Mobility Presentation (with 198429) — File 201515

5/26/16 1 City of Somerville Zoning Overhaul City of Somerville Mobility Parking Requirements; Mobility Management 5.25.16 Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development Tonight’s Schedule Presentation • SomerVision Goals • Policy Context • Transit Oriented Development • Regulating Parking • Mobility Management

5/26/16 2 Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development 584 Goals, Policies & Actions SomerVision 182 Implemented through Zoning 35 Mobility Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development • Improve  our  shared  environmental  quality  (reduce  pollution) • Increase  active  and  alternative  transportation  options,  reduce  congestion,   promote  workplace  mobility  management  policies • Expand  cycling  and  walking  as  viable  options • Balance  the  needs  of  various  modes  (complete  streets),  reduce   congestions  and  pollution,  decrease  space  dedicated  to  automobiles. • Manage  parking  supply  an  demand  to  balance  transportation,  economic   development,  and  housing  goals SomerVision Goals

5/26/16 3 Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development Transportation • Implement  policies  and  programs  that  reduce  automobiles  use • Encourage  the  establishment  of  Transportation  Management  Associations • Implement  mobility  management  policies  and  programs  for  municipal   employees • Permit  and  support  car  sharing  and  bike  sharing • Stop  requiring  bicycle  parking  base  on  the  number  of  automobile  spaces • Manage  traffic  to  reduce  pollution  and  congestion • Manage  on  street  parking  supply  and  demand  to  meet  mobility  goals SomerVision Policies Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development Neighborhoods • Establish  policy/regulations  that  support  transit-­‐oriented  development • Reduce  regulations  and  fees  for  small  businesses • Prohibit  front  yard  parking  and  limit  curb  cuts • Ensure  parking  is  not  required  in  excess  at  the  expense  of  landscaping • Encourage  redevelopment  of  surface  parking  lots  in  commercial  areas   SomerVision Policies

5/26/16 4 Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development Commercial  Squares  &  Corridors • Require  development  to  improve  the  public  realm  (under  grounding  of   utilities,  wider  sidewalks,  bicycle  parking) • Parking  policies  should  promote  rather  than  hinder  re-­‐use  and  infill   development • Reduce  parking  requirements  for  businesses  within  walking  distance  to   transit   Resources • Use  light  colored  pavements  and  increase  permeable  surfaces SomerVision Policies Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development Housing • Promote  and  incentivize  housing,  especially  rental  and  affordable  housing,   within  walking  distance  to  transit • Stop  requiring  parking  based  on  bedroom  count • Reduce  parking  requirements  for  residential  properties  within  walking   distance  to  transit,  senior  housing,  and  affordable  housing • Allow  shared  parking  for  mixed  use  development • Limit  paving  on  private  lots  to  conserve  green  space SomerVision Policies

5/26/16 5 Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development Tonight’s Schedule Presentation • SomerVision Goals • Policy Context • Transit Oriented Development • Regulating Parking • Mobility Management Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development Policy Context • The daily commute is a fact of life for the majority of Somerville residents…most people travel outside of Somerville to go to work and many of those people drive. • Private automobile ownership provides freedom and flexibility…connection to other places.

5/26/16 6 Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development Commuting Stress • Financial • Emotional • Physical Societal Costs • Environmental Impact • Infrastructure Maintenance Costs • Healthcare Costs (Collision Injuries) • Financial Costs (parking, gasoline, maintenance) Policy Context Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development Cars Provide • Freedom • Flexibility Commuting Stress • Financial • Emotional • Physical Policy Context

5/26/16 7 Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development High Transit Ridership can alleviate the societal, economic, and personal impacts caused by automobile dependence. • Reduces congestion as an alternative to driving • Reduces emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases that would otherwise have been generated if transit riders drve cars instead • Reduces the amount of household income that must be spent on gasoline and other costs of frequent auto use • Can even reduce the outright need for a car (ssaving additional money) • Gives people back their time (either on transit or by having a faster trip) • Increases employment access • Etc. • ...in general, reduces the per capita impact of transportation because people are sharing. Policy Context Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development High Transit Ridership can alleviate the societal, economic, and personal impacts caused by automobile dependence. • Reduces congestion as an alternative to driving • Reduces emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases that would otherwise have been generated if transit riders drve cars instead • Reduces the amount of household income that must be spent on gasoline and other costs of frequent auto use • Can even reduce the outright need for a car (ssaving additional money) • Gives people back their time (either on transit or by having a faster trip) • Increases employment access • Etc. • ...in general, reduces the per capita impact of transportation because people are sharing. Policy Context

