ture construction can be repaired and restored to service with minimal
interruption. Joining the ...... 2006. 2007. 2008. 2009. 2010. 2011. 2012. Annual
Ridership. Katrina ..... 63.4 cents Dodge Grand Caravan, Kia Sedona, Honda.
Odyssey ...
Mississippi Gulf Coast Transportation Assessment 1
May 2013
The work that provided the basis for this publication was supported by funding under an award with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The substance and findings of the work are dedicated to the public. The author and publisher are solely responsible for the accuracy of the statements and interpretations contained in this publication. Such interpretations do not necessarily reflect the views of the Government.
Cover Photo Source Alex North Photography Other Photos Source Plan for Opportunity Flickr Website
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The Plan for Opportunity The Plan for Opportunity is a collaborative planning project intended to guide the economic growth and development of the Mississippi Gulf Coast and to improve housing, employment and transportation opportunities throughout the region. The three year planning process will be guided by the Constituency for a Sustainable Coast (CSC), a stakeholder working committee including city and county leadership, key community and public partners, and residents of the region. TRANSPORTATION SUBCOMMITTEE Allison Beasley, Southern Mississippi Planning & Development District Paul Barnes, Harrison County, MS - GIS Patrick Bonck, Harrison County Zoning Administration Perry Brown, Mississippi Department of Transportation
Jim Foster, MS Gulf Coast Heritage Trails Partnership Keith Head, Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality Greg Holmes, City of Gulfport Planning Department Kelsey Johnson, Mississippi State University - Gulf Coast Community Design Studio
Karen Clark, Southern Mississippi Planning & Development District - GIS
Howard Page, Steps Coalition
Kevin Coggin, Coast Transit Authority
David Perkes, Mississippi State University - Gulf Coast Community Design Studio
Jennifer Cowley, The Ohio State University
Don Shepley, Gulfport-Biloxi Airport
Ed Elam, Burk-Kleinpeter, Inc.
Tammy Wisco, Eco-Systems, LLC.
PROJECT LEADERS Kenneth Yarrow, Gulf Regional Planning Commission Eliot Allen, Criterion Planners
Ken Holland, Gulf Regional Planning Commission Benjamin Requet, Gulf Regional Planning Commission
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MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST TRANSPORTATION ASSESSMENT INTRODUCTION
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GULF COAST REGION 11 METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION 20 CURRENT SYSTEMS 24 TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM ACCESS & MOBILITY 31 PUBLIC TRANSIT ACCESS & MOBILITY 41 PEDESTRIAN & BICYCLE MOBILITY 57 OPPORTUNITIES FOR CHANGE 64 CONCLUSIONS 69 END NOTES 74
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Acronyms & Abbreviations
AAA
American Automobile Association
MDOT
Mississippi Department of Transportation
ACS
American Community Survey
MPO
Metropolitan Planning Organization
ATAC
Accessible Transportation Committee (CTA)
SOV
Single Occupant Vehicle
CDBG
Community Development Block Grant
TAZ
Traffic Analysis Zone
CMS
Congestion Management System
TCC
Technical Coordinating Committee
CTA
Coast Transit Authority
TIP
Transportation Improvements Program
EPA
Environmental Protection Agency
TPC
Transportation Policy Committee
FHWA
Federal Highway Administration
TOD
Transit Oriented Development
FTA
Federal Transit Administration
UPWP
Unified Planning Work Program
GRPC
Gulf Regional Planning Commission
UZA
Urbanized Area
HOV
High Occupancy Vehicle
VMT
Vehicle Miles Traveled
MSA
Metropolitan Statistical Area
MDA
Mississippi Development Authority
Advisory
VPD
Vehicles per Day
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INTRODUCTION
The Plan for Opportunity
in this environment, there remains a group for whom multi-modal systems are required in order to access jobs and vital services. In addition, a growing number of individuals on the MS Gulf Coast are choosing to buck this trend and use transit, bicycles and walking as an alternative. Recent natural events as well are turning attention to sustainable practices and methods of construction as a way of hardening the population against further displacement or interruption. Transportation systems, like other assets in the region, are being rethought to make sure all future construction can be repaired and restored to service with minimal interruption. Joining the conversation as well are others committed use this as an advantage to correct past mistakes, and plan a future where all these modes are more accessible, interconnected and supportive of one another.
The Plan for Opportunity’s transportation assessment will advance concepts and strategies for a well-developed transportation network, consisting of multiple modes or alternatives attractive enough to compete with using a single occupant vehicle. Reviewing existing plans in light of sustainability principles led to identification of updated priorities for system development. These updates include the need to establish a series of uniform future performance measures backed by regional transportation practices, the sole purpose of which will be to address the core vision for a blended transportation system:
Make transportation alternatives available and attractive enough to replace daily vehicle trips by creating better connections between where people live and their destinations.
In re-thinking the current system, the Plan for Opportunity has set before it several major objectives, based upon the livability principles set up by the Partnership for Sustainable Communities.1
Getting to this vision requires tough decisions, least of which is a fundamental shift in how the MS Gulf Coast approaches its land use and transportation relationships. Historically, the region benefited from a strong connection between its core cities, along with the water, rail, streetcar and roads that tied them together. However, as time and technology progressed, faster, more independent means of travel combined with road building and land use decisions reflective of national trends, put in place practices which spread the base of the population away from the traditional city cores. What was once connected by a multi-modal system soon became reachable only by the automobile. By 2010, the automobile was clearly the mode of choice for many commuters and residents. Land use patterns as well continued to grow a new generation of residents for whom autos are the only option to access regional job centers, critical services, educational facilities and the like. Yet, even
• Provide more transportation choices - Transit, bicycling and walking contribute very little to the region’s daily trip needs. Having efficient and effective choices will raise the acceptability of using these modes, which when used as an alternative to SOV travel, improve the region’s environmental conditions as well as the quality of life for its residents.
• Promote equitable, affordable housing – Connecting transportation
modes to housing improves access and equity for larger proportions of the region’s low and moderate income populations, minority and other disadvantaged populations. All will benefit from the time sav-
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ings created by placing housing, employment and services within closer proximity to one another.
• Enhance economic competitiveness - Transportation costs will be reduced due to shortened trips to employment, shopping and recreation. Transportation needs will be met while minimizing the harmful effects of mobile source emissions on the environment achieved by reducing VMT of daily
SOV trips. Shorter commute distances will further reduce transportation costs by encouraging increased use of transit, carpooling, biking and walking.
• Support existing communities – Maintaining strong local communities is
a priority for this planning effort. The MS Gulf Coast values its unique character, history and culture. It encourages tourists to visit, locals to stay and new people to come and invest.
• Coordinate policies and leverage investment – Funding resources have
limits. With partnerships in place, it is expected that transportation investments can be multiplied in a variety of beneficial ways.
• Value communities and neighborhoods - Health and quality of life will be enhanced regionally as improved pedestrian, bicycle and transit options
offer easy access to more community facilities, services, shopping, workplaces and recreational areas. Safety will be improved as transportation systems will be designed to encourage the use of alternative choices by protecting the safety of all motorized and non-motorized users. 8
Why Sustainable Transportation? It’s about the network, and how it can better respond to the needs of the local population rather than focusing strictly on moving a total volume of vehicles between points. This is a significant change from how planning and capital programming is currently used in regional transportation planning in this region. What are the outcomes of such an approach? Better communities able to support the needs of its residents, which will continue to change as they age, raise families and retire. We want the Gulf Coast to remain a premiere location to live and invest. Moving toward sustainability will take time, it is not expected to occur overnight, but it is a move expected to create a transportation system which is a benefit to all of us:
Conventional Transportation Network
Sustainable Transportation Network
About moving cars at a speed
About places and getting to them
Auto-dependent
Multi-modal
Indirect routes
Accessible destinations
Dangerous and unpleasant for pedestrians
Welcoming for pedestrians
Fewer route choices
More route choices
Wider streets
Narrower streets
Vehicle traffic discourages walking
Supports activity on sidewalks
Source: Brian Bochner, Senior Research Engineer at Texas A&M University as referenced in CNU’s document “Sustainable Transportation Networks”
30-minute commute of major employment centers.
Methodology We start with an inventory of existing conditions and use this combined with sustainability principles to flush out issues to be addressed based on acceptable indicators and desired outcomes. To be successful and incorporate a base of perspectives, this project will engage key stakeholder groups representing the community at-large, as well as those groups which utilize all existing modes of transportation on the MS Gulf Coast: automobiles, public transit, cycling and walking. Beginning with the transportation assessment to establish the baseline of current plans, polices and recommendations, it will lead to identification of opportunities to explore and implement through policy and capital recommendations to help realize the outcomes listed below:
6. Increased proportion of homes and rental units affordable to a full range of household incomes in urban areas or within town centers in suburban areas that are close to transportation alternatives such as transit, walking, bicycling and ride-sharing. Problem Statement
1. Creation of regional transportation, housing, water and air quality plans that are deeply aligned and tied to local comprehensive land use capital investment plans. 2. Reduced social and economic disparities for the low-income and communities of color within the region. 3. Decrease in per capita VMT and transportation-related emissions for the region. 4. Decrease in overall combined housing and transportation costs per household. 5. Increased proportion of low and very low income households within 9
A sustainable region provides viThe transportation options will able transportation options to its need to become competitive residents and visitors as a way of with the safety, convenience, improving general mobility and accessibility and mobility of the access. By improving the sustainsingle occupancy vehicle. ability of its transportation system, the Mississippi Gulf Coast can become a more vibrant, livable, and sustainable. Daily trips made by cars always have been and always will be predominant method of travel on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Our residents want the independence provided to them by this mode. However, if a commitment is made by decision makers on the Gulf Coast prioritize walking, bicycling, and transit, it would be of great benefit to the region’s quality of life, attractiveness as a prime tourist destination, and in general make for a healthier population. The planning effort will touch on the number of people walking, riding bicycles and using transit as a way of gauging the effectiveness of these systems in helping address current mobility demands. In addition, we
Stakeholder Advisory Committee
will reach out to others to determine the types of improvements and options which make these alternative modes attractive to people using other travel options. Data collected, through interviews and general survey, will lead to development of specific programmatic or project recommendations which can include facilities, programs, education and continued public outreach.
In order to gain perspective from a broad base of transportation users regarding the direction of the transportation assessment, a committee has been used to help guide the development of this assessment. The committee, including representatives from Gulf Regional Planning Commission (GRPC), Gulf Coast Community Design Studio, Mississippi Department of Transportation, Southern Mississippi Planning and Development District, Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, City of Gulfport, Harrison County, Heritage Trails, Coast Transit Authority, City of Biloxi, and City of Ocean Springs, met three times during the development of this assessment:
Process The transportation component of the Sustainability Plan will focus on increasing the number of daily trips that utilize transit, bicycling and walking. One way to encourage this is to shorten the average daily trips in the region. For this to happen, originations and destinations in the region should be closer together and closer to transit routes. A good start to developing this mindset in the region is to focus on locating housing near transit and close to employment generators. This sustainability plan will be used to encourage and focus housing and commercial development and transportation funds in gulf coast sustainability nodes, corridors and districts that will be developed as a part of this plan. The corridors will be based on existing transit routes as well as existing communities, activity centers and economic clusters on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
• The group’s first meeting was held on June 26, 2012. The meeting focuses on providing committee members with background of the planning effort and a vision of the work to be accomplished in the transportation component of the study. • Reconnecting America was selected to provide free technical assistance to the GRPC with grant support to Project for Public spaces from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities program and conducted a two-day site visit on August 14-15, 2012. This workshop served as the group’s second meeting to familiarize the group with Transit Oriented Development (TOD) and how it could be applied on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
Sustainability nodes, corridors and districts will be identified as areas that contain the highest residential and employment densities as well as many of the daily trips to work, school, shopping and medical. This will enable decision makers to focus resources to provide transportation amenities that maximize transit service quality, improve roadways to become more suitable for bicycle and pedestrians, improve land use densities to advance a more sustainable Gulf Coast. Recommendations should be made in conjunction with other components of this plan to improve land use densities in the areas identified.
• The group’s third meeting was held March 6, 2013. This meeting consisted of a presentation of the draft assessment. The committee reviewed the assessment and provided comment that was incorporated into the final document.
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GULF COAST REGION
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History2 Development along the Mississippi Gulf Coast is oriented to the Gulf of Mexico, a settlement pattern which has prevailed since French settlers arrived in the area in the 17th Century. As time has progressed, individual core communities have grown into cities which are today interconnected by a combination of transportation systems including roads, railroads and waterways. Together, the 11 communities along the Coast have grown close together in a linear fashion along the current US 90 and I-10 corridors.
Like many communities in the US, most of the more substantial changes in development came as a result of key events or opportunities. On the MS Gulf Coast, the first of these came in the nineteenth century as wealthy New Orleanians sought, in the salt air of the coastal plain, to escape yellow fever epidemics by building handsome summer cottages along the beaches of the Mississippi Sound. The New Orleans, Chattanooga and Mobile Railroad, built in 1869, introduced Midwestern “snowbirds” to the charms of the coast, starting a seasonal migration that continues today. The railroad also allowed the establishment of sawmills and brickyards that employed European immigrants from Ireland, Germany and Italy. Commercial fisheries flourished, and a huge seafood processing industry also developed.
of these establishments have been significant in terms of their ongoing economic investment on the Mississippi Gulf Coast in terms of direct spending, employment and industry spin-offs. Third, the state of Mississippi legalized casino gaming in 1993, paving the way for the development of new resort-style development on Coast. These venues brought a combination of employment and opportunity to an area where job growth and development had stagnated as a result of national economic conditions. Twelve casinos can be found in Hancock and Harrison Counties responsible for employing over 11,000 persons, and bringing 3.25 million visitors to the Coast.3 The combination of military and federal installations with the tourism industry remains cornerstones of the Mississippi Gulf Coast economy.
