How do you plan transportation to promote smart growth?

I'd push back on the claim that smart growth is a goal of transportation planning. It *could* be, but that would require transportation planners to say things like, "We need to abandon Level of Service analysis because it directly conflicts with smart growth goals." If a local government is your client, you have the opportunity to help them plan the future they want, as opposed to the future they think is inevitable. Analyze travel behavior, but don't pretend people must always maintain today's habits. (e.g. There was a time when remote work was unthinkable.)

Transportation planning for smart growth necessitates a meticulous and multifaceted approach. To achieve this, an exhaustive evaluation of current and future requirements becomes paramount. This involves comprehensive data gathering and analysis of travel behaviours, mode choice, O-D analysis, expenses, and preferences. By integrating demographic, economic, and land use projections, a projection of future transport demand is established. This foundational step unveils prevalent issues and prospects for enhancement, serving as a bedrock for informed decision-making in pursuit of compact, mixed-use, and transit-oriented development that curtails urban sprawl, safeguards natural assets, and enriches overall quality of life.

If you involved in a smart growth oriented transportation planning process then future land use is not a land use projection it is a land use plan. That is the key element of smart growth planning, it is a plan based on the type of land use you are trying to achieve. Every thing else flows from that... including the type and size of the transportation system.

I cannot think of a better transport system in the world than Prague, Czechia, where I live now. Back in 2015 they decided to encourage people to use public transport, so they reduced the price of annual public transport subscription from 4850 czech crowns (equivalent to 200 euros) to 3650 czech crowns (equivalent to 150 euros) making it cost just 10 crowns per day. Also, they integrated different modes of public transport (metros, trams, buses) allowing passengers to transfer between these means of transport with 1 single ticket that can be valid for up to 3 days, which means less headache for tourists who know nothing about the transport system in the city. And also, they assured high quality services regarding ponctuality and safety.

I would go further to add 2 other considerations: First, the assessment of past conditions. Many of the conditions of the system now are directly related to decisions driven by past conditions. ROW and utility coordination over time have real life implications for the operation of infrastructure now. Second doing a broad assessment of "upstream/downstream" can be crucial to understanding bottlenecks, congestion and overall performance later.

We need to engage not just the public, but the actual people who use the roads for their businesses - the taxi drivers, delivery drivers, uber drivers, truck drivers, etc. They all need to be specifically engaged. This is their bread and butter and should have a huge stakeholder interest. Then of course this needs to align with the vision, values, and goals of the community.

One of my favorite ideas I've stolen (and suggest you steal it from me) is to help opposing stakeholders shift from stated positions to shared interests. For example, nobody wants their road jam packed with cars. One person will say "I want to ride my bike." Another will say "I'll never ride a bike." Their stated positions are forever at odds. But they both want fewer cars on the road. A network of safe & convenient bicycle infrastructure is a shared interest.

Easier said that done. There must be a strategy to involve as much public opinion as possible. In large scale transportation planning exercises, seeking public opinion is reduced to 'tokenism'. A researcher must be careful in sifting through various opinions to identify the actual needs of the communities.

The goals and objectives of transportation planning are often overlooked because they are assumed to be understood by everybody. That simply is not true and therefore can't be ignored. The cynic in me likes to point out the transportation project that is obsolete in less time it took to build it. So, without education, outreach and awareness a successful project to deal with specific issues (safety, maintenance, etc.), the general public sees a failure. (Probably wondering why those "professionals" are hired again for future work.)

How do you plan transportation to promote smart growth. Transportation is way of life if properly plan to meet the needs of the user. Transportation is the movement of people and goods from one place to another through different means of transport. However, smart transportation is the movement of people and goods through the use of modern technological system to co-ordinate the movement and to improve efficiency of it performance. There are several ways on how to plan transportation to smart growth. 1, The use of technological Method 2, Frequency 3, Integration 4, Speed 5, Safety 6, Regularity 7, Responsibilities 8, Comfort 9, Adequacy etc.

It's tempting to think of alternatives as good/bad or pro/con. But this quote from economist Thomas Sowell applies to our work: There are no solutions, only trade-offs. Discuss and evaluate the trade-offs.

Designing for smart growth may not require abandoning LOS analysis but perhaps changing the way LOS is derived. If LOS is viewed/analyzed holistically, it can be an effective measure. Some locations *should* prioritize motor vehicle LOS while others prioritize pedestrian LOS, bicycle LOS, transit LOS, etc. A flexible LOS model that allows weighting of travel modes can be an effective tool.

