Starkville Mobility and Urban Form

Š Copyright 2004 The Carl Small Town Center.

College of Architecture at Mississippi State University Barr Avenue P.O. Box AQ, Mississippi State, MS 39762 Kimberly Brown, Director 662-325-2207 website: http://smalltown.coa.msstate.edu/

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Acknowledgements

iii - vi

Executive Summary

1-4

Introduction

5 - 22

Assessment of Need and Desirability Community Input Census Data

23 - 32

Existing Transportation

33 - 79

Urban Conditions Historical Growth Patterns City Hearts and Memory Mapping Zoning and Building Use City Regions and Districts Boundaries Critical Spaces Landmarks Traffic Analysis Origins and Destinations

81 - 89

Route Planning

91 - 97

Facilities and Amenities

98 - 100

Transit Technology

101 - 110

Cost Factors Cost Estimate Cost Benefit Analysis Funding Alternatives

111 - 113

Implementation

114 - 123

Case Studies

TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S

Table of Contents

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Acknowledgements

The Project Team

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This project is the product of many persons’ hard work and dedication. Extreme gratitude is extended to all of those who contributed to the project. Many patient hours and careful thought were sacrificed by the following individuals throughout the course of the project.

Director and Project Manager Kimberly Brown Principal Investigator Sigrid Ă–stlund Architectural Interns Salvador Gil Leah Faulk Jason Pressgrove Research Assistants Stephen Mullins Andy Webre Heather Moore Chad Spurlin Elena Pool Tracy Quinn Consultants Dr. Steve Murray Dr. Albert Myles Keith Baca Dr. Judy Phillips

Much appreciation is also extended to those who first saw potential in the original student proposal: Shannon Criss, Nils Gore, George Rummel and Mayor Mack Rutledge. Special thanks are extended to Dean Jim West and Interim Associate Dean Jane Greenwood of the College of Architecture for their continuous support for the project and the Carl Small Town Center.

The project could not have been successfully completed without the assistance and good advice of many individuals. Thanks are extended to Leonard LeCour, Paul Pezotta, and David Bandi for their expert advise during different levels of the project.

Much appreciation is also extended to several local citizens for assisting with different aspects of data collection and public meetings: Bill Webb and Lee Fulgum; City of Starkville Engineering & Public Works Department Rudy Johnson and Bobby Gann; GTPDD (Golden Triangle Planning and Development District) and Area Council on Aging David Thornell, Kristi Brown, and Armaruth de la Cruz; GSDP (Greater Starkville Development Partnership) Al Babinicz and the Clemson Area Transit team Josh Blades,Clay Stamson, and Durdin Pillow; MSU Student Government Mayor Mack Rutledge and the Starkville Board of Alderpersons Steve Langston; Downtown Business Association

The review committee: Betty Jane Chatham, Dan Camp, Rayfield Evins, Jr., Frank Howell, Fay Hutto, Keith Smith, Andy Shurden, and Victor L. Zitta Melvin Ray, Gaddis Hunt, Paul Welch, Mike Harris, and Doug Alexander, MSU (Mississippi State University) Terry Kemp and Susan Coats; TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) C. Evan Peacock; MSU Department of Sociology and Anthropology

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The potential users of transit in the study area are, in the order of their anticipated level of ridership: 1. MSU students 2. Persons with disabilities 3. Elderly persons 4. Persons with low income 5. Workers 6. Area visitors

Executive Summary

Why a Bus System?

Bus systems have proved to add value into urban areas by enhancing the social unity of a community. A bus system facilitates personal interaction among community members as they share common paths of travel. As a result, the shared path becomes an important link to developing a cohesive community.

Cities are continually plagued by difficulties of only supporting transportation by automobile with its required parking and expensive infrastructure upkeep.

By providing a well-serviced bus route and an extensive pedestrian and bicycle path network there would be a decreased need for concentrated parking lots, (which are fundamentally expensive as well as destructive to the environment) and increased accessibility and quality of life within the community.

Problems created by an imbalanced transportation system include1: Damage to Americans' health - Sedentary lifestyles, partly attributable to car dependent development, are harming our health. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has declared an obesity epidemic among adults and children, noting that creating bikeable and walkable communities are an important first step in combating obesity. A statistical analysis by STPP (Surface Transportation Policy Project) shows that more people are overweight in metro areas where people walk less.

Deterioration of air quality - Nationally, automobiles account for about 1/3 of the emissions that cause smog, and 41 percent of particulate pollution, or soot.2 Air quality has a dramatic effect on children's health and access to opportunities. Asthma attacks triggered by poor air quality are the number one reason children

visit the emergency room or miss school.

A financial burden - Analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer-spending data concludes that an automobile-based transportation system is expensive for families. According to the Consumer Expenditure Survey, households in the lowest income bracket spend 39 percent of their income on transportation, most of it on vehicles.3 A barrier to home ownership - A recent analysis by STPP and the Center for Neighborhood Technology found that households in places with few travel choices are likely to spend $1,200 to $6,000 more per year on transportation than comparable households in places with more transportation alternatives.4 Study findings Community input gathered by the CSTC and other data collected during the study supports the implementation of a fixed route system and improved paratransit services for the City of Starkville and Oktibbeha County. The CSTC study indicates that the Mississippi State University (MSU) student population supports transit services that would link MSU with the City of Starkville. These results are additionally supported by cost analyses conducted during the study which show good benefit-cost ratios for the system if the city, MSU and local organizations combine efforts.

Starkville has experienced a steady growth rate for the past twenty years, which is likely to continue. MSU has also experienced a steady increase in its student population. The total population of Starkville in the year 2000 was 21,869; MSU enrollment for the fall of 2001 was over 16,000. Communities of this size are generally able to support a fixed route transit system.

Existing area transportation services: Five agencies provide fare-free transportation services within Starkville and the surrounding regions: 1. Golden Triangle Planning and Development District and the Area Council on Aging 2. Community Counseling 3. Starkville Housing Authority 4. Ability Works 5. MSU Campus Transit Currently, there is no coordination amongst these existing transportation services. Four of these transportation services are considered semi-public in that they serve a select clientele and only travel to select destinations, leaving many transit dependent individuals with few or any options to travel to work, to the doctor, to pay bills, to shop, and other destinations.

Only the MSU campus transit system accepts passengers from the general public; however, it is designed to serve only campus needs.

Additionally there are for-profit agencies that serve the community: 1. Greyhound 2. Starkville Buses (a tour company) 3. Taxis Need and desirability for public transit: According to the 2000 U.S. Census, over half of Oktibbeha County residents who are likely to feel the strain of forced automobile ownership are Starkville residents. The highest concentration of these residents live in the central part of the city. The census data also indicated that a slightly higher percentage of persons with disabilities and persons under the age of 18 live outside the Starkville City Limits. The only group of individuals with a significantly higher number of county residents is manufacture workers.

Persons with low income are completely without low-cost transit services if they do not also happen to be elderly, handicapped or on campus. In Oktibbeha

County, 28% of residents live below the poverty level.

62% of these residents live within the Starkville City Limits.

According to studies conducted on the transportation needs of persons with disabilities, it is most important to focus public transportation efforts on those who are economically disadvantaged. “People with sufficient financial resources, regardless of their disability, seem to be able to get around as needed. Accordingly, a coordinated public transportation system for all people who are transportation disadvantaged appears to be more effective and efficient than a segregated system for people with disabilities only5.�

CSTC interviews indicate an apparent need for transportation in Oktibbeha County. Service is only available in this area for commuting to Ability Works or traveling to specific Community Counseling activities.

Data shows that the people in need of transportation in this area are primarily persons with handicaps, the elderly, and persons with low income needing to travel to Starkville for work or errands. Ability Works (a major employer in the Starkville area that trains disadvantaged persons for future employment) noted that several individuals who have left their program cannot find work because of transportation problems. Ability Works employees live in Starkville, Oktibbeha county, and surrounding counties. Other major employers in Starkville acknowledge that the employees likely to be in need of transportation assistance primarily outside of the city limits.

With the collapse of the Pilot Club's paratransit system, many area residents were left without transportation services. While in existence, the Pilot Club was unable to meet the demands for public transportation due to deteriorating vehicles and a lack in funding sources; since its collapse no system has attempted to offer the same level of service to the general public.

The Pilot Club provided over 32,500 trips per year for city and county residents. Eighteen percent of these trips were provided for members of the general public (i.e. not handicapped or elderly). These 5,885 trips which once served the general public are currently not being fulfilled by any other transit service. While there is evidence that the existing services do not meet all of the needs of the handicapped and elderly (particularly those living in the county), it is impossible to gauge exactly what needs are left unsatisfied without more specific data about ridership characteristics. This data was unavailable to the CSTC research team.

The MSU transit system's mission has been to reduce the growing parking and traffic problems on

1. Burwell, David, President, Surface Transportation Policy Project, 10 Years of Progress 1991-2001. November 16, 2001 2. U.S. EPA, National Air Quality and Emissions Trends Report 1997 (Research Triangle Park, NC: U.S. EPA, 1998).; U.S. EPA, National Air Pollutant Emissions Trends 1990-1996, 1-1, 2-15, 3-14.

3. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Table 1. Quintiles of income before taxes: Average annual expendi ures and characteristics, Consumer Expenditure Survey, 1999.

4. Analysis by Peter Haas and Scott Bernstein of the Center for Neighborhood Technology.

5. Parham Group, Nonprofit Advisors; Transportation Guide, Mississippi Council on Developmental Disabilities; A report of the region 8 mental health services transportation initiative. Jackson, MS. Oktober 2003, p. 15.

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However, the extent of use and success of a public transportation system depends on the effectiveness and convenience of the final system design.

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campus. However, unless a student, faculty, or staff member lives on campus, the individual must drive to the university to take advantage of the transit system.

While the transit system limits some driving from one side of campus to the other, the campus continues to experience heavy traffic, particularly on roads leading to and from parking areas. The University is the community's largest employer and a significant contributor to the area's general population. The increased traffic problems in Starkville are largely caused by daily trips to and from campus.

Area growth and transportation problems The rate of population growth and high transient rate in the area demands future planning efforts.

As the Starkville area has grown so has its traffic and parking issues. Increases in the number of retail business, employment, MSU enrollment, and general population have begun to affect existing transportation infrastructure. In addition, the proliferation of large tracts of land for single-use developments have forced more people than ever to use their cars to get to their daily destinations.

Traffic problems are exacerbated by a lack of street contiguity in the community and a lack of consideration for pedestrian and bicycle transportation, making few feel safe to travel by any other means than an automobile. Starkville is growing quickly and is in desperate need of creating guidelines for future growth to limit the problems resulting from a lack of planning and regulations. Existing problems also need to also be resolved by an effective city plan for establishing street interconnectivity and accommodations for safe and accessible sidewalks and bicycle paths.

The potentially harmful effects of the new Highway 12/25 bypass. The types of changes that might affect city traffic depends on the commercial development that is created along the new bypass.

Locating public buildings or large numbers of business along the bypass is not recommended. Too much development along the new bypass will make area residents even more dependent on an automobile, increasing the number of cars on the roads and travel time. It will decrease transportation choices and the overall quality of life of the area. If bus service were to be extended to this area, the routes would be long, inefficient, and therefore costly. The bypass offers an opportunity for the community to reincorporate Martin Luther King Drive (old Highway 82) back into the city fabric. However, to do so, architectural guidelines and progressive incentives for landowners must be actively pursued and implemented.

Public transportation can help, but will not solve problems that are caused by poor planning.

Furthermore, public transportation will suffer if land use policies continue to privy the private car. Public transportation and land use policies must therefore be coordinated. Land use policies are a fundamental determinant of the need and demand for travel and should be a starting point in public transport policy making. Land use planning and density policies are legitimate and effective means of controlling transport needs and these needs should be regulated in a continuous and ongoing process.

A transit agency should have a voice in urban planning and development efforts in order to influence policies that facilitate transit use, such as the clustering of activities, street continuity, pedestrian accessibility and locations of possible transit amenities. A close liaison with local and regional planning agencies is also advantageous as it allows the transit agency to be prepared for possible route extensions needed in the near future. Financial plans are generally made in three to five year cycles; knowing what expansions may be necessary can allow the transit agency to budget accordingly and apply for the appropriate funding.

General recommendations for area transit Reasons for a fixed route system: A significant way for the city and university to reduce the increasing traffic problems in the area is to provide public transportation services connecting the campus to the community. This should be facilitated through a fixed route transit system that would serve concentrated areas of student residences. In addition to providing service to students commuting to campus, it is important to serve other user groups by providing transit services to other major destinations in the community. These service It is not advisable that a fixed route system focus solely around employee needs, but rather should try to consider the needs of the employees who work in areas needing service for other purposes, such as the hospital, shopping centers, and the university.

Other employee transportation needs could be met with a well-published paratransit system and commuter benefits program or voucher system. As public attitudes often shift, it is important that a local transit agency monitor employee and employer desires for public transit and try to meet needs and desires as they arise.

Reasons for a paratransit system: By comparing the ridership data to numbers of vehicles, it is evident that the Pilot Club provided more trips to a larger portion of the public with only nine vehicles than the four agencies with fourteen vehicles do today. Even with high ridership counts, the Pilot Club was unable to keep up with area demand for transportation assistance. Simple calculations reveal that the multiplicity of services in the area is more expensive to run and serves a smaller portion of area residents then the Pilot Club once did. It is therefore imperative that the four paratransit providers consolidate their efforts and funding sources in order to be able to provide a higher level of service to their clienteles and provide service to the general public.

Outlying communities have demonstrated a significant need for transportation to the City of Starkville. A paratransit system is recommended to meet that need in Oktibbeha County. This paratransit system should not be limited to persons with disabilities or the elderly, but should be open to the general public.

Service area: It is suggested that the paratransit and fixed route systems begin by only serving Oktibbeha County residents. While there is potential for providing intercity service, Starkville and MSU should focus on providing routes for the areas closest to them. As time elapses, it may become feasible to explore routes to neighboring communities and counties. Service expansions such as these should be cautiously approached and be accompanied by planning and analysis. Meanwhile, the transit agency (fixed route and paratransit) should actively explore partnerships with other transit agencies such as local taxis, Greyhound, school buses, and Choctaw Transit.

Coordination: There can be advantages to combining the fixed-route and paratransit systems into one agency; however it is not imperative, as long as the two agencies develop a climate of cooperation and shared resources. The highest cost-benefit ratios result from combined efforts. A fixed route and paratransit system should be independent from both MSU and the city, but answer to both entities through a policy board (Transit Management Association, TMA) which includes not only the city and MSU officials but also other key members concerned about transportation services in the area.

Local transit agencies should develop innovative relationships with other transit providers in the community. Mutual interests should always be considered and nurtured in order to increase overall customer satisfaction and convenience, as well as increasing the availability of grant resources and maximizing the use of these and other monetary funds.

Key issues to coordinate: - Conjunction and inter-use of services and facilities - Grant and funding management - Marketing and public education - Maintenance of vehicles Suggestions for specific coordination efforts: 1. Paratransit and fixed route services should at a minimum answer to the same transit advisory board (or Transit Management Association, TMA). As many resources as possible should be shared, such as maintenance needs, office space, grant management personnel, and public information efforts.

2. Tickets for Greyhound buses should be sold through the transit agency. The local Greyhound stop should be located near the local public transportation hub/center in downtown Starkville.

3. A voucher system should be developed in cooperation with the local taxi services.

4. Choctaw Transit is interested in linking its services to a local transportation hub/center.

5. It was noted that new maintenance facilities will eventually be needed for the Starkville Public School District buses. If and when new facilities are built, overlapping maintenance equipment and building needs should be investigated and shared between the public transit agencies and the school buses. Note that communities in Alabama have even made school buses open to older riders, as a way to meet rural transportation needs.

Hours of operation: Surveys and questionnaires indicate that a fixed route bus system would experience the highest ridership from 7:30am to 9:00am and 3:00pm to 9:00pm. Respondents indicated that the highest use of a transit system would be for commuting to and from MSU for class or work. The bus system schedule must, therefore, carefully be correlated with MSU class and office hours. The respondents also indicated that they

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Destination preferences: Data collected during the study indicates that MSU is the primary destination for a fixed route transit system. Primary trip purposes include class, work, and special events. The second most important destination indicated was downtown Starkville for shopping, dining and work. Wal-Mart was the third most important trip destination, followed closely by other grocery destination and places of employment.

The primary destinations for paratransit services will be social services in the community (particularly those related to Community Counseling), Hospital Road, Wal-Mart, and businesses along Highway 12.

Level of service: It is wise to begin with a route that is sure to succeed and then gradually add to the system. A minimum of six months is recommended as a trial period for a new route.

Frequency of service is of prime importance, as well as safe, convenient, and pleasant locations for bus stops. Sidewalks and crosswalks should be provided within a 0.5 to 0.25 mile radius around each bus stop. The most successful systems try to keep stop frequency under 30 minutes, while most systems strive for under 10 minutes. Stop frequency is one of the key factors in creating a reliable transit system. To ensure convenient and reliable service, all routes should strive for a stop frequency of 30 minutes or below; stop frequencies above 30 minutes begin to be inconvenient for passengers and will result in lower ridership.

Transit hub/center: Create a transportation hub/center in centrallylocated area of Starkville, advisably downtown. This should be a place where information is available about

the local transit system and transfers can be made between different routes of the local transit system, as well as to paratransit, local taxi, Greyhound, Starkville Buses, Choctaw Transit, and any other transit service available to area residents. Ideally this would manifests itself as a built structure with transit offices, ticket sales, a waiting room, and an information board/counter. The building should be a symbol for the community’s progressiveness and pride and help to revitalize an otherwise unattractive portion of downtown. To get the most out of community resources, combine other functions into the building, such as offices for community groups, a community visitor center, etc.

Routes: All of the system options developed for this study connect the three city hearts (MSU, Downtown, and the Crossgates shopping area) and the Oktibbeha County Hospital. The routing system options also leave the campus routes largely untouched. The city routing options also service all of the primary areas of need, (areas identified from census data that contain the highest concentration of transit dependent individuals).

The paratransit system(s) should be coordinated and used to provide increased access to the fixed route system whenever possible.

All routes are expected to have a minimum of

two buses operating the route in opposite directions.

For longer routes, more buses will be needed to keep within the recommended stop frequency. It is recommended that routes be scheduled to facilitated transfers at a downtown transportation hub and on campus between the Colvard Union and Perry Cafeteria (the campus' transit hub).

Option C (adjacent) is the highest recommended routing alternative. It substitutes the Maroon campus route with the Red city route, but leaves the rest of the campus system intact. This allows the resources previously used by the Maroon route to be used towards the city routes. Together the Red and Green routes in this system provide convenient access to all of the city hearts. The Blue route provides access between north Starkville and downtown, and connects with the other routes at a proposed transit hub in the downtown area. Out of all the systems, this option will serve the area most effectively and with the highest level of access and convenience.

Transit fares: There are strong indications that a fee-based transportation system would put community acceptance at risk. This has been determined through interviews and surveys as well as studying the existing services in the area. The existing transit services in the community do not charge a fee. This has set a precedent that many community members expect to continue with expanded services.

Though a fee-based system is likely to have lower ridership, there is moderate support in the community for a fare of 75 cents per ride, and a monthly unlimited access card for $15 a month.

The cost analysis prepared for the study indicates that a fare-free fixed route system is financially feasible for servicing Starkville and MSU. However, a fare-based system is likely to produce a higher costbenefit ratio.

Considering the anticipated reduction in ridership and community acceptance, it is recommended that the fixed route transit system attempt to provide fare-free services.

Paratransit services in several communities have charged more than fixed route services to reflect the different level of service and higher costs of incurred by the system. These systems will often offer reduced fares or free trips to a fixed route stop. This helps to encourage increased use of the fixed route system, which is less costly to operate than paratransit systems. It is recommended that the paratransit system for Starkville, MSU, and surrounding region design a fare system that is adjusted according to trip length.

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were primarily interested in public transportation on Thursdays through Saturdays.

According to the 2000 U.S. Census, the highest number of trips to work in the study area occurred between 6:00 am and 9:00 am. If accommodating employee schedules, a public transportation (fixed or paratransit) should begin service no later than 6:00 am and end no earlier than 6:00 pm, assuming an eighthour workday. This recommendation is echoed by comments from MDOT officials who disapprove of transit systems that stop providing services before 5:00 pm. Paratransit services should have a compatible schedule to that of the fixed route services.

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Reduced fares should be offered to regular passengers and to persons needing service to a fixed route stop.

Expected ridership: A rule of thumb to calculate expected ridership numbers, is to anticipate one ride per person per year.

This amounts to an average of 25,000 trips per year for a Starkville/MSU fixed route transit system. Ridership counts for a fixed route system can be calculated more specifically once the community selects a route system. Ridership calculations done in the cost analysis portion of the study predicted an annual ridership of 268,320 trips for an early routing proposal. A frequently serviced and well designed fixed route serving MSU is likely to experience high ridership numbers as the current MSU ridership is 50,000 trips a month.

Additionally, the new night route operating on Thursdays through Saturdays averages over 1,000 rides a month.

A unified paratransit system serving the general public and Oktibbeha county is likely to match or exceed the previous ridership counts of the Pilot Club (over 32,500 trips a year) if it has an adequate fleet of vehicles and tailors services to the markets in need of paratransit services.

Fleet considerations: - Buy new vehicles rather than used ones.

- Buy vehicles with long life expectancy.

This reduces operation and maintenance costs in the long run, and improves service reliability and comfort.

- Consider low-floor buses to minimize costs and complications of mechanical wheelchair lifts.

- Install bicycle racks on all buses.

- Consider hybrid-electric bus technology to improve the system image through increased passenger comfort and reduced noise and gasoline consumption.

The fixed route fleet of buses should have a capacity for approximately 20 seats. MSU campus routes should continue to be serviced with the existing fleet size. A fleet for Starkville routes will be determined based on the final routing system. It is recommended that two buses serve each route (operating in opposite directions of each other). Long routes will need to be operated by more than two buses in order to meet the goal of providing stop frequencies of 30 minutes or less.

The paratransit's fleet of vehicles should be composed of a variety of vehicles from hiring out taxi

service to minibuses or vans that seat 8-15 passengers. Considering that the four existing paratransit agencies have a combined fleet of 14 vehicles, and two of these agencies have expressed plans for purchasing more, it would be wise for a single paratransit agency to begin with a comparable fleet of 14 vehicles.

This is reinforced by the fact that the Pilot Club’s nine vehicles were said to be too few to meet the demand.

However, if a successful voucher system were put in place, it is possible that the fleet requirements could be lowered.

Bus priority: - Impose heavy fines for parking at bus stops - Efficient towing of vehicles violating parking restrictions at bus stops - Study the feasibility of manipulating red lights in favor of buses Funding and Marketing: - Devolop a user friendly and informative website to convey system characteristics and other important information to reduce the mystery using the local public transporation services.

- Strive for a combination of stable funding sources based on a 5-year Capital Replacement Plan. Using funding sources such as: *Advertisement space *The local 2% restaurant tax *Traffic / parking fees and fines - Educate employers about transit tax incentives.

- Make the system customer oriented. Keep a pulse on the market at all times, and be flexible and innovative in meeting area demands.

- Market the system to specific market segments in the community. System image and amenities are of prime importance in this effort.

- Routinely reach out to local businesses and community agencies for input about services.

- Investigate local business interest in contributing towards the purchase of high quality buses (potentially using alternative fuels) and the construction of attractive bus stops.

- Provide questionnaires on buses for riders to volunteer suggestions, complaints, or praise.

- Use ridership data and questionnaires to regularly review possibilities of serving area residents more efficiently and effectively.

- Develop a transit voucher system that can help to lessen the burden on paratransit vehicles and fleet requirements and give more freedom to the transportation dependent population who are out of reach of a fixed route system.

Other recommendations: - Invest in a sophisticated routing program to simplify and reduce the costs of daily paratransit route planning - Have a strict understanding of rules and regulations and compose monthly reports with fleet information - Develop good relationships with state and federal transit agencies - Use paratransit to feed a fixed route system.

Providing cheaper paratransit trips to fixed route transit stops can help to reduce trip redundancy, reduce pratransit fleet demands, size requirements, as well as increase the service area of the fixed route system

Next steps for the community 1. Hire a Transit Coordinator; this should be an individual with planning/or management and negotiating skills to head up the consolidation and coordination of existing transit services. Ideally this person will be part of the management team for the future system.

2. Establish a policy board, such as a TMA (Transportation Management Association), to help form and direct transit policies during planning, implementation, and operation. This association should be comprised of representatives for all city, county, business, university, citizen and public service interests in the community, particularly those who have a vested interest in public transportation.

3. Establish Transportation Policies.

4. Form an independent transit agency.

5. Hire a Transit Planning Consultant to assist the budding transit agency to create the new fixed route system identity and policies, business plan, marketing strategy, as well as finalize routes and budgets.

6. Meet with organizations to begin consolidating para transit services and coordinate these with the fixed route services.

7. Meet with other transportation companies for potential partnerships and coordination of services.

Steps that should be taken to compliment the formation of public transportation in the community: 1. Hire a city planner who has experience with smart growth concepts, public transit and other solutions to provide a resilient and diverse transportation network in the community, such as bicycling and walking.

The practical range of human walking distances determines the effective service area, convenience, and utility of transit systems.

2. Make a commitment to focus resources on improving walking and bicycling conditions and opportunities in the community.

3. The transit-operating agency should have a role in the decision-making process regarding street layout and design when new areas are developed or older areas renovated.

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Planning for Transportation Study purpose and goals

Since that time many studies have been conducted to create and evaluate guidelines for what should be considered when planning for transportation. The following list was an outcome of these efforts: 1. Economic factors affecting development 2. Population 3. Land use 4. Transportation facilities 5. Travel patterns 6. Terminal and transfer facilities 7. Traffic control features

8. Zoning ordinances, subdivision regulations, building codes, and the like 9. Financial resources 10. Social and community-value factors, such as preservation of open space, parks, and recreational facilities; preservation of historical sites and buildings; environmental amenities; and aesthetics. Safety, accessibility (including handicap and elderly), local economy, and comfort were later amendments added to these communityvalue factors.

Subsequently, experts concluded, "transportation must be directed toward raising urban standards and enhancing aggregate community values" [3]. To do so citizen participation should occur continually throughout the planning process. Suddenly transportation planning was no longer in the realm of engineering and economics but also in the realm of architecture, community planning, and politics.

The passage of TEA21, and its predecessor ISTEA, reinforced the above objectives and challenged communities to 'reduce vehicle emissions, [and] the number of single occupant vehicles, and to make alternatives such as transit, bicycles and pedestrians a more viable part of the transportation network.' It is also stressed that transportation planning is 'continuous in its nature and must constantly be revisited.'

The FTA realized that to accomplish all of the said objectives for transportation planning could be a feat beyond available funding and study durations.

Definitions of requirements have therefore been loosened and the planning process has been subdivided into different levels. The definition of exactly how to fulfill these objectives has also been loosened, allowing planning agencies and communities to tailor their study to local circumstances.

1. George Gray and Lester Hoel, eds., Public Transportation, 2nd ed. (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, Prentice Hall, 1992) 2. U.S. Congress, Senate, "Urban Transportation-Joint Report to the President by the Secretary of Commerce and the Housing and Home Finance Administration," Urban Mass Transportation-1962, 87th Congress, 2nd Session (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office), pp.71-81 3. George Gray and Lester Hoel, eds., Public Transportation, 2nd ed. (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, Prentice Hall, 1992), pp.51

INTRODUCTION

Background When public transportation first began to be considered an integral aspect of dealing with inner city transportation needs, the federal government issued a study on the integration of the objectives for highways and mass transit. The general thrust of the congressional report, as it related to planning, can be summarized by the following excerpt: "...federal aid for urban transportation should be made available only when urban communities have prepared or are actively preparing up-to-date general plans for the entire urban area which relate transportation plans to landuse and development plans.

The major objectives of urban transportation policy are the achievement of sound land-use patterns, the assurance of transportation facilities for all segments of the population, the improvement of overall traffic flow and the meeting of total transportation needs at minimum cost. Only a balanced transportation system can attain these goals-and in many urban areas this means an extensive mass transportation network fully integrated with the highway and street system2‌"

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INTRODUCTION

Local Implications Acknowledging Starkville's needs, the CSTC has approached this feasibility study from a very broad front, embracing the objective that transportation planning is an urban planning tool. The information collected and analyzed in this study can, therefore, be used and studied further in order to inform issues and decisions related to growth and quality of life within the Starkville area. These issues both directly and indirectly influence the transportation patterns of today and tomorrow, and must be addressed with or without the implementation of public mass transit.

It is the purpose of this study to uncover the possibilities for mass transit in the City of Starkville beyond and in conjunction with the existing services offered. The study exhibits different alternatives available to the community and suggests which of these fit the local circumstances most aptly. This document's purpose is to help the community make an informed decision as how to further develop and structure their public transit system and to provide the information necessary to pursue more funding for such an effort. It is not the purpose of this study to conclude whether or not Starkville will have public transportation or to make a final determination as to how such a system would be carried forward.

Were the city's decision to pursue such an effort, an in depth analysis for implementing a transit system will need to be conducted with the criteria set forth by the city. Suggestions on how to proceed with the next steps in the process are included throughout the document and are outlined below.

The Process of Planning The chart shown here is a diagram illustrating the process identified by the FTA for effective transportation planning. Formal public involvement is required in all stages of planning. A brief description of this process follows: The first stage is an Alternatives Analysis, where public involvement is initiated, existing conditions of the city are recorded, problems are identified, options for solutions are set forth, and implications of future action or non-action is considered. Through the Alternatives Analysis phase the municipality receives the information it needs in order to make an educated decision on whether or not to commit to providing or expanding a public transit system in their community.

The Alternatives Analysis also acts as a basis for future planning efforts and grant applications.

(This document is the result of the Alternatives Analysis for the City of Starkville, MSU and surrounding region.)

The second stage is where the municipality must take a decision on what option to pursue. The criteria for future planning and implementation efforts are determined. If not already in place, a transportation planning board, is formed to oversee management and make sure the system meets community standards. It is made up of community members that reflect the variety of interests and influences that affect the viability of transit within the community. This may range from business owners, to bank officials, to social workers, to school officials, to average citizens and elected officials concerned with the improvement of the quality of life in the community.

The third stage is where the community presents their proposal to the FTA, which in turn evaluates the proposal in order to approve the Implementation Study (or Preliminary Engineering in large construction projects) and the Final Design phase.

The fourth stage is the Implementation Study and Final Design phase where the issues identified in the Alternatives Analysis stage are refined based upon the criteria set by the municipality and the MPO or other planning board. A business plan is made, complete with a detailed financial plan including funding sources, projected expenses such as: number of employees needed, the size of the system, maintenance costs, and facility programmatic needs. Routes are refined to reflect funding and infrastructure capabilities and respond to any changes in community needs or criteria since the alternatives analysis.

Policies for the system are set forth, advertising strategies are outlined, logos are created; locations for signage and bus stops and other facilities are determined and designed.

The fifth stage is where FTA evaluates the final proposal presented by the community in order to approve a Full Funding Grant Agreement or Capital Investment Program for system implementation.

The sixth stage is where the system is actually implemented, for example: employees are hired, buses are purchased, bus shelters and signage are installed, and transportation facilities are built or purchased and remodeled. The system is advertised and promoted to the public, and an inauguration of the system is finally celebrated.

For durations of typical planning milestones and considerations for implementation see page 111.

For more detailed information on FTA recommendations and requirements see the appendix for a summary, or visit www.fta.dot.gov.

The above chart is a diagram created by the FTA to illustrate how large transit investment projects should be carried out to insure a better end product. Though the scale of Starkville’s potential transit system is much smaller, the recommended process remains very similar to this.

3

Project Scope for a Transit Feasibility Study for the Starkville and MSU Region A summary

Areas of Study Demographic and economic data will be collected and analyzed for the study area and will be supplemented by historical information and a qualitative analysis in order to provide a thorough understanding of the area. As available, the following data will be collected: Physical description of area Population description Population density Community sentiment towards public transportation - Land uses and density - Employment density - Labor force - Auto ownership - Tourist and visitor levels - Urban elements - Green space and corridors - Major trip generators - Area roadway and traffic conditions - Existing transportation systems and routes - History of city growth

Deliverables Upon completion of the study 25 documents will be published and distributed to appropriate individuals and organizations in Starkville and MSU. Digital copies of all maps and relevant documents will be given to the city for future city planning endeavors.

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The CSTC will research documented transportation studies and evaluations in the DOT database, as well as other resources for recommendations on transportation related issues. The information to be reviewed from these sources will include: - Transit modes - Fare structure - Management strategies - Potential cost, value, and funding - Recommendations and suggestions for infrastructure and facilities - Technological innovations

INTRODUCTION

In cooperation with the City of Starkville, the Carl Small Town Center (CSTC) is responsible for the production of a Transit Development Plan (TDP), with help from the Stennis Institute of Government, the MSU Extension Services, MapSAT and the Golden Triangle Planning and Development District. The CSTC developed a study addressing the community's vision for public transportation along with an assessment of transit needs and the identification of possible strategies for improvements in the study area, as well as an outline for a staged implementation program.

The TDP is a research plan for studying the feasibility of extending and/or joining another bus service to the present public transit system in the City of Starkville and surrounding area of Oktibbeha County and Mississippi State University (MSU).

The CSTC reviewed and analyzed alternatives for transit operation in the study area. Alternatives may range from the status quo (maintaining the existing mix of services) to a thorough restructuring of public transportation service. These alternatives will be developed in conjunction with the City and will support the community's vision of where it wants to be in five years.

The TDP will be feasibility-oriented and strategic in nature; it will integrate transit and paratransit into more general long-range planning efforts such as the local comprehensive plan and planning responsive to the ADA. Public meetings, announcements, surveys and demonstrations will be used to inform and acquire information from the public about the issues in the project-study.

5

Assessing Need and Desirability

"Desirability of a public transport policy or project is largely based on value judgments and ridership The desire for public transport is expectations1." greatly determined by community demographics, traffic and parking conditions, and each citizen’s previous experience with public transportation. The perceived value will change throughout the planning, development and operation of the system and is strongly influenced by the overall quality of service provided.

Although one would hope that public transportation is seen by the general public as an attractive alternative to the private car, the main service provided by the system is to those who find it difficult to use or own a car. Such as: - Teenagers and youth without a license or car - College students who would prefer to defer the cost of automobile ownership - Workers who would prefer to defer the cost of automobile ownership - First-time homebuyers who would prefer to defer the purchase of a second car - The stay at home member of a two-adult, onecar household - Households without financial means to buy or maintain a car - Older residents who are no longer confident of their driving skills or have never driven - Handicapped residents who cannot drive a vehicle Approximately one third of Americans can be characterized by one of the above descriptors.

"Transportation is the second largest annual expense for American families, adding up to more than three times the cost of health care, and exceeded only by housing as an expenditure. For lower-income families, the expense of transportation poses an even greater burden, inhibiting wealth creation, hindering home

ownership, and dangerously straining already tight family budgets2."

All citizens health and economy are adversely affected by city development that privies the car and makes walking or bicycling a dangerous or unpleasant venture; however, it is important to note that the aforementioned sections of the public particularly suffer.

When one then considers that most modern city development has been centered on private vehicle ownership, one realizes that enforced isolation and involuntary reliance on the car are much more pervasive and more damaging than most people recognize. While public transportation can help this situation, a city should not fool themselves into thinking that it is the solution to a non-pedestrian friendly climate. In fact, without safe, comfortable, and convenient pedestrian access, public transportation will suffer.

The final ridership of a system will greatly depend on the effectiveness of service. Employment density, population density, car ownership, parking costs, traffic conditions and pedestrian access are some of the most important factors in determining whether transit will be efficient and effective. Ridership expectations are characteristically difficult to pin down for rural transportation systems (those serving urban areas with less than 50,000). These type of systems are often characterized as having to deal with “high need-low demand” situations. Successful management, marketing, and public input will play a vital role in the service’s ability to go beyond answering only the most dire of needs and truly become an asset and source of pride to the community as a whole, which in turn will increase ridership numbers.

As the concept of need for rural transportation services has yet to be rigidly defined, a quantitative measurement is extremely difficult to provide.3 However, by investigating the issues from many different

1. Simpson, Barry. Urban Public Transport Today (London, UK, E & FN Spon, 1994) New Jersey, Prentice Hall, 1992)

2. The Surface Transportation Policy Project; www.transact.org

perspectives we can gain a satisfactory understanding of the presence and types of transportation needs in the community.

Unlike demand, transportation need is a fixed amount of travel necessary to provide an adequate standard of living, and is not affected by the price of travel. Demand is based on the economic willingnessto-pay concept and is therefore related to the market viability of the service. Demand for service may increase or decrease following public perception, however the need will remain unchanged.

This section will investigate some of the basic issues relating to need and demand through the documentation of: - Results from surveys, public meetings, interviews and transit demonstration runs - Population demographics of the region

3. George Gray and Lester Hoel, eds., Public Transportation, 2nd ed. (Englewood Cliffs,

NEED AND DESIRABILITY

Gauging the community’s wants and needs

Bus Route Demonstrations Hybrid electric bus demonstration A hybrid electric bus was demonstrated in Starkville in the spring of 2002. The bus was supplied free of charge by Advanced Vehicle Systems, Inc., (AVS) of Chattanooga, TN. Local support and sponsorship for the event included: the CSTC, the City of Starkville, Starkville Electric Department, Tennessee Valley Authority, Electric Transit Vehicle Institute, and MSU. The bus ran for three days, Thursday through Saturday, and coincided with the annual “Bulldog Weekend” event. One bus ran one route connecting the center of campus to the heart of downtown. The bus ran on 30 minute intervals stopping for about 10 minutes at either end of the route (i.e. once on campus and once downtown), allowing passengers to tour the bus and see the engine and other special features. The MSU bus drivers also got to test drive the bus, and were enthused with its ease of operation. Passengers were fascinated by the new technology and how quiet and smooth the ride was. Ridership counts were as follows: Thursday 260; Friday 162; Saturday 323.

Bulldog Bash campus shuttle extension MSU transit offered two shuttles from campus to a festival called “Bulldog Bash” on September 13, 2002. Most activities took place in the Cotton District, however transit service was also extended to downtown. The two routes were operated by one bus each (see below for routes and hours). The two routes had a combined ridership of 118 for the evening.

In addition to the campus shuttles, two vans doing a taxi-like service were run by Parker Wiseman and the student council. The van would travel from campus to downtown along University Drive and stop for any passenger who waved down the bus. No ridership numbers were collected on these trips. treet Main S Maxwell St.

treet Main S

NEED AND DESIRABILITY

6

Maxwell St.

Route (pink) designed by CSTC for hybrid electric bus demonstration on “Bulldog Weekend, spring of 2002”. (MSU campus routes are dashed.)

Campus routes designed by MSU transit for “Bulldog Bash”, fall of 2002.

Public Input

Public participation is a necessary and required portion of transportation and urban planning and should include key stakeholders, including the business community, members of the public, community groups, and governmental agencies. Not only must public input be sought at the onset of a project, but should be collected continuously throughout the planning process, implementation and operation to ensure a greater ability to meet community expectations and needs. This presents a large challenge to planners and elected officials because meaningful engagement of diverse interests can be difficult.

However, broader participation will enable decisions to be more responsive to local needs.

There are several different methods to collect community input. Though all methods provide us with valuable insights, none have proven to be foolproof, and should therefore not be relied upon as a concrete data source. By approaching the problem with several different techniques, a broad understanding of public sentiment can begin to take form. The techniques used for this study are: - Public meetings - Target group meetings - Interviews and private meetings - Survey and questionnaires

Public and Target Group Meetings The primary purpose for these meetings has been to present the key discoveries and issues in the study of public transportation alternatives for the Starkville region, and to gain feedback and input on these issues. The following is a list of groups meetings held for the Transit Feasibility Study for Starkville, MSU, and Surrounding Region: August 2002 - Key community representatives and MDOT representatives invited to discuss expectations September - December 2002 - Numerous Mayor and Board of Aldermen Meetings; calling for participation and nominations for review committee members January 16, 2003 - First review committee meeting March 3, 2003 - Work session with politicians and key community representatives from business sector, University and social interest groups.

March 6, 2003 - Citizens Advisory Board April 3, 2003 - Review Committee Meeting, with other community and university representatives invited April 14, 2003 - Community work session April 16, 2003 - Meeting with MSU student association April 21, 2003 - Review Committee Meeting, with other community representatives invited May 29, 2003 - Review Committee Meeting, with other community representatives invited June 10, 2003 - History Presentation to general public July 10, 2003 - Bike Starkville Meeting July 14, 2003 - Review Committee Meeting, with other community representatives invited July 31, 2003 - Bike Starkville Meeting September 11, 2003 - The Starkville Optimist Club September 15, 2003 - American Association of University Women, MSU Chapter September 18, 2003 - Developers and Restaurateurs September 20, 2003 - American Association of University Women, MUW Chapter October 28, 2003 - Review Committee Meeting, with other community representatives invited

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Gulf States Manufacturers MFJ Enterprises, Amertron, Mirage Mississippi State University Millenium Candle Company Northeast Mississippi Coca Cola Bottling Co. Oktibbeha County Hospital Client Logic (formerly Service Zone) Southwire Wal-Mart Weavexx

*Businesses were considered major employers if they have more than thirty employees. (See page 77 for map.)

Interviews and Meetings with Individuals The primary purpose for these meetings has been to uncover potential sources of support and/or need for transit within the community, and to discover how existing needs are being addressed. The meetings have also served to uncover a great deal of the underlying politics affecting the future efforts towards implementing and coordinating a transit system for the region. The following is a list of organizations and businesses interviewed, the name of the representative(s) interviewed are not included.

Transportation providers for the area: - Starkville Housing Authority - Community Counseling Services - Pilot Club of Starkville - MSU Transit Agency - Golden Triangle Planning & Development District (Golden Triangle Area Agency on Aging) - McClain Taxi Service - Shaw Taxi Service - Greyhound - Starkville Tour Buses - Starkville School Buses - Ability Works (formerly Allied Enterprises) Community service organizations: - The Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Blindness and Low Vision - Rehabilitation and Vocational Special Needs Education

- T.K. Martin Center for Technology and Disability - Community Counseling Services - Starkville Housing Authority - Pilot Club of Starkville Local governmental agencies: - Greater Starkville Development Partnership - Starkville Mayor and Board of Aldermen - Starkville Planning and Zoning Board - County Board Administrator Mississippi State University: - Mississippi State University Administration - MSU Student Association - MSU Transit Agency - MSU International Student Association Other: - Kroger - Aspen Bay - Downtown Businesses - Random Individuals - A number of interviews also spontaneously occurred while acquiring area information. Several emails were also received as a response to articles in the Starkville Daily News.

Major employers*: - Ability Works (formerly Allied Enterprises) - Eagle Family Foods - Flexsteel Industries - Garan, Inc.

Synopsis of Employer Interviews Interviews with the major employers in the region were conducted to determine perceived demand or need for transportation to these businesses. The Carl Small Town Center was able to interview twelve of these companies, below is a synopsis of the responses received.

There are a substantial number of people who travel from the surrounding counties, and a few even as far away as Alabama, to work in the city of Starkville. Most major employers in the area report that 50% or more of their employees live outside of the Starkville city limits. See p. 9 “Interests and needs outside of Starkville� for a list of specific counties and communities mentioned in the interviews.

Hours of operation and shifts vary greatly, however 9 of the 12 businesses operate between the hours of 5:30 am to 6 pm, the remaining businesses are operational 24 hours a day. About half of all employees tend to eat lunch at work.

A large percentage of employees are earning between minimum wage and $30,000 - $35,000 year; the salaries below $25,000 are typically sensitive to the overall costs of car ownership. These individuals are particularly feeling financial pressure if they also support family and home ownership/rental costs.

All of the large employers in the community report that they have a small percentage of people without personal vehicles; many of these employees carpool and a some use(d) the Pilot Club, Campus Transit, taxi or walk. The only exception is Ability Works, who reports a substantial number of employees lacking personal transportation; two 15 passenger vans and school buses are used to transport their employees to work. Funds for this small transportation program come from Rehabilitation Services and Brooksville state funds (see p. 29).

It is significant to note that every major

employment center reports having at least a handful of employees who are currently getting to work without personal vehicles. These individuals could benefit from the increased access and flexibility a good public transportation system could provide. Public transportation service also increases access to jobs, and the percentage of employees who do not own a vehicle would be likely rise if a reliable system were in place. Ability Works trains disadvantaged persons for future employment, and stated that several individuals who have left their program cannot find work because of transportation problems.

From the perception of the large employers in the area, the employee need for public transportation is generally small, with a few exceptions: Ability Works has a high need; downtown businesses feel that they would benefit if employees as well as students and citizens had easier access to their businesses; the Oktibbeha County Hospital was enthusiastic about the prospect of increased access for both employees and patients; Wal-Mart was open to providing some funding to reduce congestion problems, and Kroger has previously supported a campus shuttle route for (primarily international) students.

Most employers are generally unaware of their employees' desire for public transit, but do have a sense for how employees travel. Most businesses consider transportation to be up to the employee, which indicates that their perception of need may be slightly skewed. It would therefore be desirable to hear directly from the employees. Surveys were given to employers to hand out to employees, but none were returned to the CSTC. All major employers were open to the possibility of providing transit incentives to their employees, particularly if the employees expressed an interest.

None of the employers seem to be aware of the existing federal nontaxable transit and vanpool benefits program (see p. 108). It is important for a transit agency to keep in contact with major businesses in the service area to inform them of potential benefits, such as tax incentives, and to see if perceptions of need and desire for public transportation change.

NEED AND DESIRABILITY

7

8 MSU Campus Email Survey Conducted by Dr. Judy Phillips, Stennis Institute of Government, Mississippi State University.

This report was compiled by Leah Faulk with the Carl Small Town Center, with data from the survey.

NEED AND DESIRABILITY

Surveys and Questionnaires

A common approach to demand estimation involves attitude surveys prior to the development of the transportation service. While being an effective way to gather a great number of individual attitudes about transit, this method can cause measurement problems if used as the sole generator for estimating demand1. It is important to take into account the potential problems of survey results when reviewing the outcome of such studies: - It is difficult to find any major unserved demand, as many respondents have difficulty grasping the idea of "desired trips" and thus may substantially underestimate them.

