In 2008, Americans with access to public transit saved 646 million hours in travel time and $13.7 billion in congestion costs.

Good land use + multimodal accessibility = healthy, happy city

When you think about transit-friendly and walkable cities, chances are Des Moines, Iowa doesn't immediately come to mind. However, in the past 20 years, Des Moines has been aggressively working to improve its downtown district adding transit, bicycle, and pedestrian-friendly amenities to its landscape.

Since the 1990s, Des Moines, with a population of 400,000, has been investing nearly $2 million annually to help advance the city's Complete Streets agenda.  With Denver, Seattle, and Chicago serving as models, the city of Des Moines has worked to adopt development plans that cluster homes, jobs, schools, and stores in the same area. As a result, Des Moines was recently named the best walking city in Iowa and has been ranked 72 among 500 cities across the country as a pedestrian-friendly city. 

Just this past year, the city of Des Moines launched a comprehensive bicycle and trail master planning effort in partnership with the Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority (DART).  As part of this planning process, the city launched a comprehensive bike rack program to accommodate more than 3,000 riders per month in the cycling season.

Transit is an important piece to the success of the city's multimodal commitment.  DART provides approximately 16,000 daily bus trips. Ridership in central Iowa has grown 18 percent between 2007 and 2009 - four times the national average. Because of an increased demand for good multi-modal transit service, DART is currently in the process of completing designs for a LEED-certified transit hub in downtown Des Moines.

By investing in multi-modal infrastructure, the city of Des Moines has been able to provide residents with several choices for their transportation needs. According to the Center for Neighborhood Technology in Chicago’s Housing and Transportation Affordability Index, 58 percent of communities in Des Moines spend less than 45 percent of their total income on housing and transportation costs. 

As Earth Day gets closer, people start thinking about ways to live greener, healthier and more environmentally aware. Having transit alone isn't going to solve our climate change problems. As Des Moines has showed us, it is the interconnectivity of bicycle, pedestrian-friendly amenities, sidewalks, transit, and destinations that encourages people to feel safe and confident enough to get out of their cars and try something new.

 

For Additional Information:

• Testimony on Transportation Infrastructure Investment – Brad Miller, General Manager, Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority
• Des Moines Profile, H+T Affordability Index – Center for Neighborhood Technology

 

NEWS

Local News

Suburban leaders pledge to get O'Hare western bypass built – Daily Herald “Bringing jobs, more industry and retail, traffic congestion relief and mass transit to the West suburbs are primary reasons to build the proposed western bypass to O'Hare International Airport, suburban leaders say.”

New CTA cars going into service: Smoother but more crowded? – Chicago Tribune “New CTA rail cars featuring mostly center-facing seats to pack in more rush-hour commuters will enter service next week, transit officials announced.”

Illinois transportation secretary says $5 billion in road, bridge projects to be launched this year – Quincy Herald Whig “IDOT Secretary Gary Hannig said a capital construction program approved last year will keep contractors and Illinois Department of Transportation crews busy for several years.”

Illinois high-speed rail still an improvement, feds say – Daily Herald “Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph Szabo beat the drum for high-speed rail in Illinois Tuesday, acknowledging that while the state won't have the fastest trains in the nation, it will see a big improvement.”

More rush-hour parking? – Chicago Sun-Times “Chicago has proposed lifting rush-hour parking bans on sections of some of the city's busiest streets.”

More trains, longer waits in Springfield's future, study finds – Springfield Journal-Register “The time Springfield motorists spend waiting on trains each day will nearly triple in the next decade based on projected increases in rail traffic, an initial analysis of Springfield’s three major rail corridors has concluded.”

Mass transit sales tax wins by a wide margin – St. Louis Post-Dispatch “By a wide margin, county voters approved a half-cent increase to the transit sales tax to restore lost bus and Call-A-Ride service and, eventually, expand the reach of mass transit farther into the St. Louis suburbs.”

No going back on CN's purchase of EJ&E, LaHood says – Daily Herald “The Peoria Republican returned to Illinois to meet with U.S. Rep. Melissa Bean, a Barrington Democrat, and local leaders to talk about transportation needs and tour several controversial railroad crossings.”

World News

Drivers say Washington region's traffic has gone from bad to worse – Washington Post “Most people say traffic has gone from bad to worse in the Washington region, which perennially ranks as one of the most congested in the nation, with more than a quarter of workers occasionally skipping their commute entirely and dialing in from home.”

China banks on rail boom to fire inland growth – Reuters “By making it easier to move people and goods, the railway mania will gradually shift the center of economic gravity inland, accelerating the development of central and western China.”

RTD board to take up FasTracks tax vote – Denver Post “RTD directors will decide Tuesday night whether to endorse a ballot measure in November that would double the FasTracks sales tax in metro Denver.”

Detroit to put 30 miles of bicycle lanes on streets – Detroit Free Press “Although the city is starting with about 30 miles in a handful of neighborhoods this year, there eventually could be as many as 400 miles of bike lanes in Detroit.”

Outdated Thinking is Taking its Toll – New Republic “The rejection of Pennsylvania’s request to allow the state to toll I-80 represents exactly the kind of outdated and outmoded thinking the nation cannot afford right now.”

A Southern Success Story for Public Transportation Offers Lessons in Livability – New York Times “In January, DOT announced that it was rescinding a budget restriction put in place during the Bush administration that focused transit selection primarily on how much a project was expected to shorten commute times relative to its overall cost.”

Streetcars are poised for a dramatic comeback – New Urban News “Twenty-two cities around the country have plans for streetcar lines that could go into construction within two years.”

Resources

• Impacts of the Recession on Public Transportation Agencies – APTA
• Modal Primer on Greenhouse Gas and Energy Issues for the Transportation Industry – Transportation Research Board

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Contact Information
For comments, suggestions or submissions, please contact Emily Tapia Lopez, Associate, at etapia@metroplanning.org or 312-863-6047.