Draft MTP/SCS Comments Received - sacog

SCS Health & Equity Metrics August 2011
‐ It is excellent to see that street pattern and urban design is being measured at all, and the
evidence base around using number of intersections to measure this is good. Moving forward,
for local jurisdictions seeking a more refined measure of walkability and bikeability, we
suggest that cities and towns use the PEQI and BEQI. 2 3 These tools can help target complete
streets improvements to the spots most requiring of infrastructure improvements for
pedestrians and bicycles.
‐ The improvement in average distance to transit in Center and Corridor communities, and
overall, is encouraging. This measurement is very helpful to assess likelihood of taking transit
and of getting more physical activity. We know that investing in public transit is a challenging
prospect and encourage SACOG to continue your commitment.
Chapter 5B – Roadway Congestion and Vehicle Miles Traveled
Vehicle Miles Traveled
‐ In order to compare this MTP/SCS with the 2002 and 2008 MTPs, SACOG uses the indicators
VMT and VMT per capita. We recommend also including mileage traveled by other
transportation modes as indicators (i.e., walking, biking, and transit). These additional modes
are also important indicators of physical activity, air quality, traffic accidents and injuries, and
greenhouse gas emissions.
‐ As alluded to above, physical activity is not considered as an indicator or desired outcome in the
VMT analysis. We recommend measuring changes in physical activity as an outcome of
changes in VMT. 4
‐ The discussion of VMT is based primarily on modeling of commute‐hour trips. We recommend
also modeling and targeting reductions in non‐commute trips.
‐ The SCS measures vehicle trips to transit but excludes bicycle and pedestrian trips to transit. We
recommend including bicycle and pedestrian trips to transit as a metric.
Roadway Congestion and Delay
‐ The MTP/SCS philosophy of measuring the amount of under‐utilization or over‐utilization of
roadways is superior to measuring LOS, and we commend SACOG in adopting this outlook.
Measuring proper utilization of roadways supports efforts to decrease VMT, and ultimately
exposure to poor air quality and improvements to increase the attractiveness of active
transport. Focusing on “right‐sizing” projects and prioritizing inclusion of complete streets
infrastructure while doing so will do this.
2 San Francisco Dept. of Public Health Program on Health, Equity, and Sustainability. Bicycle Environmental Quality Index.
Available at http://www.sfphes.org/HIA_Tools_PEQI.htm
3 San Francisco Dept. of Public Health Program on Health, Equity, and Sustainability. Bicycle Environmental Quality Index.
Available at http://www.sfphes.org/HIA_Tools_BEQI.htm
4 California Dept. of Public Health. Health Co‐Benefits and Transportation‐Related Reductions in Greenhouse Gas Emissions in
the Bay Area: A Technical Report. Available at
http://www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/CCDPHP/Documents/ITHIM_Technical_Report11‐21‐11.pdf
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