Networking
Mpact Innovators Presents – Wednesday Morning Group Run
Meet in Lobby
Come out for a conversation-paced morning run with fellow Mpact attendees. This casual run will check out Ben Franklin Parkway, visit the “Rocky steps” at the Philadelphia Art Museum, showcase the Schuylkill River Trail’s boardwalk, and finish back to the hotel passing through Rittenhouse Square. Expect a 3.5- to 4-mile route with a mid-run option to extend based on group preference/timing. Meet in the lobby of the Sheraton Philadelphia Downtown.
Mobile Workshop
MW23-Philadelphia Center City Bikeways
$65
Explore several different kinds of bicycle facilities in Center City Philadelphia and hear the stories of how they came to be, including collaboration with community groups, businesses, elected officials and other agencies. The approximately 8-mile route includes bike lanes, protected bike lanes, curb protected bike lanes, the Delaware River Trail, a road diet and the dramatic Schuylkill Banks Boardwalk – a 2,000 foot long, 15 feet wide multi-use structure running parallel to the eastern shore of the river. Ride back into the street grid to separated bike lanes on Market Street. Then circle the famous Philadelphia Art Museum steps – pump your fists – and ride in glory down the Ben Franklin Parkway. See how the city is making safety improvements as it expands and connects the cycling network.
Photo credit: City of Philadelphia
Session
Equitable Transit-Oriented Communities: Let’s Share Best Practices
Independence B
More transit agencies are taking up the framework of Equitable Transit-Oriented Communities (ETOC) as an approach to centering equity in their practices, meeting the needs of a diversity of residents and integrating economic, climate and relationship-building goals. What best practices are emerging from agencies and community-based organizations? Let’s workshop both the processes and the tools, focusing on specific elements such as community engagement, funding mechanisms, anti-displacement efforts, zoning, affordable housing, small business retention, and mode shift, among others. The goal: share actionable insights to lead future equitable development initiatives.
Anna Lan, Transit-Oriented Development Manager, Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority (CapMetro), Austin, TX
Clayton Lane, Senior Principal, Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates, Inc., New York, NY
Guy Benn, Program Manager, Transit -Oriented Development, TriMet, Portland, OR
Warner Cook, Principal Planner, Equitable TOD, City of Austin, TX
Robert Hanifin, Project Development Lead, Transit & TOD, Federal Transit Administration, US Department of Transportation
Joe Blankenship, Director of Transit-Oriented Development Planning, MBTA, Boston, MA
Sarah McColley, Senior Urban Designer, Perkins&Will, Atlanta, GA
Tom Cox, Managing Director, Greystone Real Estate Advisory Group, Boston, MA
2024 Conference, Affordable Housing, Businesses, Zoning, Funding, Equitable Transit-Oriented Communities, Community Engagement, Climate Resilience.
Session
What Could We Do with this Land? Agency Assets and Community Needs
Independence A
When you look at land, how far does your imagination stretch? Expand your perspective about the ways public sector entities can leverage land assets to impact a broad array of social infrastructure. We’ll cover a lot of ground, including the shifting perspective of transit agencies, from strictly mobility providers to foundational cornerstones of urban and social well-being. Whether it’s mitigating urban heat and food deserts, expanding cultural identity with art or supporting community cohesion, the possibilities for creating community assets are endless. Let’s learn how cities and transit agencies can work together to maximize their land in ways that extend far beyond traditional TOD and station area amenities. It’s part of expanding the focus from “customer experience” to “community experience,” and making a broader case for the important role of transit agencies in cities.
Moderator: Steven Duong, AICP, Vice President, AECOM, Dallas, TX
Brandie Lockett, Urban Design Division Lead, Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO), Houston, TX
Tanya Brooks, Assistant Vice President, Capital Planning, Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART), Dallas, Texas
Michael Matthys, Senior Associate, Planning, SvN Architects + Planners, Toronto, ON
Equitable Transit-Oriented Communities, 2024 Conference, Local Food, Climate Mitigation, Land Use, Transit, Community.
