DEEP DIVE - Green Parking and Sustainable Mobility

Mark Gander, AICP, Principal Planner, AECOM, New York, NY Paul Wessel, Executive Director, Green Parking Council, New Haven, CT Rachel Nguyen, Executive Director, Future Lab, Nissan Motor Company, Ltd. Glenn Kurtz, Executive Vice President, Lanier Parking Solutions, Atlanta, GA

There is no Planet B

Sustainability matters.

• Harnessing our resources wisely is what will enable people all over the globe to enjoy a higher standard of living – and that is good news for companies. But there is no economic future for companies if the resources they convert are depleted.

• Sustainability is the best competitive business approach we have to using scarce resources wisely and effectively, minimizing waste and making smart investment decisions for an uncertain future. Sustainability is: a) an operating philosophy, b) a point of view, c) a service we provide our clients, and d) something for which we advocate.

• Transport systems have significant impacts on the environment, accounting for between 20% and 25% of world energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. Greenhouse gas emissions from transport are increasing at a faster rate than any other energy using sector. Road transport is also a major contributor to local air pollution and smog.

• Sustainable mobility includes vehicles, energy, infrastructure, roads, railways, airways, waterways, canals, pipelines, and terminals. Transport operations and logistics as well as transit-oriented development. Transportation sustainability is measured by system effectiveness, efficiency, equity as well as the environmental impacts.

• Short-term activity promotes incremental improvement in fuel efficiency and vehicle emissions controls while long-term goals include migrating transportation from fossil-based energy to other alternatives such as renewable energy and use of other renewable resources. The entire life cycle of transport systems is subject to sustainability measurement and optimization.

Avenue 9 de Julio

• Buenos Aires, the capital and largest city in Argentina with population of 3 Million implemented several impressive sustainable transport projects in 2013. For its success Buenos Aires is a finalist for the 2014 Sustainable Transport Award.

• In 2013, the city launched two new corridors of their BRT system, Metrobus; the city has transformed dozens of blocks in city center into a pedestrian-friendly environment, encouraging walking and cycling. These changes are bringing big changes to Buenos Aires and promoting a culture that prioritizes people over cars.

• Avenue 9 de Julio, known as the “widest avenue in the world” with more than 20 lanes of car traffic, has undergone an impressive “transit makeover” in the last year. The city replaced car lanes with bus-only lanes and created a high-quality, median-aligned bus corridor with 17 stations, accommodating 11 bus lines and improving travel for 200,000 passengers per day. Across the board, passengers have reduced their travel time by an average of 30 minutes per bus ride. It used to take more than 40 minutes to cross the city. Now it takes an average of 14.

• The 9 de Julio Avenue corridor project is part of a citywide Sustainable Mobility Plan initiated in 2009. The plan includes the pedestrianization of more than 100 blocks of the Microcentro area, an extension of the public bicycle share system, a 300 km bicycle-lane network, interventions prioritizing pedestrian activity and public transport, traffic calming and road safety infrastructure, and a sweeping on-street parking-reform project planned for 2014 that will incorporate best practices from around the world to combat illegal parking and improve traffic flow.

Parking takes a central role in mobility

“Parking should not be an end point in a journey. Parking facilities should serve as active, mixed-use resources that seamlessly connect to reliable smart grid infrastructure, trains, trams or bicycle paths, allowing journeys to continue on.” - Mark Gander, AECOM, Green Parking Council Board Member

World Trade Center Transportation Hub, New York,

Massive new transit hub will enhance travelers' experiences

The US$3.4-billion transit hub is a key logistical element of the complex because it serves commuter trains between downtown Manhattan and New Jersey, as well as New York's subway system. Its extraordinary, soaring-winged design is by Santiago Calatrava in association with AECOM, and symbolizes the wings of a dove. The 800,000-square-foot (74,322-square-meter) hub includes approximately 200,000 square feet (18,581 square meters) of retail space and will open in late 2014.

- Mark Gander, Principal Transportation Planner

and Real Estate Manager

“Parking should not be an end point in a journey. Parking facilities should serve as active, mixed-use resources that seamlessly connect to reliable smart grid infrastructure, trains, trams or bicycle paths, allowing journeys to continue on.”

“Parking has a central role in this mobility chain as a strategic enabler for intermodal concepts and a catalyst to foster community renewal.”