Two surveys have been conducted for this study: 1. MSU Campus Email Survey Conducted by the Stennis Institute of Government Mississippi State University 2. City of Starkville Community Questionnaire Conducted by the Carl Small Town Center Mississippi State University A synopsis of the responses follow.

- Multipurpose journeys are often not measured properly. Generally, respondents are asked to indicate how many trips they would make on the service, if it existed, for each trip purpose. In doing so, they often neglect to consider multipurpose trips and provide an overestimate of the actual number of person trips.

- Discrepancies found between survey estimates and the actual demand upon implementation has illustrated the fact that public opinion surveys cannot be directly translated into actual vehicle trips.

1. George Gray and Lester Hoel, eds., Public Transportation, 2nd ed. (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, Prentice Hall, 1992)

In conjunction with the Carl Small Town Center, the John C. Stennis Institute of Government distributed a transportation survey to evaluate the needs and the potential usage rate of public transportation in the City of Starkville, Mississippi, and the possibility of integrating a Starkville transportation system with the Mississippi State University campus shuttle system.

This survey was distributed to all MSU students, via email. Due to campus logistics, the survey was unable to be administered to staff and faculty. It is recommended that the University conduct an additional survey to measure the interest for public transportation amongst their employees. The students' perspectives and input are provided as follows: Of those students surveyed, 55% of respondents currently use the Campus Shuttle Service and 82% have used public transportation elsewhere. Of these students, 88% report extremely positive or generally positive prior experience with public transportation.

Student Profiles: 74% of students surveyed do not live on campus. 58% of respondents were females, and 40% were males. Approximately 2% did not answer. The majority of respondents, 77%, were age 17 to 25. 15% of respondents were age 26 to 35.

In terms of student classification, the majority of respondents, 43%, were seniors. 27% were graduate students, and 19% were students with junior standing.

9% of respondents were sophomores.

Frequency of Use: 34% of respondents use the campus shuttle every day. 15% of students use the service three days a week. Another 14% use the shuttle two days a week.

Destination Preferences: When asked what activities students would use an expanded shuttle service for, the majority of respondents indicated they would use it to go to campus. A smaller percentage would use the bus to travel to downtown Starkville to shop or eat at the restaurants there. A lesser percentage of people indicated they would use the system to travel to Wal-Mart, shop for groceries, or go to work.

Students indicated that if the shuttle service broadened its geographic service area, they would be likely to use the shuttle more. A reference for extending the hours of operation into nights and weekends, as well as including more frequent stops, were additional requests from the students.

Schedule Preferences: When asked what time periods respondents most need transportation,

the most favorable response was the 5:00pm to 7:00pm time slot, followed by 7:00pm to 9:00pm, and 3:00pm to 5:00pm. Respondents indicated that the time they would least use the system would be from 5:00am to 7:30am. Respondents indicated a preference for using an expanded shuttle system on Fridays, followed by Thursdays, Mondays, then Saturdays. The responses for schedule preferences are slightly contradictory to the previous indication that the students’ primarily destination would be campus, as most classes are over after 3:00pm.

Cost: 61% indicated they would not be willing to pay for additional transit services as part of their tuition. Only 41% indicated that they would be willing to pay $15.00 per month for unlimited access to that transportation system. However, 67% indicated they would be willing to pay $0.75 per ride.

Today's Situation Due to lack of off-campus service, students must utilize their own cars to get to campus. Therefore, the current campus shuttle is a redundant form of transportation. Frequent stops and lack of regularity in shuttle service appear to be barriers to use of the shuttle system. For students with no transportation, an expanded shuttle system would enable them to get to work and to shop. Students think that an expanded shuttle service would reduce the danger of drinking and driving. Inclement weather increases student use of the shuttle service, but most stops do not have covered areas where students can wait for the shuttle.

Conclusions The benefits of an expanded shuttle system to the student body and the business community are supported by this survey. Alternative routing, frequency, and associated costs require extensive further study. Transportation systems require a reliable and significant revenue stream in order to operate.

Implementation of an expanded campus shuttle system faces three primary obstacles: 1. Resource constraints at the state, municipal, and university level.

2. Lack of support within the student body for a tuition-related increase to be used to fund the expansion of the campus shuttle system.

3. A system that relies upon fee-based ridership would be high-risk.

9 City of Starkville Community Questionnaire Conducted by the CSTC research team. Report by Leah Faulk, the CSTC, Mississippi State University

Cost: If a campus-city shuttle service were made available, 48% of respondents would be willing to pay $15 a month for unlimited access to that transportation system. However, 73% of respondents would be willing to pay $0.75 per ride.

Safety: 45% of respondents agreed that safety and security play an important factor in determining use of a public transportation system.

Conclusions An overwhelming majority of persons surveyed (94%) indicated that a city-campus shuttle system would benefit Starkville by helping to alleviate traffic congestion and parking problems, as well as assist people who lack transportation. However, this questionnaire did not receive a high number of responses, and it is advisable that the community redistribute a similar survey and for it to be administered by a professional surveying group.

When asked what respondents think is Starkville's biggest challenge to creating and sustaining an enriched quality of life, urban sprawl, lack of visionary leadership, and lack of dependable transportation were the most common responses.

Interests and Needs Outside of Starkville and MSU

While the study focuses primarily on the needs of Starkville and MSU, it also includes preliminary research on needs and possibilities extending beyond these political borders. As Starkville is the largest community in the county, it is also a major destination for county residents who either work, study or conduct errands there. Several sources have uncovered the possibility of connecting a Starkville system with neighboring communities and counties: Major employers in Starkville felt that mostly their outof-town employees are in need of transportation assistance. Specific counties mentioned where employess live include Oktibbeha, Clay, Choctaw, Webster, Noxubee, and Winston county. Specific communities mentioned include Columbus, Maben, Ackerman, Eupora, Weir, Stewart, Artesia, Brooksville, Sturgis, Mathiston, Macon; areas close to Starkville, but not within city limits, include MSU, Old West Point Road, New Light Road, Blackjack and Poorhouse Road.

From paratransit interviews: - Crawford - Sturgis - Sessums - Maben - Mathiston - Ackerman - Sturgis - Houston - Phebe - West Point - Brooksville - Clay county - Choctaw county - Webster county - Noxubee county

From public meetings: - Sturgis - Maben - Columbus - Golden Triangle Regional airport (GTR) - East Mississippi Community College (EMCC) - Choctaw Lake - Noxubee Refuge Popular area destinations for international students: - GTR airport - Choctaw Lake - Columbus shopping Interview with Don Posey, Oktibbeha County Administrator: Residential neighborhoods in the county include: Westland Heights on Highway 82W, Browning Creek off Oktoc Road, Oakwood off Highway 12, Southridge off South Montgomery, Heritage Colony off South Montgomery, and Sunnybrook Estates off South Montgomery. There is also a mobile home development off South Montgomery.

Some of the most populated areas in the county are down South Montgomery and the south side of town. The other most populated area in the county is down Blackjack Road. A largely minority population resides there and might benefit from public transportation service. The MSU Horse Park (jointly owned by the city and MSU) is also on the south side of town and draws a large crowd to its events. Mr. Posey noted (in January of 2004) that in their 2004 event calendar, only two weekends remain unbooked. He also mentioned that the road to the Horse Park is well-paved and could easily accommodate buses to and from events. There are future plans to expand Poor House Road to connect with Highway 25, providing another lateral road for

NEED AND DESIRABILITY

The Carl Small Town Center distributed a transportation questionnaire to evaluate the needs and the potential usage rate of public transportation in the City of Starkville and surrounding area and the possibility of integrating a Starkville transportation system with the Mississippi State University campus shuttle system. This questionnaire was largely similar to the one developed for the Stennis Institute Survey. A few modifications were, however, necessary to make the survey more applicable to the general public.

This questionnaire was distributed to a variety of community groups and organizations throughout Starkville. Approximately eight groups totaling approximately 100 individuals provided responses to the questions. The residents' perspectives and input is provided and summarized as follows: Personal Profiles: 70% of respondents live within the city limits of Starkville, 48% of which are male. 20% of these respondents are between the ages of 17 and 25 years old. 15% of respondents are 26 to 35 years old, while another 15% of respondents are 36 to 50 years old.

82% of respondents have used public transportation in another city. 50% of those people reported a generally positive experience. 42% of respondents have used the campus shuttle, while 32% had never used any form of public transportation in Starkville.

Destination Preferences: If a transit system were implemented, 57% of people indicated a preference to travel to MSU for work and special events.

People also indicated a desire to travel to Downtown Starkville to eat and shop at various shops and restaurants. Travel to the grocery store was also a popular destination preference, as was Wal-Mart and various places of employment.

Schedule Preferences: 62% of respondents indicated that they would use the shuttle system more if it extended hours of operation into the evening and night. People also indicated an interest in weekend service, a broadened geographic service area, and buses that made frequent stops.

61% of respondents noted that they would most likely use an expanded campus-city shuttle service on Fridays, followed by Thursdays, and Wednesdays, and Saturdays. 43% of respondents would most likely use public transportation between the hours of 5:00pm and 7:00pm. The morning rush hours of 7:30am to 9:00am were also favorable to respondents.

10 the city, besides Highway 12 and 82. He mentioned that this area south of Starkville could potentially benefit from public transportation service.

Interview with Billy Robertson of Choctaw Transit: The Choctaw Transit Agency is especially interested in using an intermodal facility in Starkville.

There are students and employees here who regularly travel between Philadelphia and Starkville.

NEED AND DESIRABILITY

Other educational centers in the area that could be linked with MSU and Starkville: - East Mississippi Community College (EMCC) serves Oktibbeha County through the main campus at Scooba (Kemper County) and at the Golden Triangle Campus in Mayhew, ten miles east of Starkville. The Golden Triangle Campus has a student enrollment of over 1,300 full-time, part-time, day and evening students.

- Mary Holmes Junior College has an enrollment of 357 students and is located 18 miles northeast of Starkville.

- Wood College is located in Mathiston, and offers a two year education in a variety of fields.

Enrollment is around 500 students.

- Mississippi University for Women (MUW) is a four year university and is located near historic downtown Columbus. Enrollment is around 2,100 students.

Conclusions

Public opinion, desires, and needs are a constantly changing variable, and must be considered to ensure a successful transit system. As mentioned earlier, public opinions are difficult to collect, let alone measure and quantify. It is therefore advisable that a transit agency develop a convenient system to gauge public contentment with existing services and desires for change.

A survey could be distributed through the electricity bill to collect further input from the community.

The survey developed for this study could be used or modified to reflect operational guidelines set for a transit system and include other community issues as well.

It would be important to include the survey in not only the Starkville Electricity bill, but also the 4-County Electricity bill, to understand the potential demand for transportation for the surrounding region.

Once a transit system is in place, surveys can be passed out on the routes for information on how to improve services and meet public expectations. These could also take the form as customer comment sheets available at all times on all buses as a source for receiving a continuous trickle of input from the public.

The community input received by the CSTC during the study supports the implementation of a fixed route system in the Starkville area and improved paratransit services for the region. While there is significant proof of a transportation need from outlying communities to the City of Starkville, it would be wise to meet the most apparent and known needs with an expanded paratransit system. This paratransit system should not be limited to persons with disabilities and elderly, but should be open to the general public. It also suggested that the paratransit system begin by only servicing the Oktibbeha county residents. As a fixed route system evolves, it may become feasible to explore intercity routes to neighboring communities. Service expan-

sions such as these should be approached cautiously and be accompanied by planning and analysis. The transit agency (fixed route and paratransit) should actively explore partnerships with other transit agencies such as Choctaw Transit.

11

Quantitative Data Analysis

Analysis of the city's quantitative data explains the approximate locations of target groups within the city. By identifying these target groups and their respective locations, city policies and activities can more effectively reach the population. In regard to public transportation, census data can tell us the percentage and general location of people who could benefit from public transportation. This not only helps to assess the need for public transit in the community, but also allows one to understand the proportions of trip generating factors in the community so that a bus system can be more effective and focus on the areas of highest need.

The most significant indicators of need for transportation assistance are: people living below poverty, households without a vehicle, people with disabilities and people over 65 years of age. The most significant indicators of desire for transportation are, in addition to the three need categories, student population, single parent families and household income.

The following section includes: - Total population density and ethnicity - MSU enrollment - Regional transient rate - Number housing units - Population below poverty level - Population above 65 - Population with disabilities - Households without a vehicle - Single parent families - Population under 18 - Division of workforce by industry - Time leaving residence for work - Means of transportation to work

Important Facts About the Data Census data is sorted by "tracts" which are the geographical areas in which the information was gathered. Census tracts vary in size and are defined by streets, topography and/or other determining factors.

See adjoining map for Starkville and Oktibbeha County census tract boundaries.

The following density maps use a "dot scatter" system, with each dot representing one unit of the specific data being represented (such as an individual or household). Relative density can be determined by the proximity of dots to one another. However, this method can be deceiving: the software equally disperses all of the dots in a block, although, in reality, the entirety of the population may not be equally dispersed within a given tract, thereby making large blocks appear less dense. This particularly becomes a problem for small communities which tend to be divided into very large census tracts. Census data for the Starkville region is therefore less reliable for locating the exact source of the data; however the census maps are able to give us a general sense of location and density, which can then be supplemented by other studies and an intimate knowledge of the community structure.

Note 1: Data is divided into “Starkville” numbers and “Oktibbeha County” numbers. Unless otherwise noted, the totals listed under “Oktibbeha County” include those living within the Starkville City Limits.

Note 2: Although data is shown for all of Oktibbeha County, dot maps only represent the immediate area around the Starkville City Limits.

Note 3: Unless otherwise noted, all data represents the local conditions in the census year 2000.

NEED AND DESIRABILITY

An analysis of the region using 2000 U.S. Census data

12 Useful Definitions1

NEED AND DESIRABILITY

The Decennial Census Long form Questionnaire: This is form is sent to approximately one in six households, and contains all of the questions on the short form, as well as additional detailed questions relating to the social, economic, housing, and travel characteristics of each individual and household.

Household: A household includes all the people who occupy a housing unit as their usual place of residence.

Important Facts About the Region

The Poverty Threshold: The U.S. poverty threshold, as defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. Poverty thresholds vary by family size and composition (see chart). Poverty status is not determined for people in military barracks or institutional quarters (such as dormitories), or for unrelated individuals under age 15 (such as foster children). The poverty thresholds are revised annually, using the Consumer Price Index to reflect changes in the cost of living. The poverty thresholds are the same for all parts of the country; that is, they are not adjusted for regional, state, or local variations in the cost of living. The poverty level is based on money income and does not include non-cash benefits, such as food stamps.

All Census Data was compiled by Andy Webre at the Carl Small Town Center.2 See pages 21 and 22 for interpretations and implications of census data.

A supplement to the maps and graphs

Total population of Oktibbeha County in the year 2000 was 42,902, showing a growth of 11.8% since 1990. 51% of the county population live in Starkville, leaving 21,033 people living outside of the Starkville City Limits. 37.5% of the total county population were MSU students.

Total population of Starkville in the year 2000 was 21,869, an 18.5% increase since 1990 (population 18,458) which had experienced a 21.7% increase since 1980 (population 15,169). Since 1980 the population of Starkville has increased by 44%. This translates to an average of 2% annual population growth.

Poverty Thresholds in 2000, by Size of Family and Number of Related Children Under 18 Years Related children under 18 years

MSU student enrollment (main campus only) Total enrollment for the fall semester of 2001 was 16,066 students; a 15% increase since 1990 (13,594 students) which had experienced a 15% increase since 1981 (11,531 students).

International students - There were approximately 1000 international students and their dependents at Mississippi State University in 2004.3 Transient rate - Oktibbeha County had the highest transient rate in the entire state of Mississippi between 1995 and 2000: 55.7% of the population changed their place of residence. 61% of these moves were to locations out of the county and/or state. It is reasonable to presume that much of this population moved from the Starkville and MSU area, as they represent the largest concentration of population in the county.

Total housing units in Starkville amount to 10,191 of which 729 (7%) are vacant. Starkville accounts for 58.8% of the 17,344 housing units in Oktibbeha County.

Total households - 15,945 in Oktibbeha County, of which 9,462 (59.3%) lived in the City of Starkville.

The median annual household income in Oktibbeha County was $24,899.

Population below poverty levels - 10,869 (28.2% of total population) in Oktibbeha County, of which 6,640 lived in the City of Starkville (61% of the total county population in poverty). 30.4% of the population living within the City of Starkville lived below the poverty level.

Family households - 9,265 in Oktibbeha County, of which 4,718 (51%) lived in the City of Starkville.

- with children under 18: 4,994 in Oktibbeha County, of which 2,502 (50.9%) were in the City of Starkville.

- Single mothers with own children under 18: 1,470 in Oktibbeha County - Single parents (male or female): 1,732 in Oktibbeha County, of which 882 (51%) were in the City of Starkville.

Families below poverty level in 1999 - 1,691 in Oktibbeha County in 1999. This number represents 17.6% of all families in Oktibbeha County.

- with children under 18: 1,369 (83.3% of families below poverty levels) - Single mother with own children under 18: 1,045 (62.5% of families below poverty levels) Of the 7,517 persons living with disabilities in Oktibbeha County, 1,917 (25.5%) report having a “goout-of-home� disability.

1. U.S. Bureau of the Census, Current Population Survey, 2000.

2. Thanks are extended to the data center at the University of Mississippi, Cliff Holley, and to David Bandi with MapSAT.

3. International Services Office, MIssissippi State University

Oktibbeha County: 42,902 Starkville: 21,869 (51%)

NEED AND DESIRABILITY

13

NEED AND DESIRABILITY

14

Oktibbeha County: 10,869 Starkville: 6,640 (61.1%)

Oktibbeha County: 1,405 Starkville: 837 (59.6%)

Population below poverty level

Households without a vehicle

Oktibbeha County: 3,762 Starkville: 1,878 (51.2%)

Oktibbeha County: 7,517 Starkville: 3,229 (43%)

NEED AND DESIRABILITY

15

NEED AND DESIRABILITY

16

Oktibbeha County: 1732 Starkville: 882 (51%)

Oktibbeha County: 9,025 Starkville: 4,369 (48.4%)

Population under eighteen

17

The Local Workforce Local commuter travel data from the 2000 Census

Note 1: The following data reflects how people travel to work, it does not reflect how people travel to school, shopping, entertainment, etc.

Note 2: This data was collected in the census long form questionnaire and therefore is considered a representative sample of the working community, which is comprised of 21,344 employed persons in Oktibbeha County. The rate of unemployed persons in Oktibbeha

Note: For a larger image of this map see p. 77.

For more information about major employers see p. 7.

county is 11.7% of the available labor force.

Note 3: See appendix for more detailed data.

The four major sections of the Oktibbeha County workforce were as follows: 1. Education - 30.4% of which 63.8% live in Starkville 2. Manufacturing - 12.8% of which 39.4% live in Starkville 3. Retail - 11.5% of which 53.6% live in Starkville 4. Healthcare/Social Services - 9.2% of which 59% live in Starkville When considering only the Starkville workforce, the distribution of workers was slightly different: 1. Education - 34.5% 2. Retail - 10.9% 3. Healthcare/Social Services - 9.7% 4. Manufacturing - 9%

NEED AND DESIRABILITY

The following pages contain maps and graphs that begin to illustrate how people travel to work in the study area. By comparing the adjoining map of major employers and retail centers with the census maps that follow, it is possible to begin understanding some of the challenges in providing transportation for city residents. One large question to be asked is: do workers need or want public transportation to work? This and other issues will be discussed on the following pages.

18 Used a private car to travel to work: 82.7% of Starkville respondents 75.6% of respondents outside of Starkville 79.6% of Oktibbeha County total respondents

Pedestrians: Over half of the people who regularly walk to work (4.1% of the entire county) live outside of Starkville. Many of these are likely to have been students and faculty living and working on campus.

Carpooled to work: 12.3% of Starkville respondents 14.9% of respondents outside of Starkville 13.4% of Oktibbeha County total respondents

Mean travel time to work for Oktibbeha County was 17.5 minutes. An increase of 2.3 minutes since 1990.

NEED AND DESIRABILITY

Did not use a car: 4.7% of Starkville respondents 9.3% of respondents outside of Starkville 6.9% of Oktibbeha County total respondents

The highest number of trips to work happen between 6:00am and 9:00am, indicating that public transportation services for employees should start no later than 6:00am and end no earlier than 6:00pm (assuming an eight hour work day). This is echoed by comments from MDOT officials who disapprove of transit systems that stop providing services before 5:00pm.

What do employees need or want?

Though it has been difficult to gauge, there does not seem to be an overwhelming outcry in the working community for public transportation. However, the study shows that several people who work downtown, at the hospital and on campus have mentioned a desire for public transportation as a means to ease their commute and parking problems. There is also evidence of a need for transportation assistance among county residents working in Starkville. Employers seem largely uninterested in how their employees get to work, and so it is difficult to gauge the need or desire amongst many of these employment centers, however, a few exceptions apply. (See “Synopsis of Employer Interviews� on page 7).

A total of 147 respondents (0.8%) used public transportation to ride to work (0.6% in Starkville and 0.9% outside of Starkville). The low percentage is expected as the public transportation at the time was mainly focused on those who have a low employment rate (according to the census), namely retirees, persons with handicaps, and students. The taxi services now available in Starkville were also not available at the time the census data was collected.

From interviews with the Pilot Club and Starkville Housing Authority, Community Counseling, and Ability Works we are able to understand some of the dynamics of the service provided for employees.

Besides those who worked with Ability Works and Community Counseling work programs, people mostly worked in establishments along Highway 12 and many lived in the county. People working through Community Counseling and Ability Works programs are still being served but some members of the working community have not been accounted for since Pilot Club collapsed and S.H.A. started catering only to the elderly. Ability Works stated that several of their clients are unable to find employment after the training program is completed due to transportation problems. The Pilot Club would not release specific information about clients, making it impossible to gauge the situation exactly.

More on pages 21 and 22...

Oktibbeha County: 5,679 Starkville: 3,629 (63.9%)

Oktibbeha County: 2,148 Starkville: 1,150 (53.6%)

Educational workers

NEED AND DESIRABILITY

19

NEED AND DESIRABILITY

20

Oktibbeha County: 2,391 Starkville: 943 (39.4%)

Oktibbeha County: 1,706 Starkville: 1,019 (59.7%)

Healthcare and Social Service workers

21

While the census tracts1 for Starkville and Oktibbeha County tend to be large and do not pinpoint exact locations of data, they do offer a general understanding of local conditions and densities not available by other means. The maps subsequently both inform and are informed by other information collected in the study area and together yield a fairly comprehensive picture of the local community conditions and character. This has been done throughout this study, however the most evident is in regards to route planning (see p. 81). Below is a selection of interpretations most relevant to the current study: Most densely populated areas in Starkville (which in turn is the most densely populated area in the county) are in the central Starkville area; roughly bordered by Lynn Lane in the south, Hospital Road in the north, Whitfield Street and the Industrial Park in the west, and Highway 12 and Old West Point Road to the east. The population density does not stop at these boundaries but rather gradually disperses around them into more and more isolated houses and cluster development patterns. There are two areas outside of this bounded area that show a relatively dense population: MSU campus region, and an area just southwest of the Crossgates shopping area (see p.13).

The density of the population largely corresponds to the breakdown in the interconnectivity of the road network in the community, showing a close link between community unity, layout of streets, and traffic conditions. Where road interconnectivity begins to disintegrate, so does the density and unity of the neighborhoods. Even in the two areas outside of the central area of population density exhibit this relationship and have a relatively interconnected street network compared with their surroundings.

High transient rates are to be expected in a college town, however, other areas of the state with universities do not show as high of a transient rate. A high transient rate can be positive when it is matched with a population increase, as in this case. However, when few people are staying in an area public involvement, investment, and interest in the community tends to be low. Improving the quality of life in the community is one of the key factors that could help to bring the transient rate down in the community. It could be useful for the city to survey the population to find out what the city should do or are already doing to attract people to the community. These questions could be included in a new transit survey (see p. 9).

The rate of population growth in the area implies a need for future planning. While the total county population growth is below the U.S. average (13%) for the years 1990 - 2000, it is higher than the overall Mississippi population growth (10.5%).

Starkville’s population growth rose above both national and state averages with a growth of 21.7%.

As a rule, communities of 25,000 persons are able to support a fixed routes system3. The City of Starkville alone is nearing this number and, if past growth rates continue, will reach this population count in the next ten years. However, many county residents and students and faculty who live on campus are part of the urban network of Starkville, even though the live outside of its political boarders.

The growth of elderly in the nation is one of the fastest in the nation, and emphasizes the need for planning in the area. As a “certified retirement community” Starkville should consider the transportation needs of the elderly in the city’s planning efforts.

It is predicted2 that the number of persons over the age of 85 will double by 2020, and by 2050 one out of five americans will be retired. Starkville and

Oktibbeha county has an average of 8.5% of persons above 65, which is consistent with the national average. The census dot density maps show that this population group is evenly dispersed throughout the study area.

Starkville contributes half to over half of all the population counts for the Oktibbeha census categories influencing potential transportation needs in the community, except for: Population with disabilities, Population under 18, and Manufacture workers.

Figure 1.

Distribution of the Population by Age (1995 to 2050: middle-series projections) 45

(Percent)

40

18 to 44 years old

35 30

45 to 64 years old

25 Under 18 years old

20 15

65 to 84 years old

10 85 years old and over

5 0 1995

2000

2005

2010

2015

2020

2025

2030

2035

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports, Series P25-1130.

1. See page 11 for a ‘census tract’ definition.

2. U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census; How We’re Changing; Demographic State of the Nation: 1997, Current Population Reports, Special Studies Series P23-193, March, 1997 3. George Gray and Lester Hoel, eds., Public Transportation, 2nd ed. (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, Prentice Hall, 1992)

2040

2045

2050

NEED AND DESIRABILITY

Conclusions and Implications of Census Maps

NEED AND DESIRABILITY

22 Highest areas of need for transportation assistance are based on the areas in the community where the density of the traditional definitions of need correlate to one another. These areas are highlighted in the adjoining map, and are separated into primary areas of need and secondary areas of need: Primary areas are where the highest number of density of need definitions correspond; Secondary areas are where a significant number of density of need definitions correspond.

There is a significant level of poverty in the study area, most of which is concentrated within the city of Starkville: 61% of persons living below the poverty level in Oktibbeha County live within the city limits.

According to the dot density maps, a large portion of the remaining percentage live just outside of the city limits.

It is likely that these high percentages are due to the concentration of students living in the area. A portion of these students may truly be living below poverty levels, however, it is important to realize that many also receive some type of supplementary income. This variable is, however, impossible to factor with the available census data. The dot-density map on p. 14 indicates that approximately half of the population below poverty could be students.

18.7% of all families in Oktibbeha County were single parents, half of which reside in the city of Starkville. Single parents particularly feel the burden of having to drive their children to school and other activities. 84.9% of these parents were mothers with children under the age of 18. 71.4% of all single mothers with children under 18 and 17.6% of all families types live below the poverty level. The forced car ownership present in the study area, produced by development patterns and lack of viable alternatives, is likely to be a significant burden for these families.

The number of households without vehicles is fairly low, 3.3% for the entire county, as would be expected in a community that does not offer a viable substitute to driving. It should be noted that households are not the same as individuals and an entire family can be counted as a single household. Starkville has a slightly higher percentage of households without a vehicle (3.8%) then does the rest of the county (2.7%). This should not be surprising as more services are within walking distance for those living in the city. When development is not spread over long distances people can walk to them. If space is provided for walking even more people will choose to walk rather than drive.

Making a community walkable is a significant and meaningful way to improve traffic conditions.

17.5% of the Oktibbeha County population have some type of disability, over half of these live outside of Starkville, yet the dot density map shows that a great number of these individuals live very close to the city limits. 4.5% of the Oktibbeha County population report having a go-out-of-home disability.

According to studies conducted in Mississippi1 and Ohio2 on the transportation needs of persons with disabilities, it is most important to focus public transportation efforts on those who are economically disadvantaged.

“People with sufficient financial resources, regardless of their disability, seem to be able to get around as needed. Accordingly, a coordinated public transportation system for all people who are transportation disadvantaged appears to be more effective and efficient than a segregated system for people with disabilities only3.”

The census maps show us that employees tend to be fairly evenly spread throughout most areas of density and therefore become more difficult to serve in an efficient manner. Based on the findings of this and other portions of the study, it is not advisable that a fixed route system focus around employee needs, but rather should try to consider the needs of the employees who work in areas served by a fixed route system for other purposes, such as the hospital, shopping centers, and the university. Other employee transportation needs could be met with a well-published dial-a-ride system and commuter benefits program (see “Tax incentives” p.108). As public attitudes often shift, it is important that a local transit agency monitor employee and employer desires for public transit and try to meet needs and desires as they arise.

1. Parham Group, Nonprofit Advisors; Transportation Guide, Mississippi Council on Developmental Disabilities; A report of the region 8 mental health services transportation initiative. Jackson, MS. Oktober 2003.

2. Ohio Devlopmental Disabilities Council. Getting on Board.

3. Same source as (1.), p. 15.

23

There are currently five semipublic transportation systems serving the study area. All of the systems serve targeted groups within the community, of which none are designed to help people with low-income. All systems also limit their services to geographical areas or to specific destinations. The provisions and limitations of services provided by the local agencies is described in the following section. Reviewing the use and circumstances of existing services helps to understand the existing need, and how services can be improved. Reviewing the costs and funding of these systems also helps to inform cost projections for the expansion of services.

The existing transit systems are as follows: 1. MSU Campus Transit System - Serving persons affiliated with MSU 2. GTPDD Area Council on Aging Transit Service - Serving elderly and handicapped living within the Starkville City Limits 3. Community Counseling (C.C.) Transit Service - Serving C.C. clients 4. Starkville Housing Authority Transit Service - Serving elderly of S.H.A. developments 5. Ability Works Transit Service - Serving only their employees Additional transit systems in this section: 6. Pilot Club Transit Service (no longer in service) - Serving general public of the City of Starkville and Oktibbeha County 7. Taxi Services 8. Intercity buses serving the City of Starkville - Greyhound - Starkville Tour Buses 9. School Buses - Serving the children’s commute to school

Findings from this portion of the study show that transportation needs in the area are being met in a very selective and incomplete way. Many transportation disadvantaged persons are left with few choices when needing to pay bills, go shopping, visit doctors, be socially active, or make any trip that isn’t planned 24 hours in advance. The least assistance is given to persons with poor economic conditions (who do not also happen to be elderly or handicapped) and those who live outside of the city limits and off of campus. Local taxi services help to fill the gaps, but for many this is cost prohibitive. In general, the trend towards reliance on word-of-mouth among all transportation providers leaves many people unaware of the options that exist.

There is no apparent effort towards coordination between the systems; in fact, most seem largely unaware of how many groups are currently assisting with the transportation needs in the area. Local leaders in city and county government and university administration also seemed unaware of the range of different groups in existence, and in one instance were unaware of the collapse of the Pilot Club a full year after the fact.

A fixed route system in the Starkville area could help to provide transit for many who used to use the Pilot Club services and fill the gaps left by the existing services, but it cannot give door-to-door service to those who need it. Four of the five existing agencies provide door-to-door service, however the limitations set on the services and the lack of overlap between the different agencies makes this a most inefficient and expensive way to meet local transportation needs.

It is the recommendation of this study that the four paratransit providers consolidate their efforts in order to provide a higher level of service to their clienteles and to the general public. These services should also be substantially coordinated with other transit providers in the area and with any future fixed route system in the Starkville area. See p. 124 for details.

AREA TRANSIT OPTIONS

Existing Transit Services in the Region

AREA TRANSIT OPTIONS 24

25

MSU Transit System

MSU Night Routes1 Bus stop locations in red.

Service area: MSU campus, Mississippi Research and Development Park, and shopping and entertainment venues in the City of Starkville. Special events are serviced occasionally.

Ridership and users: Approximately 50,000 passengers a month. The new night route averages over 100 passengers a night (over 1,000 a month).

Route characteristics: There are six main routes. Most of the following data was collected in the school year of 2002-2003 and routing has changed since then (see corresponding maps).

The Blue route has not changed and is operated with 15 passenger vans. This route connects the heart of campus with the Research and Development Park.

The Grey route took between 10 and 12 minutes, depending on traffic. Three buses operated this route, maintaining a maximum waiting time of four minutes. With rerouting the total travel distance of this route has been reduced, allowing for more frequent service.

The Maroon route was the longest route in 2003, and took approximately 21 minutes to complete.

There were three buses on this route, limiting the waiting time to approximately seven minutes. With the new rerouting this route uses less buses, which are now used on the expanded Green route.

The Express route was operated by one shuttle, whose main function was to expeditiously get people from the large parking areas around the Coliseum onto campus. Introduced in the spring of 2002, the route was expected to have 500 riders a day. However, only 250-300 daily riders used this route in the first year, and was redesigned as the Green route.

The Saturday shopping route has been scaled down due to budget cuts. This route provided service from Aiken Village, Hilbun Hall, Perry Cafeteria, Rice Hall, Foodmax, Kroger, and Wal-Mart. Three round trips allowed for two hours of shopping. The route did not run during holidays. It served an average of 35 people per weekend and was popular for international students. It was originally partially financed by Kroger, but when Wal-Mart moved and the route stopped serving the Kroger store, the financial support was withdrawn.

The MSU Night Route or Bulldog Express began in 2004 as a cooperation with the Student Association and is sponsored by a number of local businesses. It provides passengers with service from the campus to shopping and entertainment in Starkville.

Shuttles run on Thursday from 7pm to 12am, and on Fridays and Saturdays from 7pm to 1am. Two separate routes provide service: The Downtown route (blue on map this page) runs in 20 minute intervals and makes stops at the Union, Bulldog Deli, Rick's CafĂŠ, Courthouse Grill, La Galerie, fraternity and sorority rows, and the Cresswell dormitory. The Highway 12 route (purple on map this page) runs in 40 minute intervals and makes stops at the Union, Aiken Village, Foodmax, Bulldog Lanes, Kroger, Movie Theater, WalMart, and 911 Main Street shopping center. The most popular destination is Wal-Mart.

Fare structure: There is no charge for the service.

1. Graphics by the Student Association and obtained from the associated webpage: http://msunightroute.com/

Vehicles and maintenance: Two types of shuttle buses and 15 passenger vans comprise the university's fleet of vehicles. MSU currently owns eight shuttle buses, one of which is a reserve. Some shuttle buses can carry 25 seated passengers and 60 standing passengers. Other shuttle buses can carry 31 seated passengers and 70 standing. These buses are six years old and have a life span of approximately seven years.

Maintenance was previously done in-house, however, due to budget cuts this staff position was eliminated. A noted problem with the current maintenance arrangement is that with different mechanics working on the same buses they are unable to address the problems as efficiently and effectively.

Number of employees: There are seven full-time bus drivers and eight parttime drivers, an additional driver on staff provides relief for the full-time drivers. Stationed at the central circulation hub, Perry Cafeteria, the relief driver provides 30minute morning and lunch breaks for the full-time drivers. The full-time drivers operate their routes from 7:00am to 3:00pm. After 3:00pm the part-time drivers operate one shuttle bus per route until 5:30pm. The part-time drivers also fill in when other drivers are absent.

Finances and funding sources: Most funds come from student activity fees. The night route is, however, sponsored by local businesses and the ERC pays for the shuttle to the Research Park ($20,000 a year). The University's Annual Transportation budget of $199,000 includes the following expenses.

Drivers' salaries total $145,000 a year, comprising a sizable majority of the budget. Maintenance costs average $28,000 a year. Fuel and new tires average $17,500 a

year. Expenses for miscellaneous equipment such as communication radios account for $8,500 of the yearly budget. The initial cost of bus purchases is not factored into this annual budget.

Advertising strategies: The MSU Transit System is publicized through the MSU website but does not have a large presence. The Night Route is published on the Student Association Website.

Management and future plans: Campus Transit and Parking are managed through the same office. The night route is run through a partnership with the Student Association. There is interest in expanding transit into Starkville in order to reduce congestion and parking problems on campus.

Conclusions and implications: This transit system is a proactive response to parking problems on a large-scale campus that is sometimes difficult to traverse on foot. In an effort to keep cars off campus, the university's shuttle buses provide relief to faculty and students by transporting them across campus. However, most students and faculty must drive to the University in order to use the service, making it questionable to whether the transit system truly is reducing the number of vehicles. It is more likely that the transit system mainly reduces the number of people driving between destinations on campus. To truly reduce the parking needs, it is essential that the campus consider providing transportation to faculty, staff and students who do not live on campus and implementing other measures to discourage parking and driving on campus.

Sources and contacts: Paul Welch, Doug Alexander, and Mike Harris

AREA TRANSIT OPTIONS

Type of service and hours of operation: The MSU Transit System is a fixed route semipublic transportation system. The service operates from 7:00am to 5:30pm on weekdays; exceptions are the Saturday shopping route and a night route on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.

26 ing finances, and addressing problems such as vehicle maintenance.

AREA TRANSIT OPTIONS

Pilot Club Transit Service

Note: This public transit service shut down in August of 2002, two months after the onset of this study. A public outcry followed the demise of the system, resulting in a public meeting with city officials where community members lamented the loss of the important service. The needs left unmet after the downfall of this system and the reasons for its demise have strong implications on how future transit takes form in Starkville.

Type of service and hours of operation: This paratransit, or dial-a-ride, service provided customers with door-to-door service between 6:00am and 5:00pm and was open to the general public.

A 24-hour advance notification for service was required. The only exceptions to the 24 hour advance notice would be emergency trips and return trips from shopping or doctors appointments, for which duration times were difficult to predict.

Service area: Oktibbeha County Ridership and users: 32,694 trips were taken between October 2000 and October 2001; averaging 3.37 passengers per hour: - 18% general public - 20% Elderly - 62% Handicapped The Pilot Club classified its users as either 'contract patrons' or 'non-contract patrons'. Contract patrons bought passes a week or more in advance.

Organizations, such as Rolling Hills Development Center and Community Counseling, would pay the Pilot Club to provide their clients with transportation.

Non-contract patrons made reservations at least a day in advance.

Route characteristics: Driver's schedules were arranged before the start of each workday. Routes were scheduled by hand, which was time consuming and caused management difficulties. The beginning of each day was generally used to serve contract patrons. These trips would take people to work and community programs.

Other trips this early would include doctor and physical therapy appointments.

Common routes ran along West Main Street, Rock Hill Road, Jarnigan Street, Spring Street, Old and New Light Road, Green Street, Highway 25, Sam's Road, and Cedar Grove Road. It was not unusual for buses to travel as far as Crawford, Sturgis, and Sessums. The more popular destinations lie within the urban Starkville/MSU region. The most visited locations include places such as Psychosocial Rehabilitation (PSR), Wal-Mart, the Fellowship Food Center, and assorted doctors offices. Other destinations included computer classes at Emerson, grocery stores, restaurants, and beauty shops. Below is a breakdown of trip destinations between October 2000 and October 2001: - 9.6% Medical - 13.4% Employment - 2.4% Nutrition - 60.3% Mental Health - 1.7% Education/Training - 12.6% Shopping/Personal Fare structure: A trip cost $2 within the city and $3 for county trips.

Payments could be made in advance or upon boarding the bus. The fare boxes were inaccessible to the drivers, making exact change necessary. No discounts were given to customers who paid for monthly or weekly passes.

Vehicles and maintenance: The fleet consisted of nine vehicles, primarily minibuses. However, two of the nine vehicles were beyond repair (1991 and 1995 models), leaving their fleet at seven vehicles towards the end. Five of these were used to run the routes, with two buses serving as backup. Minibuses primarily served the city and vans were used for county trips. All vehicles used standard gasoline-powered engines and most were equipped with wheelchair lifts. Before the service was discontinued, three of the older buses were having "constant stopand-go problems" causing delays in the routes. The most common maintenance problems concerned transmissions, brakes, and air-conditioners.

Other than normal maintenance, the Pilot Club felt there were particular issues that contributed to the problems they were experiencing with their fleet. Road conditions, particularly in the county, caused many problems for the vehicles. The Pilot Club also felt covered parking would help reduce some of the wear and tear from sun and rain exposure. They also expressed a desire for an in-house mechanic that could help reduce the delays caused by dealing with unavoidable problems and routine maintenance. However, they primarily relied on Columbus shops to maintain their vehicles. With an in-house or local mechanic, routine maintenance and check-ups could be done more often and problems could be detected earlier.

Number of employees: In the summer of 2002 there were a total of six drivers, including one part-time driver who served as a backup.

Full-time drivers were salaried without benefits, receiving $1330 per month; part-time drivers were paid hourly, also without benefits, at a set rate of $7.67 per hour. One manager and one assistant worked in the office scheduling routes, taking reservations, manag-

Finances and funding sources: Operational costs were approximately $247,000 per year. They estimated it cost $30/hour to run the buses, with an average cost of $5.49 per trip (Oct. 1 2000 Sept. 30 2001). The funding of the system was always "a stretch" but in the last couple of years before the shut down they were having difficulties meeting payroll; liability insurance costs were increasing and buses needed a lot of maintenance.

Funding came from institutions such as the United Way, Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT), contract patrons, and the City of Starkville.

MDOT supplied the Pilot Club with 50% of operational costs and 80% of administration and capital costs. MDOT also handled the ordering of all new equipment and buses.

Advertising strategies: The Pilot Club relied on word-of-mouth to let people know about the service, and would not allow businesses to advertise on the buses.

Management and future plans: The Pilot Club is a not-for-profit organization providing many services; public transit was just one of these.

The Board of Directors of the Pilot Club, consisting of 30 individuals, served as the sole decision-making body for the mini-bus service. One board member managed the day-to-day problems of the transit service and received a moderate pay for her efforts. Hopes of adding additional drivers and vehicles to expand and improve the service were lost with the onset of mechanical complications with the older vehicles and a drop in funding.

Conclusions and implications: Problems plaguing vehicle reliability, combined with limited funding, made it difficult to provide the community with a consistent transportation system.

Customers began to search for other ways to meet transportation needs. Eventually, Community Counseling began providing service for their clients.

This, in turn, deprived the Pilot Club of an important source of income and led to the financial collapse of the entire system. When asked about recommendations on how to avoid such problems, MDOT officials stated that transit systems should never work on a year-to-year budget, as the Pilot Club seemed to be doing, but instead should always be planning and securing financial issues based on a three to five year

27

Sources and contacts: Majorie Buckner Fay Hutto Mary Watt (Rolling Hills Developmental Center)

GTPDD Transit System

Type of service and hours of operation: This paratransit service operates between 8:00am and 4:30pm, and requires 24 hour advance notice for service requests.

Service area: Service is only provided within the Starkville City Limits.

Ridership: This agency provides transportation to 12-15 people daily, 240 people monthly, and 2,880 people annually.

Users: The agency provides transportation for the elderly and handicapped. The primary users are retired women 60 years of age or older.

Route characteristics: There are no set routes. Doctor's appointments have first priority on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

Tuesdays and Thursdays are for shopping trips. The most popular destinations are doctor's offices on Hospital Road and Wal-Mart.

Fare structure: There is no charge for the service.

Vehicles and maintenance: One minibus is used to operate the service.

Number of employees: There is one manager and one full time driver.

Assistance from other employees in the GTPDD is used on an as need basis.

Finances and funding sources: This agency receives funding from grants from the Older Americans Act, as well as monetary support from the City of Starkville, and United Way of North Central

Mississippi. Federal funding for this agency is 32% of their budget, a total of ($15,000). Local funding for this agency is 47% of their budget ($22,000). Other funding resources comprise 21% of the budget ($10,000). State monies are not appropriations.

Advertising strategies: Advertising is through word of mouth only. It is open to having companies advertise their products or services on the bus.

Management and future plans: Currently the GTPDD is hoping to qualify for some federal funds to increase their fleet. The goal is to at least match the fleet size previously used by the Pilot Club service. There is hope to be able to expand services to county residents, however because no financial support has come from the county they are financially forced to deny service to anyone living outside the city limits.

Conclusions and implications: This agency transports a number of people that could be served by both fixed route and an expanded paratransit system. It also does not provide services to many who previously used the Pilot Club as is evident in the difference between the ridership numbers. At one community meeting, an individual speaking for a larger group of handicapped persons stated that the one bus is not adequate to serve their needs, especially around bill paying time and some customers had complaints about the way in which the bus accommodates persons with handicaps.

Sources and contacts: Bobby Gann, Director Golden Triangle Area Agency on Aging

AREA TRANSIT OPTIONS

interval. If a transit system cannot secure funding for the coming three years, it is too vulnerable.

Regardless of the problems, the fact remains that for 25 years the Pilot Club was doing the community a great service. The Pilot Club was unable to meet the requests they were receiving before they collapsed and expressed a need for more and better buses in order to do so. No current service in the area attempts to offer the same range of services to as many different people as the Pilot Club did. Only the GTPDD has mentioned that they would like to fill this role and expand the geographical area it serves (see following write up).

One disadvantage of dial-a-rides is the mandatory 24-hour notice; travelers wishing to make unplanned trips are at a loss. The Pilot Club's contract system did not offer discounts for organizations or individuals buying in bulk. Usually a reward is given to customers purchasing passes and scheduling rides weeks in advance. These types of incentives are often implemented in public transit systems around the world in order to encourage a more secure and hassle free fare system.

28

AREA TRANSIT OPTIONS

Community Counseling Transit Services

Type of service and hours of operation: Community Counseling (C.C.) offers a paratransit service to its clients, providing travel to and from a client's home and Community Counseling programs.

Transportation is not provided to doctor's offices, grocery stores, or any other destination outside Community Counseling programs. The service operates Monday through Friday during C.C. hours.

Service area: Oktibbeha County Ridership: Approximately one hundred people are served daily with four to six trips per day.

Users: Community Counseling clients are the only users of this service.

Route characteristics: Community Counseling provides four to six trips a day to bring clients to and from the following locations of its services and programs: 1. Caring Days: House behind C.C. headquarters 2. Cart House: House behind C.C. headquarters 3. Phillips Group Home: Lynn Lane 4. Club House: Corner of Jackson and Garrard Streets 5. Skills (a pre-vocational program): Collier Road off of Rockhill Road 6. Day Habilitation: Collier Road off of Rockhill Road Fare structure: There is no charge for the service.

Vehicles and maintenance: There are a total of 10 vehicles, one of which is a lift van: - 3 passenger vans for Psychosocial Rehab - 2 vans for Skills and Day Habilitation - 1 fifteen passenger van for Caring Days and Cart House - 1 minivan for Phillips Group Home - 2 cargo van - 1 extra van Additionally, the 33 personal vehicles of employees are available to clients for C.C. related events, or services. For example, a client can only get a ride to a medical visit if that client needs the counselor present to assist with the actual discussion with the doctor.