Session
Old Downtowns, New Life: Revitalizing Legacy City Centers with TOD
Freedom E-F
How can transit-oriented development around bus and rail assist the revitalization of older, legacy city downtowns? Let’s look at multiple cities across the Northeast and Midwest — examples of “Frostbelt” or “Rustbelt” communities seeking to rebound from decades of disinvestment and de-industrialization. Many of these downtowns have central transit hubs or are involved in establishing or restarting regional rail service. Transit is not a “magic bullet” or a substitute for market forces, but it can play a role. How big of a role? How can that role be optimized? And how can transportation agencies and local governments partner for success? Join us to hear the answers, and leave feeling as revitalized as the cities you’ll hear about.
Moderator: Al Raine, PhD, National TOD Practice Leader, AECOM, Boston, MA
Clarence Hulse, Executive Director, Economic Development Corporation, Michigan City, IN
Pankaj Jobanputra, AICP, Planner/Project Manager, Simone Collins Landscape Architecture, Norristown, PA
Christof Spieler, PE, AICP, LEED AP, Director of Planning, Huitt-Zollars, Houston, TX
Mixed-Use Development, Downtowns, Economic Development, Legacy cities, 2024 Conference, Regional Rail, Transit-Oriented Development (TOD).
Session
New Roles at Transit Agencies: Chief Equity and Strategy Officers Taking the Industry By Storm
Philadelphia South
New C-Suite roles are arriving at transit agencies and changing the way we think about engagement, transit agency operations and future development. Hear from two of these leaders in a talk show style discussion. What is their day to day like? What new innovations are they bringing to the board room and business practices? What relationships are key to success? Let’s get real about the why, how and “so what” of these new roles as well as what to expect with uncharted roles in the next five years.
Moderator: Monica Carney-Holmes, Executive Manager, Corridors of Opportunity, City of Charlotte, Charlotte, NC
Emmanuella Myrthil, Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), Philadelphia, PA
Alisha Garrett, Chief Enterprise Strategy Officer, Utah Transit Authority, Salt Lake City, UT
2024 Conference, Community Development, Equity, Building Leadership.
Session
Legacy City Greenways: Inclusive from the Roots Up!
Salon 5-6
In older, legacy cities around the country, new greenways are blooming in underserved communities of color. Each involves nonprofits and cities working with community members to re-envision underutilized infrastructure and create safe, comfortable and beautiful places for active transportation. Let’s review best practices and lessons learned. The case studies feature prototypes of on-street, off-street and rails-to-trails greenways at varying stages, from planning to implementation. Learn tactics to bring communities together, how to embed equity and inclusion from concept through implementation, and what it takes to drive transformational urban greenways without displacement. Come away with models of community-based infrastructure to seed change where you live.
Janet Attarian, AIA, LEED AP BD + C, Principal, Senior Mobility Strategist, SmithGroup, Detroit, MI
Shaughnessy Daniels, Director of Civic Engagement, Great Rivers Greenway, St. Louis, MO
John Adams, Founder and Executive Director, Bronzeville Trail Task Force, Chicago, IL
2024 Conference, Bicycling, Walking, Trail-Oriented Development, Legacy cities, Community Engagement, Planning.
Session
Creative Placekeeping: How Art Supercharges Community Engagement
Independence C-D
The phrase “Creative Placemaking” was coined fourteen years ago in a report commissioned by the National Endowment for the Arts. Since then, the term has evolved to be “placekeeping” and the endeavor part of best practices for capital projects. But creative placekeeping is not just a tool for beautification. It also provides opportunities for effective public engagement and holds untapped potential to create an informed, empowered and connected community that ultimately benefits the agency as well. Explore the remarkable and often unexpected effects of arts- and culture-focused community engagement projects. Take home real world methods of application.
