NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CITY TRANSPORTATION OFFICIALS INC

BUILDING THE MOVEMENT - NACTO CONVENES A NETWORK OF LEADING CITIES AND TRANSIT AGENCIES, PROVIDING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN TRANSPORTATION POLICY AND URBAN DESIGN, FORGING CONNECTIONS BETWEEN PEER CITIES, AND EMPOWERING THE INDIVIDUALS WHO COMPRISE THE PROGRESSIVE LOCAL TRANSPORTATION MOVEMENT.NACTO EMPOWERS CITY STAFF TO BETTER ACHIEVE THEIR CITIES' GOALS FOR TRANSPORTATION THROUGH A NUMBER OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES. NACTO PROVIDES OPPORTUNITIES FOR REGULAR PEER-TO-PEER LEARNING VIA CONVENINGS, TARGETED WORKSHOPS, AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS. NACTO'S SIGNATURE EVENT, THE ANNUAL DESIGNING CITIES CONFERENCE, IS THE PREMIER TRANSPORTATION CONFERENCE IN THE US, SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON LEADERSHIP IN SAFE, SUSTAINABLE, EQUITABLE TRANSPORTATION PRACTICE. AT 2023'S NACTO DESIGNING CITIES CONFERENCE, 1,200 TRANSPORTATION PLANNERS, ENGINEERS, AND OTHER PRACTITIONERS MET IN DENVER, COLORADO. OVER FOUR DAYS IN MAY, NACTO PROVIDED PROGRAMMING TO STAFF FROM OVER 200 CITIES ACROSS NORTH AMERICA, AS WELL AS THEIR PARTNERS IN THE CIVIC COMMUNITY AND THE PRIVATE SECTOR. WORKSHOPS, PEER SESSIONS, AND WALKSHOPS PROVIDED PRACTITIONERS WITH PRACTICAL, ACTIONABLE SKILLS AND INSIGHTS THEY CAN APPLY TO THEIR OWN PROJECTS. AT "MEET THE CITIES," CITY STAFF LEARNED FROM EACH OTHER ABOUT WHAT WORKSAND WHAT DOESN'TON INNOVATIVE TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS ACROSS NORTH AMERICA. WE ALSO HEARD FROM NOTABLE LEADERS, INCLUDING SHAILEN BHATT, ADMINISTRATOR OF THE FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION, AND JENNIFER HOMENDY, CHAIR OF THE NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD. IN 2023, NACTO AND THE BETTER BIKE SHARE PARTNERSHIP LAUNCHED THE THIRD COHORT OF THE TRANSPORTATION JUSTICE FELLOWSHIP, WHICH OFFERS EIGHT FELLOWS AN EIGHT-MONTH CURRICULUM DESIGNED TO DEVELOP THEIR INDIVIDUAL AND INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITIES TO CREATE A MORE JUST AND EQUITABLE MOBILITY FIELD. NACTO FACILITATES SKILLS-BUILDING SESSIONS, ONE-ON-ONE COACHING, SPECIAL TRAINER VISITS AND STRUCTURED COLLABORATION, AND FELLOWS RECEIVE DEEP SUPPORT AS THEY WORK ON TANGIBLE WAYS TO IMPROVE MOBILITY FOR COMMUNITIES OF COLOR. BY CREATING COMMUNITY, FELLOWS WILL BE BETTER ABLE TO TACKLE SOME OF THE TOUGHEST TRANSPORTATION CHALLENGES FACING OUR COUNTRY TODAY.NACTO HOSTS PEER NETWORKS ON A RANGE OF TOPICS, INCLUDING NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION POLICY, BIKEWAY DESIGN, BIKE SHARE AND MICROMOBILITY, EMERGING TECHNOLOGY, SAFETY, EQUITY, AND TRANSIT. NACTO DEDICATES SIGNIFICANT RESOURCES TO SUPPORTING, TRAINING, AND NURTURING THESE NETWORKS OF CITY STAFFWHETHER THROUGH IN-PERSON EVENTS OR VIRTUAL FORUMS. THIS YEAR, WE ADDED TWO NEW PEERS NETWORKSOUR IIJA CITY COORDINATORS PEER NETWORK TO ENSURE CITIES ARE WELL-PREPARED TO ACCESS AND USE FUNDING FROM THE INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT AND JOBS ACT, AS WELL AS OUR AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE (AV) WORKING GROUP, CREATED AS AV COMPANIES DEPLOY THOUSANDS OF DRIVERLESS CARS ON CITY STREETS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. IN THE LAST DECADE, NACTO HAS GROWN FROM A COUPLE DOZEN CITY TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENTS TO 100 LOCAL GOVERNMENTS ACROSS NORTH AMERICA. NEW MEMBERS IN 2023 INCLUDE DALLAS, TX; CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA; KINGSTON, NY; NORWALK, CT; UKIAH, CA; GREENVILLE, SC; BOZEMAN, MT, AND BEVERLY HILLS, CA.