Second, federal investments in the area increased with the outbreak of World War II. The Air Force established Keesler Air Base in Biloxi. The Navy constructed the Naval Construction Battalion Center (NCBC) in Gulfport. In Pascagoula the Ingalls Shipbuilding Company, now Huntington Ingalls Industries, built ships for the US Navy. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) established the Stennis Space Center in the mid-1960s in Hancock County as the site for testing the Saturn V rocket booster used to launch manned space missions. All 12
Map II-1 Mississippi Gulf Coast Region Existing Population (2011)
local communities are relatively low. Exceptions can be found in the communities of D’Iberville, Ocean Springs and Pascagoula, which on
Hancock, Harrison and Jackson Counties contain approximately 375,900 persons according to the US Census Bureau’s 2011 annual estimate.4 The majority of this population can be found in Harrison County, within Total Population (2010) Hancock 43,929 Harrison 187,105 Jackson 139,668 Total 370,702 County
Land Area, sq. mi. (2000) 476.88 sq. mi. 580.98 sq. mi. 726.90 sq. mi. 1,784.76 sq. mi.
County
Persons per sq. mi. (2010) 92.18 322.05 192.14 207.70
Hancock
Harrison
Table II-1: MS Gulf Coast Counties at a Glance (2010) Population, Land Area, Density
Data Sources: Urban and Rural, Total Population, 2010 Census Summary File 1, US Census Bureau, 2010.
Jackson
the City of Gulfport, as shown in the following tables.
City
Total Land Area, Land Area, Population acres sq. mi. (2010)
Waveland
6,435
8.65
5,536
Bay St. Louis
9,260
14.70
9,408
Pass Christian
4,613
8.22
5,260
Long Beach
14,792
10.27
6,572
Gulfport
67,793
55.87
35,756
Biloxi
44,054
38.40
24,576
D’Iberville
9,486
7.11
4,550
Ocean Springs
17,442
11.37
7,276
Gautier
18,572
30.21
19,334
Moss Point
13,704
21.88
14,003
Pascagoula
22,392
15.28
9,779
Table II-2: Population Density and Distribution By Incorporated Areas, MS Gulf Coast
Select Characteristic of the Population: Density and Distribution
Data Sources: Urban and Rural, Total Population, 2010 Census Summary File 1, US
As shown on Table II-2 and Map II-2, population densities within the
Census Bureau, 2010. Land area provided by Gulf Regional Planning Commission, 2013.
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Map II-2 Mississippi Gulf Coast Population Densities - Employment Densities
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average, have the densest population levels in the group.
Reported Mode of Transportation County
Select Characteristic of the Population: Worker Population Characteristics The US Census found that the majority of workers in the local population live and work in the same county. Of the three counties, Hancock has the highest percentage of workers working outside of its boundaries and within other MS counties (Table II-3).
County
16,790
52.3%
32.5%
15.3%
Harrison
85,740
86.4%
10.8%
2.8%
Jackson
59,074
65.9%
28.2%
5.9%
Carpool
Public Transit
Walked
Bicycles
Other
Hancock
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Harrison
80.8%
10.5%
0.9%
4.1%
0.2%
3.5%
Jackson
83.2%
12.1%
0.5%
1.1%
0.2%
2.9%
Table II-4: Means of Transportation to Work
% of Population % of Workers, 16 % Working Working In Other Population years and Within County Counties of the Working OutOlder of Residence State of MS of-State
Hancock
SOV
Workers 16 years and older, 2009-2011 American Community Survey 3 Year Estimates
SOV=single-occupant vehicles. Carpool = 2-person to 7-person carpool. Public Transit includes: Bus or Trolley Bus, Streetcar or Trolley car, Subway or elevated, Railroad, Ferryboat, Taxicab. Other includes Worked at Home as well as other means. Represents mode choice reported by workers, 16 years and older. Source: American Community Survey, US Census Bureau, 2009-2011 3-Year Estimates, Table S0801.
The ACS found that 4% of workers, 16 years and older within Hancock and Harrison Counties reported living in households with no vehicles available. This represents a total population of 2,544 persons, with the majority of those (1,822) residing in Harrison County (Table II-5).
Table II-3: Journey-to-Work Patterns
Workers 16 years and older, 2009-2011 American Community Survey 3 Year Estimates
County
Data Source: US Census Bureau, 2009-2011 American Community Survey 3-Year Estimates, Tables S0801, S0802. Represents place of work reported by those workers, 16 years and older.
The ACS found the majority of the working population travel to work in single-occupant vehicles (SOV). As a total percentage, those using alternatives (carpools through other categories) were a higher percentage of the total work population within Harrison County (Table II-4).
No Vehicle
% of Workers, 16 Years and Older 1 Vehicle 2 Vehicles 3 or More Vehicles
Hancock
0.8%
16.9%
41.1%
41.2%
Harrison
2.2%
23.4%
40.4%
34.1%
Jackson
1.0%
18.4%
41.8%
38.7%
Table II-5: Vehicle Availability
Workers 16 years and older, 2009-2011 American Community Survey 3 Year Estimate source: American Community Survey, US Census Bureau, 2009-2011 3-Year Estimates. Represents time reported by those workers, 16 years and older. Table S0801.
15
Mean Travel Time (mins)
˃ 14 Mins
15-19 Mins
Hancock
28.7
22.6%
10.4%
21.1%
25.4%
8.9%
Harrison
21.7
32.1%
19.3%
24.1%
16.5%
Jackson
24.0
28.5%
16.1%
21.3%
22.5%
County
20 to 29 30 to 44 45 to 59 Mins Mins Mins
County
60+ Mins
Time of Day 12 - 5:59 am 6 - 6:59 am 7 - 7:59 am 8 - 8:59 am 9 - 11:59 pm
Hancock
17.9%
25.8%
27.3%
10.1%
18.8%
11.5%
Harrison
17.7%
22.3%
25.8%
10.8%
23.4%
4.2%
3.8%
Jackson
23.1%
22.6%
18.7%
9.2%
22.4%
6.6%
5.0%
Table II-7: Percentage of Workers Leaving Home to Go to Work, by Time of Day
Table II-6: Reported Travel Time to Work
Workers 16 years and older, 2009-2011 American Community Survey 3 Year Estimates
Source: American Community Survey, US Census Bureau, 2009-2011 3-Year Estimates. Represents time reported by those workers, 16 years and older. Table S0801.
The ACS found the majority of workers residing in the MS Gulf Coast Counties travel less than 29 minutes to get to work. Workers in Hancock County travel longest, according to the mean travel times shown in the table, while workers in Harrison County travel the shortest length of time to get to work (Table II-6).
Workers 16 years and older, 2009-2011 American Community Survey 3 Year Estimates
Source: American Community Survey, US Census Bureau, 2009-2011 3-Year Estimates. Represents time reported by those workers, 16 years and older. Table S0801.
and remediation service, educational services, arts, entertainment and recreation (20% growth or higher, average wages between $14.50 to $20.45 per hour). Transportation linkages to manufacturing sites, an important component of providing additional job opportunities, currently include roads and employer sponsored vanpools. Very few of the region’s major industrial sites and industrial parks (MS State Port at Gulfport, Bernard Bayou Industrial District, part) are located within a reasonable walking distance from or adjacent to the current fixed-route transportation system. This creates an obstacle from ill require a review of
The ACS found the most frequently observed period for workers to leave home and go to work in Hancock and Harrison Counties is between 7:00 and 7:59 am, and is between 6:00 and 6:59 am In Jackson County (Table II-7). General Employment and Economic Outlook5
Additional information on the economics of the region can be found in the Economic Development assessment.
Per capita income in Hancock County, Harrison County and Jackson County is 13% higher than the State average. In addition, 15% of all persons and 11.9% of all families on the Gulf Coast have incomes below poverty level. 32.5% of families with a female head of household live in poverty – this figure was the same at both the 2000 and 2010 Census.
Identification of Underserved Populations GRPC’s goal for its participation and consultation activities is to ensure that the transportation plans for the region reflect its needs and provide benefit to all communities as equitably as possible. In order to spatially locate traditionally underserved population groups on the MS Gulf Coast, several data sources have been used. Baseline data for this analysis, completed prior to the release of the 2010 general data sets was the 2000 Census data.
The outlook for jobs in the region includes continued growth in lower wage, hourly positions within both of the MSAs (Gulfport-Biloxi and Pascagoula-Moss Point). This growth will assure the prevalence of a growing number of employed persons in low wage jobs. The segments of the market noted for their change over time (between 2008 and 2018) include the food preparation and serving related jobs (13.7% increase, with an average wage of $8.97 to $9.58 per hour); health care and social assistance industry (24.7% increase, with an average wage of $11.16 to $12.31 per hour); administrative and support, waste management
As changes in population distribution and location occurred as a result of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the Mississippi Gulf Coast Metropolitan 16
Map II-3 Gulf Coast Low Income Areas Planning Organization (described below) used a variety of indicators to identify the spatial locations of traditionally underserved populations. The American Community Survey (ACS), Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS), and other data sources supplemented Census data to find and map locations of Low-Income, Senior, Mobility-Disabled, Minority and Non-White, and Linguistically Isolated populations residing on the MS Gulf Coast. According to Census there are 167,088 households in the three county region. Map II-3 shows the areas in the region in which more than 50% of households within are low income. Another analysis done by the Metropolitan Planning Organization identifies the areas with a high percentage of minorities. Map II-4 shows areas with
high concentrations of minorities. The highest concentrations of the traditionally underserved population groups appear to be found in: • The City of Gulfport north of the current CSX railroad tracks and west of US 49; • The City of Biloxi, east of the Keesler Air Force Base, across the existing peninsula; • The City of Pascagoula, south of US 90, and east of downtown
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Map II-4 MS Gulf Coast Minority Areas Support of Ongoing Comprehensive Planning for Transportation System Alternatives7 Comprehensive plans from a total of 14 local governments on the Mississippi Gulf Coast were evaluated and scores assigned to determine what areas of livability were receiving significant attention in these efforts. In addition, this effort allowed for the identification of additional opportunities which might exist to further regional planning to support enhanced livability. A total of 101 indicators were used to evaluate the plans, 36 indicators of factual basis, 36 indicators of goals and objectives and 29 indicators of strategies or policies. For each livability principle, there are six factual basis and six goal indicators. Values for each have
been tabulated based scores calculated based upon results gathered from all the comprehensive plans evaluated. In addition, specialized plans which relate the subject area of the livability principle were also evaluated based upon their consistency with that principle. Scores were arrayed on a thermometer to measure the degree to which the plans meet with the collective livability principles. For the general discussion on transportation systems, the focus has been placed on the evaluation of regional plans in light of the following Livability Principles: • Provide more transportation choices: Develop safe, reliable and economic
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transportation choices to decrease household transportation costs, reduce our nation’s dependence on foreign oil, improve air quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote public health.
• Support existing communities: Target federal funding toward existing communities – through strategies like transit oriented, mixed-use development, and land recycling – to increase community revitalization and the efficiency of public works investments and safeguard rural landscapes.
Based upon this evaluation, plans scored highest (or most compliant), on a combination of transportation related factors including existing road networks, promoting multi-modal transportation options and the goal of creating a safe environment for walking and biking. Plans scored lowest on the portion of trips made by automobile, transit, walking, and bicycling; proportion of households located within ¼ mile of public transit; and goal of decreasing vehicle miles traveled. Plans also scored highest in their support for identification of the current retail environment, and adding parks and public spaces in existing areas. However, plans ranked lowest in existing housing data, physical building condition analysis, a focus on public investment toward revitalization, encourage infill development. Additional information on the region’s livability can be found in the Comprehensive Plan assessment.
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Metropolitan Planning Organization
20
III.
METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION
Coast became a TMA. Included in the responsibilities of the GRPC as a TMA are the development and maintenance of a Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP), the long-range transportation plan and the transportation improvement program (TIP).
In 1973 the Governor of Mississippi designated the Gulf Regional Planning Commission (GRPC) as the MPO for the urbanized areas of Gulfport-Biloxi and Pascagoula-Moss Point. The combined urban areas includes the cities of Waveland, Bay St. Louis, Pass Christian, Long Beach, Gulfport, D’Iberville, Biloxi, Ocean Springs, Gautier, Pascagoula and Moss Point and, the southern extent of Hancock, Harrison and Jackson counties. A Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) is defined in Federal Transportation Legislation (23 USC 134(b) and 49 USC 5303(c)) as the designated local decision-making body that is responsible for carrying out the metropolitan transportation planning process. An MPO must be designated for each urban area with a population of more than 50,000 people (i.e., for each Urbanized Area (UZA) defined in the most recent decennial Census).
• The UPWP, developed in collaboration with Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) and Coast Transit Authority (CTA), establishes the planning program completed over a particular year, consistent with the adopted goals and objectives of the MPO. • The long range transportation plan, Gulf Coast Area Transportation Study (GCATS), is an adopted regional transportation plan will contain a list of projects that the MPO has agreed to prioritize and commit funds. • The TIP is a capital program outlining the implementation of all transportation projects funded by various mechanisms but which require FHWA or FTA approval. TIP projects must be consistent with the GCATS.