Maintenance is performed by one full-time supervisor, who performs daily routine maintenance, security, inspections, etc. Half of their vehicles are still under warranty. Some maintenance is conducted by local dealerships, some at local maintenance shops.

They search for the best price. All maintenance is serviced locally.

Number of employees: Drivers are individuals who are employed with Community Counseling, such as trainers, program assistants, and youth care specialists. Each service provider may only drive for the particular Community Counseling program he or she works for. There are 33 staff who are Service Providers.

Finances and funding sources: All transportation costs are covered by Community Counseling overhead expenses. The transportation costs for 2003 were approximately $134,500 and comprised about 5% of their annual operating budget.

Repair and Maintenance costs are approximately

$3500 annually. Transportation and fuel costs are approximately $15,300 annually.

Community Counseling pays their Service Providers 38 cents a mile for the use of their own vehicles. This expense costs Community Counseling approximately $400 a month and is therefore a large part of its expenses.

Advertising strategies: Community Counseling does not use advertising.

Management and future plans: Community Counseling is constantly trying to improve the quality of their services. Last year they added six new vans due to the closing of Pilot Club transit services. On average, one new van is expected to be added to their fleet each year.

Conclusions and implications: Community Counseling director Wendy Woods, stated that she believed their clients would would be likely to use a fixed route transit for personal journeys in the Starkville area. Only Community Counseling clients living in Starkville are able to use the GTPDD system for personal journeys.

Sources and contacts: Wendy Woods, Director

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Type of service and hours of operation: This paratransit service exists for elderly residents of the Starkville Housing Authority (S.H.A.) housing developments. It is available for the elderly residents' personal trips, and operates Monday through Friday from 7:00am to 5:00pm. Riders must schedule their appointments a day in advance, whenever possible.

Service area: The van serves all five housing projects that the S.H.A. operates. The van will take each passenger wherever he/she wants to go within the city.

Ridership: Approximately 20% of the S.H.A. population is comprised of elderly people. The van service averages 10 rides a day.

Users: Only elderly residents that live in the S.H.A. projects can use this service. However, in previous years it was available to all S.H. A. residents.

Route characteristics: The Starkville Housing Authority operates van service to its six housing developments in the city: Project 1 is located at Pecan Acres.

Project 2 is located on Westside Drive, off of Highway 82.

Project 3 is located adjacent to Pecan Acres Project 4 is located adjacent to Project 2 on Long Street.

Project 5 is located off Reed Road.

Project 5E is only for elderly, and is located on McDowell Street, near Pecan Acres.

General errands constitute the majority of service, including trips to doctor and dentist visits, pharmacy, voting booths, childcare centers, and the grocery store (which is the most popular destination).

Fare structure: There is no charge for the service.

Vehicles and maintenance: The S.H.A. uses only one 15-passenger van.

Number of employees: The van is operated by one driver who is on-call from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Finances and funding sources: S.H.A.'s budget is funded entirely by federal monies through H.U.D. The van service comprises 3% of their half-million dollar annual budget.

Advertising strategies: No advertising is used.

Management and future plans: Mr. Johnson does not anticipate any future growth. The number of housing units will remain the same, therefore servicing the same steady amount of people. However, Mr. Johnson said he could actually use up to 25 more units, but that he could never get funding for it.

Conclusions and implications: Mr. Johnson noted that there are many S.H.A. residents, both old and young, that would benefit from expanded public transportation services in the area.

There are many residents who are suffering from the lack of transportation or burden of forced car ownership, but cannot be served by the S.H.A. service because of their age.

Sources and contacts: Floyd Johnson, Director

Ability Works, Inc. Transit Service

Type of service and hours of operation: This paratransit service provides transportation to and from Ability Works' rehabilitation training workshop.

Number of employees: Ability Works employs ten staff members, including van drivers. They work from 7:30am until 4:00pm.

Service area: Starkville and surrounding communities such as Maben, Mathiston, Ackerman, Sturgis, Houston, Phebe, and West Point.

Finances and funding sources: Vans are funded through state Rehabilitation Service funds. Current buses are funded out of Brooksville.

Ridership and users: Ability Works serves a total of approximately forty clients. The primary users of this service include people between the ages of 20 and 35. Approximately twelve riders are served each day.

Forty percent of employees have special needs and arrive by school bus from Starkville High School, East and West Oktibbeha County High School, Ackerman High School, Noxubee County High School, and Weir Attendance Center. Employees live in five counties: Oktibbeha, Clay, Choctaw, Webster, and Noxubee. Full-time employees work from 7:30am to 2:30pm; special needs workers work on alternating days during the week from 8:00am to 4:00pm.

Route characteristics: Drop offs and pick-ups occur at convenience stores along two routes of service: The first route travels North to West through Maben, Mathiston, Ackerman, Sturgis and West Starkville. The second route travels from West to East through Houston, Phebe, West Point, and East Starkville.

Fare structure: There is no charge for the service.

Vehicles and maintenance: This service is operated by two 15-passenger vans.

Advertising strategies: Advertising is used occasionally.

Management and future plans: Potential expansion service areas include Louisville, MS, and Winston County, MS. Ability Works' management team members are seeking to provide service for industrial contract workers and people with disabilities.

Conclusions and implications: Ability Works stated that several of the workers they have trained cannot get employment because of transportation problems. A local public transportation system could provide a solution to this problem.

Sources and contacts: Jerry Sanders

AREA TRANSIT OPTIONS

Starkville Housing Authority Transit Service

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A R IESAT ITNRG AN EX TS RIATN S P O R TAT I O N

Starkville Taxi Services

Type of service and hours of operation: Shaw's Taxi Service and McClain's Taxi Service provide door-to-door vehicular service. Customers can call these services for rides 24 hours a day.

Service area: Starkville, Mississippi State University, Golden Triangle Regional Airport, and surrounding communities of Eupora, Ackerman, and Maben Ridership and users: The majority of taxi business occurs on weekends.

Weekend passengers typically frequent MSU sporting events, local stores, restaurants, bars and hotels, and Sunday church services. Users include bar crowds, MSU game patrons, MSU staff and students, persons without cars, disabled persons, elderly persons, and church attendees.

Route characteristics: Each taxi service transports approximately 6-7 daytime passengers, but transport more passengers per day on weekends. Each service operates primarily on a per-call basis, but has a few scheduled daily riders.

Fare structure: All fares are set at a flat rate of $1 per mile for McClain's taxi service. Shaw charges an initial $3, followed by metered rates set at $2 per mile and 20 cents per minute. Shaw's metered system allows him to easily obtain proof-of-fare and, therefore, let local police take care of any problems when riders refuse to pay.

Vehicles and maintenance: Both McClain and Shaw own and operate one vehicle each.

Number of employees: One employee operates each taxi service.

Finances and funding sources: Shaw's operating costs total approximately $1000 a month. Shaw pays over $300 a month in insurance.

Shaw averages a profit of $200 a day, with most of the money produced during evening hours. McClain's monthly operating expenses are also around $1000 a month. His profits are enough to cover his expenses and his salary.

Advertising strategies: Both Shaw and McClain rely on word of mouth and a few business cards placed in key locations to advertise their taxi services.

Management and future plans: McClain's monthly income is limited, yet is enough to pay operating costs and his salary. Yet, without much profit to work with, his future plans include the addition of another vehicle, as well as an increase in advertising. McClain projected this expansion to occur before the start of the 2003 fall semester.

Shaw's did not indicate whether he planned to expand his service.

Conclusions and implications: Tony Shaw hopes that the friendly relationships between drivers and passengers he experienced 15 years ago will be renewed with a new transit system in the Starkville area. He believes that all transportation services should be centrally located, increasing their presence in the community.

The increased usage of taxi services may very well be attributed to the lack of public transit previously provided by the Pilot Club. Innovative relationships

Mr. McLain and his vehicle.

between taxi services and public transit agencies has been increasing around the nation and is a viable way to solve some of the need for door-to-door assistance to those in need. (See p. 98 for examples) Sources and contacts: Tony Shaw Delvin McClain Mr. Shaw and his vehicle.

31

Greyhound Buses

advances. All tickets can be purchased at the terminal itself, or through Greyhound's extensive website: http://www.greyhound.com.

Vehicles and maintenance: Because Greyhound is a nationally based bus service, all vehicles are owned and maintained by facilities outside of Starkville. No specific data was available on this topic.

Service area: United States, Mexico, Canada Ridership and users: Most patrons are students on limited budgets, but middle-class, middle-aged travelers also account for a large number of ticket sales. Athletes compose a good percentage of travelers as well. A total of seven to ten passengers per day board a bus at the Starkville terminal.

Number of employees: Local Greyhound employees are also employees of Greenoaks Superette. These employees are responsible for selling tickets for Greyhound, in addition to their superette responsibilities. No specific employee provides services exclusively for Greyhound.

Route characteristics: Some riders travel to nearby Columbus, but most riders travel farther distances. Some of the most popular destinations departing from Starkville include Jackson, Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles, and New York.

Finances and funding sources: All local sales and finances are recorded by hand. No data was available for financing and funding sources.

Advertising strategies: Greyhound uses very little local advertising, yet markets its services to students by providing special discounts. These discounts include the Greyhound Student Advantage Program in which members receive 10% off of all ticket sales. Students that are not members, but have a MSU student ID, are eligible to receive a 5% discount.

Four buses per day pass through Starkville at four prescheduled times: 10:35am-East to West 12:25pm-South to North 1:35pm-North to South 7:25pm-West to East Fare structure: Prices vary depending on distance traveled, time of purchase, and customer satisfaction.

Currently, boarding a greyhound to Columbus would cost $9.00 Monday-Thursday and $12.00 FridaySunday. National fares are broken down by distance and time of purchase.

Tickets are cheaper if bought seven days in

Starkville’s Greyhound terminal is far from high profile; the sign announcing its presence gets lost easily in the commercial landscape as seen in the above images.

The bottom image highlights the sign that otherwise is completely camouflaged in the signage in the top image.

Management and future plans: Greyhound provides an inexpensive method for student travel, but small facilities hinder the service's presence in the community. Greyhound recognizes the benefits of linking to local public transit systems and actively seeks out partnerships with local transit authorities. Local transit systems, intercity systems

and community residents benefit from linked transportation services.

Conclusions and implications: Although Greyhound currently operates out of a small, inadequate facility, a local gas station, it still maintains a steady stream of passengers. However, the gas station has no space for customers to wait, especially those with large bags. A fixed route system for the Starkville area should make a meaningful connection with Greyhound, including combining passenger facilities (see p. 96).

Sources and contacts: Elsie Williams Greenoaks Superette Greyhound Terminal

AREA TRANSIT OPTIONS

Type of service and hours of operation: Greyhound is a nationally based bus service providing intercity bus service to Starkville. See route characteristics for hours.

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AREA TRANSIT OPTIONS

Starkville Buses, tour company

Type of service and hours of operation: This for-profit business provides charter bus service to schools, family reunions, churches, and sporting events.

Management and future plans: Management strategies center around being the best bus company in Mississippi and providing the best quality service to its customers.

Service area: From north and central Mississippi to locations all over the country.

Conclusions and implications: Creating a cooperative relationship, much like the one suggested with Greyhound buses, would be advantageous to both a local public transit system and Starkville Buses. Mutual interests should always be considered and nurtured in order to increase overall customer satisfaction and convenience.

Ridership and users: The primary users of this service include school aged children, college students, and youth groups.

Route characteristics: The most popular routes and destinations include trips to Atlanta, Orlando, Jackson, and Birmingham.

Fare structure: Buses are charged per trip; no individual fares are collected.

Vehicles and maintenance: Starkville Buses owns and operates seven motor coaches.

Number of employees: Twenty-seven people are employed with the company.

Four employees manage day-to-day operations in the office. Employees typically work from 8am to 5pm Monday through Friday.

Finances and funding sources: All costs are covered through the charter fees.

Advertising strategies: Advertising is used, but no specific types were mentioned in the interview.

Sources and contacts: Randy Futral

Starkville Public School District Buses

Type of service and hours of operation: This is a traditional school bus system providing door-todoor service between student homes and public schools.

Service area: Starkville Public School District Ridership and users: Starkville Public School District students from all grade levels ride the buses. The school buses service all parts of the city, however a large number of students live in central Starkville. Each bus carries approximately 60 passengers each day.

Route characteristics: Routes and destinations are reconfigured every 5 to 6 years, according to the student population disbursement throughout the city. Most routes stay the same, with minor changes made each year.

No particular roads were noted to be hazardous or difficult to traverse except for some county roads. These are often unpaved and have dead ends which make turning difficult. The growing congestion on many city roads is a constant challenge.

Fare structure: There is no charge for this service.

Vehicles and maintenance: The School District owns and operates 60 buses. They are housed and maintained at a facility off Louisville Street. Workers at the facility perform in-house maintenance on most buses. For larger maintenance jobs they will contract out the work. Holman in Columbus services their problems with automatic transmissions.

Terry's Garage in West Point services other major jobs.

Terry's also services many other charter buses.

Number of employees: There are a total of 61 employees at the Starkville Public School District Buses. The director, administrative assistant, 51 bus drivers and 8 mechanical workers are on staff daily. The director and administrative assistant work from 8:00am to 4:30pm. The bus drivers begin their morning routes at 6:30am and end at 7:30am; afternoon routes run between 2:30pm and 4:30pm. The maintenance staff work in shifts between 6:00am until 4:30pm.

Finances and funding sources: The Starkville School District subsidizes the bus fare for its students. Approximately 90% of the bus transportation budget goes to maintenance and upkeep. However, they do not have a lot of capital outlay because of their affiliation with the school system.

Advertising strategies: Students are informed of the bus schedule and operations through the school system.

Management and future plans: The system is operated by the Starkville Public School District. Mr. Rushing noted that new buses will be needed in the future, as well as upgraded maintenance facilities.

Conclusions and implications: Their facility has three maintenance bays which is barely adequate for their needs. The school system seemed hesitant to share their facility with another transit entity, as their funding and regulations might conflict with operations outside their system. However, other communities are using school buses for public transit and have figured out a way to overcome funding and regulation barriers.

Sources and contacts: Ray Rushing

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Documenting and Analyzing the Urban Conditions

City planning affects transportation needs and the quality of life the citizens of a community enjoy. City growth should be planned for the good of the citizens of the community, not for the economic benefit of a developer.

Starkville is at a critical juncture and must carefully plan for future growth to prevent congestion and minimize sprawl. Erosion of central neighborhoods and commercial districts destroy the community's defining characteristics causing the community to look like anywhere in the nation. Unconsidered growth can lead to problems such as: 1. Proliferation of underutilized buildings in our city center 2. Loss of farmland, buffer zones, and rural landscapes 3. Increased concern over the loss of community character 4. Many people have difficulty accessing jobs 5. Traffic congestion, such as that found on South Montgomery during rush hour 6. Escalating property taxes 7. Negative effects of sprawl Because many towns suffer from unconsidered growth, the United States Environmental Protection Agency has teamed with other national organizations to address the diminishing quality of life in our communities through a program called Smart Growth. Smart Growth is development tool that helps towns strengthen their economy, community and environment. It provides towns with an alternative to the damaging growth pattern, known as sprawl development, that disperses developments farther and farther from the center of the city.

Sprawl costs tax payers more money. It is more expensive to build and maintain low density con-

struction. It is more costly to provide municipal services such as roads, water and sewer, utilities, and emergency services to an area whose buildings are spread far apart.

Public transit can only solve a portion of the transportation needs of a town. The layout of a city affects how efficiently a city works and how efficiently a public transit system works. The layout of a town affects how much time people spend in their cars, which in turn affects the amount of interaction there is between community members and the amount of exercise a person might be able to do in accomplishing daily chores. All of these factors weigh heavily on the quality of life experienced in a community. When dependent on the private car, cities disintegrate, and become difficult to serve by public transport and impossible for the pedestrian to navigate. A city must understand that careful planning can alleviate transportation problems.

The city should upgrade the physical fabric by instigating architectural guidelines and enforcing a quality of construction to make buildings available for reuse. Economic and planning policies that promote sprawl development increase concern over the loss of community character.

Highway 12 and 82 sprawl provides few options for persons with out a personal vehicle. Even if a person were to be dropped of by a bus in front of a business, it is very difficult, unpleasant, and at times unsafe for them to walk to a neighboring business.

This is particularly true for persons with disabilities and the elderly who might find it difficult to cross a curb or jump a ditch.

This lack of pedestrian and bicycle facilities in the community affect people's health. Research reported in the October issue of the American Journal of Medicine, has shown that sprawl development, such

as that found along Starkville's commercial strips, are a major cause of obesity and heart disease. The Center for Disease Control has shown that in its 2002 report that over 25% of Mississippi’s population is obese, making ti the the highest level of obesity in the United States.

Walking and bicycling is not the only solution to this problem, however research has shown that providing opportunities for people to walk or bicycle to their destinations improves public health. A fixed route public transporation service helps to increase walking (and bicycling if there are bike racks on the buses) simply through the distance a person might travel to a bus stop from home.

How does this study fit in?

The maps on the following pages were compiled and produced to help city officials, staff, and community members develop informed decisions about Starkville. A compilation of the information gleaned from the maps can clarify the potentially positive and negative impacts of road circulation or planning changes in an area. The information can help with planning decisions by providing specific insight into different parts of the city. The maps diagram how space is used, how it has been used over time, and how it has developed. This information can help the public-atlarge, as well as public officials, understand the impact new changes might bring and how the surrounding context and planning and zoning decisionsmight impact the success and efficiency of a public transportation system. These maps should provide a basis of research for studies in the future development of Starkville.

URBAN CONDITIONS

A study of the relationship between planning and transportation choices

34

A Brief Overview of the Study Maps To document the existing conditions of Starkville, over 45 maps have been created and or analyzed for this study many of which are included in this report. This section includes maps relating to the urban fabric of the area.

These maps were created with the specific purpose to be able to: 1. Explain the relationships between the urban fabric and the community’s transportation issues, thereby informing the city’s decision on whether or not to provide public transportation in the community.

2. Aid in the development of a new city comprehensive plan.

URBAN CONDITIONS

It is the goal of this study to provide working maps for future development decisions for the region.

These maps have therefore been given to the City of Starkville in digital form for future planning purposes and are also available to community groups for grassroot planning efforts.

The following two pages provide an index of what maps are included in this Section. Implications and potential uses of these studies are briefly discussed in the pages that follow. For more information, contact the Carl Small Town Center.

Zoning This map was developed by the City of Starkville. It shows the zoning classifications, as of June 20th 2001. This map is updated continuously by the city and serves as a reference for existing and projected development.

page 42

Historical Growth

Building Use

The Historical Growth maps chronicle the changes in land use in Starkville from its creation to present day. Some of the problems occurring within the city today are attributed to a change that happened many years ago. The city growth map attempts to accurately portray the growth of the city and the campus in order to clearly see how the two entities have evolved into their present forms. Understanding what changes the city has undertaken in the past is part of discovering what direction the future will lead it.

A comprehensive documentation of the uses of all buildings within the city. Buildings are grouped in categories such as retail, housing, restaurants, private service, entertainment, etc. This information is portrayed using two different maps, one is a simplification of the other.

- Locates destinations for future transit - Locates deficiencies in function distribution - Provides working maps for future planning applications regarding functional zoning's influence on future development

page 36

page 43

City Hearts and Memory Mapping

City Regions and Districts

These maps show the three city hearts along with other aspects of Starkville discovered through the Memory Mapping process.

The section also explores the impacts and roles these elements play in the community as well as how they may be affected by new bypass development.

The city is divided into regions based on a physical understanding and analysis of the city fabric. This provides a way to thoroughly analyze each perceived area of the community and its contribution to the entire city.

- Identifies city-wide boundaries, common land use, and similar neighborhood characteristics.

- Provides working maps for understanding and planning of the city fabric by subdividing the city into manageable areas for in-depth study.

- Analyzes the components of neighborhoods.

- Provides working maps for understanding the local impact of master planning schemes and investigations

page 40

page 44

Traffic Analysis

This map begins to document citywide boundaries that either positively or negatively separate parts of the city. It is not exhaustive in nature, but instead outlines the major boundary categories affecting community mobility.

- Informs region map.

- Locates hindrances of pedestrian and bicycle traffic.

- By identifying the areas of where the city fabric breaks, one can identify whether or not this is a negative or positive situation and propose to either purposely maintain the boundary or to attempt to dissolve it.

A classification system (composed of major arterials, minor arterials, and feeder streets) divides major thoroughfares throughout the city. This study includes traffic counts and locations of accident prone intersections, growth of traffic in the past decade, and projected traffic changes due to the bypass and MSU master plan.

- Documents traffic density - Documents traffic changes - Documents major circulation paths - Provides working maps for future planning applications regarding circulation

page 46

page 68

Critical Spaces

Axes Analysis

Critical spaces are sites throughout the city that affect the overall well being of the community. These spaces have a relationship to the public, either as they exist or through potential future use.

These include existing public spaces, potential public spaces, gaps in the city fabric, and rural landscapes.

- Locates areas for future development to strengthen neighborhoods.

- Provides working maps for future planning applications regarding city fabric and civic spaces to help the community work more holistically and grow in a healthy and responsible way.

Detailed studies of all major streets have been conducted in order to analyze walkability of these thoroughfares. Important thoroughfares in a community contribute to the overall appearance of the city, and are often the first streets to receive public transportation and be the focus for beautification efforts.

- Documents pedestrian pathways available for city-wide circulation, their state of repair, and handicap obstructions - Documents vegetation contributing to city aesthetics and comfort - Documents parking conditions along major arteries - Provides working maps for future planning applications regarding street conditions

page 48

page 74

Landmarks

Origins and Destinations

These maps provide a good understanding of Starkville's most important elements and are divided into three categories: 1) Historical Landmarks - Enhance unity by creating a common knowledge of the area - Could provide reading material for waiting passengers 2) Functional Landmarks - Where people want to go, i.e. Traffic Generators - Inform the placement of bus routes and pedestrian paths - Contribute to how the city operates as a system 3) Visual Landmarks - Make the city easier to navigate - Help with placement of bus stops

Based on several types of analyses of the community, this map locates the basic areas for potential transit service in the community. These areas are divided into two basic categories: where people live (origins) and where people travel to (destinations).

These maps help us to understand how effective a transit route might be in serving the community.

page 51

page 76

URBAN CONDITIONS

Boundaries

35

URBAN CONDITIONS 36

1835

37

Starkville’s Growth A History of Urban Development and Transportation Trends

(Above) Starkville was founded on top of a ridge which formed a natural axis for Main Street. Four square blocks were laid out to the north and south of this street and a central site was left over for public buildings. The northwest part of the grid was never developed because of the steep terrain.

(Right) An illustration of a westward view down Starkville’s Main Street in 1835.

(Right) Classes at Mississippi A&M started in 1880, forever changing the face of Starkville.

Starkville began as a pioneer outpost in 1831 when 25 acres of land were purchased along a 2 ½ mile-long ridge. The site was chosen because it was high, well drained, and contained several natural springs. When the town was laid out, the ridge formed a natural axis for Main Street. Four square blocks were laid out to the north and south of this street forming an eight-block grid. At the highest point on the ridge a central site was left over for public buildings. Because the plan disregarded the natural topography, the northwestern part of the grid found itself in terrain too steep for development. For four years, the settlement was called Boardtown, named for its clapboard buildings and boardwalks built with wood from the local sawmill.

However in 1835, the town was incorporated as Starkville.

As the town grew, businesses began to spring up along Main Street while houses were scattered throughout the area. Industrial development in Starkville was not extensive in the early years. The economy was based mainly on agriculture and the local sawmills. The few industrial buildings in the area at this time were located either outside of town or on West Main St. beyond the ravine.

During its first forty years, Starkville could be reached by highway only. In fact, an 1842 highway map shows Starkville to be the hub of one part of a road network which covered all of the state except for the delta. Greensboro Road, Whitfield Street, Old West Point Road, and Louisville Street were all present in the very early days of the city. The influences of these earlier roads, which radiated from the center of the original town into the countryside, are still discernable.

However, the condition of the roads though were very poor and traveling them could be extremely difficult.

Without a railroad, Starkville was left relatively isolated from the rest of the state. In fact, during the Civil War,

Starkville was not seen as a strategic location and, as a result, was left unharmed.

In April of 1875, a fire spread through most of the business district, destroying most of the original wooden structures. Rebuilding began immediately.

Precautions were taken to prevent another fire from spreading throughout the town. Main Street was widened from 20 feet to its current 40 feet and all new buildings on the street were constructed of brick instead of wood. Most of the buildings that were rebuilt still inhabit Main Street today.

The decade following the great fire was host to dramatic changes in Starkville. Within ten years two rail lines would reach the city, downtown would be completely rebuilt and expanded, and Mississippi A&M College would be founded 1½ miles to the east of the city. Starkville was chosen as the site for the school based on its isolation, lack of alcohol, proximity to the railroad, and variety of soil types. Classes began in 1880 with four buildings and 350 students on a campus of 680 acres. Thus, Starkville entered a new stage of development.

From 1875 to 1885, Starkville was experiencing dramatic changes. Thanks to the railroad, the city was no longer remote, so prosperity and growth followed. The original town grid expanded to accommodate this growth. Existing streets were extended to meet the demand for new housing. The local economy was changing from cotton farming to livestock and dairy farming. Local businesses flourished thanks to the influx of new college students with money to spend.

The population more than doubled during this time period reaching over 1600 and the city was experiencing a building boom. By the turn of the century, Starkville had over 2,000 people and the town began expanding further beyond its original limits.

The college was changing as well. The original

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By Stephen Mullins, Carl Small Town Center, MSU

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east-west axis formed by Montgomery Hall and the Textiles building had shifted to a north-south configuration. Several of the original structures were demolished in the process forming what is known today as the Drill Field. As the economic bonds between the college and the town grew stronger, the connection between them did not. It was during this time that an electric railway was proposed that would connect the college and the town. The scheme was never carried out. Instead, in 1910 a hard surfaced road with sidewalks was constructed between the two. Today, known as University Drive, the street still serves as the major connection between the MSU campus and downtown Starkville.

The decision to build this road speaks of a change in the times. The automobile was becoming a popular means of transportation and, as a result, began to change the growth pattern of the city. Before this, residential areas, for the most part, had developed outward from the original nucleus. With the introduction of the car at the turn of the century, many wealthy residents moved out of the CBD (Central Business District) and built houses along streets that led into the countryside such as Greensboro Road, North Jackson Street, and North Montgomery Street. The resulting pattern which began to emerge was strips of residences radiating outward from the city. The density of the city lowered as proximity to the CBD became less important.

After the First World War, Starkville experienced a second building boom. The city began attracting various textile and dairy industries. Most of these new factories located adjacent to the GM&O railroad, which connected the city to the college. Many students used this train to get between downtown and campus.

Though the tracks of the railroad were taken up in 1967, its influence on the city can still be seen today in the path of today's Russell Street. Mill neighborhoods

sprang up in the area to house the workers of these new factories. Density in this vicinity was always high since most employees would walk to work. In the late 1960's, the textile mill ceased operations and the neighborhood surrounding it became a victim of urban renewal. Many of the houses were torn down. The Spring Street section was totally demolished and a new street plan was put into effect. Today's Cotton District is the last remaining example of one of these mill neighborhoods. Though most structures have been changed, the density of the urban fabric and layout of infrastructure of the old neighborhood has remained.

During the same time, the college was also experiencing tremendous growth. In 1926, the school received its first accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. It was during this era that women began attending and 15 of the campus's most well known buildings were constructed. In 1932, Mississippi Agricultural and Mechanical College was renamed Mississippi State College. At this time the school was composed of the College of Engineering, the College of Agriculture, the School of Industrial Pedagogy, the School of General Science, and the College of Business and Industry.

During the 1930's automobile travel became increasingly affordable and road conditions became more of an issue. Up until this point, Starkvillagers reached Columbus on a gravel road by way of Mayhew or Artesia. But, by the end of 1939, the last paved section of Highway 82 between Starkville and Columbus was completed. Within 10 years, two other major paved state highways helped connect Starkville with the rest of Mississippi. Highway 25 linked the city with Jackson, the state capitol and Highway 12 connected it with Kosciusko. It was also during the 1930's that the Starkville Municipal Airport was established. The opening of the "Aviation Department" at Mississippi State

Main Street in the 1890’s

Downtown 1910

College stimulated the building of the airport in its present location.

After World War II, Starkville entered its next stage of development. College enrollment increased dramatically due the passing of the G.I. Bill allowing war veterans to get a college education with federal aid. With the increase in students, on-campus housing was overloaded and the college was forced to quickly build dorms to temporarily house the new students.

Many of these "temporary dorms" still exist today and are being reused for classrooms and offices. A few examples of these are Garner Hall, Freeman Hall, and the Stone Building.

Up until this point, most commercial establishments in the city had remained with the five-squareblock area of downtown. After World War II, though, the rate of commercial growth accelerated dramatically and with it came an increase in development along highways 82, 12, and 25. This strip commercial development would only become more prevalent as time went

on. Also, the Central Business District began extending eastward along Main Street toward the college.

Residential growth was also affected by the Second World War. Since 1935, much of Starkville's residential growth had taken place in the form of subdivisions, most of which were located at the edge of the built up area. But beginning in the late 1940's, these developments started springing up some distance outside this area.

In 1950, the population of Starkville stood at 7,107. Commercial strip development along Highway 12, 25, and 82 increased and residential areas began spreading further down major transportation routes. It was at this time that subdivisions such as Longmeadow, Green Oaks, and Sherwood Forest came into being. These new neighborhoods increasingly began to take on the form of isolated "pod-like" clusters with little connection to each other or the rest of the city. Industrial growth was also increasing with the opening of the Starkville Industrial Park, located

Downtown 1930

The GM&O railroad connected the city to the college.

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enrolled would rather remain in college than participate in the Vietnam War. Between 1960 and 1976 six dormitories, the Union, the chapel, the health center, the new president's home, Aiken Village, the Humphrey Coliseum, and at least nine classroom buildings were added.

As the university grew, housing in the city became more of an issue. As homes continued to spread outward from the city, those near the center have been taken for non-residential use, converted to multi-family dwellings, or have been torn down or moved to permit more intensive use of the land. It was

charm and proximity to campus. The pedestrian-friendly quality of this area and its many newly constructed neo-traditional apartments began attracting citizens from all over the community. The "Cotton District," as it became labeled, is a popular destination in contrast to the sprawling non-descript environment which had seen much popularity in the past 50 years.

In recent years Starkville has experienced exceptional growth. Record enrollments at Mississippi State and an expanding amount of high technology industry fueled by the area’s well educated population has increased the demand for housing, commercial services, and transportation. In, 2000, the population of Starkville was 21,869 with some recent estimates as high as 24,000.

The construction of two new Highway bypasses, 25 and 82, has encouraged further sprawl development on Highways 12 and 82. New retail establishments and subdivisions and apartment complexes have sprung up along side the bypass interchanges. These "pod-like" clusters of single-use development have, over time, left large gaps in the urban fabric creating a disorganized patchwork of isolated subdivisions and commercial strips. They have created many boundaries within the city, both vehicular and pedestrian.

Sources of information: Mitlin, Lucielle Liston. The Historical Development of Land Use in Starkville, MS: A Small University City. (Mississippi State University, 1975) Barker, Fazio, Hildebrandt. Small Town as an Art Object. (Mississippi State University, 1976) Carroll, Thomas B. Historical Sketches of Oktibbeha County. (Gulfport, Mississippi, Dixie Press, 1931) Cole, James S. Images of America: Oktibbeha County. (Charleston, S.C., Arcadia Publishing, 2000) Wright, Lin H. Mississippi State University: The First One Hundred Years. (Mississippi State University, 1978) Baca, Keith. Historic Sites and Landmarks of Starkville and Mississippi State University. (Mississippi State University, 2003)

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south of Mississippi Highway 12.

In 1958, legislature renamed the college Mississippi State University. The following year, Old Main, at one time the nation's largest dormitory, burned down. At its end, it housed 1,100 students. In the 1960's, university enrollment and faculty numbers were increasing at an astonishing rate. By this time the Baby Boomer Generation was reaching college age and parents were finding it increasingly possible to send their kids to school. Also, thanks to previous legislation, veterans from past wars were beginning to enroll. In addition, many draft-age young men already

during this time that the first groups of apartment complexes began to spring up.

Decentralized growth continued through the 60's and 70's on the outskirts of the city. In 1970, Starkville had a population of 11,369. The nationwide pattern of sprawl development ensued and shopping centers, strip malls, gas stations and fast food restaurants comprised most of Starkville's commercial growth during this period. Each new establishment spread further down one of the three major highways. Residential subdivisions continued to spring up further down major transportation routes such as Montgomery St., Jackson St., and Old West Point Rd. The city began actively annexing these areas into the city limits in order to increase the local tax base.

In 1970, the Golden Triangle Economic Development District was founded. This district was created to aid in the economic growth of the area. It was named for the "golden triangle" formed by the cities of Starkville, Columbus, and West Point. This organization has helped with many of the area's transportation improvements, which have had a major impact on commerce and industry in Starkville. The four-laning of U.S. Highways 82 and 45 and the completion of the Columbus and Aliceville Reservoirs of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway have improved both road and water transportation in the region. In addition, the completion of the Golden Triangle Regional Airport in the 1970's improved air service to all three cities of the district. The airport is centrally located within the Golden Triangle in order to serve the region efficiently.

Throughout the 80's and 90's Starkville and MSU continued to grow together. By 1990, the population stood at 18,458. Many students were abandoning the overcrowded dorms on campus for apartment living. New apartment complexes were being constructed all over the city at this time, particularly in the areas off of South Montgomery and Highway 25. The old mill neighborhood between University Dr. and Russell St. began getting attention for its quaint neighborhood

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Memory Mapping Exercise

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A summary

Memory Mapping is an exercise used during public input sessions by the Carl Small Town Center to help community members understand the interconnectedness of the different elements of a city and to begin conversations about those elements. This exercise was conducted twice in the study. Most of the participants in the exercise lived outside of Central Starkville (North and West of Highway 12, South of Highway 82, East of Stark Road), which is the area most likely to be served by a bus system.

The exercise explains how a city is much like a human body in that it has Arteries (major thorough fares), Beauty Marks (sources of pride in the community), Scars (areas of neglect or negative development patterns), Muscle Tissue (districts), Hearts (community centers), and much more. Below are some of the more significant outcomes from the discussions: Arteries -

Jackson St. Montgomery St. U.S. Highway 82 MS. Highway 12 MS. Highway 25 Stark Rd. Main St. / University Dr. Whitfield St.

Beauty Marks - Mississippi State University - Cotton District - Main Street / University Dr. - Oddfellows Cemetery - Research Park - Moncrief Park - Carragen House - Oktibbeha County Lake

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Noxubee Wildlife Refuge Greensboro Historic District Overstreet Historic District University Bike Trail South Farm North Farm Pedestrian Bridge across Highway 12 Sportsplex Downtown Louisville St. Cotton Mill

Scars - Old movie theatre area - Highway 12 - Highway 12's entrance onto campus - Highway 25 - Highway 82 - Old Wal-Mart - West Main St. - Empty lots and buildings on Highway 12 - Brooksville Gardens - The abandoned Creamery building - South Montgomery - Power lines - Crossgates development - Dump on Conner Drive - Apartments south of Highway 12 - Stark Rd. - Industrial Park Rd.

Highway 82 Nearly everyone made a reference to Highway 82 as an eyesore. Making comments like: - "Dismal area" - "Old & dirty" - "Unkept" - "No Planning" - "‌ugly all the way down" They also cited specific problems including: - East and West entrances into town - The portion of Highway 82 between Old West Point Road to Stark Road - Crossgates development on Highway 82 around Stark Road - "pawn shops" - "Rick's / Sunflower" - "car lots" - "litter" - "empty buildings" - "large setbacks" Some suggestions were given, including: - "Needs landscaping" - "Needs widening" - "Needs shade" - "Signage needs"

The Heart(s) of Starkville Out of 40 memory maps, all but one drew downtown as the heart of Starkville. Many of these drew more than one heart, usually MSU and Wal-Mart/ Crossgates shopping area. This gives Starkville three hearts: 1. Downtown: Political, Governmental, Geographical, Cultural, and Historical heart. Downtown is viewed as beginning with the two banks (AmSouth and NBC) and ending at Starkville Electric Department.

2. MSU: Educational, Employment, Cultural heart 3. Crossgates Shopping Area / Wal-Mart: Retail and Shopping heart

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The City with Three Hearts Affecting travel and the overall identity of the community

Downtown Heart The Downtown is the cultural and historic center of Starkville. It is a nostalgic heart that needs to be reinforced. Downtown businesses are a source of income for local residents and the local government.

Every effort should be made to keep the downtown, the main heart of the Starkville. Locating commercial areas outside of the Downtown dilutes resources.

New industries are attracted to progressive, vital communities; Not ones that have been diluted by too many centers or hearts. A city with a strong sense of place attracts new economic development. Zoning should be established that allows automotive-related commercial businesses to be located on Highways 12 and 82 and encourages pedestrian-oriented businesses and shops to build in the Downtown district. All Civic and Governmental buildings must be built in the Downtown to create a vital civic core for generations to come.

Mississippi State University Heart With sporting events, concerts, theater performances, and lectures, it is easy to understand how Mississippi State University would be chosen as a heart of Starkville. The University plays a major role in the collective memory and social life of the local citizens and students. The connections that the Downtown has with the University should continue to be strengthened.

Crossgates Heart The Crossgates area is located along Highway 12 and is dominated by sprawl development. The majority of the commercial buildings located in this area are chain stores and are, therefore, not very unique from any other town across the nation. As a result the area does not have a strong sense of place or contribute positively to Starkville's identity. Although the area has many popular places to shop, it is very unsafe for pedestrians and the large parking lots leading to the stores are inhospitable. Every effort should be made to improve the pedestrian scale of this area by improving the parking lots and street edges with shade trees and by creating proper areas for people to walk that do not put them at risk of being hit by a car.

Conclusion It is not bad that Starkville has three hearts, however, it is important that these centers are among the most pleasant and attractive in the community and promote walking in that particular area. Downtown and MSU are both making good progress towards this effort. However, the Crossgates shopping area is not, and no apparent effort is being made to improve its overall quality, accessibility, and contribution to the city fabric. The city should not strive to establish a fourth heart, and should instead focus on making the existing ones incredible places to live, learn, shop, and eat.

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During our study we asked people in Starkville to draw a map of Starkville from memory highlighting what was the beating heart of the city (for more information on the memory mapping process see the previous page). During this exercise, the three most important hearts identified were the Downtown, MSU, and the Crossgates area, where Wal-Mart is located. These three hearts are spread out across the city. The Downtown is centrally located in the town, making it easily and quickly accessible from most neighborhoods. (The location of commercial and governmental buildings in the area make it a true destination). Two of the hearts, MSU and the Crossgates area are located at a distance from the core of the city and most residential areas making them difficult to get to if you do not have access to a car. Any transit system in the area will need to link these three hearts to surrounding residential areas.

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Building Use Maps The above image is a detial of a city-wide map created through a cooperation between the Starkville City Engineering department and the Carl Small Town Center. Building footprints have been drawn and existing uses have been categorized. This above map is too large and too detailed to show in this document and has been given to the city in digital format.

The map to the left is an abstraction of the above map that simplifies the categories and shows existing development in the city. These maps have been used to understand existing versus projected development patterns and are very useful for transit route planning.

Starkville needs to develop a zoning strategy that will promote economic development while protecting the resources that should be at the very core of such a marketing plan. Ensuring compatible use and protection of historic neighborhoods and unique districts will result in an economic development model that will have a greater and more lasting impact on the community. Mixed use zoning is a great way to create successful, walkable communities. However, the city's comprehensive plan should carefully consider how the mixed use zoning can work in certain areas. If a developer is allowed to change any building or lot for commercial use so that it can never revert to residential use, it endangers the fabric of the community.

Historic neighborhoods should be strongly protected. Insensitive development around historic neighborhoods and unique districts change the landscape and can progressively encroach on the area making it loose its definition. Zoning decisions should be made to encourage the continued use of historic homes as single family residential. Economic developers increasingly sell a community on the quality of life it provides.

These charming neighborhoods become a major component in attracting industries with prosperous employees. The future of Starkville should be in promoting its historic built environment to visitors, industry, and individuals looking to the community for relocation.

Mixed use development along Highways 12 and 82 should be encouraged. (see p. 93) Buildings should be encouraged to be constructed close to the street with landscaped parking in back, and should accommodate pedestrian, bicycle and bus travel. Landscape and sign ordinances, in addition to sidewalks, promote commercial development that reflects a prosperous community.

To minimize long commutes and traffic problems, zoning incentives should be put into place to aid developers who create pedestrian friendly environments and locate housing near the transit system once it established. The following policies should impact future planning and zoning in Starkville: - Make retail centers distinctive and attractive destinations - Provide zoning incentives to build housing near roads and transit systems - Support tree and historic site preservation - Encourage community and stakeholder collaboration in development decisions - Establish context-sensitive design training courses that focus on community involvement strategies for traffic engineers - Develop a pedestrian masterplan, with handicap, elderly, and bicycle considerations - Develop identifiable measures of the community's health to make sure that development is meeting community goals

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Zoning and Building Use

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Regions The fabric of the city

Highway 12 experiential diagram:

Greensboro experiential diagram:

In the Greensboro region, however, trees and buildings begin to catch one’s attention, making it a pleasant area for walking and bicycling as well as living. The street itself is less dominant then the spaces, trees and buildings along it.

Regions help city planning by breaking the city into manageable pieces for analysis and proposals. A region can be blown up to study and present how citywide findings influence local conditions. Many citizens find it difficult to understand citywide maps and relate these to their home and neighborhood; by enlarging the maps, individuals can more easily engage in city and regional planning efforts. These enlargements can also help planners realize local implications of proposals otherwise easily missed when looking at the city as a whole. In planning public transportation, one can use these regions to plan bus stop locations and carefully analyze routes within a community. Region definitions can also help citizens to understand how their neighborhood relates to the urban fabric and form committees to represent and influence their piece of the whole.

As an example, this page exhibits the downtown region with critical spaces and historical landmarks noted, along with a route and bus stop proposal. For future planning purposes, the City of Starkville has been given digital copies of large scale images of central Starkville regions, for which they can use as backgrounds for any number of projects.

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The Downtown Region is defined by Highway 82 to the north, the railroad to the south, and approximately Meigs Road and Montgomery Street to the west and east. The boundary between University Drive and downtown is the least defined. The bridge over the railroad is one possible sign of entering the region, but could also be defined by the intersection of University Drive and Montgomery Street. After Montgomery Street (moving from campus to downtown), the street edge is better defined by the line of single story buildings.

Further down, Amsouth and NBC act as a gateway into downtown, marking the central business district.

The heart of downtown is two blocks of Main Street between Washington and Jackson St., a commercial district of traditional one to two story buildings with common walls. These blocks contain most of the landmarks and activities of the district (restaurants, public buildings, and shops) but also include some apartments on the top floors.

The downtown encourages pedestrian movement as it continues to improve its wide sidewalks and has a high building density.

As one moves north towards Highway 82, the building fabric breaks apart - the Highway 82 boundary is mostly car dependent establishments. To the west, the topography acts as the boundary between the business district and the residential area along West Main Street.

A city is made up of parts that are intimately bound up with the city's evolution and character; the largest of these are neighborhoods, districts and regions. This spatial arrangement of a city creates unique visual and experiential characteristics that influence neighborhood activity, which in turn influences transportation trends in that area and the city as a whole. These areas are useful in the city as "areas of reference", almost like a large landmark. The distinct quality and character of a certain place serves to tell a person where they are. However, when districts or neighborhoods become introverted and separate from the surroundings of the city, they can no longer function as place givers within the city fabric.

A neighborhood, district or region is a morphological and structural unity characterized by a certain urban landscape, a certain social context, and its function. The distinction between the three connotates the scale and level of unity of each: a neighborhood will be smaller and have more common aspects and closer social ties, whereas a district will be tied together by fewer but distinct common aspects, and a region's commonalities will be highly generalized.

A neighborhood or district can be considered a region; however, most regions are made up of several neighborhoods or districts that relate to each other in one or more aspects, such as: the look and feel of an area, similar aesthetic elements, history, cultural composition, scale, boundaries, lot size and land use.

Region boundaries are sometimes very distinct, but more often are vaguely distinguishable as separate regional characteristics will blend with each other at these locations. The beginning of one district and the end of another is, therefore, determined by noting where a certain regional characteristic begins to dominate and another begins to fade.

To illustrate how regions relate and affect transportation, we will compare Highway 12 and Greensboro regions. The development in the Highway 12 region places an emphasis on the road, making it the dominating spatial and visual experience; buildings and people go largely unnoticed. This makes walking or bicycling across or along the road very dangerous.

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Above: The new Highway bypass cuts indiscriminantly through field and forest, forever creating an impermeable boundary of asphalt and traffic; but also opens the possibility of changing Martin Luther King Drive (old Highway 82) from a boundary into a connector between downtown and North Starkville (see page 93)

Above: The Oddfellow Cemetery is a land mass that acts as a boundary for the Cotton District. It is a gentle boundary by providing a pleasant vista for the neighboring buildings and helps to define the character of the Cotton District.

Boundaries have many implications on the urban fabric and community activity, including the ease and modes of travel used therein. People often feel hesitant to walk or bicycle across boundaries as these elements have the ability to make trips from one point to another seem longer than they actually are; boundaries will also affect the efficiency and experience of car and bus travel, and can cause many to make circuitous journeys. Boundaries can take many forms and exist on many different scales and can be considered either positive or negative, or a combination of these aspects.

It is therefore necessary to conduct an analysis before addressing a particular boundary. There are two broad categories that help detect boundaries: 1. Physical boundaries include visual barriers of fences, walls, and drastic topography. Physical barriers can also screen infrastructure, such as drainage ditches and highways from view of commercial and residential areas. Physical elements may not obstruct or hinder views, yet clearly define changes in the urban character, such as railroad tracks, highways and roads.

Above and below: The topographical change at the end of Main Street has always been the place where downtown stops and other developments begin. The engineering solution, street layout, and change in building types that occur at this point work to make this separation very harsh and disruptive.