Andy has a great point. I would add that "staying honest" to the alternative generation process should be prior to the selection process. That also helps protect the role of the appropriate stakeholder to pick from among the alternatives. Generally, not the folks that came up with them in the first place.

What are the safeguards from lobbying. Especially in a country like India, transportation sector is heavily influenced by various lobbies. All plans and policies fall flat because the lobbies have varied interests. Planners should be aware/ made aware of these groups and how best to deal with their influence.

Why shouldn't the selected option be taken to the public for an acid test? For example, the bus routes in many BRTS systems were planned with public opinion and other studies but were not retested for footfall. Resulting in many stretches becoming unviable in the long run.

It's incredibly hard for transportation professionals to consider No-Build as a viable alternative. But it should always be on the table. Doing something is not always better than doing nothing. (e.g. Widening a signalized intersection to the point that it increases speeds and causes more crashes.)

Planners and engineers must trust the process and appreciate the unique roles of the designer, regulator, and operator. The decision maker should be given the chance to do just that. A null option is normally a part of each planning process.

A metro company can collaborate with bus companies (or even another metro company) for intermodal travel with discount offer. It helps for solving the pain point of first/last mile connections. Virtually it expands the rail network coverage, encourage people to travel by public transport. For instance, MTR (a railway company in Hong Kong) offers intermodal discount with over hundreds of green minibus routes, making the connectivity stronger than before. Everyday over hundred thousand of passengers enjoy this offer. At the same time, both railway company and the minibus operators can enjoy the mutual benefits of incremental patronage with this win-win strategy.

Coordination is imperative in today's limited resource environment. Any infrastructure project that could not be argued to serve at least two purposes can be called a failure. We have to be creative stewards of all the financial and physical resources we are lucky to have. Collaboration is equally important to make sure the needed stakeholders are involved.

It would rather help to coordinate and collaborate before the actual planning is taken up. More often than not, multiple agencies with numerous jurisdictions create hurdles in planning. If these are taken care during planning stage, the implementation is easier. For example parking or electric buses on the Yamuna riverbank in Delhi (planned by transport department) drew ire from the environment agency for its impact on the health of the Yamuna River.

Creating awareness and information among public leads to inculcating sense of ownership, responsibility to care for public infrastructure, as well as willingness among them to reach authorities with their valuable opinions. Consistent awareness creating efforts can have long term impact of bringing in ‘sustainable development’ which is one of the goal to be achieved by any smart growth. One such example of consistent awareness campaign is “Cycle Day” organized by many neighborhoods in city of Bengaluru, India. This awareness initiated by DULT resulted in rise of number of bikers on streets and neighborhood requesting bicycle infrastructure for them.

Being a Transport planner who worked in various regions around the globe, there is no one-size-fits-all method that can be used. Although, the steps that are set-out can be used as a general guide to achieving the objective of sustainable smart-growth. The vital step is analysing the current situation and the needs of major stakeholders,i.e. mainly the users of the system, in any transport plans. Having seen the changes that have come through in the field over the last decade, there is always room for thinking outside the box in every planning alternative/solution. Minor tweaks in the way we put forward our planning solutions can pave the way for a major behavioural shift in travel pattern which can bring large benefits to society.

For myself, Transport Planning is putting together a puzzle made up of many different pieces. The goal is to make it easier for people and things to move around safely and efficiently. One important aim of transportation planning is to encourage smart growth. This means creating neighbourhoods and cities that are well-organized, with a mix of buildings for different uses and good access to public transportation. So, how can we achieve this? Well, it involves gathering and looking at a lot of information about how people travel and predict how they will in the future. Take Portland, Oregon, for example. where transit-oriented development has propelled urban rejuvenation, catalysed economic vitality, and fostered communal belongingness.

All society benefits from safe, efficient and affordable public transportation systems. Therefore all of society has to fund these continuous complex and expensive solutions! Many years ago I saw how a small old town French mayor had developed a public transportation system (POMA 2000) to move all the employees up a hill with the taxes he obtained from the employers! He was then selling his innovation to ghettos in Brazil and Venezuela! The Versement Transport is an amazing mechanism for society as a whole to pay for mobility solutions!

Some things are simply. Minimize the number of parking spaces provided; offer every possible non-motorized mode and public transportation; make green space, shade trees on roads and paths a priority and use signal control to serve the pedestrian over the automobile.