National Association Of City Transportation Officials Inc

Programs: Advancing a unified city voice - nacto works to advance a unified city voice on the national stage, advocating for state and federal adoption of street design guidance that supports safe, sustainable city streets; regulatory changes that give cities greater flexibility to innovate and meet local challenges; increased federal research on urban transportation issues; improved coordination between state and local transportation departments; and policies that promote public transit, bicycling, and walking as integral parts of city transportation. In addition to this work at the state and federal level, nacto cities also collaborate to share expertise on local policy for sustainable, people-oriented transportation, including best practices around improving public transit service, integrating green stormwater infrastructure into multi-modal street design, designing bike lanes that are inviting for people of all ages and abilities, meeting vision zero goals for safety, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and climate impacts of transportation, encouraging shared mobility to reduce single-occupancy vehicle trips, and preparing for autonomous vehicles in complex urban conditions. Nacto cities are meeting 21st century transportation challenges with innovative policy approaches, and by sharing lessons learned and publishing national guidance and practitioners' papers, nacto cities are raising the state of the practice. Cities today are preparing for a technology revolution in transportation, as automated and connected vehicle technology and new data sources and algorithms bring major changes to urban mobility. These technologies present major opportunities as well as serious risks. In 2017, nacto convened its network of cities to tackle major questions about the future of urban mobility. As a product of those conversations, nacto published the blueprint for autonomous urbanism, which envisions a future where cities and transit agencies leverage new technologies as tools to enhance the public realm and improve the lives of all urban residents, rather than redesigning streets and cities to accommodate the technology. Nacto cities are working to advance a vision for a future shaped by proactive, people-focused urban policy that elevates walking, cycling and transit while reducing the footprint of vehicular travel. The blueprint for autonomous urbanism is a groundbreaking publication, centering the national discourse on the need to put humans, rather than vehicle technology, at the center of urban design. Complementing this work, nacto is partnering with the open transport partnership to build sharedstreets, a non-profit digital commons for the street; sharedstreets is a data standard and platform that serves as a launching pad for public-private collaboration and a clearinghouse for data exchange. In 2017, nacto also published the urban street stormwater guide, a national guide highlighting strategies to integrate green stormwater infrastructure into safe, sustainable, multi-modal street design. Through a national, interdisciplinary collaboration of city experts from both transportation and water departments, nacto codified best practices in leveraging streets as spaces for both ecology and mobility. From including bioswales in the bikeway buffer zone to using street trees to improve the experience waiting at a bus stop, this guide is a collection of creative innovations from nacto cities across the country. In 2017, nacto also engaged its network of cities and transit agencies to develop resources focused on improving urban public transit service. This effort builds on the 2016 publication of the transit street design guide, a guide to best practices for unlocking street space and moving more people more efficiently, safely, and sustainably with mass surface transit. As complements to that work, in 2017 nacto released two publications to advance national practice in transit-supportive street design and effective transit operations: curb appeal: curbside management strategies for improving transit reliability and better boarding, better buses: streamlining boarding & fares. Nacto's urban bikeway design guide, published in 2012, filled a national gap in design guidance for on-street bike lanes in cities. Since publication, more than 100 cities across the u. S. Have built at least one protected bike lane, providing the infrastructure necessary to support major increases in bike ridership. Nacto's peer network of bike practitioners, the cities for cycling group, convenes regularly to refine and improve best practices for designing bike lanes. In 2017, nacto published designing for all ages & abilities: contextual guidance for high-comfort bicycle facilities. Building bicycle infrastructure that meets this criteria is an essential strategy for cities seeking to attract high ridership to improve traffic safety, reduce congestion, improve air quality and public health, provide better and more equitable access to jobs and opportunities, and bolster local economies. Promoting bike share ridership is a critical complement to building high-quality bike infrastructure. Nacto works with the better bikeshare partnership to compile resources and deliver peer learning on topics such as equitable system planning and strategies to leverage and manage new technologies such as dockless bike share. In 2017, nacto released bike share in the u. S. : 2010-2016, the first ever national compilation and evaluation of bike share program data. The report analyzed the 88 million trips made on bike share in the u. S. Since 2010, including where those trips were taken, how long the average trip was, and a survey of what initiatives the 55 bike share systems across the u. S. Had taken to ensure equity in access to bike share. In order to communicate our vision for safe, sustainable city transportation systems, and in order to disseminate our national resources and publications, nacto's work includes a strategic communications initiative. In 2017, nacto leveraged our website, social media, and press outreach to provide clear, accessible information to practitioners, communities, advocacy groups and other stakeholders working towards a shared vision for better urban transportation. Nacto staff also presented on our publications and strategic initiatives to thousands of leaders and practitioners across north america. Nacto also partners with other stakeholders to advance a common vision for vibrant cities, including transportation for america, the institute for transportation engineers, the urban land institute, the association of bicycle and pedestrian professionals, the vision zero network, the national complete streets coalition, and the american public transportation association.