GRPC provides the staff, facility and administration of the MPO. The MPO is governed by a transportation policy committee (TPC) that is comprised of elected officials and directors of several transportationrelated organizations. Among other duties and obligations, the TPC is responsible for the adoption of a Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) and the Transportation Improvements Program (TIP), and for establishing policies and procedural guidelines that comply with federal regulations. The TPC is guided by the recommendations presented by the Technical Coordinating Committee (TCC). The TCC is comprised of the many technical staff of the cities and counties and they meet as often as necessary to discuss issues and projects of the MPO. Transportation Management Area Designation The Gulfport-Biloxi urbanized area surpassed the 200,000 population threshold following the 2000 Census and hence the Mississippi Gulf 21
2035 Long Range Transportation Plan
individual decisions can add up to an overall enhancement of system performance. In accordance with its commitment to transportation modes and strategies which offer alternatives to new street and highway construction, the MPO supports the implementation of such measures wherever they can serve to reduce congestion and facilitate mobility.
The Mississippi Gulf Coast MPO maintains a long-range transportation plan for the Mississippi Gulf Coast Area in accordance with applicable federal law and the metropolitan planning regulations jointly promulgated by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). Those guidelines require the MPO for an area to maintain a plan with a horizon of at least 20 years. The horizon for the current long range transportation plan is the year 2035, with interim target years of 2015 (short-term component) and 2025 (intermediate component).
Alternative strategies include transportation demand management (TDM) measures that seek to reduce the number of vehicles operating on streets and highways in the area. Typically these programs are intended to reduce both traffic congestion and vehicular emissions. Strategies such as designating existing highway lanes for exclusive high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) use, or designating existing parking facilities for exclusive use by carpools and vanpools, can actually help to reduce the number of vehicles on the road. The MPO also cooperates with the Mississippi Coast Transportation Authority (Coast Transit Authority or CTA) in assembling the resources necessary to provide the infrastructure for safe, reliable and efficient access to transit service in targeted corridors.
The study uses land use and demographic forecasts and travel demand modeling that show the pattern of development and allocation of land uses in an area. Changes in the type, intensity or distribution of land uses will generate new travel demand or modify existing patterns of circulation. GRPC developed a long-range land use and demographic forecast in order to provide the input data necessary for modeling future traffic in the area. These forecasts were also used in many components of the Plan for Opportunity assessments. The forecast projected that population in the area would increase by more than 100,000 by 2035 with employment expanding by more than 75,000 jobs during the same long-range planning period.
2035 Transit Development Plan (TDP) The TDP is Coast Transit Authority’s long range plan is the source for identifying the types of transit projects which will be implemented through the year 2035. The plan includes the identification of funding resources through a combination of Federal, State and local resources for the projects. The TDP outlines projects that follow the general principles of transit development on the Mississippi Gulf Coast that are applicable to the objectives of the Plan for Opportunity which include: service frequency improvements, new bus technology, more inter-county transit, recognizing transit and land use connectivity, and the expansion of transit marketing. Some of the specific priorities for improving the system include:
The conceptual funding alternatives defined for consideration envisioned shifting some funds from street and highway construction to other categories in accordance with goals relating to the maintenance of existing infrastructure, expansion of alternative modes, and enhancement of the safety and security of the transportation system. In deciding what type of roadway improvement would best address an identified need, consideration was given first to congestion management strategies intended to increase the operational efficiency of a facility. Demand management measures that increase average vehicle occupancy have the potential to reduce the number of vehicles on the road. Safety improvements have the potential to reduce the incidence of vehicular accidents that disrupt normal traffic operations and lead to additional congestion and delay. Increasing the amount of information available to drivers can enable them to make better decisions, and better
• Reduce headways on existing services; • New Biloxi to Gulfport Express that evolves to a Bus Rapid Transit(BRT) style and then to a light rail system connecting parts of the Gulf Coast; • Improving parking facilities on the I-10 corridor commuter service; 22
• Improve the I-10 commute service by adding a bus connector to existing fixed-route network; • Expansion of Beachcomber Service between Gulfport and Bay St. Louis; • Bay St. Louis fixed route service; • Beachcomber route from Bay St. Louis to Buccaneer State Park; • Diamondhead fixed route between Bay St. Louis and Diamondhead; • Popps Ferry Road fixed route between Edgewater mall and the Promenade in D’Iberville; • Downtown Gulfport circulator between transit hub and employment generators in downtown; • Pascagoula fixed route service; • Pascagoula to Gautier fixed route service; • Moss Point fixed route service; • Gautier fixed route service
23
CURRENT SYSTEMS
24
IV.
CURRENT SYSTEMS
Roadway System
Functional Classification Hancock Harrison Jackson MS Gulf Coast
Woven across the MS Gulf Coast are a series of federal and state highways, county roads and city streets which interconnect the region as presented on Map IV-3. Each type of road carries with it a specific functional classification corresponding to a specific series of characteristics for the type of service which the roadway provides to the community. Interstates, freeways and expressways have limited control of access. This allows for higher speed traffic operations, making them ideal for connections between communities and regions. Arterial roads have many more driveways and intersections and as such serve to connect traffic through to nodes of regional significance (downtowns, crossroads, etc.). Within these nodes, collectors help facilitate traffic flow down to a smaller network of local streets which distribute traffic out to an individual facility or structure.
Interstate Principle Arterial Minor Arterial Collector Local Total Miles
Not all roads are used evenly – in the case of the MS Gulf Coast, roadways with the smallest proportion of miles in the network, interstates and principle arterial, have the highest total daily traffic volumes and as well as over 50% of the total daily vehicles miles trav- Figure IV-1 - Access hierarchy by functional eled. Local streets, which typically class of roadways Source: COMPASS, www.compassidaho.org have some of the lowest overall traffic volumes, have the third highest VMT of all roadway classifications in the currently defined network.9 25
22 33 49 133 635 872
33 79 101 292 1,139 1,644
30 72 72 272 1,005 1,450
Table IV-1 Total Miles of Classified Roadways
85 184 222 697 2779 3,966
Hancock, Harrison, Jackson Counties, MS Data Source: Gulf Regional Planning Commission, 2013
Responsibility for maintaining this system falls to individual units of local government (cities, counties) and MDOT with participation by the GRPC in projects on specific roads and highways in their role as the MPO. The majority of roadway miles in this network (70%) and associated maintenance obligation are within the realm of local government responsibility (towns, cities, counties). Transit System In 1970, the Mississippi Legislature created by Act the Mississippi Coast Transportation Authority (MCTA). Under this act, the MCTA was created with the responsibility to provide public transportation services. Operations of services under this authority did not officially commence until August 16, 1974. The MCTA does business as the Coast Transit Authority (CTA), a name change which occurred in 1985. CTA’s legislatively authorized operating area along the Mississippi Gulf Coast consists of the counties of Hancock, Harrison and Jackson Counties, along with the municipalities of Bay St. Louis, Waveland, Pass Christian, Long Beach, Gulfport, Biloxi, D’ Iberville, Ocean Springs, Gautier, Pascagoula
26 Map IV-2 MS Gulf Coast Roadways
Map IV-1 Mississippi Gulf Coast Federal Functionally Classified Road ways
Map IV-3 Coast Transit Authority Fixed Routes • Senior Demand-Response Transportation – under contract to the Harrison County Commission, CTA offers limited non-emergency curb-to-curb service to qualifying senior citizens residing in Harrison County;
and Moss Point. As of May 20, 2012, CTA services include: • Fixed-Route Public Transportation – CTA offers a total of nine (9) routes which provide service in portions of the incorporated cities of Biloxi, D’ Iberville, Gulfport, Long Beach and Ocean Springs. Service is also offered to Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, as well as portion of unincorporated Jackson County. All fixed-route buses are ADA accessible and equipped with bicycle racks; • ADA Paratransit Services – CTA offered complementary curb-to-curb ADA paratransit services within the fixed-route service area, as well as an ADA service to qualified individuals in Hancock, Harrison and Jackson Counties;
• Park-N-Ride – CTA offers park-and-ride services from the five existing park and ride lots in Harrison County; • Coast Commuter – CTA offers commuter carpool and vanpool services to all interested employers located in the three county Gulf Coast area. The majority of this service is being used by the Huntington Ingalls Shipyard in Pascagoula (Jackson County) and employers within the Stennis Space Center in Hancock County; • Facilities – CTA operates two transit centers (one each in Downtown Biloxi and Downtown Gulfport) a transfer center at Edgewater Mall and individual
27
1,200,000
1,089,596 1,027,587
1,000,000
946,335
Annual Ridership
800,000
843,682 722,507
600,000
563,662 511,420
400,000
-
2005
2006
2007
2008
Figure IV-2 Coast Transit Authority Annual Ridership 2005-2012 comfort stations along the Harrison County Sand Beach between Long Beach and Biloxi.
Historically, total system ridership has doubled on the fixed-route network since 2005 This growth came during a period of local recovery and reconstruction activities, rising gasoline prices, economic uncertainly, system growth in services and reduction in some days and hours of service. Demand response trips continue to grow as well, just not in the same linear progression. Coast Commuter services, which were not available before 2005, have grown to over 40 total vanpools serving four states. 28
2009
US 90 Service Returns, Comfort Stations Open
2010
Service Reduction
Bike on Bus Starts
(systemwide)
Start Casino Hopper, Coast Commuter, RT 38 Gulfport,
Fare Increase
Recovery
(Rebuild Core Services)
Open US 90 Bridge
Katrina
200,000
Business As Usual
404,646 Demand Continues to grow
2011
2012
Map IV-4 Mississippi Gulf Coast Existing Bicycle Facilities Bicycle and Pedestrian Systems A practical transportation system provides a number of travel choices, including transit, bicycling, wheel chair, and walking. Building a walkable community takes a concerted effort of planning and partnering, resulting in incremental rewards that will eventually establish an active connecting network. Rising costs for traditional means of transportation along with the greater need for physical activity combine to warrant development of alternative modes of transportation. The region’s existing facilities include pedestrian and shared-use paths, shared roadways, bicycle lanes, and bike-on-bus racks. There are a number of dedicated facilities along the Mississippi Gulf Coast totaling approximately 33.54 miles of bike lanes, 8.5 miles of shared-use paths, and 12 miles of signed bike routes. There are over 40 miles of shared roadways where bicyclists consistently ride with traffic. An inventory of sidewalk locations was conducted for the region, and continued maintenance of this information is planned to support future planning
and implementation efforts. The system presented herein have been identified as part of the regional transportation planning process, contained in the Mississippi Gulf Coast Area Transportation Study, 2035 Long Range Plan. Support for development of this network comes from a variety of sources: • The Let’s Move! Campaign to reduce obesity in the nation encourages local governments to create opportunities for families to be more physically active. • The U. S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) supports the development of fully integrated, active transportation networks and encourages communities to go beyond the minimum design standards to create safe walking and biking facilities. • U. S. Transportation Secretary LaHood’s recognition of two Mississippi cities—Tupelo and Hernando— for adopting Complete Streets policies is a sign of the times, recognizing that providing a functional transportation
29
network for all users is important to making America’s communities more livable.
Block Grant (CDBG) Recovery funding improved active living in the downtown neighborhoods by including sidewalks with streetscape projects for many of the cities along the coast.
• Gulf Regional Planning Commission (GRPC) and local partners successfully application for the HUD’s Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant Program, awarded in 2010. • John Paul Frerer Bicycle Safety Act, passed by the Mississippi State Legislature which clearly states the rights and duties of motorists and bicyclists. • Existing bike lanes constructed along Mississippi highways 67 and 605, and the popular shared-use pathways on both the Bay of Saint Louis and Bay of Biloxi bridges on the US Highway 90 (US 90) route constructed by the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT). • Mississippi Development Authority’s (MDA) Community Development
30
TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM ACCESS & MOBILITY
31
Map V-1 Gulf Coast Roadways - Traffic Volume
V.
TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM ACCESS AND MOBILITY
Current Network Performance Measures The process assessing roadway systems connectivity and condition began with the technical work activities supported by the MPO to monitor and evaluate the relationship between changes in travel demand, traffic patterns and network operations. Review of these data elements allows for identification of several key relationships which help define the connection between transportation, land use and employment access on the MS Gulf Coast. Average Daily Traffic On the vast majority of the region’s streets and highways, the peak 32
travel hours are on weekdays between 6:30 and 8:00 a.m. and between 4:00 and 6:00 p.m. The afternoon peak hours almost invariably have significantly higher traffic volumes than those of the mornings. These peak hours reflect the impact of the morning journey-to-work and the afternoon journey-from-work traffic. On most streets, the afternoon return-from-work traffic couples with increased recreational traffic on Friday afternoons to create the highest traffic volumes of the week. However, the impact of casino-destined traffic, particularly from Friday afternoon through Saturday night, sometimes creates higher traffic volume on casino access routes on the weekends. The distribution of casino traffic by time of day is also markedly different from the normal traffic pattern. Generally, traffic volumes rise sharply during the morning journey-to-work peak period, build through the day, decline significantly following the afternoon peak travel period, and drop off drastically after midnight.