2. Implied boundaries are relatively unmarked lines that include property lines, city limits, and zoning districts. They might also involve the memory of city changes, historical divisions, as well as ethnographic and economical differences.

Above: The railroad defines the boundary between the overstreet and downtown regions. This boundary could be softened through a ‘Rails-with-trails’ program. Visit the following website for more details: http://bikestarkville.coa.msstate.edu/

Within the above two categories one can further define boundaries into separate categories of type, as shown on the adjacent map. It is also important to keep in mind that some boundaries are made up of many bits and pieces of different boundary types; the adjacent map represents the overriding characteristic that most aptly applies to each boundary. The

boundaries focused on in this portion of the study are those that affect the overall mobility of the inhabitants between large sections of the study area. Many boundary definitions were also used to help define the outline of local regions.

Boundaries become important aspects to address in a community that wishes to make its urban fabric support improved and diverse mobility. By addressing these elements, a community will become more cohesive and have a stronger and richer social fabric improving the spatial experience for visitors and inhabitants alike.

Addressing boundaries does not necessarily imply that they should be eliminated, but could imply a need to strengthen them. Most often boundaries are more easily and appropriately ‘softened’ than eliminated. This softening is when a boundary begins to blend with its context. With time this softening can actually help different parts of the city become one. Positive boundaries are ones that help to keep to make neighborhoods or districts identifiable and screen unpleasant views or sounds. An example of such a boundary would be a wooded area between a neighborhood and a major highway. Some boundaries may be pleasant to experience and help to define the character of a neighborhood, but also isolate the neighborhood in a negative way. These boundaries are most appropriately addressed by ‘bridging’ them with a path for pedestrians, bicycles, and/or cars.

The analysis of boundaries done for this study is preliminary. Its purpose is to assist future city planning efforts by identifying the basic aspects and locations of these crucial elements in the community.

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Boundaries

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Critical Spaces The NBC plaza downtown provides space for events.

This map locates spaces throughout the city that contribute to the overall well being of the community. It starts to illustrate how a citizen of Starkville understands the city via open spaces - both existing and potential. The map identifies five categories:

Josey pocket park, is sparse in its equipment and landscaping but is appreciated by the neighborhood.

The rural landscape surrounds and weaves through the community, providing pleasant vistas and positive boundaries within the community.

This abandoned cemetery on University Drive is across the street from the Oddfellows cemetery. A bicycle and pedestrian path through this lot could help to make this abandoned space useful and therefore more appreciated and maintained.

1. Existing public spaces are understood and recognized as open to public use, and they have specific identities through naturally occurring characteristics as well as man-made ones. Public space exists in varying degrees; parks, city squares, plazas, landscaped streets and sidewalks, playgrounds and common lawns. They become a social space which foster community interaction and typically are a source of pride for neighborhoods.

Almost all existing public spaces have welldefined boundaries. These may be vertical elements like a building, wall, fence, or tree line; or they may occur on a horizontal ground plane, like a change in surface material. Existing public spaces tend to incorporate landmarks that give them an identity, such as signs, buildings, or other objects. Some public spaces regularly host programs and events, making these areas traffic generators in the city, and could potentially benefit from convenient public transportation. Public spaces are most successful when surrounded by fairly dense housing and it is safe and convenient for citizens to walk or bicycle to them.

There is a lack of existing public spaces in Starkville, particularly ones that are convenient for pedestrians and bicyclists. The highest concentration of public space is found on the MSU campus.

2. Potential public spaces are similar to existing public spaces, but lack the same level of identity and definition. They usually have some boundaries, but not on every edge, so that the exact size and nature of the

space is not clearly understood. They are also usually characterized by a lack of maintenance and lack of identity; it is not clear who is responsible for the space or if it is open to the public. These spaces would serve well as small parks or outdoor spaces for the public, and are largely identified by how convenient they would be to surrounding residents. Under-used parking lots are also potential public spaces. However, the adjacent map does not identify these. Identifying neglected and under-used parking lots is an analysis that should be done separately from identifying other types of potential spaces.

There are a great deal of potential public spaces in central Starkville. These spaces would require a varying degree of work in order to be converted into small pocket parks or plazas. If even a portion of these were realized, it would allow each part of the city to have a local community space to enjoy and be proud of, thereby creating a stronger sense of community pride and quality of life. It is difficult to find many potential public spaces in the outer regions of the city, particularly the newer developments. These areas either do not have any areas that seem ‘left-over’ or are developed in such a way that does not easily lend itself to the concept of sharing a public space other than the commuter road.

3. City fabric gaps are currently empty spaces that are working against the urban fabric of Starkville. Like potential public spaces, city fabric gaps lack definition and identity, and it's not clear who is responsible for them. In fact, the main difference between a city fabric gap and a potential public space is that the neighborhood would have a more continuous and rich environment if these spaces housed a business or home rather than a public space.

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The Drill Field is the most prominent and important public space on the MSU campus.

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Under-used parking lots can also be considered city fabric gaps; in fact, even adequately used parking lots are city fabric gaps when placed incorrectly on a site. Starkville has a great number of these throughout the urban fabric but are not shown here in order to show the other types of city fabric gaps more clearly.

This parking situation could have been avoided by adopting regulations that require the majority of parking to be located behind buildings and for the buildings to be located closer to the street and sidewalk. Adopting policies on the maximum amount of parking spaces allowed for an area is also a very effective tool used by some cities to ward off the “concrete desert� effect and encourage people to walk, bicycle, or ride public transit.

4. Rural landscape is the natural and farm landscape that surrounds and interweaves through the city. Most people interact with it visually and not physically, but it is a very important part of the character of Starkville and the surrounding area. In addition to creating visual contrast and beauty to the built environment, the rural landscape may also serve as a buffer zone.

These buffer zones can insure visual and audial privacy from unattractive yet necessary parts of the city.

Rural landscape also provides wonderful opportunities for playing and learning for children and adults. It also helps the city deal with water run-off from paved areas and roof tops, and helps to clean the air of pollutants.

Why is this important?

The Critical Spaces study is a working map for future planning applications regarding city fabric and civic spaces. It also identifies areas for future development in order to strengthen neighborhoods. More clearly stated, it identifies areas that aren't currently being used to their potential, and illustrates their relationship to surrounding neighborhoods and context.

The Critical Spaces map identifies areas that currently improve the overall quality of life in the city.

By identifying the most successful of the existing public spaces, one can define specific characteristics that make a public space work and use these characteristics in future development.

By looking at these spaces on a map, especially on the scale of the individual region maps (p. 45), trends can be more easily identified and used as tools for city improvement and beautification. These trends may direct future development of bus stop locations and routes. The presence of public spaces will help people feel more comfortable walking or bicycling either to the bus stop or to their final destination. An abundance of unkempt or unrealized public spaces and city fabric gaps creates an unpleasant and even unsafe pedestrian experience. It can also create a city that is considered unattractive and unhealthy for its inhabitants and visitors.

The pathway beside the Chapel of Memories on the MSU campus provides shade, smells, sounds, and seating areas for the passer-by to enjoy.

5. Bodies of water are another type of natural resource, and include lakes, ponds, and streams that can be used for recreation, visual beauty, or water supply. These areas become attractive features in the city landscape when allowed to remain or become part of nature’s cycle. When unappreciated and treated as ditches or storm sewers, these areas become eyesores and often attract illegal dumping. Most bodies of water in Starkville are well hidden, and many inhabitants are unaware of the streams and ponds that dot the community.

This vacant lot on University Drive would make an excellent pocket park for the Cotton District neighborhood.

Lee Hall plaza on the MSU campus has a water feature and an over-abundance of seating.

The vacant lot on the corner of Lampkin and Jackson Streets would be an excellent location for a building with commercial space on the ground floor and apartments above. Parking could be located at the center of the block. Currently the site is an open wound in the downtown fabric.

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Landmarks are key elements in understanding a city and play a pivotal role in shaping the quality of life its citizens enjoy. Landmark’s affect on citizens can range from how it gives directions to a bus stop, and to where people live, work, and play. There are three categories of landmarks: Functional, Visual and Historical. These are all interrelated; for example, one landmark may be purely visual while another may be classified in all three categories, like some of our older churches, or the Oktibbeha County Courthouse shown here with the historic courthouse bell in the foreground.

Mapping landmarks in Starkville will help us understand the significance of the community's most important places which is an extremely useful tool for urban planning efforts. While not all landmarks are attractive, their hallmark is that they draw attention to themselves in some way. This analysis is therefore a useful tool for prioritizing and insuring the effectiveness of city beautification efforts.

Locating a city’s landmarks is very useful in planning a transportation system: Functional landmarks (p. 52) are essential in determining the most effective routes and convenient bus stop locations. The more functional landmarks a bus route can service, the more successful it will be.

Providing the community with adequate and popular public transportation system.

Visual landmarks (p. 54) make excellent locations for bus stops as they are commonly recognized and remembered through the public’s general experience of the city. Bus stops at visual landmarks can not only enhance the visibility of a bus stop but also help to bring people’s attention to some of the most attractive areas of the community. Placing bus stops near these sites can make the stops easier to locate and create a more pleasant waiting experience, in turn, making the system more user-friendly.

Historical landmarks (p.57) can be used towards improving a person’s experience with city transit. If bus stops were equipped with a map of local (i.e. local to the bus stop) historical sites and stories of how these relate to the overall history of Starkville, people waiting for a bus would have something to read during their wait and in turn learn a little more about the community in which they live. The bus stops can, in this way, also double as a walking guide to historical sites around town and an education/community appreciation tool.

There are many ways to improve the image and usability of a transit system in order to attract and keep customers. Using city landmarks for this purpose will not only improve the experience of riding the bus, but also improve the city fabric. If both transportation and urban planning efforts take city landmarks into consideration, money spent towards improvement efforts will have a larger overall effect on the experience of the city and the well-being of its citizens.

The following pages describe the specific characteristics of each type of landmark and how they contribute to the overall character of the city.

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Landmarks

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53

Public buildings are functional landmarks.

Churches are functional landmarks.

Functional landmarks are the anchoring institutions that play an important part in the everyday life of the city and its citizens. These are major destinations that provide services to the community and, in the process, generate traffic. Functional landmarks draw public attention by people using them to fulfill basic living needs.

A building or an area can be classified as a functional landmark when it generates a significant amount of public activity. The type of service provided can be civic, cultural, commercial, recreational, spiritual, or educational.

Different individuals have different living habits and needs, and one person’s functional landmarks can vary greatly from another's according to their particular lifestyles. However, this analysis aims to identify the functional landmarks that most people have in common within and around the city of Starkville. Some landmarks mapped on the corresponding page are identified more for the joint function they serve rather than for their individual significance.

Churches are a good example of this. Although all people do not attend the same church, a significant portion

The Oktibbeha County Hospital and surrounding medical developments are considered as one functional landmark, due to their proximity to one another.

Athletic venues are functional landmarks that generate a great deal of seasonal traffic.

of the community regularly attend services and so these locations become significant areas of activity all over the city.

Functional landmarks also begin to take on different characters at different intervals. Churches, for example, are highly active only once or twice a week.

Sports venues become active only during certain times of year. This variation in activity has a large impact on the amount of traffic they generate and therefore also on the type and level of public transit service they may require. The map therefore categorizes these locations according to their frequency of use: Daily ~ schools, banks, shopping centers/areas Weekly ~ churches, entertainment venues Seasonal ~ athletic venues, recreational areas The traffic and parking problems that functional landmarks often produce can create a great deal of unsightly and expensive infrastructure needs. A significant method for mitigating such problems is to make sure that citizens have a wide range of transportation choices to and within these areas, such as pedestrian, bicycle and handicap accessibility, as well as public transportation. Effective mixed-use zoning practices and business (re)location incentives can also help to reduce the problematic siting of existing or future functional landmarks, thereby reducing infrastructure costs to the city and its taxpayers. These methods, along with effective design guidelines, will help reduce the overall damage to the city fabric caused by irresponsible development.

Functional landmarks often change over the history of a city’s development and correspondingly affect traffic and development patterns throughout the community. Careful attention should be paid to how these ‘hot-spots’ of activity are changing and if these changes are positive for the community.

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Functional Landmarks

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Visual landmarks can be categorized as either iconographic or spatial elements: Iconographic elements are buildings or objects that serve as symbols of the community and its districts. An example of this would be the Hotel Chester located downtown.

Spatial elements are community focal points, gateways, and outdoor spaces that shape our environment, such as the Oddfellow Cemetery.

Note: Many visual landmarks are both iconographic and spatial. Understanding the difference between these two characteristics becomes important when making specific proposals related to landmarks.

However, these distinctions do not have much of an impact on how they may relate to a public transit system. The landmarks identified on this map are, therefore, not divided into separate categories.

Visual landmarks are memorable elements which help characterize the uniqueness of a community and are used by most citizens as a way of understanding and navigating the city, such as when giving directions to someone. Visual landmarks draw the public’s attention by dominating or attracting a person’s view of an area. They may or may not have any truly functional use. Ideally, all of these would be attractive elements, however some visual landmarks are simply impressive in size, expanse, or peculiarity.

The condition of the surrounding landscape or cityscape can also be a visual landmark. The physical surroundings can also make an element more visually prominent, independent of whether or not the element itself is impressive, by creating a visual ‘focal point’.

One example of such a condition is at the west end of Main Street. Here the site surrounding the very humble electric department building is classified as a visual landmark. Both the surrounding cityscape and landscape work together to make this site prominent: 1. The buildings of downtown frame the direction leading you towards this point.

2. The grid pattern of the city ends at this point and essentially splits Main Street in two.

3. The landscape slopes gradually up towards this point from the east and dramatically drops off to the west, making this the crest of a persons view from either direction.

This site also happens to be classified as a functional and a historical landmark. Locations that show up on all landmark maps strongly indicate where the city should focus improvement efforts.

Due to their high visibility in the city, it is wise to make sure that visual landmarks are attractive places to see and experience. In doing so, Starkville will create a positive impression on its visitors and inhabitants.

Above and below: Main Street buildings and topography create a visual focal point where the street splits, and practically demands to have an attractive landmark placed there. It has been suggested to use this location for a monument, such as a fountain, that commemorates the artesian well that is located here and is credited for the location of the downtown. See pages 37, 62, and number 72 on the historical landmarks map p. 57.

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Visual Landmarks

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Historical landmarks are significant sites that tell a story about Starkville's past. They are important locations that enhance the cultural base and quality of life in the community. The knowledge of a community’s history helps to enhance the sense of place and enhance a person’s connection to that place.

Cities profit from paying close attention to the historical charms they have within their reach. The historical buildings and neighborhoods are often the most treasured places in a person’s memory of a place and their prevalence therefore greatly enhance the experience of a community. In small cities, where resources and the cultural attractions are often limited, history becomes a key ingredient in attracting visitors and longterm residents.

In a community such as Starkville, where 50 percent of the population is transient, a lack of care and respect for the community becomes a problem among its citizens. Many transients never notice the most attractive places and draw unfounded conclusions of its unattractiveness and lack of life and vitality. This lack of respect then becomes a self fulfilling prophecy that carries over into a lack of investment in the city’s future.

The historical center of the community becomes neglected and people move farther and farther away, in turn creating heavier commuter traffic.

There are many ways to raise the awareness and appreciation of the historical treasures in the City of Starkville, and the best results will come when many or all methods are used. Here are a few of Starkville’s options: - Adopt a historic preservation code and guideline encouraging restoration and strongly discouraging deterioration.

- Maintain existing historical sites and make some into public spaces for people to enjoy and experience.

- Create a walking/bicycling tour of historic sites.

- Allow a public transportation system to ‘show off’ the most attractive areas of Starkville by having routes and bus stops within walking distance of significant sites and creating information boards at bus stops. This should not compromise the efficacy of the over all system, but serve as an incentive or bonus to riding on and waiting for the bus.

- Work with the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.

The transportation study includes two studies into the history of Starkville; one on the nature of urban and transportation growth and (p. 36), the other on the nature of historical landmarks and events (see following pages). The former study was compiled with an urban planning perspective and the latter was compiled with an anthropological perspective. The landmarks map locates the historical sites identified by Keith Baca in his thorough investigation of Starkville’s history. Included in the historical landmarks map are: Historic sites, Historic buildings, Historic neighborhoods, and Historic railroads. The map focuses on sites that are still recognizable today, however it also recognizes areas of great importance that could be rescued from their current state of neglect.

Over the years, many beautiful homes and sites that help lend Starkville its charm have been neglected or destroyed. The city should consult with conservation experts and other historic communities, and keep these important resources from disappearing from the urban landscape. Recent improvements in the downtown area show great progress in this direction. When the historic core of the city is celebrated, more people are attracted to live closer to it, thereby combating urban sprawl. In the end, these types of improvements, or the lack thereof, are what will make a lasting impression on the inhabitants and visitors.

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Historical Landmarks Study

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Selected Outstanding Historic Sites and Landmarks of Starkville and Mississippi State University

Starkville: 1. Bell House (c. 1838) 2. Borden Condensed Milk Plant (1926) 3. Bunch House (c. 1916) 4. Caragen House (Page House, c. 1905-10), Queen Anne/Colonial Revival 5. Cemetery, African American (late 1800s) 6. Cemetery, Odd Fellows (white; est. c. 1860s) 7. Cemetery, Odd Fellows (black; est. 1913) 8. Cemetery, Presbyterian (est. 1835) 9. Cemetery, Presbyterian (est. c. 1841) 10. Church, First Methodist (1925), Classical Revival 11. Church, First Presbyterian (1926), Classical Revival 12. Church, Griffin Chapel Methodist (1926) 13. Church, Old First Baptist (1889), Gothic Revival 14. Church, Resurrection Episcopal (1913), Gothic Revival 15. Cistern Site, Middle-of-Street (late 1800s) 16. City Hall/Police Dept. (Old National Guard Armory, c. 1940), Art Deco/Moderne 17. Coca-Cola Bottling Plant, Old (1928) 18. Colclough House, 525 S. Washington St. (c. 1874), Victorian Vernacular 19. Delta Chi Fraternity House (c. 1905) 20. Eckford House (1930s), Modified Tudor Revival 21. Freed People's Store Site (late 1860s-early 1870s) 22. Gay-Rush House, 110 E. Gillespie St. (c. 1895), Queen Anne 23. Gillespie House (1850), Vernacular Greek Revival 24. 305 Greensboro St. (1911), Four-Square 25. 306 Greensboro St. (1901), Queen Anne 26. 311 Greensboro St. (1923), Craftsman Bungalow 27. 400 Greensboro St. (1913), Colonial Revival 28. 404 Greensboro St. (1869), Eclectic 29. 410 Greensboro St. (c. 1870), Vernacular Greek Revival 30. 413 Greensboro St. (c. 1870), Vernacular Greek Revival 31. 425 Greensboro St. (1913), Four-Square 32. 504 Greensboro St. (1885-90), Queen Anne 33. 517 Greensboro St. (c. 1874), Eclectic 34. 601 Greensboro St. (c. 1900), Queen Anne 35. 606 Greensboro St. (c. 1890s), Eclectic 36. 607 Greensboro St. (c. 1900), Queen Anne 37. Hebron Mission Site (1828-1832) 38. High School, Old (1927), Jacobethan Revival 39. Hotel Chester (1925), Spanish Colonial Revival 40. 304 S. Jackson St. (Thomas B. Carroll House, c. 1906), Colonial Revival 41. 305 S. Jackson St. (Mallard House, c. 1880), Victorian Vernacular 42. 306 S. Jackson St. (Magruder House, c. 1902), Queen Anne 43. 314 S. Jackson St. (c. 1890-1900), Victorian Vernacular 44. 403 S. Jackson St. (c. 1895), Victorian Vernacular 45. 406 S. Jackson St. (c. 1900), Victorian Vernacular 46. 407 S. Jackson St. (c. 1880-1900), Victorian Vernacular 47. 410 S. Jackson St. (Herron House, c. 1870), Victorian Vernacular 48. Jail, Old Oktibbeha County (Johnny Cash's "Starkville City Jail") 49. Johnny Cash's Arrest Site, May 11, 1965 (yard of Copeland House) 50. Law Office Bldg. (c. 1918; now Courthouse Grill), Commercial

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123 E. Main St. (c. 1890s), Commercial 212 & 214 E. Main St. (early 20th cent.), Commercial Montgomery House (c. 1840), Greek Revival 101 N. Nash St. (c. 1915) 108 N. Nash St. (1932) 113 N. Nash St. (1937), Tudor Revival Native American Ceremonial Mound, yard of 524 Greensboro (c.200 B.C.-A.D. 500) Native American Settlement Site (1300s) Native American Settlement Site (c. 1600s) Native American Settlement Site (c. 1600s) Native American Settlement Site (c. 1600s) Owens House, 117 N. Montgomery St. (1880s), Queen Anne Page Avenue House (1890s?; remodeled) Peoples Savings Bank Bldg., 202 E. Main St. (1919) Post Office, Old, 302 University (1935; now Reed's Dept. Store), Colonial Revival Railroad Depot, Old M & O (c. 1900; now Oktibbeha County Heritage Museum) Rex Theatre Bldg./Masonic Lodge (c. 1930s), Commercial Saunders (Amos) House, 509 University Dr. (c. 1915), Craftsman Saunders (Dero) House, 507 University Dr. (c. 1915) Service Station Bldg. (1920s) Slave Market Site Spring Site (traditional "Hickashebaha Spring") Sullivan-Lanier House, 202 E. Gillespie St. (c. 1880), Victorian Vernacular 508 University Dr. (1920s), Craftsman Bungalow 518 University Dr. (1920s), Craftsman 525 University Dr. (1935), Tudor Revival 606 University Dr., Nash-Davis House (c. 1930s), Tudor Revival 611 University Dr., Few House (1920s), Modernistic Walker-Critz House, 414 Chapin St. (c. 1876), Victorian Vernacular Ward House, 514 S. Washington (c. 1906), Colonial Revival Weir House, University Dr. and N. Montgomery (1906), Colonial Revival Weir House, 321 S. Lafayette St. (c. 1909), Victorian Vernacular

Mississippi State University: 83. Apartment Bldg. (1939), Colonial Revival 84. Apartment Bldg. (1939), Colonial Revival 85. Apartment Bldg. (1939), Colonial Revival 86. Bowen Hall (1929), Late Romanesque Revival 87. Cafeteria (1921), Late Gothic Revival 88. Carpenter Engineering Bldg. (1909), Beaux Arts 89. George Hall (1902), Colonial Revival 90. Harned Hall (1921), Late Gothic Revival 91. Herbert Hall (1929), Late Romanesque Revival 92. Hull Hall (1938), Colonial Revival 93. Industrial Education Bldg. (1900), Italian Renaissance Revival 94. Lee Hall (1909), Beaux Arts (note: identical bldg. to S. is a recent replica) 95. Lloyd-Ricks Bldg. (1929), Jacobethan Revival 96. Magruder Hall (1938), Colonial Revival 97. McCain Engineering Bldg. (1905; altered), Beaux Arts 98. Middleton Hall (1905), Colonial Revival 99. Montgomery Hall (1902), Beaux Arts 100. Old Main Dormitory Site (1880-1959) 101. Power Plant (1921), Industrial 102. Railroad Depot (1928; now Stennis Center), Commercial 103. Stone Cotton Mill Bldg. (1902), Industrial 104. YMCA Bldg. (1914), Italian Renaissance Revival

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Historic Landmarks Map Index

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Historic Sites and Landmarks

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by Keith Baca

Introduction The present physical configuration of Starkville and the adjacent Mississippi State University campus is the result of a patterned process of growth over a period of more than 170 years. In addition, when the less conspicuous, subsurface remains of the preceding Native American settlements are considered, the history of the area extends back at least 2000 years.

Most of the earliest buildings of the town and campus have long since been demolished or destroyed by fire. However, the basic layout of the original town as it was established in the 1830s remains evident in the form of the street grid and blocks of the downtown business district. Town growth gradually radiated outward from this core along antebellum roads. Starkville's three historic districts, consisting of residences built from the 1860s to 1940, are located adjacent to the old downtown. In addition to the houses found within the three historic districts, most of Starkville's other historically significant structures are also found along these old routes leading away from the downtown core. Among these are Starkville's few remaining pre-civil war houses, which were originally in rural settings well outside the town limits. Beginning in the 1930s, the introduction of modern paved highways facilitated today's automobile-oriented, increasingly spread-out development patterns.

The MSU campus, established in the late 1870s, has none of its original buildings, but does have a notable collection of architecturally significant historic structures built from 1900 to 1939. After World War II and continuing to the present, increasingly far-flung campus facilities have been constructed, reflecting the modern sprawling pattern of town development.

The purpose of this historical overview and guide is to give an introduction to the rich and varied heritage of the older parts of town and campus. It is hoped that

the reader will thereby gain appreciation for the unique and irreplaceable character of the local historic built environment, and an increased awareness of the need for its preservation.

Natural Setting The older sections of Starkville and the MSU campus are situated on a long, low ridge in central Oktibbeha County, northeast Mississippi, in the Black Prairie physiographic zone. The alkaline soils of the area are underlain by Prairie Bluff chalk of the Cretaceous geological period (Stephenson and Monroe 1940, pp. 215-217). Outcrops of this gray chalk can be seen at construction sites and road cuts around town and campus. A large exposure of the chalk can be inspected on campus near the bottom of the hillside between Harned Hall and Barr Avenue.

Fossils are abundant in these deposits; mollusk shells of several species of the genus Exogyra are common, with bones of mosasaurs (marine reptiles up to 35 ft. long) and shark teeth also frequently found.

Native American Sites (ca. 100 B.C. - A.D. 1832) Traces of the former Native American presence in the area are abundant, though usually inconspicuous to the untrained eye. Ancient habitation sites scattered throughout Starkville contain buried evidence of the human past -- fragments of pottery, stone tools, food remains, the debris of houses, unmarked graves -- which, when carefully excavated, analyzed and preserved by archaeologists, reveal the history of the various American Indian groups who resided here for thousands of years prior to the arrival of white and black people. Unfortunately, the rich legacy of Starkville's past centuries is being erased daily, as the massive amounts of earth moving done in preparation

for the construction of housing subdivisions, apartment complexes, shopping centers, roadways and other developments destroys the fragile materials of the past. The obliteration of Starkville's finite and irreplaceable archaeological sites before they can be found and investigated need not occur. Mississippi State University archaeologists have volunteered to assist the area's landowners and developers by locating and excavating archaeological remains for free prior to construction, but in most cases this standing offer has been ignored. Better cooperation between developers, archaeologists and local planning and development authorities is the only hope of preserving Starkville's rapidly disappearing past.

Map of Mississippi, circa 1822. Showing existent towns, counties and Chickasaw & Choctaw Indian lands.1

1. Published by A. Finley, Philadelphia.

A few of Starkville's most outstanding Native American sites are briefly noted as follows: A tree-covered earthen mound about 5 ft. high and 80 ft. in diameter in the side yard west of the house at 524 Greensboro St. apparently is the oldest manmade structure in Starkville. Although this mound has not been investigated by archaeologists, its general shape and size is similar to other mounds in the region known to have been constructed during the Middle Woodland cultural period (100 B.C. -- A.D. 500) and used for ceremonial purposes.

Six archaeological sites located in the right-ofway of the Highway 25 bypass on the west side of Starkville were excavated by Mississippi State University archaeologists prior to highway construction (Rafferty and Hogue 1999). These small settlements were homesteads inhabited at various times from as early as ca. A.D. 600 to about A.D. 1650. The settlement that yielded the most archaeological remains, site no. 22Ok793, was occupied during the mid-to-late 1300s. The remains of a small dwelling were found here, consisting of a circle of postholes about 12 ft. in diameter and fragments of daub (mud wall plaster). An unusual find at this site was a dog skeleton. Although some Native American groups kept dogs for use as food, these bones were found buried in anatomical position, without evidence of butchering, indicating that the dog was likely a working animal (hunting dog or watchdog) or a pet. The burial of the animal was an expression of esteem by its Indian master, a sentiment held by dog owners of our own time and culture.

A concentration of Indian settlements of the late 1600s to early 1700s was located in what is now the northern portion of Starkville. The inhabitants possibly were of the Chakchiuma tribe, although this identification is uncertain (Atkinson 1979). The Chakchiuma people (also spelled Chocchuma) mysteriously vanished in the mid-1700s, and their fate is unknown.

Some unverified accounts state that the Choctaws and Chickasaws massacred the Chakchiumas; others speculate that epidemic diseases introduced by Europeans wiped out the tribe. Extensive development of the area and illegal digging into Indian graves by untrained persons has destroyed much archaeological evidence of the old settlements, but MSU archaeologists have salvaged some remains from the Oktibbeha County Hospital area, and from the Rolling Hills and Plantation Homes subdivisions (Atkinson 1979).

By the early 1800s, Choctaw Indians had moved into the vicinity of what is now Starkville. None of their settlements has been located. In the 1820s a Presbyterian mission school named Hebron was established by Calvin Cushman and his wife Laura to educate Choctaw children of the area. Hebron was a sub-mission of Mayhew, the region's first mission, which had been established some ten miles to the northeast in 1820 by Cyrus Kingsbury (Kidwell 1995, pp. 43-44). T. B. Carroll's history of Oktibbeha County states that the Hebron mission opened "[a]bout 1823" (Carroll 1931, p. 9); however, no historical source is cited to support this. Carroll's date is contradicted by the autobiography of Cyrus Kingsbury, which specifically states that Hebron was founded in January 1828 (Kingsbury 1869, p.18). This later date is almost certainly correct, for it is corroborated by annual lists of operating missions in 1820s missionary publications, in which Hebron does not appear until 1828 (Missionary Herald Vol. 24, p. 9).

The location of the mission is uncertain, but according to Carroll (1931, pp. 9-10) the site lies on the northwest side of Starkville, in Section 29, Township 19 North, Range 14 East. Carroll further notes (p. 9) that the mission was "about a half mile southeast of the Dick Lewis residence," the location of which is not specified. However, an early twentieth century map of Oktibbeha County depicts a John Lewis residence near the center of Section 29 (Wellborn 1909); possibly this was the same house as the one referred to by Carroll. If so, Carroll's information suggests that the mission site is somewhere in the southeast quarter of Section 29, most likely on the hilltop on the east side of the Highway 25 bypass, about one mile south of the new Highway 25/Highway 82 interchange.

Historical descriptions of the mission settlement are minimal. Calvin Cushman's son Horatio, who spent part of his childhood at Hebron, wrote of a "church" and a "mission house" located about "forty rods" (660 ft.) apart (Cushman 1999 [1899], p.159), but gave no further details. The 1831 U.S. census roll of the Choctaw nation mentions a "[g]ood building for

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62 twenty scholars" at Hebron, and that the mission was located on "[g]ood land and adjoins prairie" (Armstrong 1831, p. 87).

The few firsthand accounts of Native American activities at the Hebron mission, excerpted below, were recorded by Horatio Cushman. His are not uplifting tales of religious conversion, as might be expected from the son of missionaries; rather, they are melancholy narratives of suffering and sorrow. In this vein, Cushman related the following recollection of Hebron as the setting for customs of the local Choctaws relating to the administration of justice: “For minor offenses, whipping was the punishment…. This…was inflicted several times at the mission of Hebron, to which I was an eye witness. Before the hour appointed the neighborhood assembled around the church… [P]recisely at the moment designated,…the crowd then went into the church, closed the door and commenced singing a religious hymn, taught them by the missionaries, which they continued until the tragedy outside was over. At the same time the culprit shouted…"Sa kullo!" ("I am strong!")… As soon as the whipping was over, the church door was opened and the whole assembly came out and shook hands with the "Fum-ah" (whipped), thus reinstating him to his former position in society, and the subject was then and there dropped, never to be mentioned again…” (Cushman 1999 [1899], p. 159).

In 1830, after much pressure, the Choctaws ceded the last of their land to the United States in the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek. In exchange, the Choctaws were allocated new land in Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) to which most were forced to emigrate in the next few years (De Rosier 1970, pp. 116147, 174-182). In 1832, Choctaws of the vicinity of what is now Starkville and adjacent areas gathered at Hebron in preparation for their arduous trek to the West. Horatio Cushman witnessed the scene and decades later wrote of it in vivid if melodramatic prose: “Sad and mournful indeed was their gathering together…I frequently visited their encampment [and] there came, borne upon the morn and evening breeze…faintly, yet distinctly, the plaintive sounds of weeping. It was the wailing of the Choctaw women. Around in different groups they sat with their children from whose quivering lips sobs and moans came in subdued unison; now, in wild concert united, their cries quivered and throbbed as they rose and fell on the night air, then dying away….

The venerable old

men…expressed the majesty of silent grief….

Their upturned faces mutely, but firmly spoke the deep sorrow that heaved within, as they sat in little groups.… [T]he heart-piercing cries of the women and children, seated upon the ground with heads covered with shawls and blankets and bodies swinging forward and backward, set up day and night, sad tones of woe echoing far back from the surrounding but otherwise silent forests; while the young and middle-aged warriors, now subdued and standing around in silence profound, gazed into space…” (Cushman 1999 [1899], pp. 114-115).

Following the removal of the area's Indian inhabitants, the mission lost its reason for existence, and it closed in 1832 or 1833. The mission buildings disappeared long ago, but subsurface traces of the settlement may yet exist, which could yield much valuable information of the initial contact and interaction between Native Americans and the first white residents of the area. As such, the mission location, if still undisturbed, is arguably the single most significant historic site in Starkville. However, at this writing (2003) development in the immediate vicinity of the suspected mission location is proceeding rapidly, and the danger is great that any intact archaeological remains of the mission will be destroyed if efforts to find and preserve them are not initiated.

Starkville Establishment and Early Years (1831-1860) Oktibbeha County was established on December 23, 1833. Hebron, the site of the defunct mission, was the first county seat (Carroll 1931, pp. 2728). It is probable that the former mission buildings were used for county business. However, white settlers had already begun to build houses and businesses in the area that became Starkville some time prior to the organization of the county, perhaps as early as 1831 (Carroll 1931, p. 24). The community was soon known as Boardtown, supposedly for houses there built not of the usual logs but with clapboards from nearby sawmills (Carroll 1931, pp. 24-25). Boardtown soon changed its name to Starkville, apparently in 1834 or 1835, and the county seat was shifted from Hebron to its present location in 1835 (Carroll 1931, pp. 34-35). The state legislature granted Starkville a charter in 1837. Starkville grew slowly, however, and for decades it could be better described as a village than a town; by 1860 fewer than 200 people were living there (Carroll 1931, pp. 81-82). During the first four decades of its existence, Starkville was connected to other towns only by roads. Several of today's streets that extend from the town center into the countryside were in use in antebellum times, including Greensboro Street, Old West Point Road, Louisville Street/Highway 25, and North Jackson Street/Highway 389.

It has long been assumed that Starkville was named in honor of General John Stark, a hero of the Revolutionary War (Goodspeed 1891, p. 229; Rowland 1907, p. 717). However, more recently it has been speculated that the town was actually named for one Horatio Stark, who moved to southwest Mississippi upon his retirement from the U.S. Army after the War of 1812. Stark, who died near Woodville, Miss. in 1828, is said to have had relatives who were among the early white settlers of the Starkville area, who may have named the town in his honor (Carley 1983; Stark 1968). However, this claim remains unproven.

A primary reason for the selection of the town site was that it contained springs, a water supply being an important consideration for any town. The principal spring apparently was located at the present site of the Starkville Electric Department just west of the intersection of Main and Meigs streets. According to tradition, local Choctaw Indians once used this spring, and called it by a name variously spelled by different authors as "Hickashebaha" (Goodspeed 1891, p. 229), "Hickashebeha" (Rowland 1907, p.717), and "Hich-ashe-be-ha" (Carroll 1931, p. 63). These renderings are somewhat garbled corruptions said to mean Sweet

Gum Grove, ostensibly because of the spring's location in a stand of these trees (Goodspeed 1891, p. 229; Rowland 1907, p. 717). However, Henry S. Halbert, a leading authority on the language and history of the Choctaw Indians, wrote that the Choctaw settlement of Hika Hishi Abeha (translated by Halbert [undated, p.

56] as: Hika = Sweet Gum; Hishi = Leaves; Abeha = Therein; see also Byington 1915) was located "near a spring of the same name now known as Bardwell Springs, some three miles south of Starkville" (Halbert undated, p. 56). It seems, therefore, that the name has been misapplied to the spring in Starkville.

Formal streets and blocks were platted for Starkville in 1834 (Carroll 1931, p. 34). A low ridge formed a natural east-west axis for Main Street. Blocks were planned to the north and south of Main Street to form an eight-block grid. The streets running east and west were (beginning with the most northerly street): Stagg Street (now Jefferson and Ware streets), Main Street, and Lampkin Street. The streets running north and south were (beginning with the most westerly street): Cushman, Walker (now Ames), Washington, Lafayette, and Houston (now Jackson). A site was designated for the courthouse at the central and highest point of the ridge, at the northeast corner of Washington and Main streets. The first courthouse was built of logs and also served as a school (Carroll 1931, p. 37); the present courthouse occupies the same site.

The original blocks of Starkville had, and still have, a mix of government, religious, commercial and professional properties. An 1838 description of Starkville (quoted in Rowland 1907, p. 717) lists "two hotels, five stores, two groceries, an academy…two churches, a Presbyterian and Methodist, and four attorneys and two physicians." Starkville's first bank, which printed its own money (then a legal and common practice), was established in 1835 (Carroll 1931, pp.

36-37). Industrial development in Starkville during its early years was not extensive; the economy at that time was mainly based on agriculture and the local sawmills. Most of the few industrial buildings in the area were located either outside of town or on West Main Street beyond the ravine, such as a tannery that used the water from the nearby spring (Carroll 1931, p.

63).

The Presbyterians, Methodists, and Baptists had all erected church buildings in Starkville by the early 1840s. Prior to Emancipation following the Civil War, whites and slaves alike attended these churches, although the latter were seated in separate upstairs galleries (Carroll 1931, p. 88). The First United Methodist Church and the First Baptist Church have

63 the county - supervised most of the wealth, directed the political and social activities, and enjoyed eminent class distinction" (Carroll 1931, p. 83). One site in Starkville is associated with the slave trade that supported the antebellum plantation economy: according to Carroll (1931, p. 84), dealers periodically came to town with slaves to sell, and frequently camped on Lafayette Street, about 100 yards south of the old First Baptist Church.

The Civil War (1861-1865) Starkville withstood the Civil War relatively unscathed due to its small size and isolation (it lacked a railroad), which made it comparatively insignificant as a military objective. Even so, Starkville was directly affected by one major Federal operation, Grierson's Raid. In 1863, General Ulysses S. Grant ordered a large cavalry raid through Mississippi to divert Confederate forces away from the defense of Vicksburg. On April 17, 1863, Colonel Benjamin Grierson and his brigade set out from La Grange, Tennessee. The force entered Mississippi and passed through Ripley, New Albany, Pontotoc and Houston before reaching Starkville on April 21 at 4 p.m.

Grierson and about 950 troopers of the Sixth and Seventh Illinois Cavalry rode unopposed into town from the north on what is now Highway 389 and North Jackson Street. Grierson's report of the raid makes scant reference to his brief halt in Starkville, stating only that "…we captured a mail and a quantity of Government property, which we destroyed" (Grierson 1863, p. 523) before leaving town the same day on the Louisville Road (now Louisville Street and Highway 25). However, the Columbus, Mississippi Republic provided a more detailed report: “At Starkville they robbed the inhabitants of horses, mules…jewelry and money; went into the stores and threw their contents (principally tobacco) into the street…; caught the mail boy and took the mail, robbed the post office, but handed back a letter from a soldier to his wife, containing $50.00, and ordered the postmaster to give it to her. Doctor Montgomery was taken prisoner and kept in camp all night, six miles from town, and allowed to return home next morning, after relieving him of his watch and other valuables. Hale & Murdock's hat wagon, loaded with wool hats, passing through at the time was captured. They gave the hats to the [slaves] and took the mules. Starkville can boast of better head covering for its [slaves] than any other town in the state.” (Columbus Republic [date unavailable], quoted in Brown 1954, p. 75).

Neither of the above primary sources states that any buildings were destroyed in Starkville during the raid. A tannery that produced boots, shoes and other leather goods for the Confederate Army is mentioned as having been destroyed, as well as a mill, but these were apparently located not in Starkville but near Longview (Grierson 1863, p. 523; Carroll 1931, p. 109).

Carroll (1931, pp. 109-110) states that in 1864, a Confederate cavalry force under General Nathan Bedford Forrest maintained a base camp for several weeks "just north of where the A. and M. College [now Mississippi State University] stands…" This description suggests that the camp site lies somewhere between the old section of the MSU campus and Highway 82 (soon to be redesignated Highway 182).

The Reconstruction Era (1865-1878) As noted above, Starkville evidently escaped wartime damage, so no physical reconstruction was needed. However, as in the rest of the South, Starkville faced over a decade of postwar political, social and economic upheaval in the wake of the abolition of slavery. In 1865, soon after the Confederate surrender, a garrison of Union soldiers occupied Starkville to supervise local government in the aftermath of the war. The garrison is said to have camped in an area "a little to the southwest of where the Mobile and Ohio freight depot stands" (Carroll 1931, p. 117).

This depot, now the Oktibbeha County Heritage Museum, has been moved a short distance south of its original location on Russell Street, so apparently the garrison camp was on the west side of Russell, possibly somewhere between Green and East Lampkin streets. In the late 1860s and 1870s, Oktibbeha County's newly enfranchised African-American majority was able to elect blacks and sympathetic whites (the latter contemptuously referred to by many whites as "carpetbaggers" and "scalawags") to numerous political offices until the re-establishment of white political dominance in 1878 (Carroll 1931, pp. 113-149).

In the late 1860s or early 1870s, a store for freed people was established on the northwest corner of Main and Washington streets, where the Courthouse Grill now stands. A white man named McLaughlin ran the store. On an unstated date (probably sometime in the 1870s) the local Ku Klux Klan is said to have attacked McLaughlin, who according to tradition barricaded himself inside the store with sacks of shelled corn piled against windows and doors.

According to the story, after an overnight siege McLaughlin fled town, never to return (Carroll 1931, pp. 143-144).

As occurred throughout the South following

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rebuilt their buildings more than once, but are still located at their original sites (Mitlin 1975, pp. 51-52; Carroll 1931, pp. 37, 59-60). The original Presbyterian Church stood on Louisville Street. Its cemetery is still located on Louisville Street just north of the Assembly of God Church and is the oldest marked cemetery in Starkville. This burial ground contains the graves of some of Starkville's first residents including David Ames, the first mayor of the town (Mitlin 1975, p. 54).

Burials began here in 1835 and continued until the early 20th century. The second oldest marked cemetery in Starkville is located on the west side of Old West Point Road, a short distance north of University Drive.

This graveyard is that of the old Associated Reform Presbyterian Church, built in 1840 or 1841, which stood just to the south at the corner of Old West Point Road and University Drive (Carroll 1931, p. 59).

All of the pre-Civil War buildings that existed within the early town limits of Starkville have been destroyed or moved outside the town. As Starkville has grown, however, it has absorbed three plantation houses into the town limits. These three are now the only remaining antebellum houses in Starkville. The Bell House, also known as the Carpenter Place, was built about 1838 and is located off Highway 25 South near Academy Road. It was one of the first plantation homes in Oktibbeha County and remains the oldest home in Starkville (Kaye 1992). The Montgomery House, completed about 1840, is located on Old West Point Road ¾ mi. north of the intersection of Highway 82 (soon to be redesignated Highway 182). It was constructed by David M. Montgomery, a prominent slave owner and planter and state legislator. The Montgomery House is the grandest of the few antebellum homes in Oktibbeha County (Carroll 1931, p. 97).

After David Montgomery's death, the property was inherited by his nephew W. B. Montgomery, who was well known for his progressive activities in the fields of agriculture and education. He was instrumental in establishing Mississippi Agricultural and Mechanical College (now Mississippi State University) and was a member of its first board of trustees. The GillespieJackson house, built in 1850 for Dr. William Gage Gillespie, is located at the southeast corner of Highway 12 and Highway 25/Louisville Street. Gillespie was a physician and planter who had come to Oktibbeha County in the early 1830s. By the time this house was built Gillespie owned several thousand acres and as many as 200 slaves (Carroll 1931, pp. 93, 98).

The fact that the oldest surviving houses in Starkville are large and impressive plantation homes built by wealthy slaveholders is a reminder that during the antebellum period, "the slave masters dominated

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64 emancipation, Starkville's blacks voluntarily left the churches they had formerly attended as slaves with their masters (Carroll 1931, p. 142). Recently freed slaves were said to have purchased some land about 他 mile east of the courthouse and there built a brush arbor (an open-sided, branch-covered shelter) for interdenominational worship. According to tradition, the old African-American cemetery on the north side of University Drive between Hartness and N. Nash streets may have been the site of the meeting ground and its brush arbor (Mitlin 1975, p. 53). Separate black congregations had begun to form by the early 1870s; among these were the Baptists, who built the Second Baptist Church on the east side of Louisville Street.

The congregation built a new church at Gillespie and Yeates streets in the 1950s, and the old Louisville Street building was demolished in the 1960s to make way for apartment houses (Mitlin 1975, p. 54).

Ironically, Starkville escaped damage during the Civil War only to be struck by a devastating accidental fire on April 25, 1875, which destroyed the entire business district, fifty-two buildings in all (Carroll 1931, pp. 146-147). As a result, all of the buildings now standing in the original blocks of downtown Starkville postdate 1875. As fire safety measures, Main Street was widened by twenty feet, the new buildings were constructed with brick masonry instead of wood, and two underground fire cisterns, which collected water drained from the roofs of Main Street buildings, were installed at street intersections (Cole 2000, p.52).

Starkville has a number of residences dating from the reconstruction years of the late 1860s and 1870s. These include several on Greensboro Street (404, 410, 413, 517, and 522 Greensboro), the Herron House (410 S. Jackson Street), the Colclough House (525 S. Washington Street), and the Walker-Critz House (414 Chapin Street).

