Careers in Transportation

Planning
• What is the role of the transportation planner?
• An overview of transportation opportunities for
all planners
• Employment outlook for urban and regional
planners
 What is the Role of a Transportation
Planner?
 Transportation planners work to improve the quality
of life of the communities they serve by developing
sustainable solutions to issues such as urban sprawl,
traffic congestion, air pollution, access to jobs, and
the mobility needs of an aging population

2
 Long Range Transportation Models

Local Future Land

Use Plans
Employment &
•Assumes future Household
land use is valid Projections
Projected
•Assumes Deficiencies
community will (congestion) and
develop per its Alternatives
plan Analysis Recommended Changes –
typically to add capacity
Source: Washtenaw Area Transportation Study (WATS), LSL Planning, Inc.
 Comparison of the Planning Processes

Land Use Transportation

Goals Qualitative and competing Quantitative (Performance
Measures)
Scope Short term (5-15 years) Long term (30 years)
Data Mild influence Data driven
Public Input Big influence May or may not influence
Priorities and Often not specified Specific with costs and
Implementation funding
Practicality Bold ideas / “just a plan” Engineering feasibility

Major Difference:
•Transportation based on planned Land Use
•Land Use has limited consideration of transportation
A New Paradigm
 Link land use with transportation:
 Land use arrangement to reduce peak
hour auto trips
 Site design to support
bicycling/walking/transit
 Combine land-use planning with
transportation planning (regional,
community, and site specific)
 Increased cooperation among all
parties involved in land use and
transportation
 Operate in limited funding
environment by planning practical
(and affordable) and sustainable
solutions to meet our transportation
system needs Photo: LSL Planning, Inc.
Role of the Transportation Planner
 “Bridge the gap”
 Educate parties in an Land Use

understandable way Economic

Development
Transportation

 Focus on long term

 Advocate for Environmental Outside
Agencies/
Choices
underserved groups Priorities
Stakeholders

Decisions
 Environmental justice
 Use transportation to
improve community Public

sustainability
Source: LSL Planning, Inc.
Public Involvement

 Facilitate, educate to
gather meaningful input
 Brochures

 Open house

 Public workshops

 Advisory committees

 “Road show”

 Visualization/simulation

Photos: Courtesy of LSL Planning, Inc.

A transportation planner does . . .
 Long range plans  Transit oriented land
 Corridor simulation use and design
models  Access management
 Flexible design/street  Overlay zones
widths/road diets  Form-based codes
(traffic calming/CSS)  Transportation to
 Non-motorized plans support economic
& walkable design development
 Demand management
Corridor Planning
 Identify the function and
Bluffton, SC
character of major
streets
 Traffic operations (Level
of Service)
 Accommodate all users
 Access system
 Road and streetscape
design (Context Sensitive
Solutions) Portage, MI

Source: LSL Planning, Inc.

 Access Management
Cost effective traffic management methods to:
 Promote the flow of traffic

 Improve safety of pedestrians & vehicles

 Improve aesthetics of roadway areas

…by managing the location, quantity, type &

design of access to a roadway
Rear Access
Road Structures

Shared Parking
Access Road Area

Structures
Front Access
Road Consolidated
Signs
Thru Traffic Landscaping
Sources: Photo and Cover, MDOT
Lanes Access Management Guidebook.
Graphic, LSL Planning, Inc.
Benefit: Safety

 Access management
can help reduce
injuries and property
damage due to
crashes
 Doubling of access
density from 10-20
access points per
mile often results
in about a 40%
Source: FHWA, MDOT Access Management Guidebook
increase in expected
crash rates*
*according to the Michigan Department
of Transportation
Context Sensitive Solutions (CSS)
Designing for: CSS Median Cross-Section
Character
Users
Land Uses
Multiple Functions
Linking to the past and to the
future
Alternative Roadway Cross-Sections

Source: LSL Planning, Inc.

San Jose, California

Existing conditions
San Jose, California

Mixed-use development at sidewalk

San Jose, California

Street trees; medians and pedestrian refuges; crosswalks

San Jose, California

Live-work housing; mixed-use building

San Jose, California

Bus lane
San Jose, California

Rapid transit lane demarcated in red

Promote Effective Solutions
Transportation planners can
promote effective solutions
such as roundabouts, ITS,
creative interchange design,
multi-modal streets and
traffic calming measures. Photo: LSL Planning, Inc.

This includes both technical

analysis and building
support from other
professionals, the public,
and decision makers.

A multimedia demonstration from the City

of Sammamish, WA official website.
Road Diets
 Reducing # of traffic lanes
to provide left turn, transit,
or bike lane
 Consider:
 Function & environment
 Traffic volumes (consider for
8,500 – 24,000 vpd)
 Peak hour volumes & Level of
Service
 Crash types, pedestrian, bike,
& transit activity Washtenaw County Access
Management Plan:
 Impact on parallel roads One-Way 3-to-2 Road Diet Concept
Source: LSL Planning, Inc.
Transit Oriented Development (TOD)

 Moderate to higher density

 Within an easy walk
 A mix of uses
 Designed for the pedestrian
 New construction or
redevelopment
 Increases transit ridership
 Strong benefits
 Using Transportation as a Catalyst

 Rather than respond to land use, trans-

portation investment can be a catalyst to
sound, sustainable growth and develop-
ment
 Increase property value by improving
access and safety
 Balance land use with traveler needs
 Examples:
 Convert one-way to two-way
 Add on-street parking
 Add transit (Bus rapid transit/ streetcar/light rail)

Images Source: City of Birmingham, MI Triangle

District Master Plan, LSL Planning, Inc.
Manage Demand
 Transportation planners also help manage
transportation demand by taking any action or set
of actions intended to influence the intensity, timing
and spatial distribution of demand for the purpose
of reducing the impact of traffic or enhancing
mobility options by
• Offering commuters one or more alternative
transportation modes and/or services
• Providing incentives to travel on these modes or
at non-congested hours, or
• Providing opportunities to better link or "chain"
trips together, and/or incorporating growth
management or traffic impact policies into local
development decisions. Photo with permission from VPSI
Outlook for Transportation
Planners
Employment Outlook
Job Outlook
Earnings
 Employment Outlook

Urban and regional  Companies:
planners held about  architectural,
38,400 jobs in 2008. engineering, and

About 66 percent related services,
were employed by  management, scientific,

local governments. and technical

consulting services

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-

11 Edition http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos057.htm#outlook
 Job Outlook
 Faster than average
employment growth
 Employment of urban and
regional planners is
expected to grow 19
percent from 2008 to 2018
 Most new jobs will be in
affluent, rapidly expanding
communities.
 Job prospects will be best
for those with a master's
degree
 Bachelor's degree holders
with additional skills in GIS
or mapping may find entry
level positions, but
advancement opportunities
are limited.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-

11 Edition http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos057.htm#outlook
 Earnings

 Median annual wages  The lowest 10 percent

of urban and regional earned less than
planners were $37,960, and the
$59,810 in May highest 10 percent
2008. earned more than
 The middle 50 percent $91,520.
earned between
$47,050 and
$75,630.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-

11 Edition http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos057.htm#outlook
Acknowledgements
ITE Transportation Planning Council thanks the
following individuals for contributing material for
this PowerPoint presentation
 Brad Strader, AICP, PTP, LSL Planning, Inc.

 Lucy Gibson, Smart Mobility

 UrbanAdvantage