Mobility Lab Express
          October 15, 2013 - Issue 24
Hello Transportation Aficionado, 

It's already here: tomorrow's can't-miss event with former Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood at George Mason University's Arlington campus.

 

There are still spaces left, but not many. So please register now.

 

If you haven't registered yet, here are some things you should know:

  • Secretary LaHood is known for jumping on a table at a past Bike Summit. 
  • Now, he's "unplugged" as a private citizen able to speak outside his previous roles as transportation secretary and Illinois Republican congressman. 
  • The event is free.
  • With seemingly half of the region out of work with the government shutdown, this will be a great opportunity to get out of the house and network with your fellow transportation, health, tech, urban planning, and smart growth professionals.

Can't wait to see you tomorrow (Wednesday) from 10 to 11 a.m.!

 

In This Issue
New Study: Arlington Residential Parking Garages Not Full
Federal Government Shutdown and Transportation: What You Need to Know
San Francisco Ridesharing Helps With "the End of Car Culture"
Partner Spotlight - Arlington Chamber of Commerce
Quick Links
Hot Stat

Transit, walking, and biking account for 39 percent of the non-work trips made by residents of Arlington, Virginia who live in buildings developed under the county's site-plan-review process. 

Residential Transportation Performance Monitoring Study

 
It may not be happening until January, but registration for TransportationCamp DC '14 is open. Highly recommended that transit-tech aficionados sign up now!

Subscribe to Mobility Lab Daily to keep up with the latest transportation news and research.

Mobility Lab In the News


New Study: Arlington Residential 
Parking Garages Not Full
Paul Goddin, urban planning blogger, Mobility Lab

A new study by Arlington County Commuter 

Services examines the travel and parking behaviors of residents by looking at a sample of residential site-plan buildings.

 

Site-plan buildings are those that require special approval from the County Board in order to be developed because they need some kind of exception to the zoning ordinance.

 

The new study begins to speak to some of the big picture questions as they relate to transportation, such as "are we still moving more people without more traffic?" and "are we parking these buildings at the right level?"

 

One of the more intriguing results of the study: Most parking garages neither filled nor emptied over the course of a week. Most fluctuated between 20 and 80 percent full. Several garages never dropped below 40 percent full. The maximum occupancy suggests parking supply may be too high, while the minimum occupancy, particularly in Metrorail corridors, suggests that many cars in these Arlington residential buildings are not used for commuting, and in fact may be rarely used at all.

 

See more of the study's findings and what they mean here.

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Federal Government Shutdown and Transportation: What You Need to Know

For the first time in nearly 20 years, the federal government shut down.

 

Federal-highway programs and employees of the Federal Highway Administration and many parts of the U.S. Department of Transportation are not affected. Projects and personnel funded through the Highway Trust Fund are not impacted. However, the Federal Transit Administration is mostly funded through the General Fund and many FTA employees will be furloughed.

 

Jason Pavluchuk, policy blogger, Mobility Lab

There is no real plan regarding government shutdowns. There is no standard operating procedure, and each agency, and even offices within an agency, have different policies and procedures. In short, this shutdown is chaotic.

 

Also, the impact of this fight is pale in comparison to the impact that failing to raise the debt limit would have. Failure to raise the debt limit will have a much wider and broader impact across the world of transportation policy.

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San Francisco Ridesharing Helps With "the End of Car Culture"
Lindsay Tamm, rideshare expert, Climate Protection Campaign

I was recently involved with turning a case of upheaval (the recent BART strike) into a shining moment when the possibilities of our "transportation-options movement" came into focus.

 

During the 3-day strike, our teams from Avego (now rebranded Carma) and Carma Bay Area put in 15-hour days in the East Bay and San Francisco to make sure morning and evening commuters who wanted to carpool were covered. The results? We personally shared rides with hundreds of stranded commuters, and gained more than 2,000 new Avego app users!

 

That's 2,000+ new members added to the Bay Area rideshare community! We hope many - if not all - of them will shift into a more regular ridesharing habit as a way to help our environment, reduce road congestion, and ... picture this ... have a little fun and rest and relaxation on their daily commutes.

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Partner Spotlight - Arlington Chamber of Commerce

For nearly 90 years, the Arlington Chamber of Commerce has worked to build the economic prosperity and civic well-being of this Virginia county. The Chamber has found ways to change with the times through its programs and committees on economic vitality, social services, and much more.

 

Mobility Lab has been pleased to actively participate on the Green Business Committee and at the Chamber's monthly Networking Breakfasts. The Chamber has been critical in helping Mobility Lab build strong connections with people and organizations interested in our programs - and likewise, we have been able to assist other organizations achieve their goals. Our experience with the Chamber is a vivid demonstration that action across the local community can truly happen with strong and committed collaboration.

 

Our event on Wednesday with Secretary LaHood is a distinct nod to the robust strength of Arlington businesses and the transportation vision that underlies the county's many successes in building a vibrant community. And the Arlington Chamber has been at the forefront of accomplishing this vital good for our community.

 

Please Send Us Your Feedback
We hope Mobility Lab Express, our events, and the research and case studies at our website will be go-to resources for you. In fact, we invite you to share your stories of how mobility improvements have been made in your communities. How are you "moving people instead of cars?" We'll publish your feedback, and together we'll strengthen mobility for all! 
 
Simply respond to this email or click here
with any thoughts or suggestions. 

Please check out much more at mobilitylab.org, on Facebook, and on Twitter.

 

Mobility Lab is a research-and-development initiative for "mobility management - moving people instead of cars." Based in Arlington, Virginia - which has one of the largest mobility-management programs in the U.S. and removes 45,000 car trips from the county's roads each work day - Mobility Lab seeks solutions, stories, and partnerships from all over the world.
 
 
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