ACCELERATING CHANGE - NACTO CONDUCTS TARGETED AND INTENSIVE WORK WITH INDIVIDUAL CITIES OR REGIONS TO CATALYZE LOCAL CHANGE AND BUILD INTERNAL CAPACITY FOR CONSISTENT PROJECT DELIVERY. SUCCESSFUL PROJECTS AND INITIATIVES BECOME NATIONAL CASE STUDIES, INSPIRING OTHER CITIES WITH INNOVATIVE RECIPES AND STRATEGIES FOR TRANSFORMATIVE INITIATIVES. MANY TIMES, THIS WORK TRANSLATED INTO NATIONAL BEST PRACTICE GUIDANCE THAT GETS WIDELY DISSEMINATED AND USED ACROSS THE U.S. AND CANADA. IN 2023, NACTO BEGAN THE PROCESS OF DEVELOPING THE NEXT ITERATION OF THE WIDELY-USED URBAN BIKEWAY DESIGN GUIDE TO MEET THE EVOLVING NEEDS OF CITIES. OVER THE COURSE OF 2023, NACTO PUBLISHED SEVEN WORKING PAPERS THAT EXPLORE SOME OF THE MOST CRITICAL GAPS IN VETTED DESIGN GUIDANCE FOR CITIES. TOPICS INCLUDED IMPROVING BIKE COUNT PROGRAMS, REEVALUATING LAWS THAT PREVENT SAFE AND INCLUSIVE BIKING, SHARED MICROMOBILITY MANAGEMENT, COLLABORATING WITH COMMUNITIES, DESIGNING STREETS FOR A MULTITUDE OF BIKE AND BIKE-LIKE VEHICLES, BUILDING EQUITABLE BIKE NETWORKS, AND USING MATERIALS MORE EFFECTIVELY FOR DURABLE BIKEWAY DESIGN. THIS WORK WILL FORM THE BASIS FOR THE THIRD, LONG-AWAITED EDITION OF THE NACTO URBAN BIKEWAY DESIGN GUIDE.IN 2023, NACTO HOSTED DOZENS OF CONVERSATIONS, MEETINGS, AND PEER LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES WITH OUR NETWORK OF MEMBER CITY AND AGENCY PRACTITIONERS. THIS INCLUDED WEBINARS, WORKSHOPS, AND CHARRETTES. TO SUCCESSFULLY CONNECT PEOPLE TO THE PLACES AND RESOURCES THEY NEED TO THRIVE, TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENTS AND TRANSIT AGENCIES MUST PUT EQUITY AT THE CENTER OF THEIR WORK. THAT BASIC PRINCIPLE FORMED THE FOUNDATION OF NACTO'S OPERATIONALIZING EQUITY WEBINAR SERIES. EACH SESSION HOSTED TWO CITIES IN CONVERSATION AS THEY DISCUSS HOW TO MOVE FROM AN EQUITY FRAMEWORK TO ON-THE-GROUND IMPLEMENTATION. FROM DETAILED BREAKDOWNS OF RACIAL EQUITY FRAMEWORKS TO WALK-THROUGHS OF REAL-WORLD PROJECTS, THESE LEARNING SPACES PROVIDED TOOLS AND TANGIBLE PATHWAYS TO TURN VISION INTO REALITY.NACTO AND ALTA PLANNING + DESIGN COLLABORATED ON A SERIES OF "DESIGNING FOR SMALL THINGS WITH WHEELS" WEBINARS THAT BROUGHT TO LIFE GUIDANCE FROM THE NACTO WORKING PAPER OF THE SAME NAME. THE SERIES EXPLORES THE CRITICAL BIKEWAY DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS, INCLUDING NEW APPROACHES TO PASSING WIDTHS, QUEUEING LENGTHS, AND SURFACE MATERIALS THAT ENSURE THAT PEOPLE USING THIS EVOLVING VARIETY OF "SMALL THINGS WITH WHEELS" CAN TRAVEL COMFORTABLY AND SAFELY.NACTO'S LUNCHTIME WEBINAR SERIES OFFERS INTERACTIVE PEER-TO-PEER LEARNING SPACES FOCUSED ON A CRITICAL THEME THAT PROVIDES THE FOUNDATION FOR SHARING AND LEARNING. PAST SESSIONS INCLUDED A FOCUS ON STORYTELLING, AS WELL AS DISCUSSIONS ON DECISION-MAKER ACCOUNTABILITY AND HOW TO TACKLE PRACTICAL CHALLENGES THAT CAN TAKE YEARS TO REALIZE.IN MAY, NACTO HOSTED ITS THIRD BETTER BIKE SHARE PARTNERSHIP (BBSP) SHARED MICROMOBILITY ROUNDTABLE AS PART OF THE DESIGNING CITIES CONFERENCE IN DENVER. OUR FIRST IN-PERSON ROUNDTABLE GATHERING SINCE THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC, THE ROUNDTABLE BROUGHT TOGETHER 45 SHARED MICROMOBILITY PROFESSIONALS FOR "STATE OF THE STATE" PRESENTATIONS FROM HOST CITIES DENVER, BOULDER, AND FORT COLLINS; OPERATOR PRESENTATIONS FROM LYFT AND LIME; SMALL GROUP DISCUSSIONS ON EQUITY AND OPERATIONS; AND A GROUP BIKE TOUR OF DENVER'S SHARED MICROMOBILITY PROGRAM.