The Railroad Era and the Early Years of the State A & M College (1875-1929) Roads of the nineteenth century were unpaved, which made travel and commerce between towns connected only by roads slow and arduous. A number of towns in northeast Mississippi were placed at a great economic advantage when they were reached by railroads beginning in the 1850s, and some entirely new settlements appeared around rail junctions and grew rapidly. However, Starkville remained without railroad service until the middle 1870s, which retarded the town's growth. Finally, in 1875, a fourteen-mile Mobile and Ohio spur line extending from the main M&O line at Artesia to Starkville was completed (Mitlin 1975, p. 97). The opening of Starkville's first

railroad triggered an economic boom; new businesses were established and the population tripled within just a few years (Carroll 1931, p. 137). Operation of the Artesia-Starkville branch line ceased in the 1960s, and the tracks were removed. Today its wide-arcing right of way through the city is followed by Russell Street, and on the MSU campus a preserved segment of the raised railroad bed runs between Creelman Street and Darden Avenue/West Lee Boulevard. Although moved from its original location, the Starkville M&O depot still stands today on Russell Street and houses the Oktibbeha County Heritage Museum.

In 1884 an Illinois Central branch line through Starkville was completed (Mitlin 1975, p. 96), extending from Aberdeen, MS, to the main IC line at Durant in central Mississippi. This railway remains in operation today as a Kansas City Southern freight route.

The arrival of railroads was a necessary prerequisite for the establishment of Starkville's first modern industries, which were supplied by cotton and dairy farms of the area. These factories were located on the railroad lines, upon which their products were shipped in bulk to national markets.

The John M. Stone Cotton Mill, opened in 1902, is Starkville's oldest and most prominent industrial landmark. In the late 1920s, it annually produced about one and a half million yards of chambray fabric, which was shipped worldwide. The mill ceased operations in the early 1960s (Mitlin 1975, p. 121). Located near the east end of Russell Street. (previously the M&O railroad), the three-story mill building with its central tower now houses the MSU physical plant department. Housing for the textile mill's workers was located across the railroad tracks (now Russell Street) to the north. These mill houses have been removed and replaced with stylish apartments, restaurants and shops; this area is called the Cotton District. (Although many of the present buildings of the Cotton District incorporate historic revival architectural styles, they are recent and therefore the neighborhood is not a true historic district.)

The dairy industry in Starkville had its roots in the efforts of W. B. Montgomery, who had imported Oktibbeha County's first Jersey cattle directly from the Isle of Jersey, England in the nineteenth century (Mitlin 1975, p. 122). In 1926, the Borden Company opened a milk condensery in Starkville, located on the Illinois Central (now KCS) Railroad at Montgomery and Lampkin streets. From 1926 into the mid-1960s Borden's Starkville plant was the only producer of canned condensed milk for the company in the U.S. (Mitlin 1975, pp. 124-125). Still in operation today, the plant makes Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk.

Another industrial building of this period worthy of note, though not directly associated with a railroad, is the old Coca-Cola bottling facility on the northwest corner of Washington and Lampkin streets, opened in 1928.

The company outgrew this plant and moved out in 1959 (Mitlin 1975, pp. 127-128). The building is now occupied by the Lott accounting firm.

In 1878, a tract of land about 1.5 miles east of downtown Starkville was chosen as the site for the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Mississippi (now Mississippi State University). The college opened for classes in 1880 with four main buildings and about 350 students, all male. Stephen D. Lee, a former Confederate general, was the first president (Bettersworth 1980; Wright 1978). The campus was laid out adjacent to the M&O tracks; most students were brought to and from the college by train until well into the twentieth century. A reminder of this era is the campus rail depot (1928), which now houses the Stennis Institute of Government. All of the campus's original buildings have been demolished or have burned. The longest-lived of them was Old Main dormitory (1880), which, after several expansions, was at one time reputedly the nation's largest college dormitory under one roof. At its peak capacity, it housed more than 1,500 students (Scott and Lowery 1995, p.

1). Old Main was destroyed by an accidental fire in 1959; its site is now partially occupied by the Union and McCool Hall. Although the campus's first buildings no longer exist, more than a dozen structures built between 1900 and 1929 are of historic significance, representing various characteristic architectural styles of the period including Beaux Arts, Italian Renaissance Revival, Late Gothic Revival, Late Romanesque Revival, Jacobethan Revival and more. The campus's oldest surviving structure is the Industrial Education Building (originally the Textile Building), completed in 1900.

Several of the campus's buildings were designed by R. H. Hunt and Theodore C. Link (Mississippi Department of Archives and History 1982, pp. 18-19). The prolific R. H. (Reuben Harrison) Hunt (not to be confused with the unrelated Richard Howland Hunt, a better-known New York architect) was responsible for a large number of architecturally significant public buildings in the South, including many on the campuses of the Mississippi University for Women and the University of Southern Mississippi.

His five campus buildings are Montgomery Hall (1902), Middleton Hall (1905), the McCain Engineering Building (1905), Lee Hall (1909), and the Carpenter Engineering Building (1909). Link was an eminent St. Louis-based designer; his most prominent work in

Mississippi is the 1903 New Capitol in Jackson. Link's buildings on campus are the cafeteria, Harned Hall, and the power plant (all 1921).

The expansion of Starkville that was stimulated by the railroads, industries and the college during the late 1800s and early 1900s is evident in the many period buildings in the downtown business district and in adjacent residential neighborhoods. As previously noted, all the commercial structures of Starkville's original blocks postdate the great fire of 1875. Although the majority were built during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, during the mid- to late twentieth century the distinctive period facades of many of these buildings were covered by or completely replaced with plain modern fronts, which has diminished the historic character and ambience of downtown Starkville. Fortunately some buildings (for example, most of the row on the north side of Main Street between North Jackson and North Lafayette streets; 212 and 214 Main Street; 123 Main Street; the old Rex Theatre building on the southwest corner of Main and South Washington, and others) do retain their original facades relatively intact, exhibiting character of design, detailing and craftsmanship unequalled by the remodeled store fronts.

Starkville's most elaborate and impressive building by far was the 1901 Beaux Arts style Oktibbeha County Courthouse (Cole 2000, pp. 66, 71, 95), designed by R. H. Hunt (East Mississippi Times, Nov. 1, 1901). As mentioned above, Hunt also was responsible for several buildings on campus. A newspaper account commented that "…this imposing structure with its ornate tower…[rising] ninety-eight feet…can be seen for a great distance from all directions…it will be a lasting credit to Oktibbeha County and an ornament to its enterprising county seat" (East Mississippi Times, Nov. 1, 1901). Unfortunately, this fine structure was demolished in the early 1960s and replaced with the present much less prominent, relatively plain new courthouse. Starkville thus lost its most significant historic landmark.

Residential areas adjacent to the commercial core of Starkville grew rapidly during this period. The Greensboro Street Historic District has an architecturally significant collection of houses dating from the 1870s through the 1920s, including well-preserved examples of the Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, Bungalow, and Tudor Revival styles, among others.

Greensboro Street is also the location of the old high school building (1927), one of only a few Jacobethan Revival style schools in Mississippi (P'Pool 1982). The Overstreet School Historic District, located just south of the central business district along South

Montgomery, South Jackson, and South Washington streets, is Starkville's largest concentration of late nineteenth to early twentieth century residences. Among the styles represented here are Victorian Vernacular, Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, and Craftsman/ Bungalow (Embree and Cawthon 1992).

Two Starkville homes of this period, the Caragen House (ca. 1900) and the Bunch House (ca.

1915) are of particular prominence because they have been opened for public visitation and use. Both have been moved from their original downtown locations to outlying areas of Starkville. This was necessary since otherwise they would have been demolished for redevelopment. The Caragen House, now a bed-andbreakfast establishment, was moved to its present site on the western outskirts of town from its former location on the north side of East Lampkin Street between South Jackson and South Montgomery streets. The Bunch House was donated to the Starkville Public School District by the Foodmax grocery chain, which had purchased the Wood Street property where the home was located to build a new supermarket. The house was then moved to the grounds of Starkville High School, where it is now used as an arts center.

The Great Depression, the Automobile Era and Post-World War II Town and University Expansion (1930s-Present) The economic crisis of the 1930s Great Depression gave rise to nationwide federally funded programs designed to create jobs and stimulate the economy. Ambitious construction programs were undertaken by the Public Works Administration (PWA) and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) to provide cities, towns and college campuses with badly needed buildings, roads and other infrastructure improvements. While the emphasis of the WPA was to provide work for unskilled and semi-skilled laborers, much of the PWA's funding was expended to employ architects, engineers and skilled workers. As a result, the PWA left a great legacy of well-designed, highquality buildings which helped to reinforce local community pride during a period of low public morale, and which still serve their communities well (McElvaine 1993, pp. 152-153). Starkville has two such Depression-era public buildings: the 1935 Colonial Revival post office (now Reed's department store) at 302 University Drive, and the ca. 1940 Art DecoModerne old National Guard armory (now the City Hall and Police Department), on Lampkin Street across from the First Baptist Church. On campus (renamed Mississippi State College in 1932), buildings of this period include Hull Hall and Magruder Hall, both

Colonial Revival structures completed in 1938, and three Colonial Revival faculty (now student) apartment buildings (1939) located on the south side of University Drive just west of the bridge over Highway 12.

Despite the poor economy, numerous welldesigned private residences were built in Starkville during the 1930s. A significant collection of Depression-era homes is located on North Nash Street, which extends off University Drive halfway between Starkville's central business district and campus. These houses, which make up the Nash Street Historic District, were built from 1932 to 1940 in the Tudor Revival, Colonial Revival and Craftsman Bungalow styles (Melby and Embree 1993).

By the 1920s and 1930s, automobile ownership in the Starkville area was becoming increasingly common, and the primitive unpaved roads of the day were poorly suited to this growing mode of transportation. In 1939, paving was completed between Starkville and Columbus of U.S. Highway 82 (now Martin Luther King Drive/Highway 182), the first hardsurfaced road to reach Starkville (Mitlin 1975, p. 100).

The construction of Highway 82 was by far the area's most significant Depression-era public works project, because it had immediate and long-lasting effects on the growth of Starkville and the campus. Highway 82 was the local harbinger of a nationwide revolution in transportation, in which modern paved highways quickly caused the decline of the railroads by fostering the dominance of automobiles and freight trucks. After World War II, the rate of commercial development accelerated, and with it came an explosive increase in business construction along Highway 82/Martin Luther King Drive (see endnote) and, especially, along Highway 12 after it was widened to five lanes in the 1970s. This commercial strip development became pervasive as time went on, as today's miles-long stretch of businesses along Highway 12 attests.

Postwar patterns of residential growth also were dramatically altered by the new highway-oriented development and zoning. Since the war, most of Starkville's residential growth has taken place in the form of subdivisions. These new housing developments increasingly took the form of isolated, pod-like clusters with connection to each other or the rest of the city only by automobile; consideration for pedestrians ceased as sidewalks were no longer provided in the new housing tracts.

In 1958, Mississippi State College was renamed Mississippi State University. In the 1960s, university enrollment and department expansion increased rapidly. By this time, the Baby Boomer generation was reaching college age and parents were

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65

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66 finding it increasingly possible to provide their children with a college education. Between 1960 and 1976 six dormitories, the Union, the chapel, the health center, the new president's home, the coliseum, and at least nine classroom buildings were added. Outside the old campus core, increasingly far-flung newer MSU facilities (e.g., the Veterinary School, the Engineering Research Center) are easily reachable only by car, with no connecting pedestrian sidewalks or bicycle paths. However, recent construction of a pedestrian/bicycle path linking the campus center with residential areas along University Drive has provided an initial alternative to the car-dominated status quo.

Few buildings postdating the Great Depression have been mentioned in the foregoing overview, and (with one exception) none is included on the accompanying inventory list and map. This is in accordance with the standard consensus that, as a rule, buildings constructed after about 1940 are of insufficient age and architectural character to be of historical significance. Indeed, a widespread popular perception exists that post World War II buildings are of inferior quality and are lacking in charm and aesthetic interest when compared to those that came before.

This attitude may be overly sweeping and prejudiced, but it is nevertheless somewhat justified. In recent years, this perception has manifested itself in popular tastes by what might be considered an overreaction against the understated and unadorned Ranch style that overwhelmingly predominates in houses of the 1950s through the 1980s. As a result, homes now being built tend to incorporate exaggerated interpretations of historical detailing and proportions, and upscale versions are increasingly oversized in comparison with older homes. Such residences are frequently disparaged by critics as pretentiously overwrought, and have been derisively called "McMansions" and "houses on steroids," among other epithets (Duany et al. 2000, pp. 41, 76).

Looking beyond individual buildings to the overall townscape, it can be seen that the nationwide pattern of sprawl development -- highways lined with fast-food outlets, strip shopping centers, big-box chain stores surrounded by vast parking lots, isolated "cookie-cutter" subdivisions and office parks -- is being copied in Starkville with little apparent consideration of whether different options for growth might be desirable.

Increasingly, thoughtful observers recognize that this pervasive land-consumptive sprawl has detrimental economic, environmental and social consequences.

As a result, a movement to promote alternative patterns of development has arisen in recent years.

Advocates of what has been variously called Smart

Growth, Traditional Neighborhood Development, the New Urbanism, etc., have called for a return to higherdensity, pedestrian-oriented, mixed residential-retailoffice development in which people are not completely dependent upon automobile transportation for daily living (Duany et al. 2000; Kunstler 1993, 1996; Leccese and McCormick 2000).

In Starkville, the only area exhibiting some aspects of this alternative mode of development to date is the Main Street/University Drive corridor. On Main Street, new loft apartments have appeared above existing stores and offices, and a number of independent restaurants have opened in downtown buildings, offering a welcome change from the coast-to-coast sameness of the chain eateries on the Highway 12 strip. A short distance from Main Street down University Drive, the Cotton District neighborhood incorporates some convention-defying design features, such as a new dual-use commercial/apartment building with the parking spaces hidden behind it (the "Blue Building"), and compact but attractive residences set close to traffic-calming narrow streets, with restaurants and shops within easy walking distance. Such efficient use of space runs completely against the prevailing monotonous standard of unsightly, zoning-segregated, pedestrian-discouraging, automobile-oriented development. These anti-sprawl enclaves of Starkville are popular with residents and visitors alike; indeed, the Cotton District is the town's showcase development. (In addition, if its current architectural unity is preserved unaltered, this neighborhood could become an authentic historic district with the passage of sufficient time; fifty years is the official minimum age for National Register of Historic Places status.) However, whether these few examples represent an eccentric anomaly or the beginning of a trend pointing the way to alternative modes of growth elsewhere in Starkville remains to be seen.

Endnote on Johnny Cash: The Highway 82 strip through Starkville was the setting in the 1960s of a minor yet noteworthy incident in the history of American popular culture. On May 11, 1965, at about 5 a.m., a police officer spotted a man picking flowers in the yard of a home on Highway 82 (then called Lee Street within the city limits, now M. L. King Drive). It was legendary country music star Johnny Cash, who had performed at Mississippi State University the previous night and had ventured out from his nearby motel for a stroll. Cash was arrested for public drunkenness and taken to the old Oktibbeha County Jail (behind the Courthouse on the southeast corner of North Washington Street / Douglas L. Conner Drive and Jefferson Street), where he stayed until released on bond a few hours later ("Pop Singer is Guest at County Jail," Starkville Daily News, Wed. May 12, 1965, p. 1).

Cash highlighted this occurrence for posterity by writing the song "Starkville City Jail." (The title is technically inaccurate, as the jail was the county lockup, not a city facility.) Cash recorded the wryly humorous song at another, grimmer place of incarceration (as a visitor, not an inmate) for his classic 1969 album Johnny Cash at San Quentin. The newspaper account does not state the address on Highway 82 / M. L. King Drive at which Cash was arrested; however, lifelong Starkville residents old enough to remember the incident agree that the spot where Cash was caught picking flowers (now nearly concealed by tall roadside bushes and trees) is southeast of the old Copeland house, on the north side of Highway 82 / M. L. King Drive, near the gravel driveway entrance just northeast of the North Lafayette Street intersection.

67

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National Register of Historic Places nomination for Overstreet School Historic District. Unpublished typescript, copy on file at Historic Preservation Division, Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Jackson.

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Cole, James S., 2000. Images of America: Oktibbeha County. Arcadia Publishing, Charleston, S.C. Cushman, Horatio B., 1999 (1899). History of the Choctaw, Chickasaw and Natchez Indians. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman.

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Goodspeed 1891.

Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Mississippi, Vol. 1. Goodspeed Publishing Co., Chicago.

Grierson, Col. Benjamin H., 1863. May 5 dispatch reporting Grierson's raid. In Scott, Robert N. (editor), 1889, The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Vol. XXIV, Part 1, pp. 522-529. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. Halbert, Henry S., undated.

Choctaw Towns.

Unpublished manuscript, Alabama Department of Archives and History, Montgomery.

Kaye, Samuel H., 1992. National Register of Historic Places nomination form for Bell House. Unpublished typescript, copy on file at Historic Preservation Division, Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Jackson.

Kidwell, Clara S., 1995. Choctaws and Missionaries in Mississippi, 1818-1918. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman.

Kingsbury, Cyrus, 1869. Autobiography of Cyrus Kingsbury.

Unpublished manuscript, Oklahoma Historical Society, Oklahoma City.

Leccese, Michael, and Kathleen McCormick (editors), 2000. Charter of the New Urbanism. McGraw-Hill, New York.

McElvaine, Robert S., 1993. The Great Depression: America, 1929-1941. Times Books, New York.

Melby, Pete, and Joan Embree, 1993. National Register of Historic Places nomination form for Nash Street Historic District. Unpublished typescript, copy on file at Historic Preservation Division, Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Jackson.

Missionary Herald, 1828, Vol. 24. Copy in possession of Jack D. Elliott, Jr., Mississippi Department of Archives and History Field Office, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, Miss.

Mississippi Department of Archives and History, 1982.

The State of Mississippi Historic Properties: StateOwned Buildings of Historical and Architectural Significance. Jackson.

Mitlin, Luceille L., 1975. The Historical Development of Land Use in Starkville, Mississippi, a Small University City. Unpublished M.S. thesis, Department of Geology and Geography, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, Miss.

P'Pool, Kenneth H., 1982. National Register of Historic Places nomination form for Greensboro Street Historic District. Unpublished typescript, copy on file at Historic Preservation Division, Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Jackson.

Rafferty, Janet, and S. Homes Hogue, 1999. Test Excavations at Six Sites in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi. Cobb Institute of Archaeology, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, Miss.

Kunstler, James H., 1993. The Geography of Nowhere: The Rise and Decline of America's ManMade Landscape. Simon and Schuster, New York.

Rowland, Dunbar, 1907. Mississippi: Comprising Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, Arranged in Cyclopedic Form, Vol. 2.

Southern Historical Publication Association, Atlanta.

_______________, 1996. Home From Nowhere: Remaking Our Everyday World for the Twenty-First Century. Simon and Schuster, New York.

Scott, Roy V., and Charles D. Lowery, 1995. Old Main: Images of a Legend. Harmony House Publishers (n.p.).

Stark, Genevieve Maxon, 1968. The Naming of Starkville. Unpublished typescript, copy in Mississippi State University Library, Special Collections, Mississippi State, Miss.

Starkville Daily News, Wed. May 12, 1965, p. 1. Pop Singer is Guest at County Jail. Microfilm copy in Mississippi State University Library, Mississippi State, Miss.

Stephenson, Lloyd W., and Watson H. Monroe, 1940.

The Upper Cretaceous Deposits.

Bulletin 40, Mississippi Geological Survey, University, Miss.

Wellborn, John H., 1909. Map of Oktibbeha County, Mississippi. Copies in Mississippi State University Library, Special Collections, Mississippi State, Miss.

Wright, Lin H., 1978. Mississippi State University: The First One Hundred Years. Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, Miss.

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Armstrong, F. W., 1831. Public Lands, Location under the Choctaw Treaty. In American State Papers (1860), Indian Affairs, Vol. 7. Gales and Seaton, Washington, D.C.

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69

As the Starkville area has grown so has its traffic and parking issues. Increases in retail business, employment, MSU enrollment, and general population have begun to affect existing transportation infrastructure. In addition, the proliferation of large tracts of land for single-use developments have forced more people than ever to use their cars to get to their daily destinations. When most of these people choose to ride alone, the result is an abundance of cars, congestion, and parking problems. Starkville School Buses noted that the increasing traffic is a “constant challenge�.

Traffic is dispersed throughout the city through a hierarchy of roads, as shown on the adjacent Traffic Volume map. Local neighborhood streets feed to collector streets, which, in turn, dump traffic onto large city arterials. Most of the traffic problems occur along these main arteries, especially during peak hours of the day.

The east-west corridors, like Highway 82 and Highway 12, carry the most traffic. One of the reasons for the large traffic on these roads, is the general lack of continuous east-west corridors for cross-city access.

Neither is it a coincidence that these are also dominant locations for retail businesses. Traffic follows businesses and businesses tend to locate along trafficked streets and problems can grow exponentially if not carefully planned for.

North-south roads which link the highways, such as Stark Road, Jackson Street and Montgomery Street also carry a great deal of traffic. These streets funnel traffic from large neighborhoods and apartment complexes and deposit it onto the main arteries. These roads become problematic when most streets along them are dead-end streets which do not allow people to choose alternate routes to various destinations within the community. The frequent complaints of traffic along South Montgomery Street are indicative of this.

An abundance of dead end streets should be avoided in city planning as it makes transportation

extremely inefficient, causes congestion and often divides the community into social enclaves by inhibiting social interaction. Bicycle and pedestrian paths leading to other areas of the community can help reduce a portion of the traffic problems and increase interconnectivity, however, the most effective way to deal with the problem is to provide connecting roads lined with bicycle and pedestrian areas that encourage slower neighborhood traffic. This latter approach is also the only way that such areas can be served effectively by public transportation.

The adjacent Traffic Volume map records traffic counts1 for the year 2000 and shows the percent growth or decline of traffic counts since 1990. An overall increase in traffic has occurred on most roads in the community in the past ten years. The highest increase has been around the Crossgates shopping area, in particular toward the new location for Starkville's third WalMart building. The largest decrease has been along Russell Street and a small portion of South Jackson Street (south of Highway 12).

Most of the automobile accidents (see following map on p. 70) occur in areas with the highest traffic counts, particularly at intersections of major roads. The intersections of Highway 12 and 25 and Highway 12 and Montgomery Street top the list for numbers of accidents per year. It is no coincidence that these areas also have the highest traffic counts.

The third map in this section (p. 71) shows the likely changes in traffic volumes on major roads in the community. The types of changes that might occur to city traffic with the new bypass will depend on the commercial development that happens along it. It is not recommended to locate a large number of businesses or any public buildings there. As stated earlier in this report, too much development along the new bypass will make area residents even more dependent on the car, increasing the number of cars on the roads and travel

1. Thanks are extended to Frank Howell for assisting in producing the Traffic Volume map.

The above diagram shows the differences between the developments along South Montgomery Street and the neighborhoods in central Starkville. Their lack of interconnectivity places undo pressure on South Montgomery Street.

time. It will decrease transportation choices and the overall quality of life of the area. If bus service were to be extended to this area, the routes would be long, inefficient, and therefore costly.

This map also shows the most advantageous locations for signage leading people to downtown Starkville. Many through travelers prefer to stop in a local downtown rather than along anonymous highway development. Downtown will provide them with a true reprieve from the highway. It is also important for a community to take every opportunity to put its best face forward, possibly encouraging repeat visits. It is therefore important to make downtown easily found by travelers.

There is a perception that people avoid downtown because of the difficulty in finding parking.

However, the parking problem only truly exists for those who are not willing to walk a block or two to their destination. There should be more options for getting to a downtown destination conveniently and pleasantly without a car, and perhaps more people would be willing to walk a short distance from a parking spot down the street or even walk from their home.

If downtown is to be the center of the community, adding parking is not an effective means to accomplish this goal. An abundance of parking will only make the area a discordant mix of old town and highway development, and will end up as a diluted version of the former and a dysfunctional form of the other. Many cities do not allow employees and owners to park in front of businesses in order to free up more convenient parking for customers. The only added parking truly needed may be designated areas for store employees and business owners, and for City Hall which experiences problems on court days.

Many businesses in other parts of the city have created concrete deserts of under-used parking lots.

Many cities allow businesses to share parking requirements and set limitations on the maximum number of parking places allowed. Encouraging walking between neighboring businesses and supporting public transportation are additional methods used by concerned cities.

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Traffic and Parking

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Future Campus Plans

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How the university will change in the future

In January 2003, a new master plan for the Mississippi State University campus was approved by the board of trustees. The plan shows all the changes that could happen in the next 20 to 30 years including new buildings, streets, parking areas, and greenspaces. In general the plan calls for more greenspace and pedestrian paths and less roads in the heart of campus.

The architects who created the plan made schematic proposals for all new buildings. Though this gives an idea of the location and basic configuration for potential buildings, it by no means is an accurate representation of what will actually be constructed. In many cases, the scale of the buildings is exaggerated.

Regardless, it might be 30 years before most of these new buildings will be necessary.

One of the major changes that would occur, and has already begun, is the elimination of the fivepoints intersection. This intersection is more specifically the intersection of Highway 12, Lee Boulevard, and Creelman Street. University Drive formerly entered campus at this intersection and has been diverted to connect with Barr Avenue. A monumental green space is planned to take the place of this intersection. When this area begins to change, the university should take care to not endanger the historic railroad bed that runs through the center of campus. This is an important artifact from the university's beginning

The above map illustrates the path of the old railroad tracks that historically connected the MSU campus and downtown Starkville.

The path of the old train tracks is still a strong figure on the campus landscape, and appears as a long earthen ‘hump’ between Lee Boulevard and Creelman Street. The path in the city is now Russell Street. The library currently stands on top of the old rail path, creating an excellent destination for a path.

Foil Wyatt Architects developed the above campus plan for Mississippi State University.

that could add character to this green space if it were to be incorporated into the final design. It would be an excellent location for a bicycle and pedestrian path, and in this way revive its original use as a mode of transportation. The path could even follow its old route from where the library stands, through campus, all the way along Russell Street leading to downtown, thereby recreating the original purpose of the railroad. By playing on the history of this relic, it is possible that grants focused on historical preservation could be of assistance in addition to other bicycle and pedestrian path grants. However, there are other creative ways that this earthen relic could be incorporated and it would be wise for the university to ponder the different possibilities.

Traffic Impacts As the area’s largest employer, Mississippi State University has a huge bearing on traffic patterns in the city. All roads that connect the city to campus are very important in handling the traffic coming in and out during peak hours of the day. Mississippi Highway 12 handles the brunt of this rush hour traffic, as well as Russell Street, Blackjack Road/Spring Street, and University Drive. Roads that will be likely to have increased traffic after the campus plans are in place are shown on the adjacent map.

The university has experienced a rise in the use of the automobile on campus. Part of the future plans would be to redirect traffic around the campus with a “ring road� and to eliminate through streets and troublesome intersections such as the intersection of Highway 12, Lee Boulevard, and Creelman Street.

By making the heart of campus pedestrian oriented, the university is following in the footsteps of many universities that have found that too many cars reduce campus unity, beauty and social interaction.

The ring road is likely to become a boundary for the university. In some places the boundary effect may be appropriate, however there are many cases where it could have a negative effect - dividing areas of the campus from one another. With careful planning university roads can become a soft boundary with many crosswalks, trees, and landscaping.

Parking will be focused in large parking lots close to the new ring road accompanied by some parking garages closer to campus. The parking lots adjacent to the ring road will be able to handle incoming and outgoing traffic more efficiently than the current parking situation. The parking lots will be served by the campus transit buses and bring students to the center of campus. Pedestrian paths and bicycle paths are planned to help encourage people to travel around campus without a car. However, if the city roads are not suitable for walking and bicycling, and no public transportation is provided off campus, commuting to campus will continue to be done mostly by car and only those already on campus will choose alternative means of transportation.

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Axes Analysis

2. Streets that are unpleasant to walk along will stop passengers from being willing or even able to walk to a bus stop.

3. To a substantial degree, transit management has been placed in a position of trying to meet increased costs and requests for service with in an environment largely determined by forces beyond its control. Density development and road interconnectivity has impaired the 1. & 2. George Gray and Lester Hoel, eds., Public Transportation, 2nd ed. (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, Prentice Hall, 1992)

productivity of public transportation while simultaneously contributing to an escalation in the costs necessary to serve potential travel markets.1 A transit operating agency should, therefore, have a role in the decision-making process regarding street layout and design when new areas are developed or older areas renovated.

Increasing numbers of cities and counties are using their regulatory powers to mandate employer and developer involvement in traffic mitigation efforts.

Mandatory programs are gradually replacing voluntary ones as localities seek antidotes to employer and developer commitments that are half-hearted or shortlived. Since new developments generate traffic, local governments can place conditions on developer permit approvals to mitigate traffic as long as the requirements are reasonably necessary to the protections of the public health, safety, and general welfare.2 The map on this page shows the major axes considered in this study. The conditions along these axes have been documented by the CSTC team.

Documented conditions include: landscaping, sidewalks and parking along each side of the street. The true scale of these maps are too large to include in this document, therefore, only one (Gillespie Street) is shown as an example. Digital copies of maps such as the adjacent example of the Gillespie Street analysis have been given to the City of Starkville for future planning purposes.

Several axes in Starkville have very pleasant aspects, other axes have very few. The existence of sidewalks and their handicap accessibility falter in many places along all major axis. See page 92 for a map showing where sidewalks exist or do not exist in the community.

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The above map shows all of the streets analyzed in this portion of the study.

When creating an urban plan for a community, one of the starting points is evaluating the major transportation axes in the community. In successful urban plans, much effort has gone into improving the function and beauty of major axes. The overall experience of the community is improved when the journey through the community is pleasant. A city planner should not simply consider the experience of traveling by car and other modes of transportation in order to improve these areas, the planner should also consider those who live or work along the street. The street is an extension of a house’s front yard; it is something that residents look every day; sidewalks are where neighbors meet, children play, and communities are made stronger. Many different aspects of the thoroughfares are often considered such as: traffic patterns and volumes, shade, landscaping, lighting, pavement pattern, pavement conditions, surrounding structures, views, signage, pedestrian, bicycle, and handicap accessibility, and more.

Transit operating agencies also have a vested interest in the condition of road design as it relates to urban growth: 1. If streets do not meet minimum standards of continuity, width, and load carrying capacity, routing compromises will be required.

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Origins and Destinations

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A template for creating a fixed route system

“The number of people who will use a public transport service will be influenced by the number within reach of stops or stations of origin and destination.

Usage of public transport is therefore influenced by densities of housing, offices, factories, shops and other land uses which are the origins or destinations of journeys1.�

The Origins and Destinations map is a synthesis of information from several maps, observations, and people’s knowledge of the community (gathered from public meetings, interviews, and the CSTC team).

The dots on this map represent areas that could be candidates for a busstop location. Most of these have been determined to either be in need of, or may respond favorably to, public transit service. It is impossible to truly know all the needs and desires for public transit in the community, and so it is useful to consider all population centers in the community as possible origin points. Therefore, areas that are less likely to respond favorably to public transit, but are sizable neighborhoods or developments, are at times also represented. In routing design, these areas will only be served if they are easily accessed by a route heading toward areas that indicate a higher potential for transit use.

At times the dots are in locations specific to a particular business or living area, however one dot will often represent a general area of businesses or residential complexes. For example, downtown is represented by only one dot even though it contains many destination points, such as restaurants, the courthouse, Starkville Electric Department, etc. Origins are represented in a very similar way. For example, a street lined with several student housing complexes will be represented with a single origin point on the street itself.

The level of abstraction represented in this

map is to simplify the development of early proposal routes for the area. As these early routes are redefined (see p. 81), more specific information on origins and destinations will be needed in order to locate bus stops and fine tune route efficiency. Some of this information can be found on the landmark maps (p. 52), census data maps (p. 11), the following maps in this section, and the Detailed Building Use map. A small piece of the Detailed Building Use map is represented on page 43. It is too large to be represented in its entirety in this document, but has been given to the City of Starkville in digital form for future planning purposes. However, as businesses often change and new developments are continuously being built in the area, it is wise to review these maps to make sure no new origins or destinations should be added.

As a transit system begins to test its routing system, it will also discover that some origins and destinations do not trigger the type of ridership expected.

Also neighborhoods or businesses who previously did not seem to be interested in receiving public transit service may begin to request services. As an example of this, the adjacent map only includes major employers who perceived a need for public transportation amongst their employees, or are a destination point for persons other than employees.

Additionally, paratransit destinations are not marked on the Origins and Destinations map unless they could also possibly benefit from fixed route services. These additional destinations can be found on the following Social Housing and Services map.

See pages 81-89 for more information about bus routes.

1. George Gray and Lester Hoel, eds., Public Transportation, 2nd ed. (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, Prentice Hall, 1992) p. 140

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Principles and Variables of Bus Route Planning

Goals and Objectives The goals and objectives, including service standards and level-of-service criteria, adopted by the transit agency should be the starting point for route planning.

For example, if the transit agency policy is to direct service towards the transit-dependent population, the routes could be very different than if the policy were to serve the needs of commuters. An emphasis on the

former will be directed toward meeting the social needs of the community, whereas an emphasis on the latter would undoubtedly mean greater concern for goals such as energy conservation and reduction of congestion, parking problems and air pollution.

Demographic Data Maps of key demographic factors organized by census tract serve as a basic reference in designing a system of routes. See pages 11-22.

Political Considerations The degree of public support for alternative proposals and the level of requests and petitions for alternative transit improvements must always be considered.

Transit needs usually do not match up closely with city and county boundary lines. It is not unusual for a single transit line to pass through several political jurisdictions. Depending on financing arrangements and decision-making authority and procedures, reaching agreement among all the concerned parties may be time consuming and difficult.

Many cities have difficulties when transit systems respond too quickly to political desires in place of careful study of public needs and route restraints.

While good communication and teamwork is essential to a successful system, transit agencies should resist the desire to cater to political issues. Instead these should be considered as a factor, among many, in the overall planning, expansion and/or changing of routes.

Land Use The mapping of major activity centers is important because bus routes must travel within a short distance of the entrance to these activity centers if the bus system is to be used for access. See pages 43, 76-79.

Residential density indicates the level of serv-

1. Adapted from George Gray and Lester Hoel, eds., Public Transportation, 2nd ed. (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, Prentice Hall, 1992)

ice needed in an area. The higher the density is, the more closely spaced and/or more frequent the level of transit service that can be supported. See page 13.

A transit agency should have a close liaison with local and regional planning agencies in order to be prepared for possible route extensions needed in the near future. Financial plans are generally made in three to five year cycles; knowing what expansions may be necessary can allow the transit agency to budget accordingly and apply for the appropriate funding. It is also beneficial to know future development plans in order to influence policies that facilitate transit use, such as the clustering of activities, street continuity, and locations of possible transit amenities.

Street Standards and Safety Considerations See pages 69, 75, and 84 for issues concerning street standards. Safety factors include the avoidance of potentially hazardous turns and the availability of traffic signals and stop-sign protection. For example, leftturn entries into busy arterials should be made only at intersections with traffic signals. Safety also relates to bus stop locations and conditions. For example, night stops are important to be located in well lit areas.

Pedestrian Access As a rule people are willing to walk approximately 0.25 miles to a bus stop, theoretically this results in parallel routes 0.5 miles apart. However, rural transit studies have shown that many rural inhabitants are not as willing to walk 0.25 miles. See page 96.

Financing Constraints This not only means keeping within the total budget, but also routing to produce the greatest revenue per mile. Even if the system is fare-free, ridership equals revenue as funding becomes more accessible with

higher ridership.

Marketing Strategy A transit agency should consider which market, neighborhood or line would be easiest to sell. It is sometimes advantageous to concentrate initially on lines most likely to quickly succeed and gradually add to this.

Travel Patterns Travel patterns help to inform from and to where people are traveling in the community. Understanding traffic conditions and accident prone intersections can help inform the possible delays or problems with particular routes if they travel in these areas. See pages 68-73 for travel patterns in the study area.

Convenience, Simplicity and Clarity The objectives of simplicity and clarity to the user is of prime importance among all of the factors listed. An intricate, sophisticated network that works on paper may be too complex for the public to understand and may be a failure as it attracts few riders. Availability is extremely important and influences how convenient the system is for riders. It is primarily a product of reasonably close stops and the frequency of service.

Safe, convenient, and pleasant locations for, and paths to, stops should be provided.

Scheduling Considerations This includes policy headways, running times, number of vehicles, and loops. In general, shorter headways between busses makes the system more reliable and customer friendly. Too many stops along a route will extend running times, and must be balanced against making bus stops convenient to origins and destinations. See the page 83 for details on scheduling.

ROUTE PLANNING

Changing routes can be complex and can affect public acceptance, so good planning should precede any implementation. One can easily add service to an area, but to remove or change existing service is problematic. There are three basic reasons for this: First, a bus system needs to be reliable, it takes a while before the public truly understands and feels that they can rely on the bus to get them where they need to go, if the routes are constantly changing people will give up on trying to figure it out. A minimum of six months is recommended as a trial period for a new route.

Second, a public hearing usually required in order to remove service from a location. Third, tinkering with long-established routes in the hope of gaining 100 passengers, could lose 500 passengers from the existing service.

Any addition or change in service must be accompanied by strong public informational tactics, such as announcements in local papers, signs and flyers on bus stops, buses public buildings and other common places. Announcing the addition of service can be a useful marketing tool that characterizes the system as progressive and responsive to public needs.

Announcing the removal of service, even if it is in order to improve and expand the overall system, is always negative and should be avoided whenever possible.

The following is a list of factors1 for establishing a successful routing system.

82 through a central point, as in the radial system, also helps make trips shorter. Another advantage is the relative simplicity of the system.

A major disadvantage of the grid system is that a transfer is usually necessary. If a high volume of trips are made between two points diagonal to the grid a more direct routing, without a transfer, is often better.

For a grid system to work well, headways should be every 15 or 20 minutes or less. A grid system will not work well with half-hour headways because it is mathematically impossible to schedule more than a few key locations for convenient transfer connections.

Bus Routing Networks1

Radial Criss-cross

ROUTE PLANNING

One of the most important factors in the quality and adequacy of service provided by a fixed-route bus system is the design of the network of routes.

Though this study includes suggested routing for the study area, these are likely to change as policy decisions are made and a transit agency forms. Below are some basic network configurations divided into type. In actual practice most transit systems combine attributes of several network types. Not all of these systems apply directly to the conditions in and around Starkville.

However it is important to understand the basic principles and applicability of each so that suitable aspects can be extracted to fit local conditions and unsuitable routing solutions can be avoided.

neighborhoods and suburbs.

In the past century profound changes in land-use have occurred in American communities, including the Starkville area.

Major activities have become decentralized, including employment, medical facilities, college campuses, and entertainment, making this type of bus network inadequate for many travel needs.

Grid-type Networks

Radial Patterns

This is the oldest type of network based on the typical layout older cities, where most major activities were concentrated in the downtown area surrounded by

Grid-type networks feature relatively straight and parallel routes spaced at regular intervals and crossed by a second group of routes with similar characteristics.

An evenly spaced and contiguous network of streets is generally required.

A grid-type system is advantageous when serving widely scattered activity centers as riders are able to travel from almost anyplace to almost anyplace else with only one transfer. Not having to travel back

1. Adapted from George Gray and Lester Hoel, eds., Public Transportation, 2nd ed. (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, Prentice Hall, 1992)

One way to obtain certain characteristics of a grid system and still maintain the benefits of a radial system is to crisscross the lines and provide additional points where lines converge, such as at shopping centers, colleges and downtown. In Starkville these points of convergence would be the MSU campus, downtown, the Oktibbeha County Hospital, and the Crossgates shopping area.

The MSU transit service resembles this type of system with a tendency towards being more radial than grid-like. MSU’s central point is the stop between the Perry Cafeteria and the Colvard Union.

Trunk Line with Feeders

This system is based on a strong major public transit artery serving a major travel corridor with several smaller feeder routes from low density neighborhoods. Feeders can vary from regularly scheduled shuttle vehicles on fixed routes to paratransit vehicles.

In Starkville this major transit corridor might run from MSU down University Drive to Main Street (downtown) and continue along Whitfield Street and a section of Highway 12 to the Crossgates shopping area.

An advantage of this type of system is that a system of feeder routes might support a higher level of service on the trunk line better than if it were supported only by passengers walking to stops. A major disadvantage of this system is the necessity for most passengers to transfer.

Timed Transfer Networks Most transportation networks have certain locations where vehicles are scheduled to meet, or at least intersect in timed sequence, to allow interchange of passengers. In the routing options shown in this report these intersections would occur in Downtown and on the MSU campus. However, a timed transfer network is an entire system or major segments of a system which facilitates such transfers. Interchange points or timed transfer focal points are typically located at major activity centers. All lines serving a given interchange point operate at the same frequency and are scheduled to arrive at about the same time and to leave at the same time, following a layover period that allows passengers to change buses. Timed transfer networks require an unusually high degree of coordination between route planning and scheduling. Transfer systems are not very good if scheduled on half hour intervals.

The advantages to the passenger include not having to go downtown for transfers, as in a radial system, or having to rely on random transfers, perhaps with long waits at inhospitable street corners, as in the grid system. With the timed transfer network, most transfers can be quick and pleasant.

A timed transfer network can be extremely complicated to design and requires very careful planning. Among the problems that must be resolved are:

83

Route Deviation Systems Also called Flex-routes, this system is sometimes used in small cities and low-density suburbs, and generally provides basic services for transit dependent persons.

The service will typically have a defined route but will deviate off its course to service requested pick ups and drop offs; requests are made by phone and on the bus, respectively. Variable and irregular scheduling typical of route-deviation bus systems places severe restrictions on reliability. Riders typically have more confidence in a fixed route system or an advance reservation paratransit service.

Paratransit Systems Also called dial-a-ride or demand-response systems, this system type consists of public and semipublic transportation services that are more flexible and personalized than conventional fixed-route, fixed-schedule service. Public paratransit is available to anyone who pays a predetermined fare. Semipublic paratransit is available only to people of a certain group, such as the elderly, employees of a company, or residents of a neighborhood. Starkville currently has four semipublic paratransit operations in service.

Paratransit are often used as a response to the special transportation needs of the elderly and handicapped. However, other forms of paratransit have been introduced for the general public in suburban and rural communities where travel patterns do not promote efficient operation of a conventional transit service. Other paratransit systems are used to help fill the gaps of fixed route systems by either providing door-to-door service for those in most need or to provide service to a fixed route stop for those not within walking distance of one.

Scheduling Practices1

Creating a reliable and convenient scheduled route is as important as a good system of routes. The following section defines different principles and elements to consider when scheduling a bus route.

Headways Headway is the term used to define timing between each bus at one particular stop. Headways divisible into 60 are ideal as people remember the schedules more easily. It is important to schedule the times to coordinate with class schedules, i.e. one hour cycles.

However, these considerations become unimportant with headways shorter than 10 minutes because riders tend to no longer rely on timetables.

Policy Headways A policy headway is a formally adopted or unstated policy regarding the minimum level of service to be provided on a route or in a system. Policy headways are typically every 60, 30, 20, 15, or 10 minutes. Policy headways will help to determine the number of buses needed to provide a certain route with a particular level of service. If the policy headway cannot be met by adding more busses, the route may need to be manipulated in order to stay within the promised time limit.

Layover or Recovery Time Layover or recovery time is an allotted time at one or both ends of each line. Reasons for this are: 1. To give the driver a rest 2. To maintain scheduled reliability. If the bus is off schedule during a certain hour it will be able to start again on time the next hour and not continue the delays all day.

3. To maintain reasonable headway. It is better practice to run a bus every 30 minutes rather than every 26 minutes, even if it means a 4 minute layover.

Peak to Base Ratio Term used to define the number of buses operating at peak ridership times and at base ridership times. Many transit systems help fill part of the midday gap in demand for buses and drivers by scheduling service to schools, shopper shuttles, and other services targeted to off-peak markets (usually just after the morning commuter rush and just before evening commuter rush).

Some Guidelines for Rural/Small Town Transit Few guidelines exist to aid in the development of routes or schedules for a new rural service. Operating experience is perhaps the best source for current guidelines. Experience with rural transit systems in North and South Carolina led to the following conclusions2 about scheduling: 1. Rural demand-route schedules should have generous time allowances built in for passengers embarking with groceries and for elderly passengers, who are slower to board and discharge. Stop allowances should be roughly estimated at 2 to 3 minutes apiece. This is more difficult to achieve on fixed-route schedules.

2. Fixed-route schedules should be geared for an average open road speed of 40 to 45 mph, with a time insertion of about 2 to 5 minutes at each stopping point.

Very little allowance is required (at first) for flag-stop possibilities. These will usually be rare during the first year of operation.

3. AIl schedules should allow at least a 5 to 10 minute layover at each end of a long (about 25 miles) run.

1. Adapted from George Gray and Lester Hoel, eds., Public Transportation, 2nd ed. (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, Prentice Hall, 1992) 2. Expanded Metro Mobility Task Force, Rural Transportation in the Southeast, prepared for U.S. DOT (Atlanta, Ga.: Southeastern Federal Regional Council, November 1984). Now available as PB 238 880.

4. Worker buses should always arrive at least 10 minutes before shift start to allow time for workers to check in. Less than that will produce a drastic and immediate drop in worker ridership.

5. Rural worker schedules should rarely exceed 1.5 hour total run time from origin to destination.

6. Workers tend to resist bus trip time that is more than double car-trip time.

7. Rural social delivery schedules can be somewhat longer in overall duration (about 2 hours is maximum).

As a rule, trip needs in this category have less urgency, and passenger demands on the schedule are less critical.

8. Rural social delivery schedules should allow 2 hours between arrival time and return time for general business and shopping needs.

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1. Differences in running time between several routes operating between the same pair of focal points.

2. Scheduling conflicts between the demands of focal points and those of intermediate points, such as classbreak times at school and colleges.

3. Differences in running times by time of day due to traffic congestion.

4. Differences in passenger volumes by time of day on some routes serving timed transfer focal points, making evenly spaced headways unsuitable.

5. Unsuitable relationships between running times and frequency of service, causing wasted vehicle and operator hours.

6. One or more lines subject to fluctuating and unpredictable traffic delays and serving a focal point, resulting in either missed connections or, if it is the policy for buses to wait for connections, one delayed bus causing an entire group of buses to be delayed.

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Routing Possibilities for a Fixed Route System

ROUTE PLANNING

For Starkville, MSU, and surrounding region

This section shows five different routing options for a fixed route system in the study area. As a transit agency is formed in the area, policy issues and other factors will need to refine these routes and determine specific areas for bus stops.

Several conditions in the urban fabric discourage efficient bus routing and hinder pedestrian accessibility to bus stops; the adjacent map catalogues the problems encountered in the design process and suggests some potential solutions. Whether or not a public transit system is instituted, fixing these issues of interconnectivity in the urban fabric will undeniably improve the overall efficiency and convenience of mobility within the community.

