Our recent gathering at the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) 2024 Designing Cities Conference in Miami-, FL, served as a fitting reminder of the fact that while there are still many challenges ahead for cities and local municipalities as it relates to creating safer, less congested multimodal communities, there has also been tremendous progress made across the country that we can all collectively build upon.
The Designing Cities Conference brought together transportation leaders, engineers, planners, advocates, policymakers and other stakeholders from all over the nation and Canada to discuss and engage with the transformational changes being made in their communities. Whether that be highlighting key data points including how the City of Philadelphia has doubled bike trips while reducing total injury crashes by 17% with separated bike lanes, or showcasing how NACTO’s mission is slowly but surely getting adopted by various state departments of transportation (DOT) and federal guidelines, Designing Cities stands as one of the more inspiring events that STV’s delegation attends.
Miami was the perfect host city, embodying some of the challenges and opportunities that are relevant to NACTO’s member cities. Central to this conference are the dozens of “Walkshops” that allow participants to explore the host region on foot, bike, scooters or transit to get a better understanding of local infrastructure and what successful measures have been enacted to address issues of pedestrian and bicycle safety, climate change, equity, housing demand, shifting travel patterns and more. Additionally, the event featured peer-to-peer sessions and roundtables consisting of transportation officials and leaders with diverse perspectives and a “Meet the Cities” section, where member cities shared a discreet project or program that’s been working for their communities.
STV’s team is currently involved in several programs that tie-in neatly to the conference’s larger themes and goals. Chief among them is our long-standing support of various community improvement projects in Montgomery County, MD, a suburb of Washington, D.C. Since 2019, STV has been the lead engineer for the Montgomery County Parks Department Parks Development Division supporting a Vision Zero action item related to safe trail crossings. For this program, our team developed recommendations, performed design services and prepared construction documents to improve safety measures at over 60 existing and proposed roadway trail crossings throughout the county. Our team has also coordinated improvements to support the county’s Open Parkways Program, which began during the COVID-19 pandemic as a way to provide additional outdoor recreational space.
In terms of how our team is supporting other multimodal improvements within Montgomery County, STV is the Program Management Consultant for the county’s bus rapid transit (BRT) implementation plan. This program, being overseen by Montgomery County Department of Transportation, includes the development of eight BRT lines with a goal of improving mobility and accessibility while reducing congestion in the region.
In Miami, our team and other participants got to see firsthand how the community is incorporating shared bike lanes, micromobility as a first/last-mile option and BRT and rail into a holistic transportation program, like many of the programs we are working on in Montgomery County.
Beyond our work in Maryland, our team also shared success stories from some of the Complete Streets programs we’re involved with in the Charlotte Metropolitan region in North Carolina. As witnessed at the conference, Complete and Inclusive Streets programs are rising in popularity across the country because they prioritize accessibility and safety of all users. This is accomplished through developing infrastructure like wider sidewalks, dedicated bike lanes, safe crosswalks, more accessible public transportation stops and stations, and additional traffic calming measures. We were thrilled for the opportunity to talk about our work in Charlotte, while also gathering intel from other leaders and communities about their initiatives.
Moving forward, one of the most significant themes that was discussed extensively at Designing Cities was how to best incorporate and partner with the full scope of stakeholders that are connected to a city’s transportation system. While many streets and walkways are owned by city and county officials, they often link to and are impacted by larger arterials that are owned and operated by state DOTs and the federal government. Whether it be planning for a new light rail or BRT system that shares right-of-way with a greenway or bikeway, or developing new Safe Routes to School programs, cities and consultants alike must bring all stakeholders to the table to improve communication, get the funding we need and of course, to make streets safer for all modes of transportation.