global designing cities initiative - the global designing cities initiative (gdci) is committed to raising the state of the practice for street design and transportation around the world by building a common vision, sharing data, encouraging peer-to-peer exchanges and regular communication among international cities. Launched as a new program of nacto in 2014, gdci focuses on the critical role of streets within urban environments around the world. The initiative facilitates the exchange of transportation ideas, insights and best practices among international cities, through providing design guidance, offering technical expertise, and ongoing peer-to-peer mentoring through a global expert network. In 2017, the gdci team facilitated hands-on trainings for more than 1,000 practitioners on the strategies included in the global street design guide and exposed over 4,300 people to the material through more than 50 presentations in 22 cities around the world. The team provided detailed design guidance to steer the implementation of two permanent projects and supported city agencies to implement 14 pop-up or interim interventions. In addition, gdci hosted six webinars tailored for an international audience, reaching roughly 1,000 people over the course of the year. A free online version of the global street design guide was launched in may, and has since been downloaded over 10,000 times from more than 100 countries. To date, 25 organizations, 37 cities, and one country have endorsed the global street design guide. As an implementing partner for the bloomberg philanthropies initiative for global road safety, in 2017, gdci focused on advancing projects and policies in five cities, working with local partners to update street design standards, build local capacity, and implement projects with the overall goal of reducing traffic injuries and fatalities. In addis ababa, ethiopia, nacto supported local officials to develop and launch the safe intersections program, under which the city will carry out 10 interim transformations each year for the next three years. In bogot, colombia, eight plaza and intersection interventions transformed more than 10,000 square meters of public space and added or improved more than 80 pedestrian crossings. In fortaleza, brazil, an interim intervention transformed 1,200 square meters of underutilized road space and inspired the mayor to launch a citywide program. In mumbai, india, nacto worked with local partners to temporarily transform a major intersection, reclaiming over 1,700 square meters of underutilized road space for pedestrians, lowering turning speeds, and making the intersection safer for all users. In so paulo, brazil, two adjacent intersections, with a total area of 450 square meters, were transformed as a temporary measure to advance reduce speed zones across the city; this also inspired the traffic engineering agency to update guidance on roundabouts to better account for pedestrians.

building the movement - nacto convenes and facilitates a network of leading cities and transit agencies, providing professional development and capacity-building in transportation policy and urban design, forging connections between peer cities, and empowering the individuals who comprise the progressive local transportation movement. Nacto hosts city steering committees, peer working groups, and practitioner listservs on a range of topics, including national and federal transportation policy, bike lane design and implementation, bike share, technology in transportation, safety and vision zero, green stormwater infrastructure, equity in transportation, and transit. Nacto dedicates significant resources to supporting, training, and nurturing this network of city staff, building public sector expertise and creating a supportive professional community of individuals who are collectively changing the paradigm in city transportation. Nacto empowers city staff to better achieve their cities' goals and visions for transportation through a number of professional development initiatives. Nacto provides opportunities for regular peer-to-peer learning and exchanges via an annual conference, regional workshops, targeted events, and regular webinars. Nacto's hallmark event, the annual designing cities conference, is the premier transportation conference in the u. S. , shining a national spotlight on public sector leadership in safe, sustainable, equitable transportation policy and practice. In 2017, the conference took place in chicago and attracted over 800 people from 125 cities, with more than 60% of attendees working directly for a city or transit agency, and virtually all sessions led by public sector presenters. Previous conference host cities include seattle, austin, san francisco, phoenix, and new york city. In 2017, nacto developed a new fellowship program to offer promising leaders in city transportation the opportunity for in-depth, targeted professional development and training, as well as sustained connections with a cohort of other emerging leaders. Leadership nacto launched in late 2017 with a competitive application for the 2018 program.

accelerating changenacto conducts targeted and intensive work with individual cities or regions to catalyze local change; successful projects become national case studies, inspiring other cities with innovative recipes and strategies for transformative initiatives. In 2017, nacto conducted baseline research on agency structure and project delivery through its agency accelerator initiative. This study aimed to identify factors that accelerate or hinder the implementation of transformative transportation projects in cities around the country. Nacto collected benchmarking information from 20 cities, giving nacto a unique look into how city agencies are structured and what capabilities city departments of transportation and public works have to deliver street projects. Following that national survey, nacto staff conducted 94 interviews with 18 cities, developing a deep understanding of the structural issues that impede progress within cities, as well as how some cities are clearing those barriers to transforming their streets. Growing out of the interview work, nacto began intensive work with san jose and pittsburgh as part of the agency accelerator model. These two cities, on the cusp of rapid transformation, began work in 2017 to develop a roadmap to deliver high-quality street design projects more quickly and effectively through changes to agency organizational structure and processes. In 2017, nacto also conducted intensive work with four cities through the transit accelerator program. Nacto held trainings and workshops in cambridge, oakland, indianapolis, and denver to build local capacity and knowledge around dedicated transit lanes and other transit-supportive street designs. The transit accelerator program helped build a supportive professional community within each participating city, as well as across the national network. As a result of this program, denver implemented new red transit lane treatments on two segments of broadway and converted an existing transit lane to 24-hour operation. Denver's participation in the fhwa experimental process for red transit lanes will help pave the way for other cities as nacto continues to push for this critical design element to be integrated into national statutes. Also as a result of the transit accelerator program, indianapolis redesigned two major transit corridors to improve transit legibility and bicyclist comfort, building momentum for a successful bond to fund a major transit expansion; the oakland department of transportation partnered with ac transit to integrate transit lanes into street designs on broadway in anticipation of a planned bus rapid transit build-out; and nacto's work to support bike lanes and transit-supportive street designs on massachusetts avenue in cambridge is setting the stage for further regional transit improvements. In 2017, nacto also coalesced its 12 member cities in california to collaborate on state-level policy issues. Through the california cities transportation initiative (cacti) nacto works to advance city priorities at the state level and promote a model for progressive local and state partnership around transportation policy.