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Mobility for All

By Mr. Jeffrey Paniati P.E posted 09-16-2018 06:50 PM

  
The idea that we need to provide mobility for all citizens is certainly not a new one. It is a challenge that transportation professionals have faced for generations. However, we are in a time where the demand for transportation choice has increased and the opportunities for fulfilling those demands have expanded beyond the traditional approaches we have used in the past. Mobility for all means there are choices, and people want the ability to make those choices based on their own individual needs. In looking back on the past five years, we have seen a menu of new choices emerge as technology advances have enabled new business models and attitudes about mobility have changed. Increased
demand for active transportation choices that support healthier lifestyles have led to the implementation of more bicycle lanes and pedestrian zones. The sharing economy model has removed barriers of ownership for those who want on-demand access to cars, bicycles, and even scooters when they need mobility in those forms. Drones are offering
an opportunity to change the way cities handle package delivery, and new freight strategies are ensuring that deliveries are made without compromising access to urban streets.

We are now clearly in an era of mobility as a service. The traditional lines of public versus private transportation services have been blurred. The reliance on personally owned
vehicles (or bikes or scooters) is changing. Whether you serve a public agency or the private sector, we all play a part in how these new services, strategies, and choices
come together. These emerging services can provide for increased mobility for our citizens, but they can also provide challenges. For example, we have seen how bicycle and
scooter share programs have evolved to introduce dockless options that provide more flexibility but have left city officials scrambling to manage the public right-of-way where
bikes and scooters are left. If we can find solutions to situations like these, we can provide more choices, more connections, and healthier travel options.

ITE has a role in helping our members and the transportation industry manage the new transportation paradigm being driven by the public’s need for a menu of choices, advances in technology, and entrepreneurial efforts to meet consumer demand. With rapid change upon us, ITE is positioned to provide guidance and support. A great example is the Curbside Management Practitioner’s Resource developed under the leadership of ITE’s Complete Streets Council and in cooperation with the National Association of City Transportation Officials. This resource, announced in conjunction with the Joint ITE International and Midwestern/Great Lakes Districts Annual Meeting and Exhibit and available later this month, begins to address the challenge cities face in balancing the increasing demands for passenger pick-up and dropoff, package delivery, transit service, bicycle facilities, and parking along the curbside.

ITE members are well-positioned to help shape mobility for all in a way that best serves communities, agencies, and private industry by providing a leadership role in
connecting all of the people involved. If we embrace the idea of mobility for all and help guide the evolution of mobility as a service, we can ensure that these new mobility
choices and technologies are implemented in a strategic and thoughtful way where everyone benefits. As always, I welcome your feedback at jpaniati@ite.org, through ITE
Community, and on Twitter at @JeffPaniatiITE.

This blog post is from the Director's Message from the September 2018 issue of ITE Journal.
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