Technical Results – Congestion Management Review Understanding these corridors significance to overall mobility in the region, each was examined using a variety of performance measures to help determine current policies or Level-of-Service Definitions practices have undermined their • LOS C - describes stable operations, however, ability to maneuver and change lanes in functionality. Ideally, this same midblock locations may be more restricted information could be evaluated than LOS B, and longer queues, adverse sigin light of potential sustainable nal coordination, or both may contribute to lower average travel speeds of about 50 to practices to determine if policy 70 percent of the free flow speed for the adjustments, backed by capital street class. investments, could help alleviate mobility problems, expand • LOS D - borders on a range in which small increases in flow may cause substantial inchoices and improve efficiency. creases in delay and decreases in travel Traditionally state transportation departments, cities and counties think about people once they get on the road and react accordingly. Transportation planning must include demand management which thinks about people before they get on the road. If viable options are available, we can influence travel that isn’t limited to one choice…..the single occupancy vehicle. This will benefit a region in many ways. If congestion can be reduced by other means then a region can prolong the need for capacity
speed. LOS D may be due to adverse signal progression, inappropriate signal timing, high volumes, or a combination of these factors. Average travel speeds are about 40 to 50 percent of free flow speed.
•
LOS E - is characterized by significant delays and average travel speeds of 33 to 40 percent or less of the free flow speed. Such operations are caused by a combination of adverse progression, high signal density, high volumes, extensive delays at critical intersections, and inappropriate signal timing.
•
LOS F - is characterized by urban street flow at extremely low speeds, typically 25 to 33percent of the free flow speed. Intersection congestion is likely at critical signalized locations, with high delays, high volumes, and extensive queuing.
expansion on its roadways. If roadway expansion is not required or perhaps the lane width can be reduced, then there would be more room in the right of way for other amenities such as sidewalks, bike lanes, transit facilities, and other activity. Some of the major transportation routes that provide mobility across the Gulf Coast, such as U.S. Highway 90 and U.S Highway 49, are within the MPO’s Congestion Management Plan (CMP). This plan provides an ongoing evaluation of peak-period performance using volume and travel-time data to identify specific congestion problems. MPO staff routinely conducts travel-time surveys on the functionally classified collector and arterial roadways within the Gulfport-Biloxi and Pascagoula urbanized areas. Data from the CMP provides decision makers with an understanding of existing traffic flow conditions. The CMP uses performance measures describing the degree to which travel delay affects specific travel corridors to inform decision-making and to strengthen the link between planning goals and investment decisions. The CMP draws upon operational level-of-service (LOS) performance measures developed from travel- time data to identify specific congestion problems. GRPC staff undertakes the assessment of mobility on all functionally classified collector and arterial roadway segments within the study network. Travel-time data help identify areas likely to experience recurring congestion. Congestion may be occurring either at intersections or between intersecting streets on a given roadway. Map V-1 reflects a map of the Gulf Coast network with points and locations of current congestion indicated. Segments marked with “RED” are experiencing traffic volume conditions that are at least 25% over capacity. Congestion in these areas is characterized as more common than in the rest of the network. LOS conditions E and F are common. While occurring during peak driving periods, it also spills over into nonpeak or non-traditional mid-day and early afternoon driving periods. Motorists on these corridors experience the worst levels of congestion
Data Source: Mississippi Gulf Coast Area Transportation Study, 2035 Long Range Transportation Plan.
33
which may prompt some diversion in traffic away from these areas in favor of local street systems which are under designed to accommodate heavier volumes.
suggestions as to how to decrease per capita VMT which has the side benefit of reducing transportation-related emissions for the region. One of the greatest influences driving VMT growth has been local land use decisions. Decisions to create a denser development pattern which generally promotes alternatives to auto use, makes for less VMT growth as residents opt to not use their vehicle for short trips to work, school, shopping, etc. Decisions to encourage sprawled development patterns also embed a requirement for longer distances (and drive time) between individual homes, work, school, shopping, etc.
Segments of the roadway network depicted in “YELLOW” are also considered over capacity, but these periods may be more focused on peak driving periods or associated peak activity around one or more specific land use generators. Delays under both conditions are common and may be may be used to suggest a need for roadway capacity or operational improvements such as coordinated signals, turn lanes, etc.
The results, shown on Map V-2, represent the number of miles driven per day by each resident in that area. Each TAZ is different but the model used estimates an average of 2.3 trips per person per day. Estimated trips not only represent work trips exclusively, but could also represent other daily trips that may be taken including shopping, recreation, and school. Currently, the daily per capita VMT for the Mississippi Gulf Coast region is 21.6 miles.
As shown on the map, the highest levels of congestion are being experienced on some of the main arterials such as US Highway 90 in Biloxi and Ocean Springs, US Highway 49 in Gulfport, Hwy Highway 609 in Ocean Springs. These happen to be areas as well where some of the highest density new and existing development (retail, hotel, casino, offices, residential) has been allowed in the region. One reported outcome of congested conditions in these areas has been some traffic diversion during peak periods away from these areas through a combination of neighborhood streets or to other parallel arterials. These routes typically experience their highest demands generated by heavy commuter traffic during afternoon rush hour.
Areas within the green zones of map have the lowest VMTs in the region. These happen to be areas where a combination of factors can be found including a higher density of residences and services, relatively small geographic area, and good street pattern. Away from these areas, such elements are not always available and the result is an increase in travel time and distance, expressed in the VMT values for the area. Much of this increase comes as residents in these areas drive longer to reach denser developed areas of the MS Gulf Coast to access jobs, services, schools, etc. Exceptions to this patter include areas with no residential population but with a high concentration of employment including Stennis Space Center (Hancock), the Harrison County Industrial Seaway, Huntington Ingalls Shipyard (Jackson) and the Port of Pascagoula (Jackson).
Vehicle Miles Traveled Another indicator examined on the general network is Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT), or the total number of miles driven in a given geographic area. Higher VMT directly affects people in several ways such as increasing transportation costs to a household; producing more vehicle emissions contributing to regional air quality issues; generating an increase in traffic congestion as more cars are on the road for longer distances and periods; and exposing more motorists to a higher potential for accidents. VMT directly affects gas consumption, emissions, and traffic patterns. An objective of the Plan for Opportunity will be to offer
To see how VMT has changed on the MS Gulf Coast, GRPC has utilized 34
Map V-2 Daily Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) per Resident Data Source: Criterion and GRPC Travel Demand Model
35
Map V-3 Vehicle Miles Traveled Change per Resident 2008-2035 Data Source: Criterion and GRPC Travel Demand Model
its travel surveys and traffic analysis zone (TAZ) data to graphically represent the relationship between the built environment, land use decisions and VMT. Data distribution (population, employment, school enrollment, income) are a function of existing census characteristics, augmented where necessary by third party data obtained by the Gulf Regional Planning Commission. This Third party data includes popula-
tion estimates and forecasts from reputable providers, along with input from town, city, neighborhood and county plans for reflecting the current footprint and limits of development in the area. As presented on Map V-3 there are many areas estimated to experience increases in the number of vehicle miles traveled per day. This is a result of the current direction of land-use decisions being made. An increase in households 36
from new water and sewer infrastructure may be driving this.
employment centers being located much further from housing. Since Hurricane Katrina, this condition has been worsened with development seeking cheaper land and insurance costs, further from the Coast. However, with housing retreating inland, the employment centers remain on the coast line. According to the Center for Neighborhood Technology H+T Affordability Index, the average annual household transportation costs for the three coastal counties of Mississippi (Hancock, Harrison and Jackson) are approximately $15,000.00.11 These costs are defined as the sum of auto ownership costs, auto use costs and public transit costs modeled for a typical household.
In general, the results of this analysis can draw us to the following conclusions regarding the current built environment of the MS Gulf Coast and its relationship to network miles traveled: (1)People are living farther from work, school, shopping and other daily needs. This trend has the potential to increase over time as current community decisions regarding land use have encouraged movement from the coastal zone to areas along and north of I-10.10 (2)To maintain a low or no VMT growth scenario in higher density areas, emphasis should be placed on infill practices, along with improving overall road design to accommodate pedestrians and bicyclists. (3)Supporting such a plan requires review of the roadway network to determine how many of existing roadway corridors (by classification) would be used by the population for walking, cycling or transit but are nearly impassible by these modes due to design decisions that focused on moving cars with as little resistance as possible. Household transportation costs and commuting The traditional measure for affordability suggests that if a household is paying more than 30% of household income on housing, it is “cost-burdened” or has an affordability problem. However, this traditional method of measurement of affordability is proving to be a false premise because cheaper housing is located further away from employment and activity centers resulting in increased vehicle miles traveled (VMT) that equates to higher transportation costs. Therefore, a new method of measuring housing affordability examines the combined costs of housing and transportation, suggesting that these costs should not exceed 45% of household income as the main “cost-burdened” determinant. The Mississippi Gulf Coast has a linear development pattern resulting in
37
Since many households on the Mississippi Gulf Coast region are traveling greater distances for work it is resulting in greater vehicle miles traveled (VMT) as seen in Map 1. Examining Map 1, one can extrapolate that resident’s living in the ‘High’, ‘Moderate High’ and possibly ‘Moderate Low’ areas of the map have increased transportation costs due to the daily miles traveled. This is especially alarming for the Mississippi Gulf Coast since Hurricane Katrina because residents have continued to move north due to cheaper land and insurance costs and because it is less vulnerable to future storms thus resulting in increased VMTs for the region. In recent years, fuel prices have increased resulting in households contributing more income towards transportation costs. As demonstrated in Image 1, the average national household transportation costs have fluctuated between $2,500 - $4,200 over the last five years. These costs coupled with housing costs, may exceed the tipping point for affordable housing. Each year AAA provides a “Your Driving Costs” study that shows the costs to own and operate a car in the United States. In 2012 the average costs rose to 59.6 cents per mile. This cost is based on fuel costs, tire costs, depreciation changes, maintenance costs and insurance costs. They break it down to specific costs by category of vehicle as shown below:
Small Sedan
44.9 cents
Medium Sedan Large Sedan
58.5 cents 75.5 cents
number of trips made by passenger cars in everyday travel, the number of vehicle miles traveled by those cars and traveling speed and idling time.
Chevrolet Cruze, Ford Focus, Honda Civic, Nissan Sentra, Toyota Corolla Chevrolet Impala, Ford Fusion, Honda Accord, Nissan Altima, Toyota Camry Buick Lucerne, Chrysler 300, Ford Taurus, Nissan Maxima, Toyota Avalon Chevrolet Traverse, Ford Explorer, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Nissan Pathfinder, Toyota 4runner Dodge Grand Caravan, Kia Sedona, Honda Odyssey, Nissan Quest, Toyota Sienna
SUV 4WD
75.7 cents
Minivan
63.4 cents
Table V-1:
AAA’s costs by category
Hydrocarbons or Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) Chemical compounds that contain hydrogen and carbon. Most motor vehicles and engines are powered by hydrocarbon based fuels such as gasoline and diesel. Hydrocarbon pollution results when unburned or partially burned fuel is emitted from the engine as exhaust, and also when fuel evaporates directly into the atmosphere. Hydrocarbons include many toxic compounds that cause cancer and other adverse health effects. Hydrocarbons also react with nitrogen oxides in the presence of sunlight to form ozone. Hydrocarbons, which may take the form of gases, tiny particles, or droplets, come from a great variety of industrial and natural processes. In typical urban areas, a very significant fraction comes from cars, buses, trucks, and non-road mobile sources such as construction vehicles and boats.12
Referring to figure V-3, based on the average coast per mile to operate a vehicle, the red areas of the map are paying between $26.82 and $37.84 per day to drive a car. The green area, which enables shorter trip distances from households to daily needs, only cost as much as $8.96 per day to drive. Realizing the significant differences in average transportation costs based on where you live in the three counties. The average daily household transportation cost for the Hancock, Harrison and Jackson Counties is $29.68. This comes to an estimated annual cost of $10,833 for households in the region.