Moderator: Katherine Dirga, Director of Art in Transit, Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA), Atlanta, GA
Ashley Bella, Chief Executive Officer, ArtzyBella, absATL, Atlanta, GA
Jane Golden, Executive Director, Mural Arts Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
Dorian McDuffie, Public Art Program Manager, Atlanta City Design Studio, Atlanta, GA
2024 Conference, Community Engagement, Transit, Placemaking.
Session
Yay! Microtransit! (… but what if they hate it?)
Philadelphia North
How do agencies with limited funding connect people with low incomes – and limited access to a car – to jobs and services when operating in areas with topographic challenges and low densities? Let’s explore a few places making it happen! Hear about workforce transportation in a rural community, on-demand service to outlying employment centers and ways to maximize a limited system for maximum rides. Key take-aways: developing service that meets needs without cannibalizing the current transit system, providing a service with decent wait times without breaking the bank, growing ridership with a limited budget and – perhaps most notably – what to do when people don’t want it.
Moderator: Mary Kate Morookian, Transit Planner, Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc., Raleigh, NC
Sean Hill, Executive Director, Kanawha Valley Regional Transit Authority (KRT), Charleston, WV
Dave Steele, Executive Director, MobiliSE, Milwaukee, WI
Mobile Workshop
MW24-Infill TOD and Redevelopment in Fishtown
$45
Fishtown, a neighborhood along the Delaware River just north of Center City, is one of Philadelphia’s hottest and most transformed rowhome neighborhoods. A “riverward,” its origins date back to the 18th and 19th centuries, when working-class communities sprung up in response to maritime commerce and the Industrial Revolution. Today, the story is transit-oriented development (TOD) and a trendy commercial retail and restaurant scene. But, in Fishtown, parcels are small, measured in square feet, not acres, or found in the adaptive reuse of formerly industrial or institutional buildings. Learn how new infill and redevelopment projects are designed and funded for small footprints. Walk the neighborhood and hear from developers, funders and community members about design and finance as well as how working together helps new development reflect community character while being clearly modern.
Economic Development, 2024 Conference, Community Development, Transit-Oriented Development (TOD).
Mobile Workshop
MW25-Community Gardens as Community Assets
$45
Scattered across Philadelphia, community gardens provide fresh food and flowers for residents of every background. But not only that: often started by community members on vacant parcels, the gardens provide social, environmental and economic benefits. They are places for seniors to sit, a way to preserve cultural foodways, an opportunity to teach younger generations how to grow food. Imagine the blow to a community if a garden suddenly shuts down due to development. Tour gardens in South Philadelphia as you learn about the Neighborhood Gardens Trust and details of the movement to preserve these spaces, from innovative legal processes to unique partnerships to the arrangements with community stewards. Land assembly for garden preservation can be complicated. Take home a greater understanding of the various paths toward a successful preservation story – and why it matters.
Photo: Overhead view of community garden. Credit: Natalie Kolb Commonwealth Media Services
Mobile Workshop
MW26-South Philly’s Iconic Commercial Corridors
$45
South 9th Street and East Passyunk Avenue are iconic Philadelphia neighborhood commercial corridors. 9th is home to the Italian Market, one of America’s oldest and largest open-air markets, featuring businesses that have been in families for generations and new immigrant-owned shops. East Passyunk crosses 9th diagonally at “Cheesesteak Vegas,” with Gino’s Steaks on one triangular corner and Pat’s King of Steaks on the other. Passyunk is famed for its eclectic mix of small businesses, including more than 50 women-owned storefronts. What keeps these corridors vital? Take a walk down each and hear about strategies both conventional and innovative, from marketing, events and street cleaning to nonprofit ownership of commercial properties, tenant curation, public space enhancements, commercial façade programs and intersection safety improvements. Talk about an eclectic mix – get all the details!
Note: This workshop is not ADA accessible.
Photo: Italian Market. Credit: Visit Philadelphia
Businesses, Community Ownership, 2024 Conference, Community Development.
