SILVER SPRING, MD – A longtime Federal Transit Administration (FTA) official and rapid transit advocate will share his knowledge about dedicated bus lanes as a congestion relief strategy on Thursday as part of the Montgomery County Planning Board’s Excellence in Planning Speaker Series.
Sam Zimmerman, now a senior urban transport specialist at the World Bank, spent nearly 40 years working on rapid transit planning, transit financing and demand forecasting. Zimmerman will speak to the board not as a World Bank representative, but as a long-time area resident and transit expert concerned about improving transit in the Washington area.
His 7:30 p.m. presentation, “Bus Rapid Transit: Myths and Realities” comes at a time when state and county officials – including the Planning Board – are considering at least two new corridors that would use the system of dedicated bus lanes.
Supporters claim BRT is a relatively inexpensive alternative for mass transit, allowing buses to bypass traffic jams and keep express schedules. Maryland transportation officials are analyzing BRT lanes for the proposed Purple Line as well as the Corridor Cities Transitway, which would link Shady Grove with Clarksburg, while the Planning Board has asked its professional planning staff to consider the merits of a BRT line along Georgia Avenue.
As FTA’s director of planning, Zimmerman played a key role in developing and implementing U.S. Department of Transportation procedures for investment planning, including evaluating rapid transit investment proposals competing for federal funding. He was a chief author of the Transportation Research Board’s Bus Rapid Transit Implementation Guidelines and a lead presenter for the U.S. National Transit Institute’s BRT training course.
When consulted about rapid transit and urban transport planning, Zimmerman envisions a growing support for BRT. At his Planning Board presentation, he intends to debunk the myths about declining, lackluster bus ridership and lay out a strong case for how bus rapid transit can be an integral part urban-style development. As part of that, Zimmerman will describe a variety of BRT applications worldwide and what they have accomplished.
Learn more about the Excellence in Planning series at http://www.mcparkandplanning.org/development/agp/speaker_series_spring_2008.shtm, where the board has posted video archives of selected speakers.
WHO:
Sam Zimmerman, rapid transit expert
WHAT:
“Bus Rapid Transit: Myths and Realities” presentation to the Montgomery County Planning Board
WHEN:
7:30 p.m., Thursday, June 5
WHERE:
Park and Planning Headquarters
8787 Georgia Ave.
Silver Spring, MD