Our 3 takeaways from NACTO Designing Cities
Earlier this month, we had the privilege of attending and sponsoring NACTO’s Designing Cities conference in Boston – one of North America’s greatest gatherings of transportation planners advancing sustainable, safe, and active mobility.
It was an action-packed week: we went home with inspiring best practices and a renewed sense of purpose in our mission to make cities safer and more accessible to people walking, biking, and riding transit. Here are our top three takeaways:
1) IIJA’s unprecedented formula funding for transit agencies
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) is game-changing legislation for transportation in the U.S., unlocking billions in funding for transit agencies and state DOTs. One of the most significant aspects of this legislation is the unprecedented amount of capital funding directed to transit agencies in the coming years via Federal formula funding.
On stage at NACTO, Federal Highway Administrator Stephanie Pollack encouraged attendees to look closely at upcoming formula funding instead of just relying on discretionary grant programs to fund their projects. USDOT Deputy Secretary Polly Trottenberg agreed with her, noting that there is roughly $8 in formula funding for every $1 in discretionary grant funding. For transit agencies looking to acquire AI perception systems for automated bus lane and bus stop illegal parking enforcement, funds from FTA’s Urbanized Area Formula Grant program, State of Good Repair and the Bus and Bus Facilities Formula program are among eligible sources.
2) The power of the bus
From bus network redesigns to transit priority lanes and signal timing, cities across North America are making serious moves to improve bus service. The reason is simple: buses are the most underrated yet powerful tools we have to increase transportation access for all, and to meet people’s changing travel needs following the start of the pandemic.
At Hayden AI, we’re committed to rebalancing streets for transit riders by ensuring that bus lanes are for buses – not parking for cars or trucks. Our automated bus lane and bus stop enforcement platform increases bus speeds and ridership by helping cities clear unauthorized parking in bus lanes and in transit stop zones – and it’s already deployed in New York City, as covered recently in POLITICO.
3) Turning crisis into opportunity
The week we were at NACTO was a tough one for Boston transportation: MBTA’s Orange Line temporarily shut down for emergency maintenance. But Boston’s new mayor Michelle Wu turned crisis into opportunity, installing temporary bus and bike lanes to help people get around safely, affordably, conveniently and sustainably without the Orange Line.
The Orange Line is back in service, but many of these street changes are staying. At NACTO, Mayor Wu said “don’t be afraid to tear up the street” to make changes that improve mobility for everyone – and we couldn’t agree more.