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36 Introduction This section outlines the actions corridor stakeholders can take to develop a vision for their transit corridor. Visioning (Step 4 in Figure 1) involves three substeps: ⢠Step 4.1: Develop Corridor Improvement Scenarios. ⢠Step 4.2: Analyze Corridor Improvement Scenarios. ⢠Step 4.3: Select Vision. Stakeholders should first engage in a collaborative process to outline improvement scenarios for their corridors, based on the work done in Step 3. Then corridor analysts can estimate the outcomes of these scenarios and prepare necessary data for evaluating these scenarios using traditional planning analysis methods. Step 4.1: Develop Corridor Improvement Scenarios Engage your stakeholders in a visioning process to determine what they think their corridor should ultimately become. These scenarios should be âwhat ifâ exercises that help stakeholders identify the likely outcomes of different improvement strategies. Scenarios should engage the full range of Livability Principles, factors, goals, and strategies outlined in this Handbook, with emphasis placed on those goals identified in previous steps and their associated strategies. Many of the most beneficial outcomes from livability improvements are realized from the interactions between disciplines that are often kept separate. The most effective comprehensive livability scenario planning efforts will include and leverage these disciplinary âsilos,â breaking down barriers between land use, transportation, housing, economic development, and social services providers to name a few. The Lincoln Land Institute report âOpening Access to Scenario Planning Toolsâ identifies three critical components of scenario planning: collaboration, capacity building, and creation of an open environment for engagement. The report defines these as follows: Collaborative problem solving facilitates resolution of interrelated issues that cannot be resolved by one organization alone. Capacity building is needed to enable individuals and organizations to apply sce- nario planning methods and tools effectively to their specific planning concerns. An open environment for information sharing and education will help accelerate the use and improvement of scenario planning tools in multiple settings (Holway et al. 2012). The importance of collaboration and an open environment called for in this passage cannot be emphasized enough. In a survey of U.S. scenario planning projects, Bartholomew found that with a handful of notable exceptions, most scenario planning efforts fail to achieve the level of public engage- ment necessary to achieve their goals. Sixty percent of all projects that concluded with the selection Develop a Vision (Step 4) S E C T I O N 4
Develop a Vision (Step 4) 37 of a preferred scenario failed to involve the public in this critical decision. Bartholomew concludes that the âplannersâ agendaâ is subtly (and sometimes not so subtly) working to frame the problems and script the solutions in the form of value-laden scenarios. By the time the public is involved, the planners have already decided on their preferred scenarios and outcomes (Bartholomew 2007). Recommended Practice: Developing Action-Oriented Scenarios Consult the following scenario planning guides and resources to help design livability improvement scenarios for your transit corridor: ⢠Federal Highway Administration and Volpe Center. 2010. FHWA Scenario Planning Guide- book. Federal Highway Administration, Washington D.C. Available at: http://www.fhwa.dot. gov/planning/scenario_and_visualization/scenario_planning/scenario_planning_guidebook/ guidebook.pdf. ⢠Oregon Sustainable Transportation Initiative. 2013. Scenario Planning Guidelines Resources for Developing and Evaluating Alternative Land Use and Transportation Scenarios. Oregon Department of Transportation, Salem, OR. Available at: http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/TD/ OSTI/docs/Scenario%20Planning%20Guidelines/ODOT-Guidelines-April2013-red.pdf. ⢠Envision Utah. 2014. A Guide to Regional Visioning: Mapping the Course for Successful Com- munity Engaged Scenario Planning. Envision Utah, Salt Lake City, UT. Available at: http:// envisionutah.org/images/guidebook-images/ScenarioPlanningGuidebook.pdf. In close collaboration with stakeholders, develop planning-level sketches, diagrams, and other presentation materials that will help stakeholders envision what the corridor will look like once the livability planning and implementation process is complete. The Transit Corridor Livability Calculator provides data for 10 of the 12 metrics for most U.S. census block groups. Create scenarios for the study corridor by adding or subtracting from the metric scores to reflect the implementation of different strategies. Evaluate and display for stakeholders the likely outcomes of each scenarioâs strategies once they are implemented and their effects are manifest. Step 4.2: Analyze Corridor Improvement Scenarios Provide comparisons of the livability metric scores for existing and future scenarios for the study corridor. Describe the strengths and needs identified in the analysis above, the preliminary list of goals selected in Step 3, and the likely outcomes from pursuing those goals. Re-engage the corridor stakeholders, presenting the analysis results for likely outcomes from the scenarios they defined in Step 4.1. Design the public involvement and stakeholder engagement processes to ensure they are robust and inclusive. Step 4.3: Select Vision Using the collaborative processes outlined in the steps above, select the preferred corridor vision scenario based on stakeholder preferences. This vision will serve as the touchstone for creating a more detailed implementation planâincluding goals and strategiesâin Step 5. Recommended Practice: Developing Supporting Materials for the Vision Develop supporting materials for the vision that illustrate the key aspects of the plan for each focus group (as recommended in Step 1.1) or Transit Corridor Livability Principle (as recom- mended in Step 1.2.2). For example, Figure 12 provides a land use concept plan for the North Fifth Street Corridor in North Las Vegas, Nevada.
38 Livable Transit Corridors: Methods, Metrics, and Strategies Defining and Analyzing Scenarios: Envision Utahâs Depot District Scenario Plans Envision Utah conducted a visioning process using scenario-based planning tools to develop a series of scenarios for the Depot District in downtown Salt Lake City. Envision Utah worked in close collaboration with local officials and community members to identify a series of viable scenarios. These scenarios were evaluated using a collection of modeling tools, producing a series of outcome indicator values for each scenario. Source: Envision Utah (2014).
Develop a Vision (Step 4) 39 Collaboration and Public Involvement for Successful Scenario Planning: Sacramentoâs Regional Blueprint Project The Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) initiated a stakeholder and community-led scenario planning effort in 2002 to develop a regional transportation and land use vision plan. After developing the business-as-usual, base-case scenario, SACOG and their partners coordinated nearly 40 neighborhood and countywide workshops. Workshops began at the neighborhood level where participants were provided with table maps and easy-to-use computer modeling programs that would provide immediate feedback to the groups on their proposed scenarios. The results of these workshops were integrated into a larger set of regional scenarios for further testing, refinement, and workshopping (Sacramento Area Council of Governments 2004). Source: Federal Highway Administration (undated).
Source: City of North Las Vegas and PlaceWorks (2006). Figure 12. Land use vision for the North Fifth Street Corridor Plan in North Las Vegas, Nevada.