Work under way on future of DSM transit

It’s an organization with little real authority but with tremendous influence, and its work over the next year will go a long way in determining the transportation priorities of the state’s capital city and surrounding suburbs for decades.

However, most are only slightly aware of what the Des Moines Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (DSM MPO) actually does.The MPO is an umbrella organization made up of 20 city governments. It acts more in an advisory role in the realm of transportation planning issues, bringing representatives of local governments together to ensure they are on the same page and aware of what their neighbors are doing, said Adam Noelting, the senior planner with the MPO.

Now, work is currently underway at the MPO on a new transportation plan for the next three decades, Noelting said.

“We’re in the process of identifying priorities, goals and objectives for the metro transportation system,” he said. “It’s just in the beginning stages right now, but the goal is to finalize it by September of 2009.”

The importance of the plan is not in its ability to force local governments to follow its recommendations, but rather in its influence over how federal money will be allocated for transportation use.

Jay Byers, senior vice president of government relations and public policy with the Greater Des Moines Partnership, said the MPO provides the framework for requests his organization makes to Congress for federal funding. So any new plan would have a big impact on how tax money will be spent on streets, highways, rails, trails and public transportation for many years to come.

“We work very closely with the MPO in putting together a unified transportation funding request for the entire region,” Byers said.

Today, the transportation system of greater Des Moines consists of a 2,700-mile network of streets and highways. According to an MPO study, 93 percent of all trips are made by automobile, 5 percent on foot and 1 percent each by bus or bicycle.

Between 2000 and 2006, the number of people who live in Des Moines and surrounding communities jumped 28 percent, or by nearly 51,000 people. That growth is expected to continue and with it will likely come more vehicles and longer commutes.

“The mobility issue — how to get people from home to their jobs or from home to other places they need to go — is something we’re focusing on with the new transportation plan,” Noelting said.

The MPO will hold several public hearings to get input from members of the community and will work to ensure that each of the member municipalities, which includes Des Moines, Polk County and its suburban neighbors, will buy into the plan and think about transit goals when making land-use decisions down the road, Noelting said.

“We want local governments to have all the options on the table,” he said. “We think there is a definite tie between land use and transportation planning. And as we look into the future, we need to consider all modes of transportation, from the car to the bus to pedestrian travel. Our board is made up of elected officials from local governments, so they are highly involved in the work we do.”

Whether population will continue to migrate to the suburbs and away from the central city or if more high-density development will become the norm has a lot to do with how much city planners take transportation into consideration when making land-use decisions, Noelting said.

The short commute time is a huge selling point for the Des Moines area, Byers said, with recent studies showing a 19-minute average commute.

“One of the most effective tools we’ve had in recent years to attract business to the area is our high quality of life, and the short commute is a big part of that,” he said. “With more people, come more cars and more congestion, so we need to look for ways to alleviate that down the road.”

A study by the Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority (DART) is looking at the possibility of creating bus rapid-transit corridors in the metro area. Buses in rapid-transit corridors move faster on streets and highways through either the use of special lanes, signal control, fewer stops, fare collection at the station or a combination of all four.

Two corridors have been mentioned in past discussion of rapid-transit options.

One route would stretch along University Avenue, which spans from Pleasant Hill westward through Waukee, although whether the rapid transit would extend to those endpoints has yet to be determined.

Another corridor option would be between Des Moines and Ankeny, running along Second Avenue or along Interstate Highways 35 and 235.

Both routes would go through downtown.

Many have advocated for a light-rail system, but both Noelting and Byers said studies have shown the Des Moines area doesn’t have enough people to support it.

“But bus rapid transit, which is more cost-effective, is a huge step towards that direction in the future,” Byers said.

In Kansas City, a $21 million rapid-transit system called MAX opened in July 2005. The new transit service now sees about 3,970 rides every weekday. Kansas City officials said 23 percent of MAX’s patrons did not ride the bus before the rapid-transit system was put in place.

“Right now, all options are on the table,” Noelting said. “We’re setting goals for the region that could have very long-lasting effects on future growth, so we’re going to work very hard to make sure everyone’s voice is heard.”