Carbon Monoxide (CO) A colorless, odorless gas that forms when carbon in fuel is not burned completely. Carbon monoxide is a component of exhaust from motor vehicles and engines. Carbon monoxide emissions increase when conditions are poor for combustion; thus, the highest carbon monoxide levels tend to occur when the weather is very cold or at high elevations where there is less oxygen in the air to burn the fuel.13
Mobile Source Emissions Air pollution in the United States comes from many types of engines, industries, and commercial operations. Pollution sources that move, such as passenger vehicles, freight trucks, construction and industrial equipment and trains, are known as “mobile sources.” Vehicle travel results in emissions of pollutants that are harmful to human health. Carbon monoxide (CO), Sulfur Oxides (SOx), Nitrogen Oxides (NOx), Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC), and particulate matter (PM) are all emitted directly from the exhaust of vehicles during daily travel. Factors that affect the amount of emissions from motor vehicles include the
Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) A group of highly reactive gases that contain nitrogen and oxygen in varying amounts. Many of the nitrogen oxides are colorless and odorless. The common pollutant nitrogen dioxide (NO2) can often be seen combined with particles in the air as a reddish-brown layer 38
over many urban areas. Nitrogen oxides are formed when the oxygen and nitrogen in the air react with each other during combustion. The formation of nitrogen oxides is favored by high temperatures and excess oxygen (more than is needed to burn the fuel). The primary sources of nitrogen oxides are motor vehicles, electric utilities, and other industrial, commercial, and residential sources that burn fuels.14 Ozone (O3) Ozone is a gaseous molecule that contains three oxygen atoms (O3). Ozone can exist either high in the atmosphere, where it shields the Earth against harmful ultraviolet rays from the sun, or close to the ground, where it is the main component of smog. Anthropogenic ground-level ozone is a product of reactions involving hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides in the presence of sunlight. Ozone is a potent irritant that causes lung damage and a variety of respiratory problems. Motor vehicle exhaust and industrial emissions, gasoline vapors, and chemical solvents as well as natural sources emit NOx and VOC that help to form ozone. Sunlight and hot weather cause ground-level ozone to form in harmful concentrations in the air. As a result, it is known as a summertime air pollutant. Many urban areas tend to have high levels of ground level ozone, but even rural areas are also subject to increased ozone levels because wind carries ozone and pollutants that form it hundreds of miles away from their original sources.15 VOC + NOx + Sunlight = Ozone The Mississippi Gulf Coast MPO and Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) have teamed up to form an Ozone Action Committee to develop an action plan in efforts to keep the region in attainment with air quality standards. The Gulf Coast continues to be very close to falling below the standard established by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for ozone of 75 ppb. The estimates are produced based on the annual forth highest daily maximum eight hour concentration 39
averaged over three years collected from monitors in each county. The 2010-2012 estimates are as follows: Hancock County (67ppb), Harrison County (73ppb) and Jackson County (73ppb). The current action plan being developed will consider measures to reduce the amount of “on road” emissions being produced in the region from vehicles. Measures such as transit improvements, traffic flow improvements, carpool services, bicycle projects and alternative fuels are being considered. Recommendations from the Plan for Opportunity will seek to reduce the VMT in the region which reduces vehicle emissions. Current VMT and emissions estimates are shown below on Tables V-2 and V-3. The Mississippi Gulf Coast MPO and Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) have teamed up to form an Ozone Action Committee to develop an action plan in efforts to keep the region in attainment with air quality standards. The Gulf Coast continues to be very close to falling below the standard established by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for ozone of 75 ppb. The estimates are produced based on the annual forth highest daily maximum 8 hour concentration averaged over three years collected from monitors in each county. The 2010-2012 estimates are as follows: Hancock County (67ppb), Harrison County (73) and Jackson County (73). The current action plan being developed will consider measures to reduce the amount of “on road” emissions being produced in the region from vehicles. Measures such as transit improvements, traffic flow improvements, carpool services, bicycle projects and alternative fuels are being considered. Current VMT and emissions estimates are shown below on Tables V-2 and V-3. Area Hancock County Urban Area Harrison County Urban Area Jackson County Urban Area
Table V-2: VMT
Source: *MDOT HPMS data
Roadway Miles* 324.737 991.902 726.481
Annual VMT* 255,928,665 1,826,533,946 1,140,493,249
Daily VMT 701,174 5,004,202 3,124,639
Area
Rate
VMT
g-to-lbs
Daily pollution
.002203 .002203 .002203
4,325 lbs 30,867 lbs 19,274 lbs
.002203 .002203 .002203
2,147 lbs 15,323 lbs 9,568 lbs
.002203 .002203 .002203
32,283 lbs 230,406 lbs 143,866 lbs
Hydrocarbons Hancock County Urban Area 2.80 g/ 701,174 mi mi Harrison County Urban Area 5,004,202 mi Jackson County Urban Area 3,124,639 mi Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) Hancock County Urban Area 1.39 g/ 701,174 mi mi Harrison County Urban Area 5,004,202 mi Jackson County Urban Area 3,124,639 mi Carbon Monoxide (CO) Hancock County Urban Area 20.9 g/ 701,174 mi mi Harrison County Urban Area 5,004,202 mi Jackson County Urban Area 3,124,639 mi
Table V-3: Emissions estimates
40
PUBLIC TRANSIT ACCESS & MOBILITY
41
VI.
PUBLIC TRANSIT ACCESS AND MOBILITY
an ongoing on-board survey to determine their trip and individual characteristics, as well as their levels of satisfaction with services The move toward a more sustainable transportation system requires provided. Results from this survey for FY 2012, as provided by Coast transit systems in place to maximize resources in order to provide a Transit Authority16, indicate that: high level of accessibility. Transit must fill a variety of needs including transportation to shopping, medical needs, and employment, in a manner • 43% of all fixed-route passengers use CTA daily, primarily for work, which is competitive with travel times provided via individual automobiles. recreation or shopping trips, with majority (64%) paying full fare The best way to improve transit efficiency is to have concentrated areas in cash (59%); of activity where many trips occur. For instance, if transit has to travel long distances to connect to residential and destination land uses such as • Primary destinations include the Casinos in Biloxi, Orange Grove/ shopping, medical or employment, it will cost more in time and money Gulfport, Edgewater Mall, West Gulfport, Keesler AFB, Veterans for the bus to access these areas. If areas are more concentrated, a bus Administration, Wal-Mart; can provide better service at a lower cost. This higher level of service and lower cost will attract a higher level of choice riders, defined as those who opt to transition from using their individual automobiles or other modes of conveyance, in favor of transit. Capturing a larger share of this market has been a long-term objective of the local transit system. Some advances in the transit portfolio, such as the introduction of the regional vanpools, have attracted some of these riders into the system. According to information provided by CTA, a total of 46 vans run in four states serving businesses and industries in the tricounty area.
• 85% of riders are residents, with 43% of these being long-time transit users, very few of which would not go on their trip (9%) without CTA. More heavily populated options available from which to choose include riding their bikes, walking, or getting a ride from someone or a taxi; • Most (39%) are employed either on a full-time or part-time basis.
Route Structure and Capacity
Review of these data elements allows for identification of several key relationships which help define the connection between transit services, local population groups, land use and access to employment on the MS Gulf Coast. Current System Performance Measures Passenger Characteristics-Fixed Route Passengers on the current fixed-route transit system participate in 42
Most of the ridership on the current Coast Transit Authority fixed route system is generated by land uses and population groups located south of I-10. The boundaries of this area roughly correspond to the Gulfport/ Long Beach city limits on the west, Washington Avenue/MS 609 in Ocean Springs on the east and Gulf of Mexico on the south. Three distinct types of transit routes currently run in the area all connected with one another in hub and spoke fashion at the transfer centers in Downtown Gulfport, Edgewater Mall and Downtown Biloxi:
Route
Day
Riders per hour
Route
Day
per bus
• City-to-City Connector Routes – defined as those routes which run between multiple jurisdictions, connecting one or more of the existing transit centers together. Routes in this category include Pass Road (Route 34) and Beachcomber. Both run at shortened headways to maximize opportunities for travel between each city. Buses are added and subtracted during peak periods to follow demands generated by passengers going to work or school. In addition, these routes run later hours and provide some of the longest scheduled services in the network.
Riders per hour per bus
Route 24
Saturday
25
Route 38
Friday
10
Route 24
Friday
17
Beachcomber
Sunday
10
Hopper
Monday - Thursday
17
Route 7
Saturday
9
Beachcomber
Friday
15
Route 4
Monday - Thursday
9
Hopper
Saturday
14
Route 4
Friday
9
Route 34
Monday - Thursday
13
Route 38
Monday - Thursday
9
Hopper
Friday
13
Route 31
Friday
9
Beachcomber
Monday - Thursday
13
Route 4
Saturday
8
Hopper
Sunday
12
Route 34
Saturday
8
Route 37
Monday - Thursday
11
Route 31
Saturday
8
Route 37
Friday
11
Route 38
Saturday
7
Route 34
Friday
11
Route 37
Saturday
7
Route 31
Monday - Thursday
11
Route 4
Sunday
6
• Intra-City Connector Routes – defined as those Beachcomber Saturday 11 Route 34 Sunday 6 routes which radiate from the transit centers conRoute 7 Monday - Thursday 10 Route 24 Sunday 6 necting through to neighborhood centers, regional Route 7 Friday 10 Route 24 Monday - Thursday 5 retail centers or individual community areas. This Table VI-1: Typical Transit Passenger Boarding Activity per Hour category defines the majority of the routes offered CTA Fixed Routes, Day of Week in the CTA network including Gulfport (37, 38); Data Source: Coast Transit Authority D’Iberville (4); Ocean Springs (7); Biloxi (31). From Force Base (Route 24); Biloxi Casinos (Hopper) and the National time to time, these routes are supplemented with a combination Construction Battalion Center (NCBC) in Gulfport. Ridership on of overlay express routes devoted to seasonal or special event these routes fluctuate based upon population groups using these transportation or generator specific extended hours to accommofacilities (recruits, visitors, staff), but are generally amongst some date tourist traffic (as in the case of the Hopper). However, all of the highest in the network. run at a combination of headways, including several which have the longest headways offered the CTA network, 90 minutes. Their Current boarding volumes on these routes are collected as part of the design allows them to maximize interface opportunities with one MPO’s transit planning support function for completion of the National of the designated city-to-city connector routes at the pre-estab- Transit Database annual report. Table VI-I provides a summary of hourly boards by day of week for the survey period September and October lished transfer points located in Gulfport and Biloxi. 2012. This data indicates that during the survey period, average board• Special Generator Routes – defined as those routes serving high ing per hour is not in excess of the current vehicle capacities, which demand generators such as large employers, military or educa- range between 20 and 32 passengers on average. tional facilities. This category defines routes serving Keesler Air 43
Map VI-1 Fixed Transit Route Service CTA’s main efficiency has been to size and stage its lower capacity transit vehicles on the intra-city service routes, holding its highest capacity vehicles for use on the city-to-city connectors and, when necessary, Each route should be looked the Hopper and Route 24 (Keesler). at to determine if its purpose As shown in the table, Route 24, is mobility or access or a Keesler Air Force Base (KAFB) and combination of both and set Hopper have amongst the high- travel time and headway goals est hourly boarding patterns of all accordingly routes in the CTA network. Ongoing passenger survey indicates that passengers on these routes, while valuable to the system’s overall ridership, are less frequent to transfer to other routes in the system to visit or shop large portions of the MS Gulf Coast. Exceptions do occur during
special events, festivals or periods of high demand to visit a specific business or attraction served by another CTA route. Passenger volumes on the Beachcomber, which overlaps partially with Route 24 and a small portion of the Hopper, do benefit from a limited amount of transfer activity which occurs at the shared route transfer point at Edgewater Mall, which also serves the Base via a walking stop at US 90 and White Avenue and Casino District via a stop at the Beau Rivage near Caillavet Street. Advancing the system to the next level will require a priority be placed on those measures which attract a higher percentage of choice riders into the general system network of routes. Changes in the scheduling and staging of equipment in 2005-06 to the current hub and spoke system have been partially responsible for the continued increase in ridership. 44
Reductions in headway on key routes, extended hours and later service, all create a sense of confidence that the transit service is reliable for meeting individual needs. Recent plans to introduce real-time travel information, electronic fare boxes, fare ticketing, all should improve efficiency and comfort, as well as be attractive to all rider classifications.
are measures employed by CTA to bypass congestion. However, some of these measures are employed sparingly as they remove buses from view of the population or reduce stop potential in some densely populated areas. Every effort has been made to trim back extra time from routes, in order that time spent in such areas are minimal, hence helping hold down differential in time travel between vehicles and buses as much as possible.
Transit Travel Times Moving toward a transit should be in place that maximizes resources to provide a system that balances accessibility and mobility. CTA’s route reorganization plan in 2005 reduced the number of overall posted stops, in order to consolidate lower volumes points together and reduce time spent moving away from primary service corridors. As buses limited their stops, travel times and headway decreased. One other focus of this reorganization has been a monitoring of overall comparative travel time between buses and the adjacent traffic stream. CTA fixed-route buses utilize most of the major arterial corridors in the region between Ocean Springs and Gulfport, many of which are in the commuter and destination corridors described earlier. The result is that during periods of high traffic volume and congestion, CTA buses within that same traffic stream experience some travel time delay. Alternatives to the most congested areas, including using parallel routes or service roads
As changes are made in transit time and travel connections, it is important to remember the lifeline transit offers some in the community. Stakeholders indicated challenges in accessing food stores, especially when that involves travel between counties. Among those who rely on public transportation, there is a concern about keeping perishable, frozen or cold food fresh and protected from sun, wind, rain, heat without shelters at transit stops. In addition, transit schedules and extended headway also have the potential to add time in the transport of perishable food between point of purchase and individual homes. Consumers also reported lack of sidewalks and crosswalks makes it difficult to get to grocery stores easier. Rising costs of personal transportation also appear to be cutting into some individual food budgets, making the use of public transportation or nonmotorized transport to the grocery store attractive options.17 Additional information on the food system of the region can be found in the Food System Stakeholder Analysis and Food System assessment. 45
Map VI-2 CTA Fixed Route Travel Time (Bus Compared to Vehicle Table VI-2 and Map VI-2 document a comparison completed by GRPC to track the current travel time comparison between CTA and vehicles sharing a common route. The “difference” column indicates how much longer it takes for the bus travel than a vehicle to travel from point A to point B. Ideally, choice riders would want these times to be as close as possible. Benefits as well accrue to the traditional transit riding population as travel time decreases and this time is placed back into the hands of passengers to use for appointments, work, shopping, etc.
Bus Vehicle Difference (min) (min) Gulfport Transit Center to Biloxi Transit Center 39 21 1.9 Biloxi Transit Center to Gulfport Transit Center 40 21 1.9 Gulfport Transit Center to Crossroads Shopping Center 39 10 3.9 Crossroads Shopping Center to Gulfport Transit Center 30 13 2.3 Biloxi Transit Center to Promenade Shopping Center 30 11 2.7 Promenade Shopping Center to Biloxi Transit Center 10 8 1.3 Biloxi Transit Center to Wal-Mart 43 15 2.9 Currently, the transit route with the best travel time (1.3) is running Wal-Mart to Biloxi Transit Center 34 15 2.3
from Promenade Shopping Center to Biloxi Transit Center. The bus on this route takes just over the same amount of time it takes a vehicle to travel. The transit route with the worst time (3.9) is traveling
Table VI-2: Travel Time Comparison
2012 CTA Fixed Route Service vs. Current Traffic Date Source: Coast transit route schedules and vehicle travel time surveys
46
Map VI-3 Gulf Coast Communities with Strong Proximity to Major Employers from Gulfport Transit Center to Crossroads Shopping Center. This bus takes almost 4 times as long as a vehicle could travel it.
ular arrangement of these land uses within an area, how evenly spaced, whether they are contiguous, how closely aligned in a particular potential transit corridor all affect the suitability of particular transit options to the local population.
