How do you move? The Votes are in...

Thank you for taking our first poll on the website. More than 600 of you, 622 to be exact, responded to the poll. The results certainly are interesting, even though they were never intended to be statistically significant.

 

How You Move Today

We asked you how you get to work or school today. You could select more than one method of getting between home and school or work.

 

What You Told Us

A lot of you use bicycles, buses, Metrorail, and your own two feet to get from home to work or school. Comparatively fewer of you drive to get to school and work. Nearly half of you get to school or work using two or more modes of transportation.

 

How You Want to Move in the Future

We also asked how you would like to get to work or school in the future. Again, you could choose more than one way you want to get there.

 

What You Told Us

Compared to today, more of you would like to take the bus, Metrorail, or walk to get to work or school. Again, compared today, a whole lot more of you would like to use streetcar (yeah, okay, any increase is a whole lot if you are starting at 0), bicycle, and telework. From our results, more than 70 percent of you would like to do something other than drive. That’s great news for the SustainableDC plan’s 75 percent non-auto trip share goal.

 

Thoughts on Pedestrians

 A few quick observations on people who said they walk for all or a portion of their trip:

• 53% percent of pedestrians also ride Metrorail and 34% also ride the bus
• Today, 15% of people who walk, make their entire trip walking
• In the future, only 5% would like to exclusively walk

Today’s walkers are very interested in other ways to travel to work or school in the future:

• 83% want to bike (higher than poll average)
• 73% want to ride Metrorail (higher than poll average)
• 63% want to take the bus (higher than poll average)
• 59% want to take streetcar (higher than poll average)
• 38% want to telework (higher than poll average)

What Does All of This Mean?

As we said to begin this commentary, this is not a statistically significant survey. We received 622 responses—approximately 0.1% of DC’s population. Setting all of this aside, there's some very interesting food for thought in the responses:

 

Choices appear to be important

• You are travelling to work or school in a lot of ways now
• You want more choices in the future

Driving may be less important. More data would be helpful, but working with what we have…

• Some people drive today and will drive in the future
• Driving was the only travel mode that saw a decreasing share in the future

Come on streetcar!

• Nearly half of you want to take streetcar to work or school in the future

Multimodal connections should be coordinated and convenient

• More of you want to use several modes of transportation to get from home to work or school in the future

What do you think?

Send us comments.

 

Want more?

Are you interested in other statistics? Do you want to see the data? It’s posted at wemoveDC.org/Resources. If you have any interesting takeaways or infographics, please send them our way!

Moving Ideas at moveDC's Idea Exchange

For anyone who missed Saturday’s (February 9, 2013) moveDC (http://www.wemovedc.org/ ) Idea Exchange, it gave the city a lot to think about. 

At the session’s welcome address, Mayor Gray called for the integration of moveDC with SustainableDC (http://sustainable.dc.gov/ ) and WMATA’s Momentum Plan (http://www.wmata.com/momentum/index.cfm ). The Council’s Transportation Committee Chair, Mary Cheh, highlighted that more, and more equitable transportation options are not an age-thing, they are an “everyone thing,” worthy of a great world city. Councilmember Tommy Wells called for a transportation system that provides equitable access to opportunity and the chance for all of our residents to stay and thrive in our growing city. DDOT Director Terry Bellamy credited the city’s advocates as vital advisors.

During the panel discussion, Developer Chris Leinberger (http://chrisleinberger.com/) called streetcar and bike facilities the two most important transportation investments of our time – and that we were taking too long to build them. He and fellow panelist Matthew Yglesias (of Slate, http://www.slate.com/authors.matthew_yglesias.html) called for establishing value capture systems in the city so that the benefits these investments bring will pay for themselves, even while ensuring housing affordability. Leinberger reminded the audience that economic development is the goal and transportation was just a means to that end. “We’ve confused the means with the goal,” he said and have dedicated far too much right of way to cars rather than higher value uses. During another part of the panel discussion, Matthew Yglesias talked about the importance of the consideration of “aging in-place” and accessibility from the “ground-up” when planning for transportation systems of the future. As the panel approached closure, panelist Anita Hairston of Policylink presented a revelation that 6 of 10 jobs take more than an hour to access by bus, which clearly is not good enough.

