APA Transportation Planning Division

M  I  N  U  T  E  S

of the

B U S I N E S S   M E E T I N G  at TRB

January 24, 2006

Washington Hilton, Chevy Chase  Room

23 in attendance*

Chair Larry Lennon opened the meeting at 5:45pm, welcoming attendees and leading a round of introductions.

1.   Lennon described the FY 2006 Work Program that was distributed to attendees.

2.   Past Chair Whit Blanton was not in attendance. Lennon conveyed his greetings with news of continued work on the Airports-in-the-Region (AIR) Initiative and of Whit’s candidature for chair of the Divisions Council.

3.  Vice Chair Hilary Perkins reported on her liaison on behalf of APA with a TRB committee on safety in transportation. Its scope includes issues of elderly driving, accident data analysis, enforcement, and safe routes to school. She recommended that a TPD member with experience at the MPO level continue these activities. She will summarize this in an article for a future issue of our newsletter.

4.  Perkins continued that the two Division sessions planned for National in San Antonio in April are:

            (a)  Planning It Safe, Sunday at 10:30am

            (b)  Sustainability in Public Transportation, Tuesday at 4:00pm.  Lennon to chair.

5.   Canadian researcher and author of a new book on parking policies Todd Litman spoke of the factors affecting parking demand and contingency-based planning. His new book has been published by APA Planners Press and covers a wide range of parking analysis and innovative approached to better parking management.

6.   Secretary Larry Fabian reported that Glen Duke is again maintaining the TPD website. Any submissions or comments for it should be communicated to Fabian at lfabian@airfront.us.

7.  Fabian reported progress on the Division’s continuing cooperation with the Advanced Transit Association, including a workshop in Smart Growth with Smart Transit in San Antonio April 22, probably off-site. Members wishing to assist in the planning and execution of this event should contact Fabian.

8.   Fabian described progress with AIR issue identification and invited comments on the followigng research items:

            (a)  Pros and cons of car rental consolidation, on- and off-airport

            (b)  Planning parameters of off-airport ground transport centers, e.g. MSP, MIA, LAX

            (c)  Rail service to airports and outreach to IARO

            (d)  Airport mode split policies and their relationship with parking revenues. Note: it is of               interest that Litman’s book does not have a section on airports and airfronts.

            (e)  Recycling and hazmat issues for airport airfield runoff

            (f)  Building codes for noise mitigation

            (g)  Building codes and zoning for just-in-time manufacturing and modern warehousing

            (h)  Parking requirements for airfront land uses (e.g. hotels, meeting facilities)

            (i)  Governance, e.g. community representation on airport boards

It was suggested that training sessions on these issues for planning commissioners would be an effective way to gain attention to these issues and find funding sources to support future research efforts, including TPD projects. AIR communication is already in place with ACI-NA, the FAA, and AMPO. Fabian mentioned APTA, ULI, TSA/HAS, IARO, and cargo-focused groups for future outreach.

9.   Treasurer Todd Ashby reported that the Division account had a balance of around $8000. He described the proposed 2006 Budget.

10.  It was moved, seconded and passed to approve the 2006 Work Progress and Budget. They will be posted on the website.

11.  Newsletter Editor Ruth Fitzgerald reported that there were three issues in 2005 and a just-published issue (January 2006) full of news. Digital distribution is going well: the biggest problem is handling faulty email addresses. She always welcomes article ideas and submissions. Given the excellent quality of the newsletter and the costless nature of digital distribution, it was suggested that we investigate ways to distribute the newsletter beyond TPD membership.

12.  Lennon reported that Ruth Steiner has the Student Paper Competition underway for National in San Antonio. The deadline for submissions in Feb.1. She will be on sabbatical next year and is resigning from this responsibility. Volunteers are solicited.

13.  Noel Comeaux reported on the membership campaign 2,006 in 2006. He is working towards a TPD presence at the Divisions Council Booth at National.

14.  New Business:

            (a) David Kuehn called attention to the Feb. 28 deadline for nominations for the USDOT’s Transportation Excellence Awards. Visit www.planning.dot.gov.

            (b)  Complaints on the high registration fees for the San Antonio conference were voiced. It was suggested that they are inconsistent with APA’s stated goals of serving the community of planners and this should be communicated to APA officers and staff.

            (c)  Richard Rolland reported that transportation is a “huge issue” for indigenous communities and tribal governments. The need for more planning funds and attention was suggested.

            (d)  Cindy Hoyle described APA’s effort to identify planning assistance teams for large-scale disasters and emergencies. Planners can submit their names with specialties, mostly on a pro bono basis. She referred to the APA website for more information. She further suggested that we should ask APA to handle faulty emails and advised us that there can be copyright issues surrounding newsletter publication.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:16pm.  

*  Sign-in  on file.