Spatial Analysis of Transit Network Traditionally, people, or density, are often the focus of transit route planning. Naturally, where there are more people, at higher densities, there is a larger potential market for transit riders. Since improving the Gulf Coast’s transportation options, such as transit, is a focus of this planning effort, we will use transit density guidelines will be incorporated as a basis for identifying sustainability nodes, corridors and activity centers. Such guidelines complement CTA’s current route planning standards, as expressed in their Title VI compliance plan, and can be used to assess the viability of initiation of new or improved transit service. The partic-
Link Between Transit, Population and Job Areas As the focus of the sustainability program is to strengthen the connection between transit, population and jobs, three separate reviews of the fixed route system were undertaken. Most important to this review was the question: Are fixed-route transit services offered in the areas of the MS Gulf Coast successfully connecting employees to jobs? To determine the answer to this question, GRPC first identified the ar47
eas of the Mississippi Coast with concentrated employment. Using information from the Harrison County Development Commission, 51 major employers (those with 50 or more employees) were mapped on the MS Gulf Coast.18 This group was broken down using a travel time metric into to better define the connection between jobs and available housing areas. The threshold for comparison is a value linked to current regional travel time characteristics, which establishes less than 30 minutes as the upset travel time for commuters in the three county area.19 The area shown in yellow on Map VI-3 represents the highest concentration of households in the region which are within 10 miles or 30 minutes of at least 25 major employers. According to the American Community Survey available data, this area is populated by approximately 26,866 households with 12,644 of them considered low income households.20 At a regional level, there are 131,945 households, approximately 20% of which can reach 25 major employers within 30 minutes.
gies such as general demand response, park and ride, van pools and ride sharing could be better applied in these lower density areas. CTA and GRPC recognizing the viability of such options, have been examining options for long-term park and ride development along the I-10 corridor as part of a general site assessment. These recommendations are identified and evaluated in the “I-10 Corridor Park and Ride Study” in March 2011. Link Between Transit and Major Employers An assessment was also completed to examine the linkage between residential population density and major employers using a traditional ¼ mile walk-up buffer around existing transit routes. According to analysis conducted by Criterion Planners, 42% of all employment on the Mississippi Gulf Coast are located within ¼ mile of transit routes. Also considered beyond proximity to transit is exposure to frequent headways based on a standard determined by GRPC as needed efficient commuter travel, those routes or route segments (passing through terminals) with a headway or frequency of less than 45 minutes during the primary job commute period. Obviously, this time target needs to be reduced further to increase and attract choice riders – in this category times of 15 minutes or less would be more desirable. However, the purpose of this assessment is to establish the initial relationship verified by the number of facilities and passengers reporting use of the fixed-route network to travel to work.
As compared to Map VI-1, a large segment of this population resides north of the Biloxi peninsula, away from the current base of the CTA fixed-route network. In areas where these groups intersect, such as the Pass Road corridor, current ridership is strong. However, north of Pass Road, lower density land use and underdeveloped transportation network exist which make for an inefficient environment for fixed-route services. A key mobility characteristic related to the likelihood of residents and employees taking transit is not only the availability of transit but the frequency of transit service. For people to build their lifestyles around transit, they require access to frequent and reliable multidirectional service to their work and non-work destinations. Operational strate-
Verification of boarding patterns through data collection and observation on existing fixed-route routes completed by GRPC verifies the higher patterns are more likely at or within a ¼ mile of these establishments. 48
Map VI-4 Transit Routes - Service Area & Headways According to this assessment, there are 27 of 51 major employers serviced by fixed route transit and 15 of 51 major employer’s service by fixed route transit within the acceptable headways (Map VI-4). Furthermore, of the 39,854 households in the fixed route service area, 28,566 (72%) of them are serviced by transit with acceptable headways.
with more frequent headways. CTA’s current funding strategy limits the ability to expand higher frequency service on all routes, although it is a long-term objective of the system to develop a sustainable revenue stream that is tied to headway reductions to move the system beyond 90 or more minute headways on all routes.
As we develop sustainability measures, this information needs to be incorporated. Enforcing the nodes and activity centers created by the interaction of these employment areas and transit networks, is a priority. From a transit systems perspective, the evaluation of future performance (i.e. passenger acceptance) will be based on a metric of headway options which look at a combination of scheduled and routine reductions as a means of encouraging more choice riders on routes
Transit Connections to Job Seeking/Underemployed Groups As the transit system grows and begins to reach more choice riders, we must pay close attention to those groups for whom transit access is most critical. Certainly, reaching household densities that will provide transit with a more substantial ridership base is good for the overall health and viability of the system. Headways acceptable to identified 49
Map VI-5 Transit Routes - Low Income Areas choice riders also make the system more convenient for existing transit users and traditional user groups.
Other traditionally under-served populations include minorities. It is important to recognize that minority areas should have adequate access to transit by seeking to increase the number of minority block groups with transit service. As shown on Map VI-6 there are 61 total minority block groups identified. 23 of them are currently served by fixed route transit. Once transit expands into Pascagoula and Moss Point the number of block groups served by transit will increase.
According to data from the US Census, there are 36 low income Census block groups in the region. Of this total, 21 are currently served by fixed route transit service, as shown in Map VI-5. While most low income areas Gulfport, Biloxi, D’Iberville and Ocean Springs have scheduled transit service, areas of eastern Jackson County are outside of the current network. The low income areas (light purple) are Census block groups 50% or more of the households with incomes of less than $25,000. Areas with very low household income (dark purple) are Census block groups with 50% or more of the households within in it with a household income of $15,000 or less.
It is very important to provide low income communities with adequate access to jobs and services. To date, this group has formed a core of the workforce employed in service businesses oriented to the region’s growing tourist sector. Observations made by GRPC of existing transit routes and passenger demands have identified a connection between 50
Map VI-6 Transit Routes - Minority Areas passengers and jobs at places such as hotels and restaurants. The focus of this review has been to document the connection in terms of needs for services, which vary based upon schedule, as well as a growth in the number of persons suggesting a need for later evening or overnight service, to address later shifts and schedules. Such suggestions for expanded evening hours and weekend hours have also been made by passengers on some routes during the CTA on-board survey process.21 While many of these persons can use transit for a portion of their trip (and choose to do so), they are left to find a ride home during those periods when transit operations cease.
tion (concentrated collections of retail and service establishments, community facilities, schools) has been examined to help establish a baseline for the contribution of transit to general economic activity on the MS Gulf Coast. According to analysis conducted by Criterion Planners, only 16% of the region’s dwelling units are located within a ¼ of transit routes. As shown in the passenger surveys, shopping related trips, which when combined with school-related trips, represent 20% of the current passenger demand in the system, which ranks this third behind work and recreation.22 While the current network does a sufficient job to serve major nodes in these categories (Map VI-6), there are gaps in the system including areas of Orange Grove, Popps Ferry Road and the Pascagoula-Moss Point area may warrant transit service. CTA continues to offer service in Orange Grove as part of the current Route 37,
Transit Connections to Areas of Consumption Finally, the linkage of transit between residents and areas of consump51
Map VI-7 Areas with Strong Proximity to Community Destinations Opportunity Transit
but extensions north of the Crossroads area have been made without much response or success. The current Transit Development Plan (CTA’s long range plan) makes plans for service on Popps Ferry Road between Edgewater Mall and a proposed transit facility in D’Iberville near The Promenade Shopping Center. Adjustments and changes in the route network remain a top priority based upon ongoing study and customer requests, but remain limited as a result of local caps on local contributions to match federal operating funds.
The Kirwan Institute began working with the Consortium for a Sustainable Gulf Coast and local groups early in 2011 to define a set of indicators that would describe the geography of opportunity for the Mississippi Gulf Coast region. For the purpose of this process, opportunity was defined as “a situation or condition that places individuals in a position to be more likely to succeed or excel.” During the process, stakeholders met repeatedly to decide on, develop, and refine the data they wanted 52
Map VI-8 Opportunity, Transit Service & Auto-Access Map
Data Source: Kirwan
to include as part of the opportunity maps. The result being a set of indicators and maps that was created within and by the community it intends to represent. Five categories of indicators were chosen to present a comprehensive picture of opportunity in the region, with an emphasis on equity as one of the three essentials of sustainability (Equity, Economy and Environment). To this end, the Comprehensive Opportunity Index includes the following categories: Public Education, Economics & Mobility, Housing, Socioeconomics, and Public Health &
Security. Each category is a composite of four to five indicators gathered at the local, state and national level. Each category was mapped across the region and can be analyzed individually or as part of the comprehensive opportunity map. The comprehensive map is designed to weave together the data from each of the separate categories to provide a more holistic understanding of opportunity within the region (See Map VI-8). All five indicator categories were equally weighted within the comprehensive opportunity map in 53
order to represent how each aspect of opportunity is important to the overall health and vitality of the places within the region. Weighting indicators is also a challenge because it is a subjective process that requires extensive justification. While the consortium did discuss the possibility of weighting indicators, in the end it was decided against. A complete description of the methodology and data used to develop the indicators and final maps can be found in Appendix C of Kirwan’s report entitled “The Geography of Opportunity in Mississippi’s Gulf Coast Region”. Also included on this map are figures indicating areas by percentage of homes without an automobile. The “percent without a vehicle data’ is already incorporated into the overall map of opportunity, but is also brought forth and highlights on this map because of its importance to transit service planning. Obviously the areas with a high percent of homes without a car are good candidates for new transit service or improved transit service. Extending the Reach of Fixed-Route Transit Since 2005, CTA has focused on a variety of strategies to connect more of the local population and land use areas to transit services. Several of their more successful programs have been identified throughout this section, but are summarized below. The focus of effort has been to make the system, overall, more attractive to choice riders and accessible to the growing number of cyclists and pedestrians on the MS Gulf Coast. Bike on Bus Program Since the inception of Coast Transit Authority’s Bike and Bus program, expectations of the program have been far exceeded with the amount of people taking advantage of the service. Buses are equipped with bike racks that hold two bikes. Every transit trip begins with a walking trip to get to and from the bus stop. The distance that a person can
reasonably be expected to walk to a bus is about ¼ of a mile. Now that biking is an option to access transit that distance can be expanded to as much as one mile making transit accessible to many more people. CTA’s fixed route system carried 1,680 bikes in October 2011. In October 2012 the system carried 1,696 bikes. The program continues to be very popular and has become an important part of Coast Transit Authority’s transit system. As the region becomes more suitable for viable mobility options, CTA’s Bike and Bus program will become an important piece of the transportation system. The table below shows the number of bikes that are carried on each fixed transit route in the region. The routes that have the highest percentage of bike use are routes on the corridors that serve more commuting ridership. Route
Sept/Oct 2012 Sept/Oct 2012 Ridership Bikes D’Iberville Route #4 5725 301 Ocean Springs Route #7 6124 299 Beachcomber 20223 881 Pass Road Route #34 34503 1403 Orange Grove Route #37 5824 208 West Gulfport Route #38 5410 123 East Biloxi Route #31 5904 33 Casino Hopper 38040 117 Keesler Route #24 4547 2 Table VI-3: Comparison of Bike on Bus Program Ridership Coast Transit Authority Data Source: Coast Transit Authority
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%Bikes 5.26% 4.88% 4.36% 4.07% 3.57% 2.27% 0.56% 0.31% 0.04%
Park and Ride
bringing people to work every day in the Mississippi Gulf Coast region. The
majority of this service is being used by the Northrop Grumman Shipyard in Pascagoula (Jackson County) and employers within the Stennis Space Center in Hancock County.
In March 2011, Coast Transit Authority and Gulf Regional Planning Commission completed the “I-10 Corridor Park and Ride Study” that laid out a vision of a transportation alternatives system that is supported by a series of interconnected park and ride lot locations. Park and ride facilities provide a staging point to meet existing or future CTA routes, vans or employer shuttles to reach a particular destination south of I-10. These parking lots allow for a reduction in VMT as they encourage commutes to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus system or carpool for the rest of their trip. The MS Gulf Coast’s exposure to this type of program is minimal, as the only formally organized park and ride lot in the region is at I-10 and Hwy 609. It is heavily utilized by commuters going to major employment centers in Pascagoula and Harrison County. However, review is ongoing to identify locations of informal carpools and park and ride lots oriented to the I-10 and US 90 corridors initially identified during this study. Based on the outcome of the feasibility study which looked at site size, location, proximity to major employers or CMP corridors, the top sites identified as most potentially feasible were at I-10 interchanges with US 49, I-110, Hwy 605, Hwy 613 and Hwy 603.
2009
2010
2011
Total Unlinked Trips
105,574
133,017
177,080
Vehicles Operated in Maximum Service
39
44
51
652,215
868,040
1,102,948
Annual Revenue Miles
Table VI-4: Comparison of Vanpool Ridership
Coast Transit Authority Data Source: National Transit Database, FY2009-2011.
