APA Transportation Planning Division
March 31, 2003
Adams Mark Hotel, Tower Room D, Denver CO
43 in attendance (listed below)
Chair Whit Blanton called the meeting to order at 5:50pm and welcomed those in present. Attendees then introduced themselves.
1. Minutes: The Minutes of the January 13, 2003 meeting during TRB, which had been posted on the web site since late January, were reviewed and approved with correction of Newsletter Editor Ruth Fitzgerald as rfitzgerald@fhiplan.com.
2. New Officers: Todd Barker described the electronic balloting which went very smoothly. APA hopes that other divisions will switch to e-voting. He pointed out the need for members to update their email on the APA website. The officers are
Whit Blanton, Chair
Larry Lennon, Vice Chair
Joe Marking, Treasurer
Larry Fabian, Secretary
The new vice chair welcomed suggestions for sessions to be developed for next year’s national conference. Whit expanded that state conferences and collaborations with other divisions may also be in our work program. He acknowledged Jacob Riger’s help with the website and other administrative matters.
3. Student Papers: Karen Lamberton described the review process that she and Mary Kihl, Robert Bush, and Kate Garwood undertook. First place went to Joshua Mack of UMass, who wrote on the spatial mismatch debate in a sustainability framework. Due the birth of their child, he was with his wife and not able to attend. The second place prize was to Michelle Laboy of UMich for her paper on joint development techniques. Both papers will be abstracted into the newsletter and posted in full on the website.
4. Chair’s Report: Whit described the TPD sessions in Denver on airport planning and the role of state DOTs in growth management that the Division organized for Denver. Both were well attended and received. The airport session built on the day-long workshop that was held with the Advanced Transit Association on Saturday. He also discussed the legislative forum on TEA-21 Reauthorization and APA’s efforts in this regard. Together, these activities are generating very interesting material for future sessions. Whit also presented an overview of the Divisions Council business meeting, which entailed a request from APA National for divisions to consider a uniform dues structure of $25 per division, with the possibility of a two-for-three pricing deal. After discussion, the members recommended against the proposal.
5. Certification: There was a long discussion of experience and attitudes toward the prospect of certification for transportation planners. This was agreed that this is a significant issue that needs to be thoroughly researched. It was decided to survey our members for their views, as well as to conduct research on graduate school education of transportation planners. Larry Lennon and Ruth Fitzgerald will head up this effort. Sara Forelle, Karen Lamberton, and Richard Schaffer volunteered to help, augmenting Mary Kihl and Ruth Steiner, who volunteered their assistance at the TRB meeting. The intent is to coordinate with ITE, the Planners Accreditation Board, and the Association of Collegeiate Schools of Planning (ACSP).
6. TEA-3: Whit explained that it is significant the APA now has a formal position on TEA-21 re-authorization, largely based on major input from the Division. It is now important for TPD members and all planners to promote this to their representatives in Washington as well as state and local elected officials. He encouraged people to attend the APA Legislative Conference in Washington in May.
7. APA/Division Relations: APA’s growth plan focuses on recruiting more planning directors, especially from counties. Whit discussed APA Exec. Dir. Paul Farmer’s remarks that divisions would be a significant source of growth and expanded interaction in APA’s Planners Advisory Service and packaged workshops. Mike Callahan suggested that airport directors should also be targeted. APA wishes to create uniform dues for the various divisions. There was some concern expressed about the high registration fee for the national conferences. Why is it so high, and what alternative ways are there to foster professional interchanges?
8. Airfronts: Larry Fabian explained that it is significant that there is a consensus that the commercial districts around airports have escaped the attention of planners and deserve more investigation and research priority. This was evident in the keen attention and interest from the ~60 people who stayed for most of the Saturday Airfront Issues Workshop and in the financial support from sponsors Berger/ABAM and Doppelmayr Cable Car. Concluding remarks at the workshop pointed to the need to engage planners in airport-architect deliberations to expand the agenda from green buildings to green districts and to continue to respond to FAA interest in these matters.
9. Airport Committee: Mike Callahan described that the “focus group” has evolved into a discussion group with 37 members. Formal communication has been established with FAA and other professional groups including ICMA, ASCE, and the National Council of Mayors. It was moved and seconded that TPD create an airport committee whose formal name and scope are to be defined. Mike agreed to develop a work plan and budget. Whit suggested that outside sponsors might be interested.
10. Newsletter: Ruth Fitzgerald explained that “her” second newsletter went out in early March. The next one is scheduled for late May, so that the next deadline for submissions is the end of April. She encouraged people to submit a broad range of articles, case studies, op eds, issue debates, etc.
11. Other Business: Sara Forelle volunteered to help Ruth Steiner with the survey of planning school curriculum. The “black box” of demand modeling was proposed as a topic for a session at next year’s National.
The meeting adjourned at 7:50pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Larry Fabian, TPD Sectretary
Rana Al-Jammal UMass
Ned Baier Hillsboro Co.
Alan Black UKansas
Todd Barker KH
Whit Blanton, Chair RPG
Jack Burrie
John Bender DMJM+Harris
Brian Blaesing Oakland Co. Roads
Mike Callahan, Airport FG Parsons
Cody Christensen BW&R
Jim Donovan WSA
Anthony Drummond SJSU
Larry Fabian, Sec. Trans.21
Ruth Fitzgerald, Newsletter FHI
Apryl Fogel FSU/CSI
Sara Forelle Catanese Center
Oscar Gonzalez DMJM + Harris
Maureen Goodrich PBSJ
Mark Johnson L&B
Mary Kihl ASU
Michelle Laboy UMich
Karen Lamberton Pima AOG
Karen Langrock
Joung Lee FHWA
Larry Lennon, V.Chair PB
Joe Marking, Treas. EDR
Stephanie McCauley FSU/KH
Bert Melche r DRCOG
Mark Opitz City of Middleton
Hilary Perkins Jacobs
Jacob Riger RPG
Dick Schaffer Pima AOG
John Schmidt MARC
Anna Shady UMass
Chi-Hsin Shao CHS
Jeanne Shrene Adams Co.
Steve Strains NW Indiana RPC
Danielle Szelag UMass
Kevin Tilbury RPG
Mark Tinkler Wilmington MPO
Judy Tymon BU
Bruce Wilson Water Taxi
Dan Wong SF Airport