The Origins and Destinations map is shown on each system option map. A faded dot indicates an area which has primary access to the service. Primary access is considered to be areas within a 5 minutes walk to the bus route. Areas 10 minutes from a route are considered to be in a secondary service area and are generally marked as unserved. However, the distinction is far from straightforward. Some of the origins and destinations need to improve their pedestrian accessibility, however, unless accessibility is completely shut off, the dot is shown to be served by the route.

It is important to note that the less pleasant and safe it is for a person to walk to a bus stop, the less likely they will be to use the transit system. See pages 96-97 for more information about pedestrian and bicycle access.

While system policies and data collected in this study (referenced on p. 81) can help to narrow down the best area for a bus stop location, the final test will be to drive the route and examine the physical area of a proposed stop.

Basic Characteristics of Routing Proposals All of the system options connect the three city hearts (MSU, downtown, and Crossgates shopping area) and the Oktibbeha County Hospital. They also service all of the primary areas identified through the census data as containing the most transit dependent individuals. The Paratransit system(s) should be coordinated and used to provide increased access to the fixed route system whenever possible.

Each option features the Blue route, which runs between the Oktibbeha County Hospital and downtown. This line links with all other routes in the downtown area. All of the options also link to the 2004 campus routing system (shown with dashed lines), however some options modify the system slightly.

All routes are expected to have a minimum of two buses operating the route, with one bus running clockwise, and another counter-clockwise. It is recommended that routes be scheduled to facilitated transfers at a downtown transportation hub and on campus between the Colvard Union and Perry Cafeteria (the campus’ transit hub).

Option A is the most basic of all the systems.

It features one very long Red route in addition to the Blue route and the campus routes. It is the only route that does not modify the campus system in anyway.

Option B is an elaboration on Option A. The Green route is added in this option to provide quick and convenient access between central Starkville, downtown, and campus. This ‘express’ route also allows the Red route to access campus more efficiently from the south side of town (Locksley Way). It also allows the Red route to replace the campus system’s Maroon route, which connects Aiken Village to the heart of cam-

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Option C is a response to the predicament described in Option B. Like Option B, this system also substitutes the Maroon route with a Red route.

Together the Red and Green routes in this system provide convenient access to all of the city hearts. Out of all the systems, this option will serve the area most effectively, with the highest level of access and convenience.

Option D features the same basic Green and Red routes as Option C, but adds an additional Pink route on the east side of campus. This route connects outlying student and faculty housing with the center of campus. There are also a handful of businesses that could benefit from this added connection, such as the Campus Bookmart and Waffle House.

Option E modifies the Pink route to serve the area south-east of campus, and also provides service to the College of Veterinary Science. An Orange route has been added to serve the the student and faculty housing area north-east of campus with access to campus, University Drive, downtown, and the Research Park. This route also provides the Research Park with convenient access to downtown.

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pus. The Red route continues to provide this area with access to campus, but adds convenient access to downtown, Highway 12, and the Crossgates shopping area. While both options A and B provide the key origin points in the community with fairly convenient access to campus, the Crossgates shopping area, and other destination points, neighborhoods in the south part of town are at a loss for convenient access to Highway 12 and downtown.

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87

ROUTE PLANNING 88

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89

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Attracting Passengers

“Passenger attraction is obviously a function of the type and level of service, but there is also and additional factor: 'system image'. Difficult to define but is composed of such aspects as simplicity, reliability, frequency, regularity, physical characteristics, facilities and amenities1.� The following are examples of how these goals can be assisted through different types of features afforded a transit system.

To increase the reliability, frequency, and regularity of a service, it is advantageous to employ any number of bus priority measures throughout the city, such as: - Manipulating red lights in favor of buses - Creating bus-only pass-throughs to connect secluded neighborhood streets to the urban street network - Providing pedestrian (and bicycle) access to stops (see p. 109 for grant opportunities) - Heavy fines for parking in bus stop areas and efficient removal of vehicles in violation - Bus pull-offs on streets with heavy traffic - Reserving road space for buses - Discourage the use of the private car. For example, many universities do not allow freshmen to have cars on campus. Some cities set a maximum number of parking spaces allowed for any one building.

There are also bus and system features that can help make the service more effective: - Two-way radios - Alarms for alerting drivers that a stop is desired - Low floor buses (helps make elderly and handicapped boarding more efficient) - Fare boxes that require exact fare (no bills) - Make bus passes available for purchase - Do not charge a fare - A transit center - An effective maintenance policy 1. George Gray and Lester Hoel, eds., Public Transportation, 2nd ed. (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, Prentice Hall, 1992)

An effective information distribution system is a key element in making public transportation easy to understand and use. Some examples of how to achieve this: - Increasing service visibility in the community, such as through bus and facility appearances - Clear and uniform signage - Schedule information, cost and route maps permanently installed at stops - A transit system website about the transit service and routes (this is a good place to market system features and successes) - Flyers with schedules, cost, and route maps in public buildings, businesses, major destinations points, on buses, etc. The flyer should be included in a welcome package for new residents to the community.

Attractive marketing image should be conveyed by use amenities. The following measures are such amenities currently being used by a variety of different transit agencies around the nation: - Attractive bus stop shelters and/or benches - Friendly drivers who are proud of the service they are providing for the community.

- Bicycle racks on buses - Themed buses such as trolleys or by wrapping buses with local mascots and/or school colors - Music on buses - Videos on buses (muted, with text) - Newspaper rack on buses The following pages describe in more detail the most important physical features that can help support and improve system effectiveness, dependability, and popularity: - Pedestrian and bicycle access - Bus stops - A transit center - A maintenance facility

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Improving service effectiveness and public image

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Pedestrian and Bicycle Access

A new national survey1 on attitudes toward walking finds that the American public wants to walk more places more often, and is willing to invest in making it possible. Poll results show that if given a choice between walking more and driving more, 55 percent of adults choose walking more. The poll shows overwhelming support for policies to make the walking environment less dangerous for people of all ages, and especially children. A majority (68%) favor putting more federal dollars toward improving walkability, even within a constrained budget.

This is possibly a reaction towards the trend of the past half century to ignore pedestrian needs in favor of the private automobile. When comparing a map of where sidewalks are located in Starkville to a map of which streets lack sidewalks, the location of where sidewalks exist corresponds to the Sanborn map of 1945. This implies that the city stopped building sidewalks sometime after World War II. Causing Starkville citizens to walk along streets without sidewalks by either walking in the streets or by walking on beaten pedestrian footpaths, both of which are potentially dangerous. Not only is the preference for the private vehicle apparent in the exclusion of sidewalks, but also in the lack of street interconnectivity which discourages walking between neighboring residential developments or businesses. The now decade old comprehensive plan for Starkville made it clear that local citizens were, even then, asking for more sidewalks and bicycle paths.

Walking and greeting others is an important means of developing social interactions. This casual interaction creates a sense of belonging and trust, which in turn strengthens the sense of community. It can also make the community safer. The bus system would further strengthen these community ties by creating shared pedestrian paths to bus stops. When people walk they begin to pay attention to the more subtle things in their environment that simply go unnoticed by car. When one walks, attention is not focused upon other oncoming cars, traffic signs, intersections, etc., but rather upon details of the landscape and the built environment. It is this attention to detail in Starkville that is potent for rediscovery.

If a bus system is implemented, the city must

invest in the creation of sidewalks and ways for people to walk to the bus stops. Buses cannot drop someone off onto a dirt path on the side of the road. The rule of thumb for pedestrian access to bus stops is that transit patrons should not have to walk more than five minutes (0.25 mi) to reach the nearest bus stop. Areas within this walking radius are considered to be in the primary service area, areas 10 minutes (0.5 mi) away are called secondary service areas. In low-density suburbs, more individuals will find themselves in a secondary service area as it become economically unviable to supply additional routes to these areas.

Suburbs or neighborhood developments with a curvilinear street network can exacerbate the problem. A stop may be 0.25 miles away ‘as-the-crow-flies’, but it may actually be longer after walking the winding streets to get to the stop.

The transit authority should try to make sure that planning agencies and developers are always aware of the need for convenient and direct pedestrian access. The city should develop a master plan for pedestrian circulation. These plans should prioritize which sidewalks to build first and the city should commit to building a minimum amount of sidewalks, possibly 2 miles, each year.

Bus Stops Walkway Needed Sidewalks Needed

The above diagram2 shows a typical suburban street system with suggestions for increased pedestrian accessibility.

1. Survey conducted in October 2003 by Belden Russonello & Stewart, 132019th St., N.W. Suite 700, Washington, D.C. 20036 2. George Gray and Lester Hoel, eds., Public Transportation, 2nd ed. (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, Prentice Hall, 1992)

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Bicycles and the urban plan Bicycling is gaining more and more importance in urban planning around the nation. It is touted to help improve the overall quality of life in a community and us being used to help broaden the service areas of public transportation. In 2003 the Carl Small Town Center conducted a bicycle and walking path study in conjunction with this transit feasibility study. The project was supported by a grant from the National Center for Intermodal Transportation, with matching monies from the CSTC, the Greater Starkville Development Partnership, and an anonymous local donor.

The project study had two overriding intentions, one of which was to address the conditions of bicycling and walking in the community so that these could work with and improve the overall service area of a public transportation system, or work independently as a transportation alternative for the community. The CSTC worked with community cycling and walking advocates to develop a system of proposals that could either be realized as a wholistic bicycle network, or could act as a list of options from which the community could choose their favorite and then pursue funding, further design development and finally construction. The analysis of sidewalk conditions (map on page 92) was an integral part of this study. The above perspective of Martin Luther King Drive is a rendering of one of the proposals developed during the study. The new Highway 82 bypass will reduce the heavy traffic on this road, giving the community an opportunity to reclaim the area. The drawing illustrates the changes that should be made in order to help the old highway integrate with the neighboring downtown and residential areas and become a viable place for investment opportunities. For more information about the findings and proposals of this study see its website: http://bikestarkville.coa.msstate.edu/ Bicycles and public transportation A bicycle can travel much further in five or ten minutes, greatly increasing the potential service area of bus routes. One way that a transit agency can take advantage of this is to install bicycle racks at bus stops, however the most successful system has been to place the bus rack on the bus itself. A growing number of transit agencies are installing bicycle racks on the front of their buses, allowing for a multimodal transportation interchange between bus and bike. Responses1 to the added amenity have been very positive from transit patrons and operators alike. Racks are said to be extremely easy to operate, even by children, and do not have any measurable impact on route delays. They appear to pose very little maintenance hassle or safety problems. One transit agency remarked that the only complaints they have received about the bike racks is that all the buses do not have them.

1. Adapted from Sportsworks website (http://www.bicycleracks.com/sbcat.asp)

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Above: Perspective of the Martin Luther King Drive, or old Highway 82 (soon to be renamed 182) proposal; looking west from Jackson St. intersection, showing smart growth development, with sidewalks, bicycle lanes, tree lined streets, and multi-use development with parking in back.

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Bus Stops

The appearance and quality of bus stops is nearly as significant as that of the vehicles in creating a positive impression in the community.

The primary functions of a bus stop are: - Disseminate information in a clear and concise manner; such as: what locations are served by transit, what routes serve particular locations, when they are served, and where the bus is going from there.

- Give the public a positive impression of the transit system.

- Enable a bus driver to see people waiting for the bus.

- Facilitate safe loading and unloading of passengers, including handicap accessibility.

Once primary functions are met, other necessities can be addressed: - Provide weather protection - Provide a place to rest Types of Bus Stops1 Flag stop - This is an unmarked stop that is served by request of the passenger.

Regular stop - Your standard bus stop marked with a sign and having one or more additional facilities.

Transfer Stop - These stops are located where people transfer from one route to another. The routes will either serve the same stop, or stops are a short walk apart.

Limited stop route stop - A stop served by a limited stop route. These routes commonly follow the same routing as a regular route, but only stop at certain stops.

Express stop - A stop that is served by an express route, these routes usually operate for some

distance between stops, in same cases this may be many miles or kilometers between stops.

Layover stop - A stop where the bus sits at the end of a line. There might also be sanitary facilities for the drivers who have breaks at this point. This may or may not be a place where passengers board the bus.

Temporary or portable stop - Usually mounted on portable stands or an existing pole (such as a lamp post) and are used for special events, or for when a regular bus stop is closed for one reason or another (most often construction).

Transit center - This is an area that is designed for several bus routes and may also serve other transit systems. Transit centers will usually have multiple passenger facilities, such as shelters and benches, and some form of information available for the passengers, this may include a staffed information center where passengers can buy passes and get printed schedules. There might also be sanitary facilities for the drivers who have breaks at this point. See p. 96 for more on transit centers.

Making a Good Stop Accessibility: The stop must be accessible to the passengers, whether they are disabled or not. If you can't get to the stop, or can't board the bus from the stop it might as well not exist.

Passenger facilities: The stop should have the appropriate facilities for the passengers.

Visibility: It should be clear to potential passengers where the bus stops and which bus line stops there (see signage). Stops should be visible to the driver of the bus. If it is not, the passengers are likely to be

Title sketch done by Calatrava, published in El Croquis, 1989, 38, monographic issue pp. 90-92

bypassed. This also includes not only the sign being visible, but the passenger being visible. At night, this can include the need for lighting. Passengers can get passed by if they are not visible to the driver.

Convenience: The stop should be placed in a location that makes it convenient for the passengers origin or destination. Having to walk too far to get either to or from the stop discourages the passengers. See pages 92-93.

Spacing: The distance between stops can help or hurt the service. Placing stops too far apart makes them inconvenient to users. Placing them too close together can make the drivers and passengers irritated by having the bus stop too often and delay driving times.

Safety: Stops have to be safe for both the passenger at the street edge and the vehicles on the street.

Setting Standards The bus stop shelters and other amenities can be installed by the transit agency, or by neighborhoods or businesses wishing to improve the appearance of their local stop. Unlike the bus signage, it is not necessary that all bus stops look the same, however it is advantageous if they have familiar elements. The transit agency should have to approve all bus stop designs prior to construction. A list of minimum standards should be established as a check list to facilitate the approval process. This should be made easily available to the community through a website or other information sources.

Well meaning citizens very often are unaware of construction and design standards, and may unknowingly make a dysfunctional bus stop. For example, without the knowledge of standard ramp pitches and the space needed for a wheelchair turn-

1. Adapted from the following website: http://www.the-bus-stops-here.org

around, an inaccessible bus stop could be built for a retirement community. Design errors and the subsequent repair costs can be avoided if the public simply is well informed. The transit agency could also develop a few different bus stop designs that neighborhoods can choose to install at their site. This could even include simple things such as bench type suggestions, or a list of landscaping plants that require minimal maintenance and do not hinder visibility.

Signage Information and clear signage is extremely important and should be located at each bus stop. Signage should be consistent and uniform in its appearance. A sign should have reflective letters and numbers. Signs should be visible from both directions of traffic. The sign should be placed high so that it is not possible to graffiti or steal. This will also tend to make it more visible from a distance.

Bus stops should have markers that denote which routes stop there. A good marker will be recognizable by passing vehicles. The markers allow people to connect-the-dots and understand how the different routes serve the city. Most bus lines are color coded, which makes it easier to display in this manner. As routing can change with time, it is advisable to make these markers easy to remove or add.

The sign can be a permanent fixture with its own post or a removable element that attaches to an existing post in the area. Permanent signage should only be placed in areas that are likely to always be served by a bus line. Ideally, each stop would include an information board with timetables, route maps, and trip cost.

Areas for buses to pull out of traffic Pull-off areas are typically only necessary on streets with high traffic levels, however they are often appreciated and help to improve traffic safety on any street. Pull-offs can simply be an area of street parking that is blocked off for the bus during transit operating hours, or it can be a paved area carved out of the curbside of the street. If money is invested in constructing pull-offs, it is wise to design for larger buses so they can accommodate any changes in bus size. Traffic and parking signs near the bus stop help to keep cars from blocking the area. It is essential that an effective parking ban and violator removal system be in place to keep bus pull-off areas functioning properly.

Keeping the area clean Dirty bus stops are negative press and should be avoided. One trashcan with an ashtray, such as a sand filled container, is very important, and should probably be one of the first things added to a bus stop after signage and information boards. In some cities, a $100 award for reported vandalism has all but eliminated the problem.

Lighting Adequate lighting conditions will help to make the bus stop visible and safe in the evenings and at night. It will allow passengers to read schedules and routes, reduce possibilities of crime and allow drivers to see nighttime riders. Existing streetlights may be able to provide adequate lighting, but it is necessary to visit each site to ensure this is the case. If additional lighting is needed, photovoltaic cells can be used to power them. This will reduce the installation costs and longterm electricity costs, as no external powering or wiring is necessary. It will also add to the environmental benefits of the transit system, thereby improving the public opinion of the system as a progressive and modern asset to the community.

There are many ways to provide lighting, from traditional downligthing to self-illuminating schedules, to blinkers on the stops that alert bus drivers that someone is waiting for the bus. To see companies providing solar powered transit stop lighting visit their websites or call them for specifics. See appendix for a list of company websites.

Seating A bench for 4 persons is typically 8' x 2'6" (20 sq.ft.).

Some companies install benches in exchange for advertisement space on the back rest. In Hattiesburg the transit agency has had troubles with a vender who places benches all over the community with little regard for whether it is a bus stop location or not. As these benches have a distinctive look, people believe that any place there is a bench there is a bus stop, creating many misunderstandings of service area and bus reliability. This can be avoided with a good contractual agreement with the vender.

A Duck-out (above image) is an area cut into the sidewalk that allows the bus to get out of the lane traffic.

(City bus: length 40'; width 8'6": height 11'2") A Street Pad is usually a reinforced concrete section of pavement design to minimize the damage to the street caused by the buses.

A Bump Out is a section of the adjacent sidewalk that has been expanded into the street to allow the bus to stop without having to pull out of traffic. This is often done to allow automobile parking along the curb.

Bus Shelters Shelters provide limited protection from the sun, rain and wind. However, in hot climates such as Starkville, encouraging ventilation is more beneficial than blocking wind. Shelters can be custom designed and built locally, or can be ordered from a premanufactured bus stop company, delivered and installed on site. Some companies install shelters in exchange for advertisement space on the sides. Advertising space, whether managed through a bus shelter vendor or directly managed through the transit agency, can be an important income source for a transit system and is strongly encouraged by state and federal transit authorities.

Accessibility and safety The side walk should be long enough for the bus to deploy a lift from either the front or the rear door. To best deploy a lift or ramp, the area around the stop should be relatively level. Pedestrian road crossings with handicap accessible curb cuts should be located within a block of the bus stop. The sidewalk must be wide enough for the passengers using wheelchairs to be able to get onto the lift or ramp to board the bus.

There also needs to be enough room for people to easily move around the stop; passage ways should be a minimum of three feet wide. The rule of thumb for providing adequate space for a wheel chair to turn is a circle with a diameter of five feet.

Placing telephone booths (area 2' x 3' = 6 sq.ft.) close to bus stops facilitates calls for emergency assistance. Some transit systems install emergency phones in remote and/or dangerous areas of town.

Landscaping Drainage: The bus stop should drain rainwater well so that customers do not have to stand in water or get sprayed by a bus when it arrives.

Plants: Trees and other ornamental plants can improve the public image of the transit system and make the wait for the bus more pleasant. Trees are especially appreciated as they provide shade and bit of rain protection. Trees and other plantings will also help with drainage issues by absorbing excess water around the bus stop. Plants that require a minimum maintenance should be chosen; indigenous plant types are ideal as they support the local habitat and are naturally suited for the climate. Tall bushes should be avoided as they block visibility.

Other Amenities - Local historical sites and reading material could be displayed at area bus stops (see pages 57-66) - Newspaper racks can both generate revenue and provide reading material while waiting - Community bulletin board for area events - Mailbox - Drinking fountain - A bike rack with a 5 bicycle capacity is typically 4' x 6'6" (26 sq.ft.)

- Providing signage in braille can help the visually impaired

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Area needed for a bus stop Although the area needed for a bus stop varies depending on specific design criteria and inventiveness, one can approximate the area to be 72 sq.ft, with or without a bus shelter. This serves approximately 9 people waiting for a bus (four seated and five standing) and includes the space needed for passengers, including those who are handicapped, to board the bus. It does not include the amount of street space needed for the bus to pull out of the traffic lane (“pull-offs�).

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Creating a Central Point for Transit Services

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Possibilities and program concerns

Basic Definition Central points for transit services can take many different forms and are called by several names, such as a transit hub, a bus station, or an intermodal transit center. Whatever the name, this type of facility only exists where several services (either separate transit systems or different routes of the same system) come together and help improve the overall effectiveness and visibility of these.

sales, and a host of a variety other types of businesses, agencies, and public uses. This is more often called appropriately called a Transit Center. Very often a transit center will facilitate the interchange between intercity bus and local public transportation and taxi services. These centers are also increasingly being used to enhance different aspects of a community, by creating an efficient, safe and welcoming regional transportation complex that celebrates and enhances the unique culture and heritage of the local community and acts as a catalyst for economic vitality. This section includes possible functions, amenities, program, and siting concerns for a transit center in the Starkville area.

Essential Functions No matter how elaborate or simple a transit hub or center may be, the most essential aspect is that it is a waiting area and an information center for transit passengers.

A transit hub can be as simple as an elaborate bus stop that all or most routes in a transit system serve, allowing for convenient transfer from one bus to another. This bus stop should include information and route maps about all transit lines in the community and should provide enough space for several buses to stop simultaneously, as well as comfort measures for waiting passengers such as benches and moderate weather protection. The campus transit system’s ‘hub’ is a stop between Colvard Union and Perry Cafeteria. It is where routes are considered to begin and end, and it is where bus drivers take their breaks during the day.

In many communities, however, the transit hub is where the offices of the local transit agency are housed, as well as a rest area for bus drivers, ticket

Potential Functions An intermodal facility - Starkville has two intercity bus services, Greyhound and Starkville Buses, as well as local taxi, buses, and paratransit services. A fixed route transit service could benefit from an array of different levels of coordination and cooperation with these entities. Simply providing a space for taxi pick up and drop off, or the loading and unloading of tour buses would be one way to do this.

Greyhound has realized the benefits of working with local transit agencies and welcomes such opportunities. Coordinating local services with intercity transit also makes the transit agency eligible for more grants.

If you can prove your system links to Greyhound/rail you can qualify for intercity bus funds for connecting rural centers to larger city centers (FTA grants 5311F and 4220.1D)

An investment catalyst - A transit center can serve as a catalyst for new development, and thus provides an opportunity to shape parts of the urban fabric that are currently lacking in cohesion and structure. It can provide an opportunity to improve the pedestrian environment, creating pedestrian facilities where there are none, and creating connections between existing facilities and neighborhoods.

A visitors center - A facility with intercity service will likely be the first introduction to a town for some visitors. A visitors center located at a transit hub is beneficial even for those who do not arrive to town by bus; new residents and visitors will quickly learn about local area transit services at the same time they learn about other local services, attractions and history.

A community center - Some centers provide public meeting rooms and office space for local organizations and governmental functions. For example, the Greater Starkville Development Partnership is currently in temporary offices and might find a transit center appropriate for their needs. The surrounding landscaping can create a park like atmosphere with shaded greenspace and seating areas linked to communal bicycle and walking paths.

Programming Concerns Information, ticket sales, and waiting area: This is an area for selling tickets and giving out information for local fixed route and paratransit services, Greyhound, and possibly even Starkville Buses, tour company. The commission on selling Greyhound tickets has been shown to more than offset staffing costs.

This is the most important area of any transit center and may include: - Ticket and information counter - Benches for waiting - Clock - Transit information boards - Public restrooms - Water fountains - Waste receptacles with ashtrays - Vending machines - News paper rack - Public telephones - Community board for local announcements and a calendar of local events.

- Pamphlets, flyers, maps and information about Oktibbeha County, Starkville, MSU, Noxubee Refuge and other places of interest.

Transit agency spaces: - Offices for managers and staff for both fixed route and paratransit operations - Meeting space - Break room (could be the meeting space) - Kitchenette for making coffee and lunches - Restrooms - Lockers for drivers should be located wherever shifts begin or end, i.e. where buses are parked.

Transportation vehicle needs: - Pull in and drop off for Greyhound and tour buses, such as Starkville Buses - Pull in and drop off for taxi service - Stops for fixed and paratransit service - Layover parking for the above (may need to be out of the way of pick up and drop offs).

- Overnight parking of buses does not have to be at the transit center, and may not be desirable due to the amount of space required. However, it is best to limit the amount of driving when not servicing a route. If the buses have to drive a quarter of a mile extra, for example at the end and beginning of every shift, gasoline costs and mileage on the buses will quickly add up.

Other items to consider: - Handicap accessibility - Pedestrian road crossings around the transit hub - Bicycle racks - Customer and employees parking - Maintenance/cleaning facilities (see following) Site implications Locating a site for a transit center can be complex. It is advantageous for transit centers to be: - easily accessible by residents who do not own cars.

- located in such a way that it is in the midst of, or within walking distance to, the majority of transit patrons' destinations, such as employment, commercial, residential, and public facilities.

- a prominent location on a well-used street is ideal. A transit center serves as a visible "face" of transit and can help to project a positive image to both residents and visitors. Visibility is also important so that the transit center is easy to find, not tucked away behind a building.

- located where most transfers between routes and other transit systems occur, and is therefore affected by the final routing layout.

properties aside from the transit center site itself.

Downtown locations are often preferred as they easily fit into the above descriptors. In or near downtown Starkville would be an excellent location for a transit center. However, many other factors are involved in choosing an appropriate site as are outlined in the following example.

Establish Site Evaluation Criteria It is useful to create a list of evaluation criteria to use for screening potential transit center site alternatives.

Below is an example of such a list: Goals - Create focal point for transit - Increase transit ridership - Provide space for expansion of transit service - Promote pedestrian connections - Support downtown strategies - Facilitate efficient transit service Proximity-related criteria: - Distance to employment - Distance to shopping - Proximity to community facilities - Proximity to parks and recreation - Proximity to residential growth areas Operational Criteria - Facility size and physical accommodations - Turning movements/number of movements upon approaching and leaving the site - Relative distance to the concentration of routes - Accessibility for large intercity buses - Facilitation of layover Circulation Criteria - Signalization/requirement for new traffic signals - Traffic flow - Impacts to traffic flow on major through routes - Multiple access points into transit center preferable - Parking loss - on-street and off-street - Pedestrian access/impacts on existing flows

- located in an area potent for economic reinvestment.

As a general rule, the high accessibility offered by a transit center is a favorable condition to stimulate commercial development but is not a sufficient condition to ensure that it will take place where other factors do not support it. It is therefore advantageous to locate the transit center in a part of the city that has developable 1, 2, & 3. Adapted from the website of Maintenance Design Group, 707 17th Street, Suite 2400, Denver, CO 80202 (http://www.maintenancedesigngroup.com)

Maintenance Center Criteria While some transit agencies hire out their maintenance work, many find it advantageous to do most maintenance work in-house. Major maintenance troubles can be thwarted by regular and consistent care which is difficult to obtain without a dedicated maintenance person on staff. The maintenance of cleaning the interior and exterior of the bus is another a daily necessity that must accommodated for.

Depending on the size of the fleet, a maintenance center may or may not be necessary to accommodate all of the basic needs, especially in the first years of operation. However, it is useful to consider some basic requirements for one so that a transit agency can make an informed decision.

Basic Principles1 A well-designed maintenance facility is said to be a key element in efficient fleet management. Below are things that should be considered when planning for how to accommodate the maintenance needs of a transit fleet: - It is advantageous to have the overnight parking and maintenance in the same location so that daily maintenance and cleaning can be done efficiently. However it could be costly if the facility is far from the end of routes.

- A maintenance facility can be very large and may not be appropriate to be located on the same site as a transit center. The amount of parking required for the fleet can easily become a public eyesore. "As a rule, 50 percent of an entire site will be used for parking and circulating 'company' vehicles. Twenty-five percent of the site will be used for employee parking, while the remaining 25 percent will be required for the buildings.

Adding ten large vehicles for parking has a bigger impact on the site than adding five feet to a repair bay or doubling the size of an office." Don Leidy, principal of Maintenance Design Group (MDG) - Designing the facility's exterior and parking areas to complement the surrounding environment and adding native landscaping can help gain public approval of the project.

- There are differences between garages for school buses and transit buses, however, it may be useful to collocate maintenance facilities so that what maintenance needs both do share can be jointly funded and used. The Starkville School District is in need of expanding and upgrading its maintenance facility.

Program Concerns2 For daily maintenance - treatment tracks, each with lubricant distribution station, interior vacuuming and cleaning station and bus exterior wash rack.

Light maintenance areas - should be specified at about 750 sq.ft. per 30 vehicles. This space must be reserved so as to not interfere with the flow of traffic within the building.

For periodic maintenance and minor repairs maintenance areas with fixed lifts, and one with a mobile lift, area for changing and balancing tires, a brake test rack, a subframe washing station, an auxiliary workshop.

Heavy maintenance areas - should be specified at about 900 square feet per 30 fleet vehicles.

This type of maintenance work is the most common to contract out to commercial shops.

Common mistakes in planning3 Lighting - Lighting fixtures must offer a full spectrum of light. Lighting has ramifications on the efficiency, functionality, and safety of the facility. For example, high pressure sodium lights are not suited for a maintenance shop. The light's orange-yellow cast creates poor color rendition, making different colored wires look the same and blood indistinguishable from grease.

Overhead clearance - Ductwork, plumbing, and cranes installed too low can encroach on the required unobstructed vertical clearance in the repair bay, making cranes and lifts useless.

Door size - Measure each vehicle's width and height including mirrors and vertical extensions. Mirrors can protrude up to a foot on each side, making an eight feet wide vehicle actually ten feet wide.

Building finishes - The bottom four to six feet of the shop walls should be durable (concrete or masonry) to withstand the abuse in a shop environment. The entire inside of the building (walls and structure) should be painted to extend the useful life of the facility.

Expandability - The building should not only handle the shop's current work load, but also should be adaptable and able to accommodate demands 20 years from now. For example, if additional bays aren't built during initial construction, room should be left on the site to accommodate the expansion. Also, load bearing walls should be avoided to maximize flexibility for future modifications.

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Choice of Public Transportation Technology

When evaluating the type of public transportation most appropriate for the area, lengths of journeys and land use densities are the most influential factors.

However, this relationship is far from straightforward.

The choice of transit technology is also heavily influenced by the policies of the area transit agency, its financial support mechanism, and the type of demand to be satisfied. Clear objectives are essential in the selection process, and should not be based solely on capital and operational costs.

A common problem is that the decision on technology is often made by organizations who are not responsible for, or interested in, all of the potential benefits of, and factors relating to, a successful public transportation system. For example, investment in public transit for environmental reasons is likely to be undervalued because transit authorities are not primarily responsible for environmental protection. Another example is that cheaper, less attractive, and uncomfortable buses may be selected as a budgetary measure, yet fail to attract riders because of the decreased community appeal. A positive public perception is vital to ensure a successful system and, with proper attention, can be achieved in many ways; the type of vehicle technology and its physical appearance is a crucial factor influencing public opinion of the system.

Fixed route or paratransit?

The overall size of the Starkville population and surrounding areas, combined with the successful precedent of the MSU transit system, justify an offcampus fixed route bus system. While the study area has several centers of relatively dense urban development, these are surrounded and interspersed with low density and rural areas. A supplemental paratransit system is needed to provide access to these and other areas that are inaccessible by a fixed route system yet contain transit dependent persons.

Buses or minibuses?1 Advantages of Minibuses over conventional buses: - Minibuses are cheaper to buy and to operate (in terms of cost per vehicle, not cost per place).

One contributing factor to this is that minibus drivers' wages are generally lower.

- A more frequent service can be provided with minibuses for the same cost as a conventional bus service.

- Due to their low capital and operating costs, minibuses may be able to run routes that were considered economically infeasible with larger conventional buses.

- The driver can keep closer surveillance on a minibus, thereby reducing vandalism and litter, and increasing passenger safety.

- Minibuses are more maneuverable and can operate on routes difficult for conventional buses. They also cause less damage to curbs and street furniture on tight bends.

Disadvantages of minibuses: - Cost per place per mile is higher than for conventional buses and so where there is heavy demand they are more expensive to operate.

- Many models seem to have a shorter working life than conventional buses.

- Minibuses tend to have a tarnished image with most urbanites.

- Minibuses usually lack space and are not as comfortable for passengers.

1. Adapted from George Gray and Lester Hoel, eds., Public Transportation, 2nd ed. (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, Prentice Hall, 1992)

Recommendations for a fixed route system Although small vehicles are cheaper to run than large ones, the total cost of transportation-per seat-per-mile decreases markedly with increasing vehicle capacity. The routes in the city of Starkville are likely to experience higher ridership during commuter hours. It is therefore wise to furnish the city routes with a fleet of mostly 20-25 passenger buses and a few 3035 passenger busses to handle the peak ridership hours. All buses should be handicap accessible.

Buses are sold in different classes of life span expectancies. Buses with shorter life spans are often bought to reduce initial acquisition costs. However, research conducted during this study found that buying buses with twelve year life spans is financially beneficial in the long run (see Cost-Benefit analysis p. 104).

Recommendations for a paratransit system Minibuses, with capacities ranging from 8 to 20 passengers, are the best vehicles for meeting the transportation needs of rural and low population density areas. Also, they can be more easily maneuvered on dead-end streets and substandard roads often found in rural areas. All paratransit buses should be handicap accessible.

Some rural transit can even be provided by standard automobiles either owned by the agency or by hiring a taxi service to supplement the transit fleet.

Twelve cities in Alameda County, CA, employ a program that enables senior citizens to obtain taxi service at below-market rates3. The program is built around a state subsidy for paratransit and a formal agreement with the city's taxicab operators.

Taxi operators have agreed to accept redeemable script from senior citizens in lieu of cash payment. Seniors purchase the script from the city at 50% of its face value. It is redeemed at full value, with state funds used to make up the difference. At the outset of the program, taxi operators agreed to roll back fares because additional ridership by seniors allows the companies to do a brisk business during otherwise slack periods of the day.

Other voucher systems have been used to allow individuals to be reimbursed for providing regular transit services to the transit dependent population.

The transit dependent person registers the names of those persons who will be providing them with regular transit services and is given vouchers by the transit agency. For each ride this person receives, he or she gives the driver a voucher stating the origin and destination of the trip and other relevant information necessary to limit fraudulent use. The registered driver is

then able to turn into the transit agency for a standard cost reimbursement (typically 38 cents per mile). This system can be difficult to administer but can greatly reduce fleet size requirements for a paratransit system and gives transit dependent persons greater freedom.

New or older buses?

Transit systems tend to buy new vehicles rather than used ones. The reasons for new vehicles are twofold. First, the purchase of older vehicles involves a trade-off of depreciation for maintenance costs. Maintenance costs for older vehicles may prove to be unacceptably high, especially when the purchase price of new vehicles is fully or partially subsidized from outside sources. Second, operators are especially cognizant of the impact of a clean and reliable vehicle on ridership and prefer the positive community impact of shiny new vehicles.

Purchasing buses through state contract Many state public transportation agencies purchase their vehicles through state contract with the Mississippi Department of Transportation. Mississippi has few agencies who can justify buying a large fleet of transit buses which would give them a price break; the state contract system allows all participating Mississippi transit authorities to combine their purchasing power through MDOT and thereby receive the bulk purchasing discounts. The list prices and bus options change each year and can be obtained from the MDOT offices. Disadvantages of this system include limited choices on bus types and technology.

99

Choice of Vehicle Technology

Diesels are more efficient and cheaper to run than gasoline engines and most transit buses are not equipped with gasoline engines. Gasoline engines also require more maintenance then diesel engines.

As these two types of engines are the most standard options available they are typically also the lowest price option.

However, there are many reasons to look towards newer technologies and different fuels for vehicle engines. Most communities using alternative fuel buses have done so because of concern about the health effects of diesel exhaust or because they need NOx reductions for their air quality attainment efforts.

However, several communities are also noticing that alternative fuel vehicles help to improve the public image of the overall transit system and can even help to boost ridership.

Another reason for using alternative fuels is to diversify our power sources, thereby making our transportation systems more resilient to outside forces. The supply of oil is finite. Oil production is expected to peak and decline at some point, and according to some scientists, probably within the next 15 years1. Public transportation is crucial in helping to save energy and use it wisely.

- Each year, public transportation saves 1,500 million gallons in auto fuel consumption.

- For every 10,000 solo commuters who leave their cars at home and commute on an existing public transportation service for one year, the nation reduces fuel consumption by 2.7 million gallons.

- A bus with as few as seven passengers is more fuel efficient than the average car with one occupant used for commuting.

In subsequent pages basic characteristics of the different alternative vehicle technologies are outlined and explained. Cost and maintenance variables are touched on in more detail on pages 101-103.

Incentives for Alternative Fuels Most communities using alternative fuel buses have used Federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ). However, these funds are not likely to be available for the a transit system in the Starkville region. Other communities have looked to their congressional representatives to provide earmarks in the appropriations to help pay the cost of such projects.

Some projects have benefited from U.S. DOE State Energy Program grant funds, and endorsements from local power companies.

Mississippi Development Authority Alternative Fuel Vehicle Program: The Energy Division provides information on the guidelines for meeting the requirements of the Alternative Fuel Vehicles Program [10 CFR Part 490] Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPACT).

Staff members meet with or correspond with other state agency representatives or the public and private entities concerning the alternative fuel transportation utilization requirements. For more information, you may contact Marilyn Wash, Manager, Alternative Fuel Vehicle Program. To learn more about alternative fuels, visit the U.S. Department of Energy’s Alternative Fuels Data Center.

The Mississippi Ace Fund (Ace Fund), administered by the Mississippi Development Authority (MDA), is a program that provides grants to Economic Development Entities (Local Sponsors) to assist in funding economic development opportunities to promote economic growth in the State of Mississippi (State). Local sponsors are encouraged to use these grants in connection with other State and federal programs. Projects, which are eligible for assistance, must be related to the construction, renovation, or expansion of a new or expanded industry. The maximum amount of ACE funds, which may be provided for any one proj-

Pine Belt Alternative Fuels Coalition: In 1993, several entities in the southern portion of the state collaborated with the Energy Division to assess the feasibility of compressed natural gas or CNG as a vehicle fuel.

Through a matching grant award from the Division, the Pine Belt Alternative Fuels Coalition was organized by the University of Southern Mississippi. Coalition members included: University of Southern Mississippi; the city of Hattiesburg; Forrest General Hospital; Hattiesburg Public Schools; Camp Shelby Army National Guard, and; Willmut Gas Company. Each Coalition participant provided the financial and technical resources necessary to successfully launch the first major alternative fuels pilot program by government entities in the state of Mississippi.

Utilities/Private Incentives: Mississippi Valley Gas offers incentives for natural gas vehicles on a case-bycase basis and offers special rates for natural gas when used as a vehicle fuel. For more information, please contact Gary Rehm at (601) 961-6838, via email at gary.rehm@atmosenergy.com, or visit the Web site at www.mvgas.com.

While no formal program exists within TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) to subsidize electric or hybrid electric vehicles, they did provide support for the hybrid electric bus demonstration in Starkville in 2002.

There appears to be an overall interest within TVA to support cleaner burning fuels, and is shown through its creation of the award winning Green Power Switch program.

The U.S. Department of Energy's Clean Cities Program supports public-private partnerships that deploy alternative fuel vehicles and build supporting alternative fuel infrastructure. Our site features information about local coalitions and clean corridors, alternative fuel news and events, fleet success stories, support and funding, tips for starting a coalition in your area, available alternative fuel vehicles, related links and more.

The State of Mississippi does not currently offer any incentives for alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs), although policy language is included in the state energy plan.

For more information, contact Marilyn Wash of the Mississippi Development Authority Energy Division at (601) 359-6600, or email: mwash@mississippi.org.

Hybrid Electric Technology After 20 years of study, hybrid electric vehicles are taking center stage and electric vehicles are only being used in niche markets where fewer miles are traveled. The Mississippi Gulf Coast has recently introduced two new hybrid electric trolleys to its fleet, making it the first transit system in the state to try this new technology. One of the new trolleys is shown in the picture below. Funding for the buses was provided by the Federal Transit Administration, the Mississippi Development Authority and the Mississippi Alternative Energy Enterprise.

A demonstration route with a hybrid electric bus took place in Starkville on Bulldog weekend in the spring of 2002. Many community members, bus operators and business leaders showed an interest in using this type of bus for an area transit system. See page 6 for more information about this demonstration run.

Below are some of the basic facts4 about these buses: Advantages: Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs), like electric vehicles, provide a quiet, clean and smooth ride. HEVs can help to boost ridership by attracting more first time transit riders through their novelty. It is said that the cost premium associated with HEVs can be off-set by overall fuel savings, reduced maintenance needs and possible federal, state, and private source incentives. HEVs avoid the infrastructure costs of CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) as no special fuel handling is required.

Electric drive provides superior acceleration: - Diesel Bus 0 to 20 mph in 10 seconds - Electric or Hybrid 0 to 30 mph in 10 seconds (a 45% increase)

1. Brown, Lester R., Eco-Economy Update 2004-7, Earth Policy Institute 2004, April 14, 2004 2. U.S. Department of Energy's Clean Cities Program Home Page: http://www.cities.doe.gov 3. To view success stories: http://www.cities.doe.gov/success/transit.shtml 4. References: Transportation Research Board. "Transportation on College and University Campuses", TCRP Synthesis 39. National Academy Press, Washington, D.C. 2001. and "Hybrid Electric Transit Buses: NYCT Diesel Hybrid-Electric Buses Final Data Report". National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado. April 2002.

TRANSIT TECHNOLOGY

ect, is $150,000. Interested persons should contact the MDA at (601) 359-3552.

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TRANSIT TECHNOLOGY

Disadvantages: Hybrid electric buses carry a high purchase cost.

Maintenance costs have also been reported as high due to the inexperience of local mechanics; these costs were expected to fall as mechanics became more familiar with the technology.

Some transit agencies have created partnerships with local engineering schools to establish a training program for the old diesel mechanics and engineers to learn about maintenance and repair on alternative fuel vehicles. This could be replicated in the Starkville area, as both MSU and EMCC have the engineering and technical skills available.

The hybrid's complexity, and the fact that some of the best storage and conversion systems have yet to be fully developed, is responsible for varied opinions on hybrids' ultimate impact in the marketplace. As with any new technology, there may be obstructions to its ready acceptance.

Hybrids will never be true zero-emission vehicles, because of their internal combustion engine. But the first hybrids on the market will cut emissions of global-warming pollutants by a third to a half, and later models may cut emissions by more.

How it works: When the bus starts its day, it can travel up to 45 miles on pure electric power with zero emissions and zero fuel costs. Once the batteries reach a certain stage of depletion; a diesel turbine turns on to charge the batteries at a faster rate than the bus can exhaust their energy. The diesel turbine does nothing but charge the batteries. Once the batteries are fully charged again, the diesel turns off and the bus once again acts as a pure electric vehicle. The turbine provides a more complete burn of the fuel than any traditional reciprocating engine. Therefore, even though fuel mileage may only be double that of a typical diesel bus, emissions are substantially lower due to the more complete burning of fuel.

Many electric or hybrid electric buses also include “regenerative breaking�. As the bus brakes, the resistance generates electricity and is charged back into the batteries. This greatly affects how far a bus can drive on a tank of fuel, resulting in a variation of up to 40% based upon how you drive (and stop) the vehicle - sudden stops charge the battery less than gradual stops.

Typically, the bus is plugged into a charger at night in order to begin the day with a full charge and to help extend the life of both the diesel turbine and batteries. One such charger was priced at about $3000. If the batteries are depleted during service hours to about 20% remaining, it would take approximately 40kW/hr to charge them to full capacity. Often charging

at night is less expensive because it is during off-peak hours.

Gas mileage: Typically the gas mileage is twice that of conventional buses, however there are many factors influencing the final figures. The air conditioning uses 4-6 kW/hr. The air compressor use varies based upon the amount of work the air suspension does, which depends on the quality and grade of roads along the route. Mileage can also be affected up to 40% by regenerative braking.

Hypothetical situation #1 3.5-4.0 mpg - A/C on full - Poor road conditions with high grade change - Poor braking practices Hypothetical situation #2 6-8 mpg - A/C on average amount - Decent, semi-level road conditions - Good braking practices Hypothetical situation #3 - No A/C - Level pavement - Steady speed

10-11 mpg

Biodiesel There is interest in Mississippi to investigate the use of biodiesel in transit buses because Mississippi produces agricultural crops which can yield components for this fuel. Below are the basic facts1: What is biodiesel?

Biodiesel is a clean burning alternative fuel, produced from domestic, renewable resources. Biodiesel contains no petroleum, but it can be blended at any level with petroleum diesel to create a biodiesel blend.

How does biodiesel operate?

All diesel-configured buses have the ability to run Bio100 bio-diesel, this includes Hybrid Electric diesel turbine engines. Just like petroleum diesel, biodiesel operates in combustion-ignition engines. Little or no engine modifications are required, and biodiesel maintains the payload capacity and range of diesel. Pure biodiesel is not compatible with natural rubber, sometimes found in pre-1994 vehicles. Because it is a solvent, it can degrade natural rubber hoses and gaskets, so those would need to be changed to more modern material if B100 is desired. This is not a problem with B20 blends (20 percent biodiesel/80 percent diesel).

The cost of biodiesel - Biodiesel costs range from $1.95 to $3.00 per gallon, depending on the feedstock and the supplier.2 - In general, 20/80 blends will cost 30 to 40 cents per gallon more than diesel.3 - Biodiesel is produced by one Mississippi firm from waste cooking oil. The current selling price for FOB Meridian, MS is $2 per gallon.

The future of biodiesel and ethanol4 A bill with bipartisan support from two key senators was introduced to triple the use of ethanol over the coming decade and help replace the gasoline additive MTBE, a possible human carcinogen being phased out. It is currently being debated as an amendment to the Energy Bill.

Sixteen states have enacted bans on MTBE, and additional states are considering bans on the gas additive blamed for polluting drinking water in many areas, according to the National Conference of State Legislators. Congress and the administration have moved to phase out use of the chemical.

The bill would establish nationwide requirements for the use of renewable fuels like ethanol and biodiesel, along with reducing the use of MTBE in U.S. gasoline. Ethanol, like biodiesel, is made primarily from corn and competes with MTBE as a fuel additive.