5/26/16 8 Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development Cars Provide • Freedom • Flexibility Commuting Stress • Financial • Emotional • Physical Policy Context Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development Parked 95% of Time Policy Context

5/26/16 9 Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development Parked 95% of Time Policy Context Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development Policy Context

5/26/16 10 Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development Tonight’s Schedule Presentation • SomerVision Goals • Policy Context • Transit Oriented Development • Regulating Parking • Mobility Management

5/26/16 11 Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development What is it? Transit Oriented Development Development that maximize access to public transportation, and incorporates features to induce transit ridership. Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development Transit Oriented Development

5/26/16 12 Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development Social Science DR. Robert Cervero (UC Berkeley) 2013 Study of 1,450 U.S. Transit Stations • ¼ mile is the distance people are willing to walk when traveling to/from work • ½ mile is the distance people are willing to walk when traveling to/from home Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development Transit Oriented Development Walking Distance to Transit • The closer housing and jobs are to transit the higher probability residents and employees will use the service. • People are generally willing to walk further to higher capacity, more frequent service and will typically walk further to rail than they will to the bus.

5/26/16 13 Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development Walking Distance on Streets Transit Oriented Development Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development Proximity Transit Oriented Development

5/26/16 14 Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development Walking Distance ½ mile to/from home Transit Oriented Development Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development Walking Distance ¼ mile to/from work Transit Oriented Development

5/26/16 15 Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development Walking Distance Transit Oriented Development Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development Environmental Factors? Transit Oriented Development

5/26/16 16 Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development Environmental Factors? Transit Oriented Development Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development Focus Development Intensity Transit Oriented Development

5/26/16 17 Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development Transit Oriented Development Adjacent Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development What is it? Transit Oriented Development Adjacent Development near public transportation with high parking availability and a lack of supporting policies and programs to induce transit ridership.

5/26/16 18 Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development Transit Oriented Development Adjacent Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development Transit Oriented Development Adjacent Development that includes significant societal, economic, and personal costs in terms of environmental impact, infrastructure costs, accidents and injuries, and the financial burden brought on by parking, gasoline, and annual maintenance for both vehicles and infrastructure. • Increases traffic congestion • Increases environmental pollution • Reduces household economic mobility (financial costs) • Reduces family and personal time • Increases financial, emotional, and physical stress

5/26/16 19 Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development Social Science DR. Robert Cervero (UC Berkeley) Office workers more likely to use transit when… • Feeder bus service at beginning of trip • Company shuttle from train station to work • Employee incentives for T pass ..and less likely when • Lots of free parking at work Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development Social Science DR. Rachel Weinberger (Nelson\Nygaard) • Studied Households in Bronx, Brooklyn, & Queens, NY. • Found a clear relationship between the availability of parking at home and higher rates of driving to jobs in the core of Manhattan, even when both the home and workplace were well served by transit • When a guaranteed, off-street parking space is available, the ownership and use of an automobile becomes much a more attractive option - regardless of the availability of transit, highways access, or demographic differences.

5/26/16 20 Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development Social Science Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development Social Science DR. Daniel Chatman (UC Berkeley) • Studied Households near train stations in Northern NJ • Availability of off-street parking was actually the #1 most important variable in determining automobile ownership and commuting to work • Regardless of accessibility to a rail transit station • When looking only at households within walking distance to a transit station, households with both low on- and off-street parking commute by automobile 60% less than households with easy access to parking.

5/26/16 21 Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development Social Science DR. Stephanie Pollack (MA Sec. of Tans.) • Studied 12 Metro areas where a new rail station opened between the 1990 and 2000 Census • Median Household Income increased more than in the surrounding metro area • Automobile ownership increased faster than in the surrounding metro area • Ownership of two or more automobiles increased in 57% of the study areas • When upper income households move into an area, they are more likely to own motor vehicles and to use them for their commute. • Higher income households moving into the study areas that bring and use more vehicles undermine efforts to shift commuting trips to the newly-built transit. Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development Social Science

5/26/16 22 Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development Tonight’s Schedule Presentation • SomerVision Goals • Policy Context • Transit Oriented Development • Regulating Parking • Mobility Management Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development Regulating Parking Customize the Standards

5/26/16 23 Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development Motor Vehicle Parking Regulating Parking Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development • Calibrated to Proximity Motor Vehicle Parking Regulating Parking