Mobile Workshop
MW27-Two Tales, One Road: Lessons from a Road Diet
$45
There’s a road diet on the eastern half of Washington Avenue but not on the western half. Washington Avenue is a 5-lane arterial in South Philadelphia that touches Black, Vietnamese, Mexican and Italian communities along its route. It’s a quickly changing corridor with multiple large development projects. Take the bus to Washington Avenue and walk with local advocates and planners. Hear how Philadelphia politics and gentrification fears greatly impacted a roadway safety project a decade in the making. Discuss lessons learned from the road diet’s protracted planning and engagement process as well as early indications about the two road treatments’ outcomes for safety, multimodal access and local business activity. Take a break at Center City Pretzel Company for some soft Philly Pretzels fresh off the oven and time to contemplate how this tale of two road segments might play in your city. Ride back on the Broad Street subway, aka the B.
Photo: Four views of Washington Avenue. Credit: Will Tung.
Session
Public Engagement for Thriving Communities: One Size Does Not Fit All
Interested in how communities participating in the Build America Bureau’s Thriving Communities Program (TCP) leverage technical assistance to engage in effective public engagement practices? Start with an overview of the technical assistance and innovative finance programs currently offered through the Build America Bureau, along with highlights from the USDOT’s Promising Practices for Meaningful Public Involvement in Transportation Decision-Making guidance. Find out how these programs are working on the ground. Hear stories from different communities about efforts to rethink community partner coalitions, public engagement, funding plans and development without displacement.
Moderator: Meredith Davis, Community Planner, Build America Bureau, US Department of Transportation, Washington, DC
Greg Stuart, Executive Director, Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization, Fort Lauderdale, FL
Jessica Lance, AICP, Director of Special Projects, City of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, RI
Heather Martin, AICP, Senior Lead Equity Consultant, WSP USA, Philadelphia, PA
2024 Conference, Community Development, Community Engagement, Federal Funding.
Session
Bike + Transit: Upgrading to Safer Streets in Philadelphia
Philadelphia South
Bike riders and transit riders deserve to feel safe, but many street environments make it feel the opposite. In Philadelphia the regional planning agency, city and transit agency are finding routes to safer streets by leveraging repaving projects and the long-awaiting trolley modernization project. Explore past and future projects. Hear about methodology for traffic analysis and the design of street upgrades for both bus and bicycle facilities. Find out how future transit capital projects are changing their operations in order to make it safer to walk, ride and roll.
Jeannette Brugger, Bicycle & Pedestrian Coordinator, City of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
Thom Stead, Assistant Manager, Office of Mobility, Analysis and Planning, Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC), Philadelphia, PA
Logan Axelson, Deputy Program Director, Trolley Modernization, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), Philadelphia, PA
Safety, Bus, Bicycling, Walking, 2024 Conference, Transit, Corridor Planning.
Session
Game Day: Transit to Sports and Entertainment
Freedom E-F
Fan-filled sports and entertainment venues bring big juice to cities, generating tourism dollars and civic pride. They also generate a lot of traffic. Recent big events – Beyonce to Taylor Swift to Super Bowls – have put a spotlight on transit access in unique ways. And some venues, hoping to reduce their environmental footprint, are focusing on transit, too. For transit agencies, serving the surge is challenging without compromising regular riders. Also challenging: designing stations that can handle both periodic deluges of riders and the droughts between big events. Let’s hear from different agencies and get the view from the facility managers – about emerging trends and cooperative ideas for making big events work better for the communities that host them.
Shakirah Smith, Program Manager for Special Events, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), Philadelphia, PA
LJ Nassivera, Vice President, Transportation Strategies, New York Mets, New York, NY
Ken Cartwright, Vice President for Capital Construction, Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority (CapMetro), Austin, TX
Session
Regenerative Design in Transit Oriented Communities
There are many sustainable infrastructure frameworks and certifications in existence – from LEED to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to the Living Building Challenge. But no single framework captures the importance of going beyond net zero results and focusing on the coevolution of human and natural systems, especially with attention to local communities and improving their quality of life. Transit infrastructure projects offer an opportunity to for a long-term thinking and a multiprong approach. Learn about regenerative approaches to infrastructure and development. Find out how your project could not only consider impacts on climate change and social inequities but also enable communities to co-evolve within natural systems.
