From the City of Lake Worth

Lake Worth Tri-Rail Station

On October 31st at 3:30 p.m. in the City Hall Commission Chambers there will be a presentation to the community concerning the results of a workshop on the Lake Worth Tri-Rail Station. As part of the 13th annual Rail-Volution conference, urban designers, transportation planners, real-estate economist and developers representing various parts of the United States will meet to create a concept plan for a livable community adjacent to the Lake Worth Tri-Rail Station.

The City of Lake Worth has requested that the charrette participants present their findings and concept plan to the Lake Worth community. Please come and hear their recommendations concerning balancing parking, development pedestrian amenities and density around the Lake Worth Tri-Rail Station.


Click here for link to a recent article from the Seattle area regarding the reduction of one's carbon footprint through use of mass transit. I have downloaded a copy of the report that is referenced here. Let me know if you would like me to forward a copy to you.

Below is an outtake from the article:

"The study found that taking public transportation can be more than ten times as effective in reducing a household’s carbon dioxide emissions than other household actions. One commuter who normally drives alone can reduce their carbon footprint by 10 percent by simply switching to public transportation. If one person in a two-car household gives up using the second car entirely, he or she can reduce the household’s carbon footprint by 30 percent. Science Applications International Corporation prepared the study, titled Public Transportation’s Contribution to U.S. Greenhouse Gas Reduction, for The American Public Transportation Association (APTA)."

and later on in the article:

In light of the new study, APTA is calling on Congress to incorporate public transportation into a national climate change strategy that includes providing additional funding levels for more public transportation investment. Specific policy goals include providing tax credits to major employers who spend resources to support mass transit ridership programs, and tax credits to developers for mixed development residential, commercial and transportation sites that encourage greater use of public transportation.

and from the APTA report:

Are there favorable land use impacts that public transportation contributes to that result in positive environmental and social benefits?

Answer: Public transportation provides many benefits that go beyond energy and CO2 savings – as transit assets are being used to accomplish these important functions.

Investments in public transportation have the benefit of supporting higher density land uses that allow for fewer vehicle miles of travel. While it is difficult to precisely measure this impact, a number of studies have attempted to estimate the relationship between
transit passenger miles and vehicle miles traveled (VMT) reduction as a proxy for this effect. The results range from a reduction in VMT of between 1.4 miles and 9 miles for every transit passenger mile traveled. The outcome would be more efficient use of roadways, reduced road maintenance, shorter highway commute times and reduced need for street and off- street parking.