5/26/16 24 Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development • Calibrated to Proximity • Customized Standards for Different Places and Uses Motor Vehicle Parking Regulating Parking Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development • Calibrated to Proximity • Customized Standards for Different Places and Uses Motor Vehicle Parking Regulating Parking

5/26/16 25 Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development • Calibrated to Proximity • Customized Standards for Different Places and Uses Motor Vehicle Parking Regulating Parking Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development Customized Standards Regulating Parking

5/26/16 26 Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development Customized Standards Maximums Regulating Parking Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development Customized Standards Minimums Maximums Regulating Parking

5/26/16 27 Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development Proximity Minimums Maximums ½ mile to/from home Regulating Parking Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development Proximity Minimums Maximums ¼ mile to/from work Regulating Parking

5/26/16 28 Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development • Calibrated to Proximity • Customized Standards for Different Places and Uses • Reduction to Minimum Standards for Affordable Housing, Senior Housing, and Housing for the Disabled Motor Vehicle Parking Regulating Parking Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development • Calibrated to Proximity • Customized Standards for Different Places and Uses • Reduction to Minimum Standards for Affordable Housing, Senior Housing, and Housing for the Disabled • Special Permit available to adjust minimum or maximum requirements Motor Vehicle Parking Regulating Parking

5/26/16 29 Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development Public Feedback Motor Vehicle Parking • Better mechanisms for shared parking should be included in the proposal • Parking requirements for mixed-use buildings should be lower than the sum of all uses because they will use parking at different times of the day • All properties should be required to un bundle the price of parking from the price for a dwelling across the city • Various parking configurations exist between underground and surface parking. Parking definitions should be clarified to address this diversity. • Electric car charging station should be mandatory when new parking is provided • A maximum of one car per dwelling unit should not be imposed city-wide • On street parking policy should be coordinated with the parking standards in the zoning ordinance Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development Public Feedback Motor Vehicle Parking • Car free housing should be allowed in some areas of the city • Car free development should not have access to on street parking permits • A market rate should be charged for on street parking spaces to support objectives of the proposed zoning • Shared driveways should be encouraged wherever they would result in fewer curb cuts • Car share parking should be permitted in the neighborhood Residential district • Implementation of new parking standards should be correlated to the construction and operation of the Green Line Extension…as the city transform from auto-oriented to transit oriented. • Removal of parking minimums is the most important thing this does

5/26/16 30 Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development Public Feedback Parking Access • How does access to a new development on a Pedestrian Street work? • Access should be from a public alley, not a private alley • Curb cuts should only provide access from side streets and alleys rather than main streets. We want minimal interruptions to people walking due to driveways and parking access. Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development Tonight’s Schedule Presentation • SomerVision Goals • Policy Context • Transit Oriented Development • Regulating Parking • Mobility Management

5/26/16 31 Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development Mobility Management Definition A program of information and incentives provided by organizations to encourage and help people use transportation modes such as transit, walking, and bicycling instead of private motor vehicles Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development Mobility Management Definition A program of information and incentives provided by organizations to encourage and help people use transportation modes such as transit, walking, and bicycling instead of private motor vehicles Thresholds for Participation • Non-Residential Development over 20,000 sq. ft. • Businesses with 20 or more employees and multi-tenant buildings with businesses that combine to have 20 or more employees or students • Residential development with 20 or more units • Any project that increases parking • The establishment of any commercial parking facility

5/26/16 32 Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development Mobility Management Requirements: • Submit a Mobility Management Plan for Approval as part of the permitting process • Submit an Annual Performance Review • Provide Minimum Programs & Services Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development Mobility Management Minimum Programs & Services: Non-Residential • Annual Mobility Meeting for Employees/Students • Posted & Distributed Information • Guaranteed Ride Home Program • On-Site Coordinator • Preferred Parking • Qualified Transportation Fringe Benefits Residential • Posted & Distribute Information • Unbundled Parking

5/26/16 33 Mayor  Joseph  A  Curtatone Office  of  Strategic  Planning & Community  Development Public Feedback Mobility Management • The Mobility Management Section should have more predictable, less subjective standards as to what complies and what does not • Mobility Management needs a benchmark for enforcement and goals to reduce automobile use and parking demand • This creates disincentives to improve buildings and open businesses • The thresholds for participation (20,000 sq.ft. and 20 employees) are too low and will unfairly burden small businesses • None of this should be adopted until after the mobility plan is complete City of Somerville Zoning Overhaul