While the details are still being debated, strong support remains for the phasing out of MTBE and replacing foreign oils with alternative fuels produced nationally.

Natural Gas Vehicles5 There are almost 130,000 Natural Gas Vehicles (NGVs) on U.S. roads today and over 2 million worldwide. Additionally, about 22% of all new transit bus orders are for NGVs. Natural gas buses, like all alternative fuel vehicles, are most in demand where air quality is an issue. They are easy to obtain as all fullsize transit bus manufacturers in the U.S. offer natural gas buses and over 50 different manufacturers produce models of light, medium, and heavy-duty vehicles and engines.

Advantages: Per unit of energy, natural gas contains less carbon than any other fossil fuel, and thus produces lower carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per vehicle mile traveled. While NGVs do emit methane, another principle greenhouse gas, any slight increase in methane emissions would be more than offset by a substantial reduction in CO2 emissions compared to other fuels.

1. From http://www.biodiesel.org/markets/tra/default.asp, National Biodiesel Board 2 & 3. From the U.S. Department of Energy (http://www.afdc.doe.gov/afv/biodiesel.html) 5. Adapted from text by Harger, James N., Senior Vice President, Marketing & Sales, ENRG website (http://www.enrgfuel .com/) February 22, 2002

NGVs also emit very low levels of carbon monoxide (approximately 70 percent lower than a comparable gasoline vehicle) and volatile organic compounds.

Although these two pollutants are not themselves greenhouse gases, they play an important role in helping to break down methane and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and thus increase the global rate of methane decomposition. This more rapid breakdown could more than offset the small increase in direct methane emissions from NGVs. Life cycle costs are lower, even without accounting for public health benefits.

Disadvantages: - Natural gas buses cost 10% to 20% more than conventional diesel - Refueling facilities are necessary and expensive - Vehicles are heavier: 1,000+ pounds for 60 gallons Two ways to use Natural Gas in Buses: Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) - Used most frequently - CNG fuel costs less than diesel, in most cases.

- Stores gas at 3000 to 3600psi - Fuel system volume is about 5 times that of diesel fuel - Incremental vehicle cost of CNG vehicles is $40,000 to $60,000.

- Fueling station costs are $500,000 to $1 million.

Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) - Natural gas is stored as a liquid at around 240°F - Fuel system volume is about 5 times that of diesel fuel - LNG fuel is 50% more expensive than CNG - Vehicle weight is at least 50% less than CNG - Incremental vehicle cost is $30,000, lower than CNG - Fueling station costs are $500,000+ CNG vs. LNG - In dollars/gallon comparisons, CNG has the advantage - LNG can be subject to local sales taxes, CNG from a pipeline is not - LNG can have as much as a 50% lower equipment and installation cost - LNG operation has much lower power and labor requirements

4. Pore, Robert. Renewable fuels likely to remain in bill, despite other differences, The Independent.com, Wednesday, October 29, 2003

101 TABLE 1 Route Green -- Downtown-Wal-Mart-Downtown Blue -- Downtown-Hospital-Downtown Red -- Downtown-MSU-Downtown

Cycles Approximate per hour_______ service interval_ 2 cycles 30 minutes 3 cycles 20 minutes 3 cycles 20 minutes

Length 6 miles 4.5 miles 5 miles

Cost Estimate for a Fixed-route Transit System Route Green -- Downtown-Wal-Mart-Downtown Blue -- Downtown-Hospital-Downtown Red -- Downtown-MSU-Downtown

TABLE 3 Route Green -- Downtown-Wal-Mart-Downtown Blue -- Downtown-Hospital-Downtown Red -- Downtown-MSU-Downtown Weekly totals

Prepared by Dr. Steve Murray Hours per weekday 16 16 16

Hours per week 176 176 176 528

Hours per weekend day 8 8 8

Miles per week 2,112 2,376 2,640 7,128

TABLE 4 Route Red --Downtown-Wal-Mart-Downtown Blue -- Downtown-Hospital-Downtown Red -- Downtown-MSU-Downtown Weekly totals

Load factor 40% 40% 40%

Miles per year 109,824 123,552 137,280 370,656

Passengers per week 4,224 6,336 6,336 16,896

The purpose of this report is to estimate the cost of system start-up costs and annual operating costs for a fixed-route system in Starkville, MS and the surrounding region, including MSU. While the costs reported are only estimates, they have been prepared after reviewing specific information about the demand for service in Starkville, actual selling prices of transit vehicles which are available, and prevailing wage rates and input costs in Starkville. Information on actual costs from other communities has also been obtained to inform this portion of the study.

This report documents the process of how estimates were developed for an early routing option. A cost-per-mile calculation has been included to facilitate rough estimates for other routing options.

This cost estimate is developed based on highly generalized equations, and will be greatly affected by future policy decisions and the final structure used for providing public transportation to the City of Starkville, MSU, and surrounding regions. The budget amounts should be used cautiously and be revised in the final design phase of an implementation plan for a transit agency for the region.

Route System The staff of the Carl Small Town Center conducted a workshop for community leaders on March 3, 2003 to identify routes which were needed in the community. From this meeting three initial routes were developed. These would connect Wal-Mart, Brooksville Gardens and other central Starkville neighborhoods, the Oktibbeha County Hospital and medical complex, the Starkville downtown area and the university. These routes were developed for early cost estimating purposes, and do not reflect the final routing recommendations found on pages 84-89. However, a cost estimate was updated for option A, and follows this initial estimate (see p.104).

The length of each route was determined. The number of cycles possible per hour per bus was estimated, taking into consideration the average speed of the buses, the likely number of stops on each route, and the length of each route (see Table 1).

After developing the routes, the next questions to be addressed are how many buses to assign each route and how many hours per day to operate each route. The “preferred option� assigns a minimum of two buses to each route with one bus operating clockwise on the route and the other bus operating counterclockwise. The routes are assumed to operate for 16 hours on each weekday and 8 hours on Saturday and Sunday. Using buses that seat 31 passengers, this routing system would provide 11.4 million available passenger-miles per year (see Tables 2 and 3). Assuming a 40% passenger load on each bus, and operating 52 weeks per year, an approximate ridership of 879,000 passengers per year is projected (see Table 4).

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TABLE 2

102 Capital Costs

Estimated Operating Costs* -- Preferred system with conventional diesel buses

There is a wide choice of vehicle sizes, configurations, and fuel options available for bus transit systems.

Information on seven buses was obtained (see Table 5). Most transit buses in the U.S. are powered by diesel engines. However, more alternative fuel buses are being purchased each year. This cost estimate focuses on the hybrid electric bus option, because the community has shown considerable interest for this technology.

In general, hybrid diesel-electric buses are more expensive than traditional diesel buses. The major reason for using this technology leans toward reducing emissions, reducing noise, and enhancing the system's image.

Unit Manager salary Clerk salary Drivers' wages Fringe, personnel Total personnel costs

Unit cost $40,000/year $8.00/hour $10.00/hour 25% of sal. & wages

Insurance Office rent Utilities Advertising/Promotion Telephone Office supplies Total overhead costs

$70,000/year $500/month $200/month $500/month $300/month $100/month

10 Year Heavy-Duty Low-Floor Transit Bus

22’ Low-Floor Hybrid-Electric Bus

Fuel, 4 mpg $1.25/gallon Repair & maintenance Total Vehicle Operating Costs

# Units_ 1 40 hours/week 528 hours/week

Extended cost $40,000 $16,640 $274,560 $82,800 $414,000 $70,000 $6,000 $2,400 $6,000 $3,600 $1,200 $89,200

92,664 gal. per year

Total system operating costs

$115,830 $41,818 $157,648 $660,848

*Actual operating cost data is very hard to assess. MDOT keeps reports from state transit authorities but the data is hard to interpret because when it comes to classifying costs, people simply do not do it the same way.

38’ Low Floor Hybrid-Electric Bus

Aero Elite, 37 Passenger

C O S T FA C T O R S

Estimated Maintenance and Repair Costs -- International VT 365 Diesel Engine Type Service of interval service (in miles) Air Filter 12,500 Fuel Filter 20,000 Oil & filter 10,000 Coolant Flush 300,000 n/a Other + Total annual service & maintenance

Estimated service cost $55.50 $54.05 $57.00 $61.47 $0.10 per mile

Times per year 9 5 11 0 n/a

Estimated total annual service cost $499.50 $270.25 $627.00 $0.00 $11,450.40 $12,847.15

Note: Costs projections are low because new buses will have little mechanical breakdowns.

TABLE 5 Cost Bus Type Range 30' Heavy-Duty Low-Floor Transit Bus $200-220k 30' Heavy-Duty Transit Bus $175-200k Medium/Heavy-Duty Transit/Shuttle Bus $100-120k Aero-Lite 37 Passenger Bus $75,000 22' Hybrid-electric $170-300k 38' Twin-turbine Hybrid-electric $470-500k 22' Hybrid-electric (S4B - factory reconditioned) $180,000

There is no study that provides information on what the maintenance will be on new buses. As the buses will be under warranty for a while, many of these costs are covered. However, it is vital to budget for both the routine and the unexpected even with new equipment. The figure that salespersons and transit operators can agree on is 10 cents per mile. This should cover tires, tire repair, washing, lamp replacement, minor dents not covered by insurance, etc. It will also cover an engine overhaul needed every 250,000 miles, and costs an average of $5,000.

+

Cost Average $210,000 $187,500 $110,000 $75,000 $235,000 $485,000 $180,000

Life 12 10 10 n/a 7 12 7

Depreciation per year $17,500 $18,750 $11,000 n/a $33,571 $40,417 $25,714

Diesels are more efficient and cheaper to run than gasoline engines and most transit buses are not equipped with gasoline engines. A gasoline engine would also have the added maintenance cost of replacing spark plugs and spark plug wires.

103 Estimated Operating Costs -- Preferred system with hybrid electric buses

Estimated Operating Costs -- Minimal System with Diesel Buses

Unit Manager salary Clerk salary Drivers' wages Fringe, personnel Total personnel costs

Unit cost $40,000/year $8.00/hour $10.00/hour 25% of sal. & wages

Realizing that most funding of public transit must come from local government and that fares never cover the cost of operating transit systems, a minimal system for Starkville was specified. This system provides a lower level of service. While the routes are maintained, only one bus operates on the Wal-Mart and hospital routes and two buses operate on the downtown-campus route, making a fleet of only 5 buses. The buses operate 12 hours each weekday and 8 hours on Saturday and Sunday.

Insurance Office rent Utilities Advertising/Promotion Telephone Office supplies Total overhead costs

$70,000/year $500/month $200/month $500/month $300/month $100/month

Total system operating costs

Extended cost $40,000 $16,640 $274,560 $82,800 $414,000 $70,000 $6,000 $2,400 $6,000 $3,600 $1,200 $89,200

74,131 gal. per year

$92,664 $37,778 $41,818 $172,260 $675,460

A 22' hybrid diesel electric bus was demonstrated in Starkville in the spring of 2002. This bus was supplied

by Advanced Vehicle Systems, Inc., (AVS) of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Information on the operating costs of this bus was obtained from Kirk Shore, marketing manager with AVS. According to Shore, driving 150 miles per day in Starkville conditions will require 30-35 gallons of diesel fuel. It will also require a charge each night which will cost (at 5 cents per Kwh) about $2.25.

Information was obtained from a report of the New York Transit Authority on the operating and maintenance costs of hybrid buses. (see appendix) The NYTA found that fuel costs for hybrids were about 10% less than conventional diesel but that maintenance costs were much higher (cost of hybrid maintenance was 76% 150% more than diesel maintenance). A hybrid engine has a thermocouple and generator bearings that add to the overall maintenance costs, but these items do not explain the huge cost differentiation. Additionally, NYTA found that the break life of hybrid buses was nearly double that of normal buses. The NYTA attributed the cost difference to the lack of their mechanics' familiarity with the hybrid system and felt that this cost would decrease over time. A transit authority in Starkville could take advantage of existing and potential research and training programs through MSU and East Mississippi Community College in order to help reduce the learning curve and costs of maintaining hybrid engines. *A hybrid bus can get anywhere from 3.5 to 11mpg depending on the driving conditions, 5 mpg is a conservative number. (See pp. 99 for more about hybrid technology.)

Biodiesel Costs Biodiesel operates in conventional engines. Just like petroleum diesel, biodiesel operates in combustionignition engines. Essentially no engine modifications are required, and biodiesel maintains the payload capacity and range of diesel. Net biodiesel costs range from $1.95 to $3.00 per gallon, depending on the feedstock and the supplier. In general, 20/80 blends will cost 30 to 40 cents per gallon more than diesel. Biodiesel is produced by one Mississippi firm from waste cooking oil. The current selling price, for FOB Meridian, MS is $2 per gallon.

(See p. 100 for more about biodiesel technology.)

Unit Manager salary Clerk salary Drivers' wages Fringe, personnel Total Personnel Costs

Unit cost $40,000/year $8.00/hour $10.00/hour 25% of sal. & wages

Fuel, 4 mpg 51,714 gal.

Repair & maintenance Total Vehicle Operating Costs Insurance Office rent Utilities Advertising/Promotion Telephone Office supplies Total overhead costs

# Units_ 1 40 hours/week 288 hours/week

$1.25/gallon per year

$50,000/year $500/month $200/month $500/month $300/month $100/month

Extended cost $40,000 $16,640 $149,760 $51,600 $258,000 $64,643 $23,254 $87,897 $50,000 $6,000 $2,400 $6,000 $3,600 $1,200 $69,200

Total system operating costs

$415,097

Comparison with Clemson's Transit System A delegation from the Carl Small Town Center, the City of Starkville, and Mississippi State University visited Clemson, South Carolina to look at the very successful bus transit system there. A comparison of actual operating costs and system data from Clemson and the projected data for Starkville is presented in the table below.

Clemson (FY 99-00) vs. Starkville (Preferred-diesel) Category Clemson Starkville Total ridership 666,925 878,592 Total vehicle-miles 249,370 370,656 Total vehicle-hours 25,144 27,456 No. of peak vehicles 14 6 No. of routes 10 3 Total operating expenses $782,480 $660,848 Operating expense per mile $3.14 $1.78 Operating expense per hour $31.12 $24.07 Operating expense per rider $1.17 $0.75

This report assumes that the reason for Clemson's cost is higher is because the buses operate on the campus. This probably means that their average speed is less because of the short distances between stops. The system for Starkville is an additional cost to the existing campus transit costs, and will operate primarily off-campus and therefore have a higher average speed. The Clemson system is a joint venture which serves both Clemson University and the City of Clemson, South Carolina, allowing overhead and management expenses to be shared and thereby reduced. (see p. 115 for details on the Clemson system)

C O S T FA C T O R S

Fuel, 5 mpg* $1.25/gallon Electricity $2.25 per night per bus Repair & maintenance Total vehicle operating costs

# Units_ 1 40 hours/week 528 hours/week

104

Updated Cost Estimate for Option A

by Dr. Steve Murray

A spreadsheet model has been constructed to estimate the cost of running a transit system using routing Option A (see p. 85).

Assumptions for estimation of variable costs Fuel 4 mpg at $1.50 per gallon Driver salary $10.00 per hour Fringes 25% of salaries Repair & maintenance $0.12 per mile

C O S T FA C T O R S

Blue Route Parameters Blue route length Blue route time Blue average speed Cost per hour per bus Number of blue route buses

Route Option A

This model has been estimated using four buses. Two buses operate on a six mile Blue Route at a 45 minute frequency, and an eleven mile Red route at a 55 minute frequency. It is necessary to estimate the variable costs and the fixed costs for this system.

No attempt is made to estimate capital costs since most will be borne by the federal transit program. The assumptions and results for variable costs are presented below: These estimates follow closely the procedure used in the preceding pages (101-103). The assumed fuel price is a bit higher because of recent increases in the price of fuel. The parameters for each route are below:

Red Route Parameters Red route length Red route time Red average speed Cost per hour per bus* Number of Red route buses

6 miles 45 minutes 8 m.p.h. $16.46 2

11 miles 55 minutes 12 m.p.h. $18.44 2

*It costs more to operate the Red route because more distance is traveled.

Operating Hours Hours per weekday Hours per weekend day Mileage Per Week Miles per week, blue buses Miles per week, red buses Total miles per week, system

11 0

880 1,320 2,200

This data yields the following variable costs: Estimate of Variable costs Fuel Repairs and maintenance Driver wages Fringe Total variable costs

$ 42,900 $ 13,728 $114,400 $ 28,600 $199,628

Fixed costs are those costs which are incurred regardless of how many buses or routes are run. The costs below were taken from the pages (101-103): Estimate of Fixed costs Insurance $10,000 per bus Office rent $500 per month Utilities $200 per month Promotion $500 per month Telephone $300 per month Office supplies $100 per month Total fixed (non-personnel) Manager salary $40,000 per year Clerk salary $16,480 per year Fringes 25% Total fixed personnel Total fixed costs

$ 40,000 $ 6,000 $ 2,400 $ 6,000 $ 3,600 $ 1,200 $ 59,200 $ 40,000 $ 16,480 $ 14,120 $ 70,600 $129,800

Adding variable plus fixed costs, the total cost of operating the proposed Route Option A is $329,428.

Since the university already has a campus shuttle program, actual fixed costs may already be covered. Insurance costs should also be examined.

Whether the university is "self-insured" or has a fleet policy may lower this cost. Also, the manager's and clerk's salaries may be absorbed by the university in the sense that it already has personnel for its campus system. The rent, utilities and telephone line items may also be excluded since the transit function is on-going at the university.

If the fixed costs can be excluded, the cost of the system is $199,628.

105

by Dr. Albert Myles, Extension Services, Mississippi State University Executive Summary (see appendix for complete report) A financial feasibility study of a Transit System in Starkville, MS was prepared for the Carl Small Town Center at MSU. The overall objective of the study was to estimate the benefits of operating a public transit system in Starkville. For some population groups, providing public transit could help to improve access to health care, employment, retail trade, and other services in the city.

A major focus of the study was to develop/identify an approach to estimate transit benefits. There are two principle types of public transit benefits: transit use benefits and transit supply benefits.

The former represent those benefits directly associated with travelers' use of the transit system, while the latter include benefits that accrue to local areas from the presence of (including expenses on) public transit within Starkville and Oktibbeha County.

The study used threshold coefficients to estimate alternative transportation costs and benefits associated with safety, air quality, noise, and traffic congestion externalities in the report. This process used data developed by Dr. Steve Murray and refined

by Dr. Al Myles to establish a baseline forecast of transit riders, capital costs, and operation maintenance costs for Starkville in 2002-2003.

The most common approach to quantifying public transit benefits is to compare the cost (positive or negative) associated with public transit use against the costs of other travel, (primarily automobiles and taxis) and occasionally non-travel alternatives. Implicit in such considerations is the desire to at least keep conditions for the travelling public from degrading, when trying to make them better.

The benefit of transit service to riders is estimated as the difference that riders would pay to make these same trips by other modes (either automobile or taxi). The study used the current government rate of $.37 per mile paid to employees who use their personal vehicle for business-related travel to figure automobile costs. To allow for some ridesharing when estimating total operating cost, private vehicle occupancy was assumed to equal the national average of 1.4 for non-work related trips.

The studyA also assumed the next best or "least-cost" alternative to the private automobile is the taxicab. The value of public transit to the user was calculated as the difference in the one-way taxi fare ($1.50) minus the one-way bus trip fare ($.75) times

the one-way trip miles. The study assumed the automobile would be the primary alternative to public transit in Starkville. If this is true, the user cost savings from public transit versus the automobile is $161,901 yearly.

A well-patronized transit system will keep some automobiles off the streets and when this occurs in significant numbers during congested travel periods, added benefits from public transit result from the savings in travel time that accrues to those travelers already on the road. The study estimated annual savings from traffic congestion to be $14,353.

Environmental costs associated with public transportation include: air, groundwater, and noise pollution, as well as the loss of land to highways in both urban and rural areas. Air pollutants are the most studied of these externalities. These are also the only pollutants for which extensive analysis of transit vehicle operations currently exists, and were the focus of our quantitative analysis.

Net economic air quality benefits for Starkville were derived by subtracting automobile air quality costs minus transit bus air quality costs, producing a savings of $40,669 in year 1. Transportation is often cited as one of today's major sources of "noise pollution". Several studies put automobile noise cost in the range $.02 to $.06 per vehicle mile. The study estimated transit baseline noise costs to be $2,393.

This study relied on recent accident rates on the internal versus external costs to estimate automobile safety benefits. Internal accident costs refer to damages done to occupants of the vehicles involved, while external accident costs are those costs imposed on others. The study used baseline travel safety costs and estimated vehicle miles traveled by automobile and transit bus to derive automobile and bus safety costs of $86,840 and $3,084, respectively. Automobile costs subtracted from transit costs produced net safety savings of $83,806 for the Starkville Transit System.

Public transit adds to the local economic spending stream by purchasing local services and supplies, and through the subsequent consumer spending of its workers and those firms who also get contracts to supply parts and services to the transit system.

A regional input-output (I-O) modeling approach was used to capture the economic impacts of expenditures for the Starkville's transit system. The study assumed that most of the local economic

impacts would come from operation and maintenance expenditures. In contrast, a high percentage of the capital expenditures, notably for vehicle purchases, will occur outside the state. Based on the advice of Mr. Charles Carr, an MDOT official, the study evaluated two options for capital expenditures. Option I used an average price of $80,000 for transit buses. These are class C (medium duty) type vehicles with a useful life of 8 years. Option II considered transit buses that averaged $200,000 and classed as Heavy Duty, coach type vehicles.

Total expenditures on Starkville and Oktibbeha County's Transit System are estimated to support between 15 and 16 jobs and between $1.04 and $1.23 million in gross economic value to the city and county, respectively. Of this figure, more than 97 percent would occur in Starkville and Oktibbeha County. The remainder, almost $40,000 in indirect business taxes, would accrue to state and federal governments.

Additional economic impacts of public transit in Starkville would accrue largely because of federal and state funds brought into the county. Additional transportation efficiency would occur because of the induced effects of combining all three expenditure sources. The study estimated such investments (state, federal, and transportation) would produce between $297,630 and $386,962 of net local economic activity.

A benefit-cost analysis of public transit in Starkville was performed, using B-C ratios and net present value (NPV) as the decision criteria. Since most of the anticipated capital outlay will come from state and federal sources, operating and maintenance expenses comprised most of the costs used to determine the decision factors of net present value and benefit cost ratio.

To determine the net present value, the study used a capital cost of 5.5%. This is used in calculating the discounted net benefits (usually cash flow) for each option and life of the capital equipment. The formula for net benefits (NB) for n year/(1+.055)^nth year. After discounted net benefits are derived for the two options, they are summed to find the net present value. For comparison purpose, the net present value after 8 years of operation were ($118,353) and $582,954 for Option I and Option II, respectively. Since net present value is greater than zero, Option II is considered a worthwhile project.

Adding the discounted net benefits and then dividing by the net investments of $1.17 and $1.89 million for Options I and II, respectively, derive the benefit cost ratio. This produces the measure of dollar benefit per dollar of cost and in this case, the benefit cost ratios (BC) are .98 and 1.2, respectively. If the city incorporates a fare-free system, the BC ratios for Options I and

II would decline to .71 and .86, respectively. The BC ratios under this scenario would rise to 1.03 and 1.18 for Options I and II, respectively. Adding the Dial-ARide System would raise the NPV for Options I and II to $100,817 and $802,123, respectively.

The decision to establish a public transit system in Starkville depends on the option and finance mechanism chosen by local officials. For example, Option I and a fare system would produce an NPV of $1.23 million versus Option II and an NPV of $582,954.

Similarly, the BC ratios for Options I and II are .98 and 1.2, respectively. Obviously, Option II is the preferred system for Starkville. However, Option I might suggest a go-ahead sign for the project as well. The BC ratios suggest that costs will exceed benefits by $.02 per dollar for Option I, while benefits will exceed costs by $.20 under Option II. The optimum arrangement is where the city, local organizations, MSU, and a transit fee come together to develop a transit system in Starkville.

This arrangement produces BC ratios of 1.62 and 1.76 for Options I and II, respectively. This suggests that a $.75 transit fare combined with local, MSU, and Dial-ARide financing would increase net transit revenues by 15 percent versus a fare-free system.

To fully capture these benefits, a central transportation hub would provide better access to commercial transportation such as Greyhound, charter buses, and local taxi services in the area. Since it is almost inevitable that there will be delays in bus routes, having a nice warm/cool waiting area could increase the use of public transportation in Starkville.

Conclusion In conclusion, there are several local organizations that operate Dial-A-Ride Systems for disadvantaged populations in Starkville. Mississippi State University (MSU) also operates several buses and vans for almost 17,000 students. The MSU system serves several hundred thousand passenger trips a year. This is significantly higher than the number of riders (268,320) projected for the Starkville Transit System in Year 1.

This study assumes that all local entities and MSU will become a part of an overall public transit system by contributing operation and maintenance funds to the Starkville system. It is anticipated that other revenues generated by the university could be used to support public transit in Starkville. In return, MSU students and targeted disadvantaged populations would ride the buses free. Other local populations could pay a one-way transit fare of $.75 to ride the bus. The combinations of these services would add 37,000 new passengers and almost $197,000 in extra funds to support a Starkville Transit System.

C O S T FA C T O R S

Benefit-Cost Assessment

106 mobility options available to people and for freight; protecting and enhancing the environment, promoting energy conservation, and improving quality of life; enhancing the integration and connectivity of the transportation system, across and between modes, for people and freight; promoting efficient system management and operation; and emphasizing the preservation of the existing transportation system.

Funding Alternatives1

C O S T FA C T O R S

FTA program descriptions - Edited for more direct application to the study area

When TEA21 replaced ISTEA, the basic structure of the Federal transit programs remained essentially the same, but several new programs and activities were added and new features have been incorporated, including funding flexibility and a revised definition for capital projects. In 2004, TEA3 will replace TEA21; much as TEA21 kept the basic features of ISTEA, so TEA3 will keep most basic features of TEA21. The largest debates over passing TEA3 are the allocation of funds to the different FTA programs. TEA-21 provided $41 billion for transit programs from 1998 through 2003, of which $36 billion was guaranteed.

TEA-21 builds on the innovative financing initiatives begun under ISTEA to leverage Federal resources by encouraging private participation in the delivery of surface transportation infrastructure. These initiatives are intended to supplement the traditional Federal-aid grant assistance by increasing funding flexibility and program effectiveness. They establish pilot programs to test new finance mechanisms, and they extend or make permanent some of the tools already tested.

or transportation enhancement projects.

(3) Allowing funds appropriated to Federal land management agencies or to the Federal lands highway program to be applied to the non-Federal share of certain projects.

Federal matching flexibility Several provisions are included in the Act that provide greater flexibility to States, MPOs, and local governments in satisfying the non-Federal matching requirements of a project. The Act removes a former requirement that Federal match be applied to each progress payment to the State, and provides more flexibility to States and local governments in meeting the non-Federal matching requirement by: (1) Allowing the fair market value of land lawfully obtained by the State or local government to be applied to the non-Federal share of project costs.

(2) Allowing funds from other Federal agencies to be applied to the non-Federal share of recreational trails

Metropolitan Planning (49 U.S.C. 5303) Contact: Regional Office This program provides funding to support the cooperative, continuous, and comprehensive planning program for making transportation investment decisions in metropolitan areas, required by 49 U.S.C. 5303-5306. State DOTs and metropolitan planning organizations may receive funds for purposes that support the economic vitality of the metropolitan area, especially by enabling global competitiveness, productivity, and efficiency; increasing the safety and security of the transportation system for motorized and nonmotorized users; increasing the accessibility and

1. Adapted from www.fhwa.dot.gov/tea21/index.htm

Major Assistance Programs The following is a list of potential grants for a system in Starkville; depending on the level of service provided by the system, some of these grants may or may not be available. It is also important to consult with MDOT officials on alternative funding packages that are otherwise not well publicized, such as the 5311F and 4220.1D funding programs for rural-intercity intercity services. The CSTC research team was told

by MDOT officials that these funds can be accessed by simply creating a local connection with Greyhound services, however, no other details about these grants are readily available through FTA publications and website.

Nonurbanized Area Formula Grant (49 U.S.C. 5311) Contact: Regional Office Provides funding to states for the purpose of supporting public transportation in areas of less than 50,000 population. It is apportioned in proportion to each State's non-urbanized population. Funding may be used for capital, operating, State administration, and project administration expenses. Each state prepares an annual program of projects, which must provide for fair and equitable distribution of funds within the states, including Indian reservations, and must provide for maximum feasible coordination with transportation services assisted by other Federal sources.

Funds may be used for capital, operating, and administrative assistance to state agencies, local public bodies, and nonprofit organizations (including Indian tribes and groups), and operators of public transportation services. The State must use 15 percent of its annual apportionment to support intercity bus service, unless the Governor certifies that these needs of the State are adequately met. Projects to meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Clean Air Act, or bicycle access projects, may be funded at 90 percent Federal match. The maximum FTA share for operating assistance is 50 percent of the net operating costs.

Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (49 U.S.C. 5310) Contact: Regional Office Provides funding for the purpose of assisting private nonprofit groups in meeting the transportation needs of the elderly and persons with disabilities when the transportation service provided is unavailable, insufficient, or inappropriate to meeting these needs. The State agency ensures that local applicants and project activities are eligible and in compliance with Federal requirements, and that the local program provides for as much coordination of Federally assisted transportation services, assisted by other Federal sources.

Capital Investment Program (49 U.S.C. 5309) Contact: Regional Office Provides capital assistance for new and replacement buses and facilities. Eligible recipients for capital investment funds are public bodies and agencies (transit authorities and other state and local public bodies and agencies thereof) including states, municipalities, public agencies and instrumentalities of one or more states, and certain public corporations, boards, and commissions established under state law.

Eligible purposes are: acquisition of bases for fleet and service expansion, bus maintenance and administrative facilities, transfer facilities, bus malls, transportation centers, intermodal terminals, park-andride stations, acquisition of replacement vehicles, bus rebuilds, bus preventive maintenance, passenger amenities such as passenger shelters and bus stop signs, accessory and miscellaneous equipment such as mobile radio units, supervisory vehicles, fare boxes, computers, shop and garage equipment, and costs incurred in arranging innovative financing for eligible projects.

The Surface Transportation Program (23 U.S.C. 133) Contact: Regional Office Provides the greatest flexibility in the use of funds. These funds may be used (as capital funding) for public transportation capital improvements, car and vanpool projects, fringe and corridor parking facilities, bicycle and pedestrian facilities, and intercity or intracity bus terminals and bus facilities. As funding for planning, these funds can be used for surface transportation planning activities, wetland mitigation, transit research and development, and environmental analysis. Other eligible projects under STP include transit safety improvements and most transportation control measures. Some program funds are made available to metropolitan planning areas containing urbanized areas over 200,000 population; STP funds are also set aside to areas under 200,000 and 50,000 population.

The largest portion of STP funds may be used anywhere within the State to which they are apportioned.

Job Access and Reverse Commute Program (TEA-21, Section 3037) Contact: Office of Research, Demonstration, & Innovation This grant program's purpose is to develop transportation services designed to transport welfare recipients and low income individuals to and from jobs and to develop transportation services for residents of urban centers and rural and suburban areas to suburban employment opportunities. Emphasis is placed on

107 est. They deal with opportunities and problems in:

Over-the-road bus accessibility (TEA-21, Section 3038) Rural Transportation Accessibility Incentive Program Contact: Office of Research, Demonstration, & Innovation Provides funding for the incremental capital and training costs associated with meeting the requirements of the DOT over-the-road bus accessibility rule, issued September 24, 1998. This provides assistance to operators of over-the-road buses used substantially or exclusively in intercity, fixed route, over-the-road bus service; assistance is also available to operators of over-the-road buses in other services, including local commuter, charter, and tour service. The Federal share may not exceed 50 percent of the project costs.

Capital projects eligible for funding include adding lifts and other accessibility components to new vehicle purchases and purchasing lifts to retrofit existing vehicles. Eligible training costs include developing training materials or providing training for local providers of over-the-road bus services. This funding is separate from Section 5311 funding and is administered through a national competitive solicitation for applications from operators of over-the-road buses.

To ensure that research has its desired impact, TCRP established a Dissemination and Implementation Program, which is managed by the American Public Transportation Association. APTA publicizes and promotes the research program, and distributes reports and other finished products such as videotapes and software, to the transit community. Contact Peggy Wilson, phone: 202-496-486, email: pwilson@apta.com

Research and Technology

National Transit Institute (NTI) Contact: Office of Research, Demonstration, & Innovation The NTI is authorized and funded to develop and offer training courses to improve transit planning and operations.

Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) TCRP is a cooperative effort of the Federal Transit Administration, the Transportation Research Board, the Transit Development Corporation and the American Public Transportation Association. TCRP provides tools for innovating and solving problems in the transportation industry. The information is easily accessible through print, web documents, CD Roms, and diskettes, much of which is available from the TCRP website: http://www.tcrponline.org/index.cgi Original TCRP study projects and the publications that result fall into principle fields of transit inter1. Simpson, Barry. Urban Public Transport Today (London, UK, E & FN Spon, 1994)

1. Operations 2. Service Configuration 3. Engineering of vehicles and equipment 4. Engineering of fixed facilities 5. Maintenance 6. Human Resources 7. Administration 8. Policy and Planning 9. Special studies, such as legal studies and synthesis of transit practice studies, which identify and document the best practices in the industry.

FTA Livable Communities Initiative Contact: Office of Planning This initiative demonstrates ways to improve the link between transportation and communities. It promotes customer friendly, community oriented, and well-designed facilities and services. The characteristics of community sensitive transit facilities and services include readily available customer information and services; a safe and secure environment; sufficient pedestrian and bicycle access; and architecture that reflects the values of the community. The Initiative encourages transportation agencies and local governments to introduce proposed transportation improvements to communities in the early stages of the planning process.

Rural Transit Assistance Program This program is authorized and funded to promote delivery of safe and effective transit service in rural areas.

Other Funding Opportunities

A note on the costs of a transit system: “Most public transport costs 50% more than forecasted.

This often has to do with not following through with recommendations and optimistic forecasts. To be economically viable, [a public transit system] needs restraint on the private car. The less restraint on the private car the more the [route] will have to be subsidized1.�

Ways to cover costs: - Advertisement - Contributions from businesses or property owners - Relaxations in land density zoning and/or parking requirements in return for contributions - Contributions from local universities - Contributions from individuals or groups through programs such as memorial benches or trees - Parking fees - Parking and motoring fines - Transit fares - Lotteries - See p. 99 for about alternative fuel assistance It can be argued that all taxes have a relationship with transportation: - Business and payroll taxes* - Property taxes (if only applied around the bus route these higher taxes will cause deterioration) - taxes placed on motorists (that may be relaxed if the motorist uses public transportation regularly) - fixed sum on fuel sales - taxes on hotels, tobacco, and alcoholic drinks *It has been suggested by several individuals participating in various parts of the study, that the current 2% restaurant and bar tax in Starkville could be favorably used towards public transportation. These comments have come from all levels of the community, but most significantly from restaurant owners and students, which are the groups most affected by the tax.

2. George Gray and Lester Hoel, eds., Public Transportation, 2nd ed. (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, Prentice Hall, 1992)

Advertising Renting advertising space is a highly encouraged by both federal and state transportation officials. Below are some of the current methods being used: Wrapped buses are effective only when they are an exception to the general appearance of buses.

A bus can be partially or completely wrapped, and is done by a contractor who will usually work on site. The business is charged a fee above the contractor price.

Signs on buses are an alternative to wrapped advertising and allow the buses to keep system colors and logos while offering advertising space. These are typically metal frames bolted onto the sides of buses.

Posters are inserted into the frames and replaced at intervals.

Signs in buses are smaller advertisement spaces in various locations of the bus. Like the exterior bus signs, the posters are mounted in metal frames and are replaced at intervals. There is also a type of seethrough signage that can be adhered to a window, using a similar techniques as that used for wrapping buses.

Bus stops often have a space for poster advertisement. The bus stops can be built by the transit agency which then leases out the poster space, or a company can build the bus stop for free in return for being able to profit off of the advertisement space. (see pp. 94-95) Benches can be used for advertisement as well and have the same opportunities as bus stop advertising. (see p. 95) Sponsorship from businesses can be advertised on the system’s website, informational signs and flyers, or on the item sponsored. Businesses will often support specific aspects of a system, such as a night route, bicycle racks, a bus stop, bench, etc.

C O S T FA C T O R S

projects that use mass transportation services.

Grants may finance capital projects and operating costs of equipment, facilities, and associated capital maintenance items related to providing access to jobs; promote use of transit by workers with nontraditional work schedules; promote use by appropriate agencies of transit vouchers for welfare recipients and eligible low income individuals; and promote use of employer-provided transportation including the transit pass benefit program. Funds are allocated as follows: 60 percent to areas over 200,000 population; 20 percent to areas of under 200,000 population; and 20 percent to non-urbanized areas. The Federal/local share is 50/50.

108 Fares Basic Principals2 On average fares account for 40% of system operating costs. Many places subsidize fares to a point that they feel will curb the use of the private car.

Fares in 25 cent intervals are easier to remember and convenient for both customers and drivers (if the driver is having to give change). Fares under a dollar are preferable as the added cost of paper-moneyfareboxes, handling, counting and providing security has proved to be more expensive than dealing only with coins.

Many systems have an "exact fare" policy so drivers do not have to carry change. This can help reduce boarding times, but can hurt ridership numbers as it requires pre-planning on the side of the rider.

Some systems charge higher fares during peak hours in recognition of higher costs incurred and as an incentive to those having the option to ride during non-peak hours, thus tending to level demand.

Federal requirements for transit subsidies stipulate that the elderly and handicapped persons be charged no more than half the regular fare during nonpeak hours of normal services offered the general public.

Most systems also reduce fares for youth and students.

C O S T FA C T O R S

Types of Fare Policies1 Flat, or uniform, fares simplify boarding time.

Boarding times substantially affect the speed of the service and the number of vehicles needed to operate a given frequency. A flat fare means that a rider pays the same fare for any length of trip in the area.

Advantages: understandability, simplicity, marketability, ease of collection Disadvantages: equity and forfeiture of potential revenues, particularly on longer trips Transfers or period tickets allow passengers to board any number of times within the given grace period (typically 1hr or 1hr 15min) reducing the cost and hassle of trips that require transfers. Sometimes a transfer ticket exists in addition to a single trip ticket; it is available upon request and is slightly more expensive than a single, but much cheaper than two singles.

This system simplifies boarding time and is an effective marketing tool as customers feel they get more for their money.

Zone fares allow bus systems to charge according to the length of the ride. It is more equitable than flat fares, but is difficult to administer. Traditionally a zone system consists of one large central zone surrounded by several concentric outer zones.

Fares may be raised as buses exit the city limits or zones within the city. Often the extra fare amount is charged as the rider gets off in a different zone from which he or she boarded. A basic fare (ex. 75 cents) is charged upon boarding and additional zone charges (ex. 15 or 25 cents) are charged as each zone line is crossed. This relies on a drivers good memory and becomes difficult in high ridership areas. Collecting zones as passengers exit also slows down operating speeds and is inconvenient to passengers.

Fare prepayment are passes that are purchased prior to boarding the bus or from the bus driver and allow unlimited travel within a given time limit, such as a week, month, semester, or year. From a marketing standpoint, these passes encourage increased ridership, eliminate the inconvenience of having to carry exact fares, and emphasize the low monthly cost of transit riding compared with driving an automobile.

Some passes only work during week days or during certain hours of the day. Other passes are good for a given number of trips.

All passes are generally sold for cheaper than the cost of paying for each bus ride individually.

Advantages for the transit operator include reduced loading and unloading time, reduced money handling expenses and slightly improved cash flow by providing payment in advance. However, there is also the added cost of the pass distribution system. Prepayment schemes also offer possibilities of payroll deduction and/or subsidization by employers who desire to encourage transit use and thereby reduce parking needs. (see Tax Incentives this section) Fare-free systems have proven successful in attracting ridership and increasing system efficiency. The general public tend to feel a certain resistance in paying for public transportation, and so the fare-free system is able to meet public expectations more effectively. As a marketing tool they encourage increased ridership, compete more significantly with the cost of car ownership, and eliminate the inconveniences of paying fares or buying passes. They also significantly reduce boarding times which allows for increase service frequency with a smaller fleet and make system schedules more reliable. Security concerns, as well as capital, operating and maintenance costs are also reduced.

Increased ridership help to secure both feder-

1. George Gray and Lester Hoel, eds., Public Transportation, 2nd ed. (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, Prentice Hall, 1992) 3. Commuter Check website homepage: www.commutercheck.com/home.html

al and local funding. Federal funding is insured to continue if the system is successfully meeting community needs. Local funding is potentially increased by the higher ridership: if businesses feel a benefit from public transit, either through increased sales or transportation for their employees, they are more likely to make tax-deductible contributions to the system. Advertising on the buses or at bus stops also becomes more attractive to businesses when ridership is high.

Some systems have implemented fare-free zones, but charge when riders exit or enter the bus in other zones of the city. This does not pay off as well as an entirely fare free system, as the costs of fare box purchases and maintenance, cost of counting money, and security issues still exist. The changing of fares can also be confusing to customers.

Tax Incentives2 "Rarely does an employee benefit save both the employee and employer money. But through a great twist of the tax code, you may be able to commute with tax free dollars, and save your boss tax dollars, too."

-- Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine

The transit commuter benefit, sometimes called "transit pass benefits" or "qualified transportation fringe benefits", allows employers to give their workers up to $100 per month to cover transit or van pool commuting costs as a tax-free benefit. Employer-paid transit commuter benefits are passes, vouchers or similar fare media, or sometimes just cash, provided to employees to cover their transit or qualified vanpool commuting costs. For example, an employer can buy transit passes from local transit agencies and distribute the passes without charge to employees who sign up for the program. Employers can also allow employees to pay for commuter benefits with payroll deductions, or they can share these costs with employees by paying part of the commuter benefit and letting employees pay the remainder using pre-tax dollars.

Employees do not pay federal income or payroll taxes on transit commuter benefits, except on the amount (if any) in excess of $100 per month.

Generally, state and local taxes do not apply either.

This will add up to a $15 per month ($180 per year) and sometimes larger tax savings for most employees.

Thus, transit commuter benefits are treated much like other commonly available fringe benefits (e.g., employer-provided health insurance). Employers can deduct their costs for providing such benefits and they avoid payroll taxes on such benefits. No matter who pays, both will save money by participating in this simple plan.

A transit commuter benefit program is simple to administer. It does not require extensive record keeping. The employer's cost of providing benefits can be deducted as a normal business expense. Even better, unlike ordinary wage payments, employers do not have to pay their share of federal payroll taxes on transit commuter benefits. This payroll tax savings alone is usually more than enough to cover any cost of administering the program.

Employers may also rely on other parties to administer some or all of their transit commuter benefit program. An example is Commuter Check3; a national program providing administrative and marketing services that support public/private efforts to reduce traffic congestion, improve air quality, and promote use of public transportation. Commuter Checks are vouchers employers provide to their employees for buying transit tickets, passes and tokens. They are used as an employee benefit, either as a substitute for taxable salary (offered on a pre-tax basis like a 401K) or a supplemental company-paid benefit. Transit services in many U.S. cities accept Commuter Checks for purchase of passes, tickets, and tokens. They are also accepted for vanpool fares.

2. Text and image from a brochure developed by the American Public Transportation Association, revised in June 1998 by the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (PL 105 -178)

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Funding Sources for Bicycle and Pedestrian Projects

TEA-21 continues the integration of bicycling and walking into the transportation mainstream. More importantly, it enhances the ability of communities to invest in projects that can improve the safety and practicality of bicycling and walking for everyday travel.

Building on ISTEA, TEA21 provides the funding, planning, and policy tools necessary to create more walkable and bicycle-friendly communities. TEA21 defines a bicycle transportation facility as "a new or improved lane, path, or shoulder for use by bicyclists and a traffic control device, shelter, or parking facility for bicycles." The definition of a pedestrian includes not only a person traveling by foot but also "any mobility impaired person using a wheelchair." TEA-21 states two specific goals towards non-motorized traffic: to double the percentage of trips made by foot and bicycle while simultaneously reducing the number of crashes involving bicyclists and pedestrians by 10 percent.

Funding Provisions in the Federal-aid Program Bicycle and pedestrian projects are broadly eligible for funding from almost all the major Federal-aid highway, transit, safety, and other programs. Bicycle projects must be "principally for transportation, rather than recreation, purposes" and must be designed and located pursuant to the transportation plans required of States and Metropolitan Planning Organizations.

National Highway System funds may be used to construct bicycle transportation facilities and pedestrian walkways on land adjacent to any highway on the National Highway System, including Interstate highways.

Surface Transportation Program (STP) funds may be used for either the construction of bicycle transportation facilities and pedestrian walkways, or non-construction projects (such as maps,

brochures, and public service announcements) related to safe bicycle use and walking. TEA-21 adds "the modification of public sidewalks to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act" as an activity that is specifically eligible for the use of these funds.

Ten percent of each State's annual STP funds are set-aside for Transportation Enhancement Activities (TEAs). The law provides a specific list of activities that are eligible TEAs and this includes "provision of facilities for pedestrians and bicycles, provision of safety and educational activities for pedestrians and bicyclists," and the "preservation of abandoned railway corridors (including the conversion and use thereof for pedestrian and bicycle trails)."

Another 10 percent of each State's STP funds is set-aside for the Hazard Elimination and RailwayHighway Crossing programs, which address bicycle and pedestrian safety issues. Each State is required to implement a Hazard Elimination Program to identify and correct locations which may constitute a danger to motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians. Funds may be used for activities including a survey of hazardous locations and for projects on any publicly owned bicycle or pedestrian pathway or trail, or any safety-related traffic calming measure. Improvements to railway-highway crossings "shall take into account bicycle safety."

Recreational Trails Program funds may be used for all kinds of trail projects. Of the funds apportioned to a State, 30 percent must be used for motorized trail uses, 30 percent for non-motorized trail uses, and 40 percent for diverse trail uses (any combination).

Provisions for pedestrians and bicyclists are eligible under the various categories of the Federal Lands Highway Program in conjunction with roads, highways, and parkways.

National Scenic Byways Program funds may be used for "construction along a scenic byway of

a facility for pedestrians and bicyclists."

Job Access and Reverse Commute Grants are available to support projects, including bicyclerelated services, designed to transport welfare recipients and eligible low-income individuals to and from employment.