Rideshare Programs/Coast Commuter An active regional commuter program promotes and facilitates carpooling, vanpooling and transit use to commuters sharing a ride to work, and to area employers that are interested in providing commute options for their employees. Through contract with VPSI, CTA offers commuter carpool and vanpool services to all interested employers located in the three county Gulf Coast area. This service includes carpool ride match along with a turn-key vanpool program. Volumes of rider consumed in the vanpool program have been summarized in Table VI-4. In January 2013, CTA operated a total of 46 vanpools in four states 55
Waterborne Transit and Transportation Currently, the MS Gulf Coast is connected to other inland area via the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. One way to alleviate freight demand on Interstate 10 and US 90 is to use water as a means of transport.23 Suggestions include creation of a marine highway to help maintain connections between the various port and intermodal facilities along the Gulf Coast. A study of freight traffic in 2003 found over 78 million trailer loads of highway and rail intermodal freight moving along US Coasts could have been moved via marine highways.24 The Gulf of Mexico to Florida was found to have approximately six million trailer loads per year that could have been moved via a marine highway.25 Not just for freight, water transport may also be a valuable method to connecting individuals to locations for employment and recreation. A feasibility study to examine the method and locations for a water taxi has been identified for consideration. From a base, service could be extended over time to multiple locations across the MS Gulf Coast. Additional information on the region’s marine transportation systems can be found in the Water assessment. General Asset Vulnerability Vulnerability of the region’s transit and transportation network to damage and disruption from coastal hazards increase the threats present in the community to those who rely on these linkages for their livelihood and access. Critical infrastructure elements, as defined through the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) are “systems so vital to the State of Mississippi that the incapacity of those systems would have a debilitating impact on security, economics, public health, safety, or any combination of those factors, including any infrastructure designated by local governments in their Hazard Mitigation Plan”.26 Additional information on the region’s infrastructure vulnerability can be found in the Water assessment.
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BICYCLE & PEDESTRIAN MOBILITY
57
VII. BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN MOBILITY
Facility Type Definition Standard-width travel lane that both bicycles and motor vehicles share. Cyclists would either operate in the margins or take the lane. No specific facilities are included in the Shared lane roadway to bicyclists except for share the road signs and / or sharrows on the road to inform road users that bicyclists might occupy the travel lane. A shoulder for bicycle use should be a minimum 3 foot wide paved portion of the roadway. The measurement should be to the edge of the curb’s gutter pan. If it is possible consider Shoulder using no gutter pan and then the measurement may be taken to the edge of the cub. Facility is adjacent to travel lane with no separation. A bike lane is a portion of the roadway designated by striping, signing, and/or pavement markings for preferential Bike lane or exclusive use by bicycles. For roadways with no curb and gutter the minimum width should be 5 feet. Facility is adjacent to travel lane with no separation.
Another key mobility measure is the availability of quality Pedestrian and Bicycle facilities. Residents and employees are more likely to access transit or other destinations by foot or pedal if they are able to do so safely and conveniently. Furthermore, they will be more inclined to walk and ride bikes or transit to nearby shops and services, thereby maximizing the potential health and environmental benefits. Sidewalk Suitability Review Areas with sidewalks consist primarily of the grid streets south found in down- It is nearly impossible to town and older residential areas, as well walk on roadways that as some newer development areas scat- are built only to move cars tered across the Coast. Individual com- with as little resistance as possible. munities (Waveland, Bay St. Louis, Pass Christian, Gulfport, Biloxi, Ocean Springs, Gauthier, Pascagoula, Moss Point) have committed plans to invest local capital in improving the quality and attributes of these areas in core developed areas. Evidence of these improvements can be found in many of these downtown areas where wide brick and concrete sidewalks, with benches, landscaping and other amenities link these areas to nearby residential districts, bus stops (in communities served) or beachfront promenades. Work on this system continues to be documented, as GRPC tracks the ongoing approvals of sidewalk projects constructed as part of the development activity on the MS Gulf Coast. Typically, public investment in these systems occurs as a result of district approach, such as defining a downtown area, or in concert with road widening and roadway improvements funded in part by MDOT, FHWA or other sources.
Table VII-1: Criteria for Evaluating Bicycle Suitability
Data Source: Guide for the Development of Bicycle Facilities – AASHTO 1999
community associate between sprawl and health risks including less physical activity, increased obesity and increased hypertension. Many desired sustainable outcomes referenced in this plan are would be accomplished directly or indirectly by a more bicycle and pedestrian friendly community. As noted in the general network description, the MS Gulf Coast has a basic network of facilities for bicycle and pedestrian travel. This is supplemented by transit services and the combination of existing stops and Bike on Bus program. To determine how to improve the linkage of this system to more core population groups, job centers, recreation areas and tourist destinations, an evaluation of each county identified the miles of availability suitable roadways for bikes and areas of good street connectivity. As there is no comprehensive complete streets policy for the region, the evaluation incorporated available criteria, as supplied by the AASHTO’s “Guide for the development of Bicycle Facilities” and Oregon DOT’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Design Guide.26 The chart also provides a useful metric for helping make decisions regarding the minimum
Bicycle Suitability Review Increasing the number of streets suitable for bicycle mobility improves access to transit, jobs, as well as dense residential and commercial areas. Communities with suitable conditions and developed systems encourage higher levels of walking and cycling. Some in the health 58
18000 16000 14000 12000 10000 8000 6000 4000 2000 15/20 20/25 25/30 30/35 35/40 AADT Posted speed/Free flow speed (MPH) Table VII-2: Relationship between Roadway Facility Type and Bicycle/Pedestrian Facilities Legend:
Shared Lanes
Shoulder Facilities
Bike Lanes
Separated Paths
facility types that should be incorporated into the general Gulf Coast roadway network to improve bicycle mobility.
40/45
45/50
in the previous table. As shown in Table VII-2, lower volume streets are better able to accept a higher level of bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure either within or adjacent to the roadway, while, higher speed roads will require greater separation in the facilities used by these groups and motorists.
Relationship between Street Characteristics and Bicycle Access Streets are considered suitable if bicyclists and pedestrians feel comfortable on the street. Much of this comfort is dictated by the amount of vehicular traffic, speed, adjacent land uses and characteristics (signals, intersections, driveways, sidewalks). The relationship between these items is identified below, as part of the general design criteria outlined
Note, prevailing speed is related to posted speed, but drivers will drive faster if the roadway design cues allow them to. Speed studies are often not practical for planning purposes; therefore the chart relies on posted speed. If the travel speed is known to be higher or lower than 59
the posted speed, that information should be used to determine if bike lanes are needed. In general, bike lanes are needed on the busiest highspeed urban roadways. However, shared roadways work well on lowspeed, low-volume streets. Table VII-2 above is based on criteria from AASHTO and Oregon DOT adjusted to suit Mississippi Gulf Coast needs as considered by the transportation sub-committee as a means of guiding roadway development on the Gulf Coast. Assessment Findings Based upon the established criteria, there appear to be a total of 149 miles of roadways on the Gulf Coast that may be considered to be suitable for some form of bicycle access amenities addition. The maps below illustrate these new links only, which would be combined with existing systems to create a regional network. As noted previously, the current network consists of 7 miles of roadways with bike lanes and 11 miles of multiuse paths in the urbanized area of the Gulf Coast, the majority of this investment located along US 90 from Henderson Point to Biloxi, Lorraine-Cowan Road and several off-road or rural trails developed in Hancock County. Adopting this expanded network increases the total to 167 miles or 32% of functionally classified roadways in the urbanized area. Such an expansion of suitable roads and routes would aid in bringing a higher level of bicycle connectivity to the region’s population.
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Map VII-1 Mississippi Gulf Coast Roadways Suitable for Bicycles
61
Map VII-2 Mississippi Gulf Coast Roadways Suitable for Bicycles
Map VII-3 Mississippi Gulf Coast Roadways Suitable for Bicycles
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MapVII-4 Mississippi Gulf Coast Roadways Suitable for Bicycles
MapVII-5 Mississippi Gulf Coast Roadways Suitable for Bicycles
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OPPORTUNITIES FOR CHANGE
64
VIII. OPPORTUNITIES FOR CHANGE
block sizes and pedestrian/bicycle facilities.
Over the past two decades, a great deal of attention has been placed and focused on the promotion of transit-oriented development (TOD) throughout cities and regions across the country. Reconnecting America, a national nonprofit that advises civic and community leaders on how to overcome community development challenges to create better communities for all, defines TOD as “a type of community development that includes a mixture of housing, office, retail and/or other amenities integrated into a walkable neighborhood and located within a half-mile of quality public transportation. Reconnecting America believes it is essential that TOD creates better access to jobs, housing and opportunity for people of all ages and incomes. Successful TOD provides people from all walks of life with convenient, affordable and active lifestyles and creates places where our children can play and our parents can grow old comfortably.
As potential activity centers, corridors and nodes are identified to be evaluated based on the Five P’s of Transit Oriented Development which include: people, places, physical form, performance, and pedestrian/ bicycle connectivity. This will show where to focus efforts to capitalize on existing urban form on the Gulf Coast and where we have potential to improve to create a more sustainable Gulf Coast. The transportation assessment has started this process with the identification of major mobility corridors and activity centers as described below. Identification of Key Regional Mobility Corridors Review of traffic volumes and conditions on area roadways help establish generalized travel patterns which form the primary routes of choice used by the population for the majority of their mobility needs. For working population groups on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, the majority of work based trips appear to be linked to a combination of major arterial and freeway network elements. These corridors function differently, as they have differing design characteristics that create opportunities for more direct, higher speed travel between locations. For the purposes of planning, the identification of these roads has been made to categorize them into one of two groups: “commuter corridor” or “destination connector”.
The TOD concept has the ability to address all of HUD’s livability principles. This process will The TOD concept has provide opportunities to promote more cost the ability to address effective infill and access enhancements in all of HUD’s livability principles TOD station areas and sustainability corridors. By analyzing urban form and its relationship to transit performance and, ultimately, prioritizing transportation funding based on that analysis, the Gulf region is in position to focus regional activities and optimize its existing assets. In order to help develop the activity centers, corridors and nodes that lead to TOD development, a process is employed that will provide a composite sustainability index that captures a blend of existing physical characteristics likely to generate transit ridership and walking and biking trips. The composite index includes elements of the built and social environments with a demonstrable relationship to increased levels of active transportation use in the region including residential and employment densities, mix of uses,
Commuter corridors are the higher speed corridors with fewer intersections or access points outside developed population centers. These corridors have 2 or more lanes for automobile access in each direction, as well as shoulders or safety zones to accommodate breakdowns or accidents. Major intersections are typically spaced at intervals of one or more miles apart, with either coordinated signalization or grade separation. Grade intersections also provide dedicated turn lanes to accommodate high demand traffic movements and signalized crosswalks or skybridges (where applicable) for pedestrians. Their purpose is to pro65
Map VIII-1 Gulf Coast Mobility Corridors Data Source: GRPC and Criterion
vide excellent mobility by maximizing travel time efficiency and speeds between points.
dors to be as efficient as possible, every effort should be made to maintain these for through traffic demands as well as transit vehicle travel efficiency. Doing so requires attention be paid to all those elements which slow progression (i.e. existing traffic signalization, driveway) as well as offering complementary frontage or service development to support local trip demands. Primary linkages for all modes including transit options, bicycles and vehicles must be established between these routes and critical north-south routes reaching all parts of the Gulf Coast. Most Connector corridors identified in Map VIII-1 provide direct access to US 90 except for Popps Ferry (which currently terminates in the vicinity of Pass Road) and Beatline Road (which stops at Railroad Street on the north side of the CSXT line). There are numerous other important streets that connect to US 90 or Pass Road or both that
Destination corridors provide for accessibility to areas of concentrated population and employment. Commuter (and local traffic) demands are met using these corridors to travel from the north, east, west and south access I-10 and US 90 in order to gain mobility to their destinations in the east or western parts of the southern part of the Mississippi Gulf Coast. One of the operational basics for a successful transportation network, that includes viable alternative options, will be north-south connectivity to support movements between east/west routes such as I-10, Pass Road, US 90 and a potential East-West Corridor. In order for these corri66
Identification of Key Activity Centers
should be made suitable to provide accessibility for people as they exit the Destination Connectors by vehicle, transit, bicycle or walking.
As plans are made to improve the sustainability of the Gulf Coast region, areas that already have sustainable characteristics should be recognized. The colored regions on Map VIII-2 are areas that contain some of the more dense population and employment in the region. They are also in close proximity to destinations such as schools, parks, or grocery stores. Another important characteristic of a sustainable community is a well connected transportation network. A well-connected network, of direct routes to destinations encourages fosters an environment that enables more walking, less driving, greater safety, less crime, better physical fitness, and even less vehicular congestion due to the availability of routing options. An indicator to identify areas that may be considered “well connected” is intersections per square mile. These activity centers have 126 or more intersections per square mile.
East West Corridor The East-West Multimodal Corridor Analysis is a component of an overall post-Katrina recovery planning effort funded jointly by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) and the Gulf Regional Planning Commission (GRPC). Currently U.S. 90 and Interstate 10 are the only continuous east-west routes serving Harrison County. The East-West Multimodal Corridor Analysis focuses on opportunities for routing a new east-west transportation corridor through Harrison County in the vicinity of the CSX Transportation (CSXT) railroad. This new roadway would attract traffic currently on US 90, allowing the beachfront highway to function as more of a scenic route for visitors and discretionary trips by area residents. The new route could also reduce congestion on other parallel facilities, such as Pass Road and U.S. 90, by diverting longer commuter trips and through traffic to the East-West Corridor. The vision for this roadway would also carry significant volumes of passenger-vehicle and truck traffic while still blending into historic areas and other adjacent land uses. This concept has been tabled for various reasons, even though most community stakeholders still realize the many benefits a corridor such as this would have on Harrison County. Benefits such as improved hurricane evacuation, congestion reduction, bicycle mobility and transit opportunities make this concept worth revisiting to improve the mobility for all modes of transportation.
