Streets as Places

Transforming Transportation Practice

To transform transportation practice, we need to work closely with state, regional and city transportation agencies whose staff is largely responsible for street design in this country. PPS has hired Gary Toth, whose long experience at New Jersey Department of Transportation (DOT) has contributed incredibly to PPS’s credibility in assisting agencies that are seeking to change the way they do business. We have already participated in a number of agency workshops and conferences, which we plan to build on, to develop long-term relationships.

PPS is also undertaking a campaign—Thinking Beyond the Station—to influence the planning and design of transit centers (bus, railway, subway stations) to become catalysts for increased economic vitality and environmental sustainability as well as improving health, civic engagement, and servicing people’s transit needs. In partnership with the Center for Transit Oriented Development (CTOD), we expect to achieve broad-based reform in the role of transit in communities—fundamental to reducing traffic demand and achieving great streets.

Upcoming tasks under this activity include:
  • PPS will design and market a DOT-focused training program incorporating recent PPS products, including the Corridors for Livable Communities publication. The goal will be develop in-house capacity within city and state DOTs to promote culture change, creativity, and enthusiasm for community engagement within these agencies.
  • We will also prepare a new handbook, a Reader’s Digest Summary of Design Guides and Manuals, to summarize the hidden flexibility in transportation design manuals.
  • We plan to solicit agency feedback on our products, as well as gage their openness to training in managing organizational change. Our goal is to refine these products and develop a more focused curriculum for potential future roll-out.