Provide a Variety of Transportation Choices
Providing people with more choices in housing, shopping, communities, and transportation is a key aim of smart growth. Communities are seeking a wider range of transportation options in an effort to improve beleaguered current systems. Traffic congestion is worsening across the country. According to the Texas Transportation Institute, the amount of delay endured by the average commuter in 2010 was 34 hours, up from 14 hours in 1982.
In response, communities are beginning to implement new approaches to transportation planning, such as better coordinating land use and transportation; increasing the availability of high-quality transit service; creating redundancy, resiliency and connectivity within their road networks; and ensuring connectivity between pedestrian, bike, transit, and road facilities. In short, they are coupling a multi-modal approach to transportation with supportive development patterns, to create a variety of transportation options.
More information from Smart Growth Network partners:
A Guide to Transportation Opportunities in Your Community
www.transact.org/form_guidebook.htm
The Transopoly® Series
www.cnt.org/tcd/transopoly
Active Living: Transportation-Health Connection
www.ite.org/activeliving/
Credit: www.pedbikeimages.org / Elvert Barnes Photography
Smart Growth Principles
