Sustainable Transportation for San Antonio Bill Barker, AICP Adjunct Associate Professor Urban & Regional Planning College of Architecture, Construction & Planning September 22, 2017

Vehicle miles of travel (VMT) a key measure of transportation sustainability The most sustainable areas are those with the least vehicle miles of travel (VMT) “…reducing vehicle miles traveled (VMT) is an official goal of the U.S. Government policy” In 2011, SA2020 set a goal of a 10% reduction in the 2007 value of 21 miles/day/capita by 2020 In 2016, SA Tomorrow Sustainability Plan set a goal of reducing VMT from 22.4 miles/day/capita in 2013 to 16.5 in Black, William R. "Sustainable transport and potential mobility." European Journal of Transport and Infrastructure Research (2002): hpms/epastat.cfm content/themes/sa2020/pdf/SA2020_Final_Report.pdf nability%20Plan%20 Adopted%2008%2011%202016%20S.pdf

VMT Urban Heat Island Impact beyond greenhouse gas emissions Cities are warmer than surrounding countryside due to impervious cover and anthropogenic heat San Antonio temperatures are increasing - impacting human health and the economy Auto-oriented development pattern creates more impervious cover 47-62% of anthropogenic heat in the summer is from VMT Sailor, David J., and Lu Lu. "A top–down methodology for developing diurnal and seasonal anthropogenic heating profiles for urban areas." Atmospheric environment (2004):

Transportation Impervious Cover Needs 4 McCahill, Christopher, and Norman Garrick. "Automobile use and land consumption: Empirical evidence from 12 cities." Urban Design International 17.3 (2012): Roads and parking cover 10-25% of urban land Road space requirements increase with vehicle speed Parking space area increases with auto use Litman, Todd. "Evaluating Complete Streets." Victoria Transport Policy Institute 6 (2013). USGS National Land Cover Database 2011

Twenty-year ( ) change in VMT/Capita urbanized areas with comparable population in

Urban Vehicle Miles of Travel Factors Based on a 10% Increase in the Factor of Interest in 144 U.S. Urbanized Areas %-1.50%-1.00%-0.50%0.00%0.50%1.00% Road Density Supply of Bus Transit Supply of Rail Transit Jobs-Housing Balance Center City Orientation Relative Impact on Urban VMT Increase VMT Reduce VMT Source: Antonio M. Bento, Maureen L. Cropper, Ahmed Mushfiq Mobarak, Katja Vinha, The Impact of Urban Spatial Structure on Travel Demand in the United States, The World Bank Group Working Paper No.: 3007, March 20, 2003

How to Reduce VMT 7 PORTLAND SAN JOSE SACRAMENTO Create a 21 st century approach to transit funding to include rail transit Implement smart grow strategies Reduce impervious parking area Evaluate road projects for VMT impact “Seattle Climbs but Austin Sprawls: The Myth of the Return to Cities”, The New York Times, May 22, Per Capita Transit Funding 2015 Per Capita Transit Funding

Bill Barker, AICP