Nat Bottigheimer of Fehr & Peers DC explains how data collected from cell phones and GPS devices can help determine the potential market and feasibility of proposed surface transit projects
SILVER SPRING, MD –The Montgomery County Planning Department, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, is launching its 2016 Winter Speaker Series with a presentation by Washington, DC-based transportation planner Nat Bottigheimer of Fehr & Peers DC on the pitfalls and practicalities of planning surface transit. Free and open to the public, the event will be held on Wednesday, January 20 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Planning Department headquarters (8787 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD).
Citing troubled streetcar and bus rapid transit projects in the region, Bottigheimer will show how new, data-driven tools can better predict success or failure at the outset. His presentation, Putting the Transition Back in Transit, will focus on the upfront planning of surface transportation through data collected from cell phones and GPS devices as a way to unlock transit’s transformational potential.
Bottigheimer will explain his methods by answering the following questions:
-Why are surface transit projects so hard to realize?
-What are the typical analytical tools used for planning transit?
-What is the new approach to planning transit?
-How can data from cell phones and GPS devices help with the new transit planning approach?
-How can this data can be applied to specific surface bus and rail projects?
-What are some examples of bus and light rail projects that are benefiting from the new tools?
-How could have troubled streetcar and bus projects in the region benefited from new types of transit planning?
About Speaker Nat Bottigheimer
Nat Bottigheimer of Fehr & Peers DC is a transportation planner with a background in public policy, economics, and transportation planning. Until 2012, Nat was an assistant general manager at Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), where he promoted bike and pedestrian access, sustainability and bus priority investment. He has expertise in planning for rail station access, transit and land use, and is a recognized expert in transit-oriented development.
About the 2016 Winter Speaker Series
The three-part Winter Speaker Series will focus on new approaches to transportation. Smart Moves: New Ideas about Bikes, Cars and Transit will address cycling, transit, trails and other alternatives to cars. The ideas generated from the series will help inform the Department’s current plans and policies, including the Bicycle Master Plan and Subdivision Staging Policy update.
The Winter Speakers Series is free and open to the public. The presentations, which will include question-and-answer discussions, will be held at the Planning Department headquarters (8787 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD) from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on the following dates:
Session 1 –Wednesday, January 20, 2016
Speaker: Nat Bottigheimer, DC Region Market Lead, Fehr & Peers DC, Washington, DC
Topic: Putting the Transition Back in Transit: Bringing a market analysis perspective to transit planning using big data
Session 2 – Tuesday, February 16, 2016
Speaker: Jennifer Toole, President, Toole Design Group, Silver Spring, MD
Topic: Recent approaches to suburban bicycle planning
Session 3 – Wednesday, March 16, 2016
Speaker: Jeffrey Tumlin, Principal and Director of Strategy, Nelson/Nygaard, San Francisco, CA
Topic: Smart development in transitional suburban locations