And that was just the opening panel. The six hours of interactive activities were full of ideas generated by the people who attended. Panelist Anita Hairston of PolicyLink (http://www.policylink.org/site/c.lkIXLbMNJrE/b.5136441/k.BD4A/Home.htm ) called it a “transportation bonanza.” There were strategies for making the system safe and functional for everyone whether 8 years old or 80. Ideas to create the transit “rainbow line” from NoMa and Union Station via the Capital and Riverfront to Anacostia and St. Elizabeths. Thoughts on how informal carshare can make us more mobile, sustainable, efficient AND relieve curbside pressures…..and too much more to relate.

What was evident from the Idea Exchange was that there is incredible opportunity for transportation in the city, today and in the future. We CAN continue to grow, we CAN maintain affordability; we CAN be a SustainableDC; and we CAN accommodate transportation choice.

Don’t worry if you missed the event, there will be lots of other chances to connect with moveDC. Keep coming back to www.wemoveDC.org for updates on coming events.

Conversation about Congestion

On February 5, 2013, Washington Post reported that our area was rated the worst for traffic congestion.   We shared the link on twitter, which sparked a great conversation.  Here's what you had to say. 

I’m not a transportation expert, why should I get involved with moveDC?

If you left your house today, you used some form of transportation. Whether you rode Metro, drove a car, pedaled a bike, took a bus, walked down the sidewalk, or used a wheelchair, you were involved in transportation. It impacts our lives every day. It affects our ability to move around the city, our wallets, the air we breathe, our health, and our overall quality of life.

You may not be an expert in designing a transportation system, but you ARE an expert in commuting to work or school, traveling to the grocery store, community meetings, recreation centers, the doctor, grandma’s house, places of entertainment, and so on. You know the best way to get from home to a friend’s house to avoid traffic. You know how many buses you need to take to get a sick child to the doctor. You know what it is like to be late for work or school because there is traffic, a Metro problem, or a full bus.

moveDC will create a plan for the transportation system to serve you now and in the future.

Why should YOU care? 
Commuters: Can you rely on the transportation system to get to work on time every day? Is it affordable and efficient?

Seniors: What happens if you decide not to drive anymore? Will you be able to get to doctor appointments using public transportation, walking, or by bicycle?

Disabled Community: Do you feel comfortable and confident as you move around the city?

Youth: Do you have to make multiple transfers (bus-to-bus, bus-to-metro, metro-to-bus) to get to school? Can you walk or bicycle to school safely?

Cyclists: Are there enough bike connections, trails, lanes, and parking to get to your destination? 

Pedestrians: Do you feel safe walking down the street? Are there enough trees, lighting, wide sidewalks, and places to rest to make your walk enjoyable?

Shift workers: Do you have enough transportation options to get to and from work during non-rush hour?

Service Providers: Can your clients access your facilities by public transportation?

Employers: Does transportation play a role in how you recruit, employ, and retain the people you need to run your business?

Retailers: Is it easy for people to reach you?

Everyone should care about this plan. moveDC will identify transportation system recommendations district-wide. Some of these will change the physical environment—the way streets work or what's in them—some may change the way that transportation services (i.e. transit, Capital Bikeshare-CaBi, etc.) are delivered, and others may affect policy and future planning (i.e. parking, etc.). The plan will include recommendations for pedestrian, bicycle, transit, rail, and vehicular systems citywide. We need your help to make the “best” plan that will efficiently connect people to the places they want to go.

Your ideas matter, so get involved by:

• Attending the moveDC “Idea Exchange” on February 9, 2013 at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library 9:30am-3:00pm 
• Attending a meeting near you (dates and locations coming soon) 
• Joining us on social media: Facebook and Twitter