Moderator: Darlene Gonzales-Szabo, AICP, ENV SP, Senior Project Planner, Transportation, Mott MacDonald, Los Angeles, CA
Aaron Budd, Principal, Regenerative Practice, SvN Architects + Planners, Toronto, ON
Scott Bishop, Founding Principal, Bishop Land Design, Boston, MA
Design, Health, 2024 Conference, Equity, Transit, Climate Resilience, Community, Sustainability.
Session
Lowercase t-o-d: Lessons Learned for Suburban Corridors with Limited Transit
Independence C-D
Not surprisingly, much of the focus for transit-oriented development goes to places with high frequency transit, whether that’s central areas with abundant service or station areas for rail or BRT. But what about car-oriented corridors in outlying suburbs, where transit is planned but not there yet? Find out about a t-o-d approach to “second-tier” locations, with examples from Canada and the US. The elements? A context-sensitive strategy built on looking at transportation, open space and development. Talking with local residents about the possibilities for stations areas and how they might integrate with nearby streets. Transit may not have arrived, but lessons learned for t-o-d planning are right on time!
Moderator: Sofia Rosemberg, Transit and Infrastructure Practice Lead – Eastern Canada, DIALOG, Toronto, ON
Oliver Hartleben, Principal, Placemaking, Arcadis, Vancouver, BC
Stephen Mikicich, Manager, Community Planning and Major Projects, Township of Langley, Langley, BC
2024 Conference, Corridor Planning, Transit-Oriented Development (TOD).
Session
Trails in the Mix: Come Build Consensus with Us!
Salon 5-6
Ready to turn chaos into harmony? Achieving consensus is key to successful collaboration, especially in today’s fast-paced, polarized world. So let’s dive into the art and science of consensus building, providing you with practical tools and strategies to foster agreement and promote cooperative decision-making, at lots of different levels. We’ll start with insights from two urban greenways projects then work together to build consensus around a case study. Learn how to engage with diverse stakeholders and create inclusive dialogue that respects every viewpoint. Whether you’re a seasoned leader or just starting out, you’ll enhance your ability to lead collaborative processes and drive positive outcomes. Don’t miss out on becoming a consensus-building superstar!
Moderator: Daniel Leal, Manager, Strategic Planning, VIA Metropolitan Transit Authority, San Antonio, TX
Mitali Gupta, Senior Transportation Manager, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (METRO), Los Angeles, CA
Maha Aslam, Project Manager:Transit + Streets, LivableStreets Alliance, Jamaica Plain, MA
Session
Creative Fare Policies
Philadelphia North
Transit agencies, bolstered by federal funding during the pandemic, are facing drastic fiscal shortfalls as special allocations go away and ridership lags. Without substantial and sustained funding, agencies risk service cuts, fare increases and deferred maintenance. To help avert the worst of these scenarios, agencies are tapping into their creative side, developing initiatives to increase ridership. Through innovative programs, they’re engaging with employers, institutions, schools and residents. New pass programs and partnerships are opening conduits for getting transit passes into the community in new ways, opening doors for new cohorts of riders. Find out how these programs are being managed. Take home some of this inventive energy and practical ideas for transit ridership recovery.
Moderator: Gabrielle Pristera, Senior Sales Development Specialist, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), Philadelphia, PA
Ryan Reeves, Principal Planner, San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART), San Francisco, CA
Lilly Shoup, AICP, Managing Director, Transportation Policy and Partnerships, Rebel, Los Angeles, CA
Ruth Miller, MCP, Director of Product Partnerships, jawnt, Boston, MA
Terence Lee, Associate Program Coordinator, Funding Policy and Programs, Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), San Francisco, CA
Nicola Mammes, Program Director, Zero Fare, City of Philadelphia, PA
Fare Policy, 2024 Conference, Transportation Demand Management, Funding, Transit, Transit Riders.
