics paints a vivid picture of how this has come to be. One part of the story that we are particularly happy to see is that Mr. Bacon recognized the importance of TDM as a critical part of Arlington's success.

"To understand how Arlington has vanquished the density demon, it is necessary to look at three distinct but interrelated sets of policies: 1) Creating transportation options, 2) enforcing appropriate land use policies, and 3) marketing the one-car lifestyle to citizens."

Regarding # 3 he goes on to say that:

"Infrastructure and land use are critical, but there's one more essential step: marketing. Americans are so accustomed to relying on their automobiles, they need some hand-holding to learn how to use the subway and bus. That's where Chris Hamilton's commuter services come in. Arlington County aggressively markets the transit alternatives. Besides supporting the three commuter stores, Arlington maintains an elaborate wesite, a call center and an outreach program with major employers."

Transportation and land-use development fans should enjoy the article.

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Chris Hamilton is the Commuter Services Chief for Arlington County, manager of CommuterPageBlog and a biking/Metro commuter from Rosemont in Alexandria.

The Radical Face of the Carfree Movement

From the Carfree USA blog we find Realty Times Columnist and former New Jersey Deputy Attorney General Stuart Liberman. As Carfree notes Mr. Liberman is no "crazy hippie" or "eco-radical." So it's really cool that he writes so forcefully about using transportation options (How to Use Less Gas: Alternative Transportation, July 17, 2007; Realty Times). Some of his ideas:

• sell your car
• use carsharing
• consider biking
• take a look at carpool programs
• consider commuter vans
• find location assistance

And if you must have a car, he says, at least get rid your of your SUV if you have one.

Enjoy.

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Chris Hamilton is the Commuter Services Chief for Arlington County, manager of CommuterPageBlog and a biking/Metro commuter from Rosemont in Alexandria.

TDM Folks Take a Bow for Helping To Reduce Drive Alone Rate

The D.C. Examiner's Sprawl and Crawl reporter Steve Eldridge (pictured here) gives some credit to local TDM agencies in his column about the area's drive alone rate going down (Survey: Fewer D.C. Commuter Take Lonely Road, July 20, 2007; Examiner) this morning. Mr. Eldridge cites MWCOG Commuter Connections State of the Commuter 2007 survey results that report the drive alone rate in the region has gone down to 71 percent from 74.1 percent in the 2004 survey and mentions how this goes against the national upward trend of the drive alone rate now at 77%. Says Mr. Eldridge:

"These numbers show that the money being spent in this region to provide alternatives for commuting is paying dividends."

I believe us TDM practitioners should take this as a compliment for the work we do. We certainly have played our part in concert with the folks who put the transportation options infrastructure (transit, HOV lanes, P&R lots, etc.) on the street. TDM folks take a bow. And now let's get back to work and reduce that 71%!

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Chris Hamilton is the Commuter Services Chief for Arlington County, manager of CommuterPageBlog and a biking/Metro commuter from Rosemont in Alexandria