Mass transit as a means to greater livability

BY MICHAEL BURKE

Sunday, January 21, 2007 2:12 AM CST

Journal Times

RACINE -

Mass transit will be the focus of the next free presentation in the Sustainable Community series at the SC Johnson Golden Rondelle Theater.

The speaker will be Shelley Poticha, president and chief executive officer of Reconnecting America. Through its Center For Transit-Oriented Development, the national nonprofit organization helps developers, transit agencies, communities and investors use transit investments to spur a new wave of development.

Poticha will speak from 5:30-7 p.m. Wednesday. RSVP to (262) 260-2154. She recently spoke to The Journal Times.

Q. Why does your organization, Reconnecting America, care so much about mass transit?

A. We care about it because we're interested in improving the livability of regions, and we think that transportation options including mass transit are key elements of making sustainable regions.

Q. What do you mean by "livability?"

A. I think of livability as being a region where there's a diverse range of housing options, so all kinds of people can live in decent housing. There is a strong economic base with a good range of job opportunities, a clean environment and a sense of optimism about the future.

Q. Why is connectivity such an important part of it?

A. When we look at regions around the country, the places that have focused exclusively on car-based transportation are getting choked-up with traffic. And employers are feeling that they can't ensure that their employees can get to work on time. They're having a harder time attracting what's often thought of as the creative class - people who are knowledge-based workers.

So transit helps people get to work on time, it gives more options to people who have mobility challenges, and it is now seen in the development community as a very important amenity that they want to build in.

Q. Where have you seen these kinds of things

happen?

A. "Transit projects are being planned in about 70 different communities around the country, and a good portion are commuter rail projects.

For example: In Denver, where after an initial transit line went in, the voters of the region agreed to pass a sales tax measure that will fund five new transit lines in 15 years, including commuter rail, light rail and bus rapid transit. And I think they're going to do streetcars as well.

Another one is Minneapolis, the Twin Cities. That, I think, is going to be one of the great success stories. For many years the naysayers said that no one would ride transit ... the climate didn't work for

transit.

Their first line has already met the 20-year ridership projection in a year. This has propelled them into planning for more commuter rail, bus rapid transit, more light rail.

And, on top of all of that, the developers are really gravitating toward it with building projects along both the current line and the planned lines.

Q. How do connectivity and livability help build sustainable wealth?

A. The sustainable wealth piece is very interesting to me. When we look at what typical American household budget looks like, the No. 2 expense after housing is transportation - 19 percent of income. More than food, health care, utilities, the whole thing.

So, when we look at places that have transit as an alternative, that number can go down to 9 percent. Say you got rid of one car in your household, that's like $8,000 per year. That money could go to housing, health care, food, education, or spending in the local economy.

To read the complete interview with Poticha, go to

http://www.journaltimes.com

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