Plenaries
Closing Plenary Lunch – Climate Action: Working Together for Equitable, Resilient Communities
Liberty Ballroom
Welcome: Carolyn Flowers, Partner, InfraStrategies / Vice President, Mpact Board of Directors
Plenary Discussion: Climate Action
All the best practices, plans, and processes discussed throughout this Mpact Transit + Community conference contribute to achieving climate action goals – local, regional, national, and global. To achieve these goals requires a multi-scale, coordinated approach that centers equity and integrates climate action into community and economic development, infrastructure investments and land use regulations. The closing plenary dives into the details of this approach: where it’s working well; how local, regional, state, and federal agencies are taking action; and what we can expect and do next.
Mariia Zimmerman, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, Office of the Secretary, US Department of Transportation, Washington, DC
Laurie Schoeman, Senior Policy Advisor for Housing and Urban Policy, Domestic Policy Council, The White House, Washington, DC (Invited)
Ariella Maron, Executive Director, Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, Philadelphia, PA
Closing: Mpact Transit + Community 2025!
Housing, Equitable Transit-Oriented Communities, 2024 Conference, Climate Mitigation, Climate Resilience, Community.
Regional Day
Regional Day: The Future of Regional Rail
$20 Freedom Ballroom, Sheraton Philadelphia Downtown, 201 N. 17th Street, Philadelphia
Reimagining Regional Rail
For Greater Philadelphia and Tri-State Access
Mpact Transit + Community’s Regional Day program focuses on the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reimagine regional rail for Greater Philadelphia and the Tri-State Area of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, including service operated by SEPTA, NJ TRANSIT and Amtrak. During this afternoon program, start with an overview of SEPTA’s regional rail master plan along with best practices and recent innovations in other regional rail systems. Then, join breakout sessions focused on tools and programs to advance transit-oriented communities in the tri-state area, including two corridors along the Schuylkill River.
Regional Day will be a one-stop shop for getting up to speed about the future of regional rail. The program is from 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm, with a reception to follow. Scroll down for details.
Please note: You do not have to be registered for the conference to attend Regional Day. A small separate fee is required. Register here. Under “I am attending” choose “Regional Day.”
Market rate housing at Willow Grove Station
Regional Day
Reimagining Regional Rail: For Greater Philadelphia and Tri-State Access
Sponsored by PNC Bank
Welcome
Soledad Alfaro, Chief Operating Officer, The Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
Leslie S. Richards, CEO and General Manager, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA)
Setting the Stage Together
Part 1: The Future of Regional Rail: SEPTA’s Reimagining Regional Rail Master Plan
2:10 pm – 2:50 pm Freedom Ballroom
SEPTA’s regional rail network was created through a century of infrasructure investments and mergers. In this overview of the new regional rail master plan, we’ll hear about the state of the system post-pandemic, the Network Vision for the future, and how it will be implemented. Created with input from planning partners, customers and diverse perspectives from the region, the master plan outlines potential benefits across the region. SEPTA’s project team will recap the effort to transform SEPTA’s Regional Rail. A Q&A will follow, including a transit advocate’s perspective and audience participation.
Ryan Judge, Deputy Chief Planning Officer, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), Philadelphia, PA
Joe Clemens, AICP, Manager, Strategic Planning, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), Philadelphia, PA
Christof Spieler, PE, AICP, Vice President, Director of Planning, Huitt-Zollars, Houston, TX
Madeleine Pelzel, Planner, Huitt-Zollars, Houston, TX
Connor Descheemaker, Coalition Manager, Transit Forward Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
Part 2: Passenger Rail Best Practices and Recent Innovations
3:00 pm – 3:50 pm Freedom Ballroom
Learn about Germany’s S-Bahn “Regional Rail” service model and recent US innovations in regional rail, from Boston’s MBTA and Chicago’s Metra, two legacy commuter rail systems. Both MBTA and Metra are implementing aspects of the Regional Rail model, including more daytime and bi-directional service, new fare products, and marketing to increase and diversify ridership in the post-pandemic era.