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MapVIII-2 Gulf Coast Activity Centers Data Source: Criterion
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CONCLUSIONS
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IX.
CONCLUSIONS
happier, MS Gulf Coast is made possible through such efforts which also encourage walking, bicycle riding and transit use as more viable alternative to using automobiles for the majority of daily travel needs.
The current transportation network is primarily auto-centric. Other systems exist, but contribute little to overall mobility needs. Land use decisions, made throughout the mid and late 20th century, have encouraged a spreading of the population away from the defined community centroids and cores which formed along the Coast oriented to the initial highway, rail and water connections. The result has been an increase in driving time, distances and congestion.
Building such a system, no matter how far off it might sound, starts with actions today to capture opportunities to introduce a systematic approach to planning and project implementation. This requires a prioritization of what is available, what can be developed locally and what can be contributed through other sources in order to catalyze investments in a manner which builds capacity, connectivity and corroborates the community’s values and long-term sustainable vision:
Reversing this trend and encouraging more mode use is an overriding objective of The Plan for Opportunity. Imbedded within this assessment of the current transportation system conditions is an understanding that the long-term plan is an evolution of our transportation system into one which supports the sustainable community vision contained within t the application of accepted livability principles on the MS Gulf Coast:
1. Develop corrective measures and policies which address current disconnects in land use and transportation policies. To help promote equitable and affordable housing, recommendations will be made to encourage housing and low income housing development, government services, employment generators, etc. on transit routes. As described in Chapter VI, success would be measured by changes in the number major employers and households within accepted walking radius of transit services, combined with overall changes in vehicle miles traveled assigned to all households in the region, not attributable to the reduction the number of licensed drivers or households with access to one or more automobiles.
• Provide more transportation choices • Promote equitable, affordable housing • Enhance economic competitiveness • Support existing communities • Coordinate and leverage federal policies and investment • Value communities and neighborhoods
2. Identify a comprehensive vision for a transportation network for the Mississippi Gulf Coast that that provides mobility options for vehicles, transit, bicycles and pedestrians to all areas of opportunity will provide and enhance transportation choices on the Gulf Coast. As they are presented in Chapter VIII, the designation of key corridors (commuter, destination and district) and assigning weights and performance criteria to any and all capital projects and policies will support longterm regionally adopted sustainability objectives. Develop a program that outlines a system of corridors, activity centers and nodes that will serve to focus transportation investments in a manner consistent with
Providing an environment in which viable choices can be made will require local support and funding to fully develop a 21st century transportation system, one which includes a variety of components (transit, bicycle and pedestrian systems) developed to a level of parity with the roadway system. The results include reduced costs to individuals and households for transportation services, more compact focused development which encourages a diversity of development types, street activity, population by age, income and family size, along with reduced travel times to work, school, shopping, recreation and necessary services. A healthier, and 70
land use and transportation enhancement that support sustainability. The nodes identified will be based on the activity centers presented in Chapter VIII. Each activity center and nodes will serve as target areas to build infrastructure to maximize bicycle and pedestrian accessibility and mobility. Recommendations may include policy recommendations, capital demonstration projects, regulatory changes will all support programs and policies allowing for the flow of funds and project development between the MPO, MDOT, FHWA and complementary agencies (HUD, DOE) whose grants and programs are also at-work in the area focusing on meeting complementary objectives.
Coast rarely challenge themselves to look at other options. Travel demand options, operational measures and other transportation network improvements before capacity expansion is decided on. The effects of roadway widening are far reaching. Road construction and maintenance are huge financial commitments. As we try to advance goals and objectives to create a more sustainable community, the widening of arterials severely limits the ability to ensure better transportation options and makes us even more dependent of vehicles. Wider roadways make communities less attractive for potential residents. When we expand a roadway it only increases the number of cars on the road. This eventually leads to more congestion, higher speeds, and more harmful effects on the environment from emissions. Many of these same corridors are used by transit, pedestrians and cyclists. MPO should consider developing a series of defined criteria for evaluating future transportation projects which considers relative impacts of investments in terms of improvements to existing corridors as well as incorporating alternatives. The MPO may adopt a process used to justify roadway capacity projects that includes thresholds for capacity constraints and the consideration of the improvement of parallel routes that may relieve congestion. The recommendation should include a process used to consider improved alternative transportation that may reduce traffic. All criteria for managing such changes would also need to be easy to quantify and explain, available data collection processes and programs.
This vision should include recommendations to reach and provide alternative transportation options to populations identified in this assessment. Recommendations will include efforts needed to increase the number of low income households, minority households and other areas of transit consumption serviced by transit. Based on this program designed, alternative mode mobility enhancements will be for recommended. Alternative mode mobility enhancements may include paratrasnit services to provide communities with no transit service with access to the fixed route system. Additional hubs and waiting facilities that support the transportation network’s alternative modes should be recommended. Alternative transportation infrastructure such as transit signal preemption and new means of transit mobility such as express transit should be considered to improve transit mobility along the commuter corridors and destination corridors in the region. The 2035 Transit Development Plan (TDP) recommends new fixed route services that will be an important part of this vision.
Recommendations developed should include the adoption of “complete streets” policies that ensure the inclusion of facilities for bicycles, pedestrians and transit by the MPO and municipalities. The potential complete streets policy should include language that requires all future transportation projects to include a design that makes a roadway “suitable for bicycles”. A uniform set of roadway design standards, based on the characteristics of the roadway, should be adopted that defines “suitable for bicycles”. The suggested standards are presented in Chapter VII of this assessment.
3. As discussed in Chapter V of this document, it should be recognized that investment in the highway network is required in order to reduce key points of congestion and maintain capacities on existing corridors. However, is okay and we shouldn’t widen roads for peak time congestion of an hour or so a day. Decision makers on the MS Gulf 71
Through application of these standards through combination of retrofit and new construction, the MPO can incrementally grow a complete network of streets capable of handling the demands of all modes. At the crossings of two or more modes, special emphasis can be placed on creating signage, maps, directions, and information kiosks that illustrate the connections and options available. These same standards need to be addressed within the general design language of the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) such that their design standards support sustainable community initiates as well.
daily. Establish the role of marketing and education in helping change the conversation regarding the costs of auto ownership, as compared to using alternative transportation for some, a majority or all of the daily transportation needs. This conversation would be combined with information on how transportation alternatives can serve as a viable option for commuting to work. 5. Higher VMTs result from people living farther from work, school, shopping and other daily needs. This plan should consider establishing priority zones for higher density population settlement, commercial development and general employment clustering around key transportation nodes. Aggressive land use policies aimed at clustering population, employment and services around key transportation nodes help maximize the investment made in these systems. These policies will also help the region address their key housing needs and changing market dynamic created by an increase in the need for housing which if flexible and affordable, to a growing number of single person and graying households. Tightening the connections between these areas will also reduce the cost of transportation absorbed by lower income persons participating the work force, thus helping extend the amount of income available for savings or spending on goods and services. Incentivizing these areas helps create an environment where new businesses can be established, existing businesses can grow, helping to create more opportunity for a broader segment of the population.
4. What should be done to increase the number of “choice” users of alternative transportation? Address connections by establishing key headway, travel time and facility standards for the region’s transit network, as well as continuing to offer options which address connectivity to regional employers located outside of existing core development areas. As described in Chapter VI, headway and travel time standards for “Commuter” and “Destination” corridors need to be set and monitored as part of CTA’s ongoing evaluation of on-time performance. Recommend enhancements as well of the current fixed route network to incorporate new express transit or Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) capable of travel times compatible with auto travel time standards. Existing vanpool and carpool options successfully convert SOV trips into shared trips along the I-10 and US 90 corridors. Financial incentives for employees of federal agencies are in place that subsidizes vanpool costs. Adding capacity to this program over time, along with an enhanced marketing, outreach, along with a new state-funded incentive program similar to the existing federal program, will encourage more business participation. MDOT’s existing Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) funding program should be considered to fund an incentive program for high occupancy travel, as well as other projects that reduce VMT and lessen on road emissions as described in Chapter V. Improvements to address needs of choice riders will also make transit more convenient for current user groups, helping boost the number of repeat trips made
Based on the activity centers from Chapter VIII and nodes identified, recommendations will include the development of Transit Oriented Development (TOD) in which will bring areas to life with new activity supporting new and existing business while advancing the sustainable community livability principle of enhancing economic competitiveness and supporting existing communities. TOD creates compact, walkable 72
neighborhoods around transit stops where people can live, work and shop or eat out, all within a safe and pleasant walk to transit that provides a convenient commute to jobs, shopping and entertainment in other parts of the region. TOD should be pedestrian-friendly that includes a connected grid of streets that are easy to navigate. Amenities are included such as wide sidewalks, well-marked crosswalks, good lighting and slow to moderately slow car traffic that make pedestrians comfortable walking. Transit-oriented development should have high-quality transit service that includes, wherever possible, access to commuter service such as express transit that makes limited stops so it gets workers to their jobs efficiently. TOD varies in look and feel depending on its location. In a downtown business district, the development will be denser and more office-oriented than in a suburban neighborhood, where you’ll see more shops, restaurants, and maybe a movie theater. Since each area is will be different, a TOD typology will be developed to evaluate the best locations for this type of development.
MDOT, business and tourism interests, transit, bicycle advocates, Sand Beach Authority, industry and residents along the corridor from Hancock to Jackson Counties. This group should work together to decide the future of US 90 as a multi-modal corridor able to balance the need for land use access combined with the growing number of transit users, pedestrians and bicyclists in the area. Issues to be addressed by this group include potential measures such as access management, traffic calming, pedestrian bridges, raised intersections, transit signal preemption, transit shelter development and design, landscaping, lighting, gateway and wayfinding signage, etc. It would also establish a consensus view on how to handle grow traffic demands, including establishing acceptable thresholds for roadway congestion, transit services and facilities as well as policy measures suggested for discouraging additional vehicle traffic and supporting overall growth in the use of alternative transportation.
6. US 90 is the single most important corridor which ties all of the MS Gulf Coast together. Not only is this route a focal point of the region’s tourism, casino and convention industry, it is also a route which takes residents to jobs as well as help them get to key facilities and services. Its scenic views define all that is positive about the image of the MS Gulf Coast as America’s coastal paradise. The US 90 corridor touches the greatest number of population groups (residents, visitors, workers, etc.) on the MS Gulf Coast and should be planned carefully to maintain its role to the mobility, recreation, economic impact of the region. This is an asset worth protecting and cherishing. To do so, builds the region and helps create the core of a sustainable community. Helping address the sustainable community livability principle of enhancing economic competitiveness, recommendations will include formation of a US 90 Task Force to represent the individual cities, counties, 73
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www.sustainablecommunities.org Developed in part using input from the Mississippi Gulf Coast Area Transportation Study, 2035 Long Range Transportation Plan, Prepared for Gulf Regional Planning Commission and Mississippi Department of Transportation, by Neel-Schaffer, Inc. in association with Wilbur Smith Associates, March 2011. Mississippi Gaming Commission Public Information, Quarterly Survey Information (Regional Data): October 1, 2012 - December 31, 2012; Quarterly Survey Information (Property Data): October 1, 2012 – December 31, 2012, Mississippi State Gaming Commission, www.msgamingcommission.com, downloaded April 9, 2013. Annual Estimates of the Residential Population, April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2012, 2012 Population Estimates, US Census Bureau Population Division. Developed using Regional Economic Development Assessment, March 2013. Developed using The Mississippi Gulf Coast Public Values Survey, The Findings of a Survey on What makes a Region Sustainable, As reported by Residents of the MS Gulf Coast, December 2012. Developed using Assessing Gulf Coast Comprehensive Plans on Regional Livability, September 2011. Data source: Gulf Regional Planning Commission, for functionally classified roadway networks for each county: Hancock, Harrison and Jackson Counties, MS. Note, some exceptions to this exist where individual communities (Biloxi, Gulfport, Ocean Springs, Gauthier) which through their own comprehensive planning processes, have identified and in some cases adopted measures to encourage higher densities of land use within the traditional urban cores and small town centers along the US 90 corridor. However, large scale redevelopment of many of the areas outside of downtown and retail districts along US 90 south of Pass Road and the CSX Railroad corridor have yet to occur since the end of cleanup following Hurricane Katrina. Center for Neighborhood Technology. (2010). “Housing + Transportation.” Web. Environmental Protections Agency Ibid Ibid Ibid Operations Topics Summary, FY 2012, Summary of On-Board Passenger Survey program, Coast Transit Authority. Developed using the Mississippi Gulf Coast Food System Stakeholder Analysis, September 2011. Harrison County Development Commission Reported Travel Time to Work, MS Gulf Coast, American Community Survey. GRPC analysis Operations Topics Summary, FY 2012, Summary of On-Board Passenger Survey program, Coast Transit Authority. Ibid. Developed using the Mississippi Gulf Coast Water Assessment, February 2012. As cited in the Mississippi Gulf Coast Water Assessment, Global Insight and Reeve and Associates. (2006). Four Corridor Case Studies of Short-Sea Shipping Services. Ibid. As cited in the Mississippi Gulf Coast Water Assessment, MEMA. (2010). The State of Mississippi Standard Mitigation Plan. Assessed July 10, 2011 from: http://www.southerncoastalmaps.com/resources/resources.php, Pg 1-470. AASHTO task force on geometric design. Guide for the development of Bicycle Facilities. 1999. & Oregon Department of Transportation. Bicycle and Pe destrian Design Guide. 2011 (3rd Edition)
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