Moderator: Christopher Kopp, AICP, National Practice Consultant, HNTB Corporation, Chicago, IL
Paul Lewis, Principal, DB E.C.O. North America, Inc., Washington, DC
Alistair Sawers, Head of Rail Modernization, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), Boston, MA
Michael Rooks, Chief Railroad Officer, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), Boston, MA
David Kralik, Director, Planning and Programming, METRA Commuter Rail, Chicago, IL
Breakout Sessions – Transit-Oriented Communities (TOC)
4:00 pm – 4:50 pm
Choose from 1 of 3 Breakout Sessions
Breakout 1: Greater Philadelphia TOC Opportunities
Freedom Ballroom
The TOC program at the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) plays a crucial role in supporting local municipalities and the region, providing research, tools and station area plans. Learn about these DRVPC resources and how you can tap into them. Similarly, SEPTA’s TOC program, with new Guidelines and Station Area Concepts, is promoting people-first places, multi-modal connectivity, and economic opportunity. By collaborating with municipalities, SEPTA is enabling more people to live and work near transit. Presentations will be followed by small group discussions about overcoming municipal barriers to TOC.
Karin Morris, AICP, Director of Community Planning, Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC), Philadelphia, PA
Andrew Svekla, AICP, Manager, Office of Smart Growth, Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC), Philadelphia, PA
Jennifer Dougherty, AICP, Manager, Long-Range Planning, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), Philadelphia, PA
Kenny Starr, Manager, Joint Real Estate Development, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), Philadelphia, PA
Breakout 2: New Jersey TOC Best Practices and Opportunities
Philadelphia South
The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT)created its Transit Village Initiative over 25 years ago to spur TOC planning and development. NJ TRANSIT created a Transit-Friendly Planning Guidebook to inform municipalities about how to apply TOC practices to its stations. Rutgers University created a free Transit-Friendly Planning data application (www.transitfriendlydata.org) for users to identify TOD opportunities near transit facilities. Hear from public and academic leaders about how these initiatives have spurred TOC development and ridership, then join a discussion about best practices.
Jelena Lasko, Senior Transportation Planner, New Jersey Department of Transportation, Ewing Township, NJ
Megan Massey, AICP, PP, Assistant Director of Transportation Friendly Planning, New Jersey Transit (NJ Transit), Newark, NJ
Jon Carnegie, Executive Director, Voorhees Transportation Center, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ
Breakout 3: Schuylkill River Corridor Plans and TOC Opportunities
Philadelphia North
With its Regional Rail Master Plan complete, SEPTA is conducting a Manayunk/Norristown Corridor Study to model higher frequencies and new infrastructure. At the same time, the Schuylkill River Passenger Rail Authority (SRPRA) is evaluating the proposed Reading to Philadelphia passenger rail project. Get to know more about the project development process for these rail corridors. Then provide “open house” input on TOC planning and multi-modal connectivity, including how to engage elected officials on projects. There will be open house style displays for group discussion and one-on-one input.
Thomas Frawley, Executive Director, Schuylkill River Passenger Rail Authority, Reading, PA
Joe Clemens, AICP, Manager, Strategic Planning, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), Philadelphia, PA
Pankaj Jobanputra, AICP, Planner / Project Manager, Simone Collins Landscape Architecture, Norristown, PA
Howard Brown, Senior Program Officer, Pottstown Area Health & Wellness Foundation, Pottstown, PA
Matthew Popek, AICP, Transportation Planning Assistant Manager, Montgomery County Planning Commission, Norristown, PA
Closing Remarks: Reimagining Greater Philadelphia
4:55 pm – 5:00 pm Freedom Ballroom
Jody Holton, AICP, Chief Planning & Strategy Officer, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), Philadelphia, PA
Ariella Maron, Executive Director, Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC), Philadelphia, PA
Networking Reception
5:00 pm – 6:00 pm Freedom Foyer
Click the map for a larger image.
Regional Rail Master Plan map of underlying demand for regional rail service. Credit: SEPTA
Regional Rail, 2024 Conference, Planning, Transit-Oriented Development (TOD).