Federal Transit Program Title 49 U.S.C. allows the Urbanized Area Formula Grants, Capital Investment Grants and Loans, and Formula Program for Other than Urbanized Area transit funds to be used for improving bicycle and pedestrian access to transit facilities and vehicles. Eligible activities include investments in "pedestrian and bicycle

1. U.S. Department of Transportation; Federal Highway Administration Website main-page: www.fhwa.dot.gov/index.html; bike-ped.-page: www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/bikeped/bp-broch.htm

access to a mass transportation facility" that establishes or enhances coordination between mass transportation and other transportation.

TEA-21 also created a Transit Enhancement Activity program with a one percent set-aside of Urbanized Area Formula Grant funds designated for, among other things, pedestrian access and walkways, and "bicycle access, including bicycle storage facilities and installing equipment for transporting bicycles on mass transportation vehicles".

Pedestrian and bicyclist safety remain priority areas for State and Community Highway Safety Grants funded by the Section 402 formula grant pro-

C O S T FA C T O R S

Excerpt from Federal Highway Administration Website1

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C O S T FA C T O R S

gram. A State is eligible for these grants by submitting a Performance plan (establishing goals and performance measures for improving highway safety) and a Highway Safety Plan (describing activities to achieve those goals).

Research, development, demonstrations and training to improve highway safety (including bicycle and pedestrian safety) is carried out under the Highway Safety Research and Development (Section 403) program.

Federal/State Matching Requirements The State and/or local funds used to match Federal-aid highway projects may include in-kind contributions (such as donations). Funds from other Federal programs may also be used to match Transportation Enhancement, Scenic Byways, and Recreational Trails program funds. A Federal agency project sponsor may provide matching funds to Recreational Trails funds provided the Federal share does not exceed 95 percent.

In general, the Federal share of the costs of transportation projects is 80 percent with a 20 percent State or local match. However, there are a number of exceptions to this rule: - Federal Lands Highway projects and Section 402 Highway Safety funds are 100 percent Federally funded.

- Bicycle-related Transit Enhancement Activities are 95 percent Federally funded.

- Hazard elimination projects are 90 percent Federally funded. Bicycle-related transit projects (other than Transit Enhancement Activities) may be up to 90 percent Federally funded.

- Individual Transportation Enhancement Activity projects under the STP can have a match higher or lower than 80 percent. However, the overall Federal share of each State's Transportation Enhancement Program must be 80 percent.

- States with higher percentages of Federal Lands have higher Federal shares calculated in proportion to their percentage of Federal lands.

Planning for Bicycling and Walking State Planning Organizations are required carry out a continuing, comprehensive, and cooperative transportation planning process that results in two products. A long range (20 year) transportation plan provides for the development and integrated management and operation of transportation systems and facilities, including pedestrian walkways and bicycle transportation facilities. The plans will consider projects and strategies to increase the safety and security of the transportation system for non-motorized users.

A Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) contains a list of proposed federally supported projects to be carried out over the next three years. Projects that appear in the TIP should be consistent with the long-range plan.

The transportation planning process is carried out with the active and on-going involvement of the public, affected public agencies, and transportation providers.

Section 1202 of TEA-21 says that bicyclists and pedestrians shall be given due consideration in the planning process (including the development of both the plan and TIP) and that bicycle facilities and pedestrian walkways shall be considered, where appropriate, in conjunction with all new construction and reconstruction of transportation facilities except where bicycle use and walking are not permitted. Transportation plans and projects shall also consider safety and contiguous routes for bicyclists and pedestrians. Safety considerations may include the installation of audible traffic signals and signs at street crossings.

Policy and Program Provisions State Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinators Each State is required to fund a Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator position in its State Department of Transportation to promote and facilitate the increased use of non-motorized transportation, including developing facilities for the use of pedestri-

ans and bicyclists and public educational, promotional, and safety programs for using such facilities. In most states, the Coordinator position is a full-time position with sufficient responsibility to deal effectively with other agencies, State offices, and divisions within the State DOT. Mississippi’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator: Sue Pitts Phone (601)359-7883 E-mail: spitts@mdot.state.ms.us Protection of Non-motorized Transportation Traffic The state transportation departments shall not approve any project or take any regulatory action that will result in the severance of an existing major route, or have an adverse impact on the safety of nonmotorized transportation traffic and light motorcycles, unless such project or regulatory action provides for a reasonable alternate route or such a route already exists.

Facility Design Guidance The design of bicycle and pedestrian facilities is determined by State and local design standards and practices, many of which are based on publications of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) such as the “Guide to the Development of Bicycle Facilities” and “A Policy on Geometric Design of Streets and Highways.”

Research, Special Studies, and Reports TEA-21 continues funding for highway safety research, the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) and Transit Cooperative Research program (TCRP), all of which have funded research into pedestrian and bicycle issues. In addition, the legislation creates a number of new research areas, special studies, reports, and grant programs including: A new Surface Transportation-Environment Cooperative Research Program was established to evaluate trans-

portation control measures, improve understanding of transportation demand factors, and develop performance indicators that will facilitate the analysis of transportation alternatives.

Conclusion Bicycling and walking are important elements of an integrated, intermodal transportation system.

Constructing sidewalks, installing bicycle parking at transit, teaching children to ride and walk safely, installing curb cuts and ramps for wheelchairs, striping bike lanes, and building trails all contribute to our national transportation goals of safety, mobility, economic growth and trade, enhancement of communities and the natural environment, and national security.

All of these activities, and many more, are eligible for funding as part of the Federal-aid Highway Program. The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century confirms the place of bicycling and walking in the mainstream of transportation decision-making at the State and local level and enables communities to encourage more people to bicycle and walk safely.

For more information: The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, PL-105-550. Available from the Government Printing Office or on-line at www.fhwa.dot.gov/legsregs/legislat.html Title 23, United States Code. Available from the Government Printing Office or your local library system. www.fhwa.dot.gov/legsregs/legislat.html Code of Federal Regulations, Part 652. Available from the Government Printing Office or your local library system.

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Factors of Successful Project Implementation Planning, Management, and Marketing

Planning Lengths Before embarking upon the implementation of a transit system, it is necessary to realize that good planning is an important and lengthy process (see p. 2 for the basic steps of the FTA recommended planning process). A study1 of the durations of rural transportation planning processes indicates that it takes approximately three years to complete the planning process for an average service. The adjacent table shows the results of this study, with the time it took for communities to complete certain planning milestones.

While a three year planning and implementation process was the average, in many communities the process was infinitely longer. With some milestones taking over eight years (99 months) to overcome.

Starkville and MSU officials should be aware that each community has its own peculiarities or strengths, which may lengthen or shorten the planning process. With the experience of this feasibility study, the areas the community will find most difficult will likely be: 1. Meeting with key officials to get approvals 2. Getting adequate funds to provide the area citizens with effective and well serviced transportation routes. (related to the first point) 3. Coordinating and/or consolidating existing services Issues affecting the planning and realization of a proposal are2: - Local interest; not just public interest but the interest of those in positions able to implement the project.

- Power of local politicians (local initiative and ability to implement them) - Sufficient and realistic planning efforts. The ability for planners to achieve this goal is heavily influenced by the two previous points. This study is an example of this dilemma, the full development of certain process-

es, such as goal defining, have been hindered or slowed down by hesitant involvement from local officials.

The initial implementation considerations are many in number, but the following list represents those that are essential to the development of a successful system, and are addressed in various sections of this document: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Institutional arrangements Policy making and staffing Insurance* Finance and funding Cost and evaluation

*Securing insurance has proved to be a difficult necessity. To secure and reduce the cost of insurance coverage, a transit agency should aim for a good loss control ratio and a strong risk-management program. To achieve these goals, attention should be paid to the following areas: organizational, vehicle, employee, and passenger safety programs; service factor considerations; physical property protection; and professional liability.3 This portion of the document explains and recommends certain options for implementation, related costs, and outlines a suggested path an organizational structure for a future transit system. This report cannot represent the community leaders’ positions on how to pursue transit, as no decisions were reached during the process of the study. Once an agreement is reached on how the system will service the community and how it will operate, an implementation program must be drafted. The executive summary clearly outlines key recommendations made throughout the document and, when applicable, suggests the order in which these recommendations can be carried out most effectively.

1. Theodore A. Wallin and Alice Kidder, Financing and Sustaining Mobility in Rural Areas: A Manual, Final Report, prepared by The Franklin Program on Transportation and Distribution Management, Syracuse University, for UMTA, Technology Sharing Program, Report no. DOT1-87-2 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Transportation, August 1986), pp. 4-9, 4-10. 2. George Gray and Lester Hoel, eds., Public Transportation, 2nd ed. (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, Prentice Hall, 1992) 3. MacDorman & Assoc., Risk Management Manual for the Public Transit Industry, Vol. 1, prepared for UMTA Technical Assistance Program, Technology Sharing Program, Report no. DOT-T-88-23 (Washington, D.C.: Department of Transportation, August 1988), p. III.2.

I M P L E M E N TAT I O N

1

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Management and Operations Policy making and daily operations

I M P L E M E N TAT I O N

Institutional Arrangement The principal arrangements for a transit system are: 1. A nonprofit organization 2. Private for-profit corporations 3. Regional transit authorities 4. Department under a governmental agency, typically a city or county government 5. Department under a large public service agency or university This study recommends that an independent nonprofit regional transit authority be established for both a fixed route and paratransit system in Starkville, MSU, and the surrounding region. There can be advantages to combining the fixed route and paratransit into one agency, however it is not imperative, as long as the two agencies develop a climate of cooperation and shared resources. However, this study does advise that all agencies currently operating paratransit in the area combine services into one. There can be many advantages to having one management team for the fixed route system and another for the paratransit system, however it can be more costly than a single team operating all transportation services in the community.

A transit agency that is not a part of any established local authority is preferable as it has proven to be the most efficient and objective way to meet transit needs in many communities. Though an independent transit agency is ideal, a fixed-route system could alternatively be administered through the current MSU transit authority. In this arrangement, it is unlikely that the paratransit and fixed route agencies would fall under the same management team. However, these systems should be coordinated as closely as possible, and should share the same board of directors or TMA (see following section) to ensure that services are complimentary and resources are shared.

Coordination Coordinating services can range from good communications between operators to the complete consolidation of services.

The benefits of coordination are: 1. Eliminating duplication of services 2. Increased service for the available funding 3. Making better use of equipment, expertise, facilities, or other resources 4. Making transit systems fit customer needs more accurately 5. Increasing funding options System Oversight The Transit Authority should be accompanied by a policy board, or Transit Management Association (TMA). This group should be composed of representatives from all levels of the community (county, city, and university) that have a vested interest in a public transportation system for the area. The TMA would serve as a board of directors to assist the Transit Authority in developing guidelines and policies for the final system design and implementation. The group would also serve to monitor the service based on the established goals and objectives, as well as help with future changes that invariably occur during the lifespan of a transit service.

Policy Board (TMA) Decision Areas1: - Fare box recovery - Special fares - Client eligibility requirements - Client billing rates, form, and amount - Geographic area of service (paratransit) - Designation of priority patron (paratransit) - Designation of priority trip purpose (paratransit)

- Fleet deployment and garaging - Vehicle maintenance scheduling - Capital replacement.

- Hours of service - Length and location of routes (fixed-route) - Days of service - Level of service (for example policy headways) - Vehicle capacity and vehicle type - Ultimate fleet-size - Vehicle backup - Accessibility features Key characteristics of successful Policy Boards2: While the following list of characteristics were identified as essential for a successful MPO (Metropolitan Planning Agencies for communities with a population over 50,000), many of these lessons can be applied to guide a successful TMA.

4. Public Involvement - Recognize the importance of, and are aggressive in pursuing, public involvement in shaping priorities of the region. Meaningful public participation in the process enhances the acceptance and support of the transportation projects in the region.

Performance goals and funding priorities should result from an inclusive, open, transparent, and fair planning process.

5. Cooperative Relationship with the State DOT - It is important to engage State DOTs in a cooperative and collaborative decisional process. Both must strive to achieve greater cooperation and collaboration.

6. Streamlined, Efficient Process - Group consensus building can be cumbersome, time-consuming and laborious. Efforts should be made to be as effective as possible.

1. Effective Leadership - The right combination of leadership attitudes, skills, and capacities can be the most important determinant of whether successful collaboration, or effective regional transportation planning, occurs. Attending leadership development programs offered in or out-of-state could be good ways to help bring out a person's abilities.

7. Land Use - Research reveals the importance of integrating land use, air quality, and transportation planning. Because transportation issues are inextricably intertwined with land use issues, policy boards should strive to develop a cooperative process with the state and local jurisdictions to coordinate transportation and land use plans and programs.

2. Competence and expertise - There is a concerted effort to understand the issues; advice is sought from other agencies, organizations and professional planners.

8. Accountability - Real decision-making power must rest with its officers and committee members, for the board exists to serve the regional needs of its constituents - the state and local governmental institutions, and the public.

3. Regional Ethos - One of the difficult objectives for policy boards is to create a regional ethos among their representatives. The group should reflect the needs of the area as a whole, instead of a collection of individual interests.

1. Adapted from National Association of County Engineers, Rural Public Transportation, NACE Action Guide Series, Vol. II (Washington, D.C.: Federal Highway Administration, 1986), p. 3-2.

2. Adapted from: Metropolitan Planning Organizations: An assessment of the transportation planning process, A report to Congress, 2001. Prepared by Dr. Paul Stephen Dempsey; Dr. Andrew Goetz ; Dr. Carl Larson

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Responding to ridership needs A study4 of transit systems experiencing increased ridership, even in years where national ridership was low, show that “most systems...attribute the increases to various combinations of strategies.” This continuously updated study of best practices is another excellent source for study. A digital copy of the 1998 report has been given to the city for future planning purposes. The following are excerpts from this report:

Actions and initiatives that have been effective in increasing ridership can be categorized into five areas: 1. Service adjustments 2. Fare and pricing adaptations 3. Marketing and information initiatives 4. Planning orientation 5. Service coordination, collaboration, and market segmentation The conclusion reached by service planners (and customers) is that service frequency and availability is more important to riders than reliability at longer intervals. The most immediate means of generating ridership is through service expansion, and/or increasing frequency, if budget and policy allow.

The transportation disadvantaged, ethnic communities, students, new residents, commuters, tourists, and so forth, are all being targeted directly and effectively in marketing campaigns, along with the general effort to project transit more positively into the public consciousness. As an adjunct to the marketing efforts, frequent mention was made of the importance of and approaches to more customer-oriented service design, operations, and marketing. Because marketing staffs frequently are a first point of contact for existing and prospective riders, the commitment to stronger market orientation has, in many systems, taken the form of increased resources for public information functions.

Finally, marketing campaigns also provide natural opportunities to establish partnerships with interests and organizations throughout the community. There has been fairly broad recognition among the systems contacted that success lies, in part, in reaching out more routinely to stakeholders, clients, and partners in all aspects of planning and operations.

External forces continue to have a potentially greater effect on ridership than system and service design initiatives. The most important of these external factors during 1994 through 1996 have been: - The resurgence of local and regional economies, which has spurred ridership growth - Reductions in federal transit operating assistance, which have suppressed ridership growth - Integration of public transportation with other public policy initiatives and program areas (e.g., welfareto-work, education, and social service delivery), which has spurred ridership and eased some funding constraints.

A final topic of concern to the industry as a whole and the management and staff of most systems interviewed is the lack of a financial base to launch or sustain major ridership initiatives. Funding constraints inhibit service expansion, suppress service innovation and experimentation, and limit the scope of even "back-to-basics" service enhancements.

Product life-cycle5 Public transportation, like all products or services, has a definite product life-cycle. The product lifecycle concept is a recognition that any new service or product when first introduced into the market place requires a period of time before it is widely accepted by consumers. During this period, sales increase, slowly at first and then more rapidly, as consumers become aware of the product's benefits. Then the sales of the product level off as it saturates its intended market segment and ceases to attract new users. If the service offering is not modified to keep pace with the changing needs of the consumer, sales will diminish until at some point the authority must decide that it is time to discontinue the product or service. Likewise, transportation authorities should continue to monitor ridership for each individual service to determine where it is in the product life-cycle and when, according to a set guideline, it is time to promote, expand or discontinue service.

It is important to avoid an ‘all-or-nothing’ situation by developing a market strategy guideline. For example, a declining market strategy could consist of continuing traditional bus service as long as the route generates two or four passengers per mile of operation.

The second stage may be contractual service with a limousine or van operator to provide service if ridership is slightly below this level. The third stage might be contractual taxi service, with the fourth stage being a voucher system subsidizing dependent riders who are free to use any mode they desire or can obtain.

Marketing strategies The issue of a good marketing strategy has been stressed at many points in this document and many suggestions have been made throughout on how to improve the public perception and acceptance of a public transportation system. Key aspects of marketing are: 1. Use amenities 2. Easily accessible and clear information about services 3. Target existing user segments, rather than trying to reach everyone at the same time 4. Identify nonuser groups who can become potential transit riders and promote services to them.

A transit agency should continuously research what other transit agencies are doing and evaluate if successful methods could be used in the service area.

The following section of this report includes eight case studies of transit agencies in other cities. The TCRP is also an excellent source for studying best practices in the industry, see page 107.

1. George Gray and Lester Hoel, eds., Public Transportation, 2nd ed. (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, Prentice Hall, 1992) p. 431.

2. Same source as “1.” p. 464.

3. TCRP Report 70, Guidebook for Change and Innovation at Rural and Small Urban Transit Systems, Prepared by KFH Group, Inc. in association with A-M-MA; National Academy Press, Washington, D.C. (http://gulliver.trb.org/publications/tcrp/tcrp_rpt_70a.pdf) 4. Task 19 of TCRP J-6, Continuing Examination of Successful Transit Ridership Initiatives; Quick Response for Special Needs; prepared by Robert Stanley, Cambridge Systematics, 1998.

5. Excerpts from George Gray and Lester Hoel, eds., Public Transportation, 2nd ed. (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, Prentice Hall, 1992) pp. 500-501

I M P L E M E N TAT I O N

Daily Management of the System The above diagram represents the typical structure of a small transit system agency. It also shows how the different positions and tasks interact.

As organizations get larger, the tasks become more specialized, such as marketing, planning, fund raising and grantsmanship.

"The management of publicly owned enterprises poses a major difficulty in the United States, because the country does not really have a long history or well-developed ethic of public enterprise management…Modern business management techniques could have a revolutionary impact on traditional transit management. As an example, the transit industry and its management have almost always been operations oriented. This means that the conventionally well managed transit [system] is adept at servicing and maintaining equipment; scheduling, dispatching, and otherwise seeing to it that equipment is on the street and rolling; and utilizing vehicles and personnel in what is hoped to be the least costly manner. What traditional management lacks is a feel for the consumer and, perhaps even more important, the potential consumer of public transportation services.2 " However, public agencies, in difference to private businesses, cannot discontinue a low-demand service if its removal would cause severe social (and possibly political) consequences. This social and political obligation is often the source of criticism of public transportation systems. Criticism arises when systems remove essential services, even though they have low

ridership, but are also criticized for running nearly empty buses and showing high operational costs (see Product life-cycle section for potential solutions).

The management of a transit system therefore calls for a methodology that adapts modern business practices to the over reaching concept of public service; primarily in the areas of marketing and the tailoring services to the consumer. It is advisable to offer business training to employees who are not already educated in the field.

A dynamic manager is key to the success of the organization. The manager will be responsible for creating an environment conducive to creative problem solving. An organization with a culture of innovation is one that is able and willing to create or use different strategies in order to stay responsive to ridership and the potential users.

A study was conducted on innovative methods of rural and small urban transit systems3 and should be consulted by a future transit agency in the Starkville area. A digital copy of this report has been given to the city. The three main areas of innovation identified in this report are: "Quality" - refers to a range of attributes-convenient and reliable service design to meet needs, welltrained courteous drivers, good public information about the service, and a customer service focus. Areas to target: planning, operations, maintenance, and marketing.

"Productivity" - refers to the number of passenger trips carried typically measured on a services or revenue hour basis. For transit systems serving rural and small urban areas, productivity is often limited because of large and sparsely populated service areas and a focus on riders with special needs. Moving toward higher productivities enables the system to serve more people in the community and lower per passenger trip costs.

"Efficiency" - refers to providing services with a minimum of expense and effort. When funding resources are limited, improving efficiency is an important objective of smaller transit systems.

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CASE STUDIES

Case Studies of Other Transit Systems

In this section there are several case studies of transit systems in other communities. Though each community is unique and must tailor its transit system to fit local issues, one can learn a great deal from their approach. All case studies involve the service of universities and university towns. Many systems also serve neighboring towns and the surrounding rural areas.

Though all systems were asked the same questions, different levels of data were made available during the interview. While trying to secure more information the CSTC research team would often find that data varied greatly from year to year. Operation and management would change, fleet sizes would grow or decrease, and funding sources would appear and disappear. This in itself exhibits a very important lesson for any community wishing to provide public transportation: transit systems are in a constant state of flux and are continuously changing to meet political, social, and financial needs.

A question that was asked in these case studies, but is not recorded in the following section, was whether or not the cities experienced an increase in road maintenance costs due to the transit system. The question was spawned by a comment from the Mississippi State University Transit System who found that certain roads were deteriorating rapidly. The question was posed to all of the transit agencies all of the public works offices in the towns in which they were located. All responses were negative: road repairs had not increased. However, the interviews led to a plausible explanation for MSU’s experience. Roads are much like rubber, if not used on a regular basis they become brittle and break easily. The roads that were affected by the MSU buses were ones that had not been used much and/or had been completely closed to campus traffic and therefore were very likely brittle with lack of use. It is therefore wise to plan routes on roads which are regularly trafficked and are on regular trash pick up routes

(as dump trucks are much heavier than transit buses).

Another important discovery from these case studies is that the most successful systems try to keep stop frequency under 30 minutes and most strive for under 10 minutes. Stop frequency is one of the key factors in creating a reliable transit system, stop frequencies above 30 minutes begin to be inconvenient for passengers and will result in lower ridership.

FTA Funded Transit Providers in Mississippi Though the adjacent map was created prior to the downfall of the Pilot Club and, as noted earlier, transit agencies are constantly changing, it is useful to understand the transportation situation in the state, and specifically around Oktibbeha county.

The Census Bureau classifies the majority of Mississippi as rural. Even the urbanized counties have portions that are considered rural. In 2001, a network of seventeen FTA funded providers offered rural transit service. These providers did not provide coverage of all areas of the state, but did cover 50 of the 82 counties (61 percent). Most rural providers offer demandresponse service similar to a taxi operation, while some offer the traditional fixed-route service. Ten of the 17 operators had multi-county operations, while the remainder operate within a single county.

Of the four urbanized areas within the state, three had public transit service: Jackson, Hattiesburg, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast (Biloxi, Gulfport, and Ocean Springs). Hattiesburg is mentioned in the following section, however, Jackson and the Gulf Coast authorities are not. Research showed that the latter two had less correlation with Starkville, MSU, and surrounding area and were therefore omitted. Hattiesburg, though much larger than Starkville, did however reveal some interesting insights into the management of a transit system and is therefore included.

MAP developed by MDOT

115

Clemson, South Carolina

Type of service and hours of operation: This agency runs primarily a fixed route service with a night route that is a semi-fixed (or flex) route. The service is considered a rural transportation system.

Service is provided from 6:00am to 3:00am.

Service area: Upstate South Carolina, in particular: University of Clemson, Southern Wesleyan University, Tri-County Technical College, Anderson College, and the cities of Pendleton, Central, Anderson, and Clemson.

City of Clemson population: 11,939 Clemson University enrollment: 17,000 Ridership and users: The primary users of this service include students, seniors and persons with low income. Approximately one million riders use this service annually. Most riders use the service to travel to school, work, and the doctor’s office.

Route characteristics: A portion of the system’s success lies in its flexibility to meet customer needs. The customer friendly approach can be seen in the daily routes: Provided there is a safe place to pull out of traffic, or traffic is minimal, and the bus is running on schedule, the driver will stop anywhere a rider asks to exit or board the bus.

Undesignated boarding is requested by waiving down the bus. This method avoids door to door service while more accurately catering to the needs of each patron.

It also helps to build an overall sense of reliability and consumer confidence, as long as riders are aware that the bus cannot always stop upon request.

There are a total of five routes operated by the CAT system, three of which serve the specific needs of the Clemson campus: The Red route meanders throughout the Clemson campus and the City of Clemson. This is a long route and is operated by several busses to insure 10 minute intervals. An advantage of the long route arrangement is that there are no transfers necessary.

The Orange and Blue routes bring students from outlying parking lots into the center of the Clemson campus. During the academic year, the routes promise intervals of 5-6 minutes from 7:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. every weekday.

The 4-U route provides express transit between four educational centers and the neighboring towns: Clemson University, Anderson College, Southern Wesleyan University, and Tri-County Technical College. The route averages an interval of 30 minutes. Nearby Anderson operates its own small transit service and offers free transfers to and from the CAT system. The 4-U system operates year round and accounts for approximately $150,000 of CAT’s annual budget. This route runs throughout the year.

NightCAT/Purple route was initiated in 2001

buses to provide efficient service to a certain event, yet the event coordinator is only willing to pay for one bus, CAT will not provide the service. Negative criticism always hurts the system, even if it is not the fault of CAT. Revenues received from the charter services are used to pad the annual budget for unexpected expenses such as emergency maintenance or charitable ventures.

Fare structure: There is no charge for the service, with the exception of chartered bus services. CAT did a financial analysis of the cost of collecting fares and found that it makes financial sense to not charge for the service.

Collecting fares actually added costs to overall operations through: - Purchase and maintenance of fare boxes - Longer route times due to slower boarding - Decreased ridership due to cost and hassle of fare, especially if exact fare is required - Handling the collected money However advantageous the fare free system has been for the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the Clemson transit system, without the financial assistance of the parking fees and fines from Clemson University, it would be impossible.

Informing the public is considered very important at CAT and many different types of brochures that explain the service can be found all over the campuses and communities they serve.

Brochures for the “Bike and Ride” program and new night route

CASE STUDIES

Clemson Area Transit (CAT)

and provides safe late-night transport from bars and libraries to apartments and student housing. Students can call to be picked up and the bus will detour off of its designated route in order to accommodate most needs. A strong public relations effort is well rewarded and many students know the CAT hotline for night service by heart. This is considered a “flex route” because it has fixed route characteristics but can “flex” to resemble a dial-a-ride system.

Night CAT operates throughout the year and averages approximately 3000 riders per month when school is in session and around 1200 during the summer months. The summer ridership increased by 99% in 2003.

Catered Services: In addition to its everyday routing schedule, CAT offers its services to local groups for a nominal fee. However, CAT is cautious to accept such commissions. They will only agree when they are able to provide the highest quality of service.

For example, if they feel it is necessary to use two

116 Vehicles and maintenance: CAT currently operates 18 buses, eight of which are Chance Coach OPUS low-floor buses. The remainder of the fleet consists of school-bus like buses and a few vans from a more distant era. The new OPUS models are rated at a 12 year lifespan and come at a prince of approximately $240,000 each. Each bus has the ability to seat 23 with an additional 31 standing and has two wheelchair positions (the overall seating capacity diminishes when wheelchairs are present). These buses, offer one of the lowest deck heights in the bus industry - approximately 9 inches. The low-floor design makes the bus easily accessible by disabled or elderly and the need for (and cost of) a mechanical lift is eliminated and replaced by a manually operated flip-out ramp. The ramp operates faster than a mechanical lift and helps buses stay on schedule. The ramp also has less maintenance issues than a mechanical lift. All buses, new and old, are fitted with front bicycle racks.

Brochures advertising the “Bike and Ride� program show how easy it is to use the racks and encourage the use of this amenity. See p. 93 for more about bicycle racks.

CASE STUDIES

Number of employees: There are fifty-five employees that operate and maintain this transit system. They actively seek students as bus drivers. CAT feels that student drivers can connect better with the campus population and helps to make riding the bus more popular. Student drivers tend to work no more than 20 hours a week and their schedules are worked around class times.

Finances and funding sources: The total budget is estimated around 1.5 million dollars. The system’s primary funding is provided through the state and federal sources, the matching monies for the grants are paid by Clemson University parking fees and fines and in-kind services from the City of Clemson. Other funding comes from chartered transportation for private groups in the area and the night route is sponsored by the City of Clemson and Budweiser. See above chart.

Advertising strategies: CAT actively and creatively promotes a positive image in the community. Every effort is made to make the system as user friendly as possible.

Wrapping the buses with Clemson colors and logos is seen as a way to improve the popularity of the system.

Drivers attitudes are considered very important, and much effort is spent helping them understand the importance of their roll in the community. CAT feels that a driver who is happy with his job will help to make the overall bus experience a pleasant one and first-time riders will return.

Information is made available through all of the served educational centers with bilingual (english and spanish) maps and flyers and through the CAT website. Flyers come in a variety of forms such as the basic facts of the overall system, information about special features, and a full blown map with routes and time schedules. Other sources of publicity are local papers who will write up special events, activities, or changes in service and bus bulletin boards. They also participate in national and international public transportation groups and competitions. They recently won an international award.

Management and future plans: The transit agency was formed through a partnership between Clemson University and the City of Clemson, however, is operated independent of both.

Al Babinicz, manager of CAT noted how important this was to increase the overall efficiency and flexibility of operations. Payroll is handled by the city of Clemson as part of their in-kind contribution to the system.

The bus system is seen as part of a larger vision for the future of Clemson that offers a range of alternatives to the private vehicle. The community has begun to develop an infrastructure of paths and public spaces to match the largely car-free campus. Such interventions promote an outdoor lifestyle with healthier individuals and a growing pride in the local community.

CAT is in the process of reevaluating bus stop signage and shelters and hopes to improve and increase their presence within the community.

Currently, stops are equipped with small but bright metal signs and only a handful of stops have seating and weather protection.

Conclusions and implications: Strong leadership and teamwork have made the largest fare-free transit system in the nation a true success and a source of community pride. It strives to provide its small communities and educational centers with first class service and has earned national and international recognition for it.

CAT is a good model for any community to follow, and is particularly applicable to Starkville as the population and university size is comparable. This system can inform the development of a future system between Starkville, MSU, and the surrounding region.

Sources and contacts: Al Babinicz, Director Bob Folsom Clemson Area Transit www.catbus.com Larry Abernathy, Mayor of Clemson

Clemson University has limited car access and has moved parking lots to the outskirts of campus.

Bike racks and bicycles are a prevalent feature on campus.

The city of Clemson has added pedestrian crossings and bicycle paths wherever feasible in the community.

117

Mississippi Valley State University Transit Service

Type of service and hours of operation: This agency provides both fixed route and paratransit services. Hours of operation vary depending on the route, but typically begin at 6:30 am and end at 12:30 pm.

Vehicles and maintenance: There are 12 vehicles in the fleet. Minor maintenance is done in house by mechanics who are also part-time drivers.

Service area: Service is provided to several counties of the Mississippi Delta, including: Browning, Glendora, Greenwood, Greenville, Indianola, Itta Bena, Leland, Parchman, Mississippi Valley State University (MVSU), Minter City, and Moorehead.

MSVU enrollment: 3,091

Number of employees: Most employees are part-time who work in various capacities. On average, Mississippi Valley Transit employs three people for every one vehicle. Employee incentives include childcare, GED programs, participation in the TRIO program, and greatly reduced tuition to MVSU.

Ridership and users: Total ridership in 2000 was 48,432, with an average of 600-700 riders per day. Most users of the service ride to the university and to places of employment, primarily industrial factories.

Finances and funding sources: The annual operating costs are approximately 26,000 dollars. See adjacent chart.

Route characteristics: Fixed routes primarily serve the MVSU campus; Paratransit routes extend off campus and cover multiple counties. Stops along these routes include apartment complexes, retail developments, and MVSU. Buses also travel to local industries to provide transit for their employees. Service to industries is provided on a contractual basis.

Fare structure: A one-way ride within one county costs $1. Fare boxes are used to keep cash on board. Students can get a semester pass for approximately $300. Summer passes are available for $95. Seniors, children, and people with disabilities ride for half fare. There is a general public passbook which costs $35 and provides transit access for 22 non-consecutive days.

Advertising strategies: Advertising is achieved through word of mouth and marketing mailers.

Management and future plans: No information was provided on management and future plans.

Sources and contacts: John Johnson, Director He is also the president of the statewide Mississippi Transit Managers Association.

CASE STUDIES

Mississippi Delta Counties

118

Razorback Transit

CASE STUDIES

Fayetteville, Arkansas

Type of service and hours of operation: Razorback Transit provides fixed route, paratransit, and chartered bus service. Paratransit is available during the same hours as the fixed route bus service: The highest level of service is provided during the fall and spring semesters: Monday through Friday from 7:00am to 10:30pm; Saturdays from 7:00am to 10:30pm. No service is provided on holidays. A late night demandresponsive service called “Safe Ride� provides University of Arkansas (UA) students with safe and convenient door to door travel Thursday through Saturday nights from 10:00pm. to 2:30am. Summer session and Christmas break have reduced service between 7:00am and 5:30pm, Monday through Friday.

Fare structure: There is no fee to ride the buses. However chartered buses are paid for by private groups.

Service area: Fayetteville and the University of Arkansas Fayetteville population: 58,047 UA enrollment: 16,000

Finances and funding sources: The annual budget is over 1.5 million dollars.

See adjacent chart.

Ridership and users: Annual ridership is 1,235,563 persons per year. Riders consist of students, faculty, and staff of University of Arkansas, and the general public of Fayetteville. Peak ridership periods are from 8:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Route characteristics: There are eleven routes: Blue, Brown, Gray, Green, Orange, Lot56 Express, Pomfret Express, Red, Reid Express, Tan, and Safe Ride. All routes make frequent stops on campus and pick up students from in town and peripheral parking lots. The Blue, Brown and Green routes are served by two or more buses and schedules sometimes vary because of passenger loads, traffic congestion, weather, and road conditions.

Vehicles and maintenance: Razorback Transit operates 20 buses, 4 of which are vans used for paratransit. All buses have wheelchair lifts and are air-conditioned.

Number of employees: 50 employees run the transit system, 20 of which are full time employees. Employee work hours for part-time positions are from 2:45 p.m. until 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday during the Fall and Spring semesters.

Advertising strategies: This transit system provides advertising space on both the exterior and interior of their buses, and is used heavily by local and national businesses (such as Coca-Cola). Signs are displayed on twelve Razorback Transit buses, and carried throughout Fayetteville, where a billboard ordinance prohibits other outdoor advertising.

Management and future plans: The transit system is managed by a Transit Operations Supervisor, a Logistics Manager, and a Data Entry Specialist. No specific future plans were identified.

Sources and contacts: A.J. Bellard Logistics Manager Razorback Transit www.uark.edu/parking

119

AppalCART / Appalachian State University Boone, North Carolina

Service area: Boone, ASU, and Watauga County.

Boone population: 13,472 ASU enrollment: 12,000 Ridership and users: Students are the primary users of the service, but senior citizens and the general public also use it. Over 629,000 passengers are served annually, of which 82% of ride within Boone, with an average of 4,000 passengers/day during fall and spring semesters.

Route characteristics: There are seven fixed-route bus routes in Boone and eleven dial-a-ride routes in the county. The average route-lap time interval is approximately 30 minutes.

The most popular routes and destinations include commuter shuttles from apartment complexes to the central part of campus.

Fare structure: ASU students ride for free with a valid student I.D. except on paratransit buses. Trips within the town of Boone cost 50 cents per ride. County trips cost $.50 to $2.00 according to distance traveled. Discounted trip cards are available for $16 and save an average of 20% on regular fares. Additional discounts are available from the Project on Aging and the Workshop for

the Mentally Ill. Cash is kept on board in fare boxes.

Vehicles and maintenance: There are 28 buses and vans in the fleet and all are equipped with wheelchair lifts and bicycle racks. All buses are serviced by an in-house maintenance shop.

Number of employees: There are 45 employees on staff, 22 of which are full-time.

Finances and funding sources: The annual budget is over 2 million dollars.

See adjacent chart.

Advertising strategies: The AppalCART website, and local radio, television, and newspaper are used to advertise service.

Marketing is conducted in-house.

Management and future plans: Future growth is based on a five year planning period.

Enlarging the service area is a possibility.

Sources and contacts: Chris Turner, Director Joanna Willcox www.appalcart.com

CASE STUDIES

Type of service and hours of operation: AppalCART consolidates transportation systems from the City of Boone, Appalachian State University (ASU), and Watauga County, N.C. and is considered a Rural Transit Operator with fixed route, paratransit, and charter services. Hours of service are from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Weekend hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

120

Hub City Transit Hattiesburg, Mississippi

Type of service and hours of operation: Hub City Transit (HCT) operates a fixed route and paratransit transit system from 6 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. No buses run on holidays. HCT is considered an urban public transportation system.

Service area: City of Hattiesburg, with only one stop on the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) campus.

Hattiesburg population: 114,632 USM enrollment: 15,050

CASE STUDIES

Ridership and users: The bus drivers tally by demographics when counting ridership. The majority of riders are working people.

The most popular work destinations include restaurants, hospitals, the university, and the shopping mall.

40% of the riders are students.

Route characteristics: This system has four fixed routes with recommended areas for bus pick up. However, passengers are allowed to wave down the bus, and the bus will stop at the end of the block. The average stop is once an hour.

Hattiesburg would like to have more fixed bus stops, however, this will not be addressed until a trial period for establishing better routes is over. Careful planning is critical to implementing a new route, as public hearings are required in order to change service to an area.

Three buses are demand response (paratransit) for mental health resources, elderly and handicapped. They do not charge for these services and require a call 24 hours in advance.

Fare structure: $0.50 General public $0.25 for persons under 18 Persons with disabilities and the elderly ride free.

Vehicles and maintenance: HCT has one 24-passenger bus and six 15-passenger vans. The buses are bought through state contract and the brands used are: Blue Bird, El Dorado, and Champion. All buses are diesel fueled and wheelchair accessible.

They use an in-house maintenance facility to conduct most work. Air conditioning and motor overhauling work is contracted out.

Number of employees: 14 total employees operate and manage the system: 2 Office Assistants 8 Drivers 1 Division Manager 1 Grant Manager 2 Bus Mechanics Finances and funding sources: Total annual budget was not available. Funding for the system is through a 0.5 mil property tax assessment that is dedicated to the transit system. Annual fare collection totals approximately $23,500, based on 2003 data. Hattiesburg operates on two FTA grants. One grant provides an 80/20 match for preventative maintenance (i.e. clerical, mechanics, bus parts, administrative assistant). Another grant provides a 50/50 match and is used for operating expenses. Hattiesburg belongs to the Unified Work Planning Program and the Transportation Improvement Program in order to receive money from MDOT.

Advertising strategies: Bus information and route maps are available at the hospital, medical center, city hall, USM, William Carey College, the shopping mall, and the transit office.

Bus stop benches are contracted out for advertising and are free to the city. One person operates this venture, and is supposed to place the benches at bus stops around the city. However, the benches have also been placed in locations where transit services are not offered. This has confused riders and HCT receives complaints from people who waited at what appeared to be a stop but no bus ever arrived. This affects the perception of service reliability and hurts overall ridership as these complaints spread by word of mouth. This problem arose due to a poorly written contract with the bench supplier; HCT recommends to set restrictions on such business relationships.

Management and future plans: Hub City Transit is the Mass Transit Division of Hattiesburg’s Urban Development Department. This has made the system vulnerable to political whims of changing mayors and alderpersons, in the long run hurting the system’s ability to organize itself and its routes in the most effective way. The current Mayor is very supportive of the system, which has not always been the case.

HCT would like to buy two to three more buses, but keep the fleet within nine buses because paper work is greatly simplified. They would like to have one or two shuttles designated for transit on the USM campus. A feasibility study was conducted in 2000, but coordination between the City of Hattiesburg and USM is still ongoing.

Hattiesburg is currently constructing a transportation hub at the old train depot, paid for largely

through FTA grants. HCT, Greyhound, and Amtrack will operate out of the new transportation hub. Taxis and forprofit bus services can easily connect with other transportation agencies at this central location.

Sources and contacts: Christine Brown L. C. Powell, Division Manager

121

Meridian Transit Authority Meridian, Mississippi

Service area: City of Meridian, population 39,968 Ridership and users: Monthly ridership totals for fixed route services were approximately 696 per month. The average daily ridership for April 2003 was 128. Commuter rides total approximately 1050 per month.

Route characteristics: The system has 6 routes with one bus assigned to each route. The buses travel at 40 minute intervals on the routes. On weekends the buses serve the Meridian Naval Air Station.

Fare structure: The fares are: $1.00 regular fare $0.75 for the elderly $0.40 for children up to 12 years $0.25 for a transfer $2.50 to the Meridian Naval Air Station The trolley is rented out for $50 per hour + $1.25 per mile.

Vehicles and maintenance: There are nine buses and one trolley in the Meridian fleet. Meridian purchases vehicles under the state contract program. Currently they are using the following types of buses: Goshen with an international chassis, Diamond with a Ford chassis, and Diamond on a Freightliner chassis. The buses are 36, 29, and 25 passenger configurations. All of its buses meet ADA (American Disability Act) criteria. The lifts used in the

buses are Ricon and Braun. The buses are maintained by the city of Meridian's maintenance personnel in the city garage.

Number of employees: Drivers belong to a union (Amalgamated Transit). Fulltime drivers earn about $10 per hour. Part-time drivers earn about $7.72 per hour. Drivers' peak hours are between 10a.m. and 2p.m.

Finances and funding sources: During 2004 the budget for the transit system was about 500,000 dollars. Funding is provided by the city and the federal-state government (through MDOT).

For administration, the city provides 20% and the fedstate provides 80%. For operations the city provides 50% and the fed-state provides 50%. Capital purchases are 80% Federal and 20% city. Meridian is funded under the 5311-Rural Transit program. It also receives funding under the 5310-Specialized Transit program.

Advertising strategies: No advertising strategies were noted.

Management and future plans: The Transit Authority is governed by a five-member commission appointed by the mayor. The commission hires the executive director. This has been in effect since 1972. Future plans were not indicated.

Sources and contacts: Evelyn Bumpers

CASE STUDIES

Type of service and hours of operation: Meridian operates both fixed routes and paratransit service (for the elderly and disabled) from 6am to 6pm on weekdays. Charter services are also provided.

122

University of Georgia Transit System

CASE STUDIES

Athens, Georgia

Type of service and hours of operation: This agency operates a fixed route service on weekdays from 6:00am to 1:00am, Saturdays from 10:00am to 10:00pm, and Sundays from 12:00pm to 10:00pm Operating schedules and level of service varies depending on the time of year.

There is also a paratransit van service available for persons with disabilities from 7:00am to 2:00am on class days. All services are available upon request to any on-campus facility and to off-campus locations. Service has to be ordered 24 hours in advance.

The transit service also provides charter bus service to the University community as well as providing professional drivers to departments requiring such service on a temporary basis. The campus transit system also provides daily inter-library mail service between member units of the Atlanta Regional Consortium for Higher Education (ARCHE).

Through an agreement between the University and the Athens-Clarke government, students, staff and faculty can transfer to, and ride, the Athens Transit buses for free.

Service area: The University of Georgia and adjacent areas.

University of Georgia enrollment: 24,829 Ridership and users: This service averages 52,067 daily riders and 7,484,628 annual riders. The primary users of this system are students, averaging 95% of riders.

Route characteristics: There are nine daytime routes, three night routes, and one weekend route. The daytime routes run at 5 to 15

minute intervals. Night routes run at 10 to 20 minute intervals.

Fare structure: There is no charge for the service.

Vehicles and maintenance: This service maintains 43 full-sized transit buses, two cut-a-ways, and five ramp-equipped minivans.

Number of employees: There are 40 full-time and 120 part-time employees.

Full-time employees work 40 hours a week. Part-time employees work 12 or more hours a week.

Finances and funding sources: This transit service receives no federal, state, or local funding and has an annual budget of over 4 million dollars. See adjacent chart.

Advertising strategies: No advertising is used.

Management and future plans: There are no plans for future expansion of service.

Sources and contacts: Ronald D. Hamlin Campus Transit Manager, University of Georgia

123

Chattanooga Area Regional Transit Authority Chattanooga, Tennessee

Service area: The entire City of Chattanooga and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) campus.

Chattanooga population: 157,532 UTC enrollment: 8,500 Ridership and users: For the year 2002, the City of Chattanooga ridership totaled 3,150,227. UTC ridership totaled 36,359.

Route characteristics: The UTC campus has its own route and city routes are designated as either neighborhood routes or Main Line routes. The neighborhood routes provide more frequent service within the neighborhood served, offering access to facilities within that area such as shopping, employment, daycare, health, and recreation. The neighborhood routes also provide connections with CARTA's Main Line Routes which provide frequent service between Downtown Chattanooga and other areas in the city. Bus stops are identified by signs or by yellow-striped telephone or utility poles.

CARTA also operates a supplementary service called "Care-A-Van" for temporarily or permanently handicapped persons.

Fare structure: Fixed routes cost $1.00 for the general public, and transfers $.20. Seniors, students, and children ride for

half the price. Children under five ride free with a paying passenger.

A $40.00 pass entitles riders to unlimited rides for 1 month, and there are also passes for 10 trips.

Fares are paid using an electronic fare box which accepts change only. The downtown electric shuttle is free. Care-A-Van service is $2.00 one way and $4.00 round trip.

Vehicles and maintenance: CARTA claims to have the largest fleet of electric buses in the United States. All buses are handicap accessible. All Main Line, Neighborhood Route buses and the Incline Railway are equipped with bike racks.

Number of employees: CARTA maintains thirteen executive and administrative positions. These positions are: Executive Director, Controller, General Manager, Planning, Routes and Schedules, Marketing, Grants, Transport, Care-A-Van (paratransit), Human Resources, Maintenance, Incline Railway, and Electric Vehicle Information Center.

Additionally, CARTA maintains an unspecified number of drivers, maintenance employees, housekeepers, conductors, hoist operators, and porters.

Finances and funding sources: Total annual budget was not available. Funding comes from city, state, and federal monies. UT pays for its own route which is funded by parking revenues. The 2002 Budget for Chattanooga included: 43% federal funds, 39% contractual funds, 25% fares and tourism, and 11% UTC funds.

Advertising strategies: CARTA schedules are available at many of the local banks, savings & loans, shopping malls, social service

agencies, hospitals, colleges, universities, the downtown post office, libraries, and through CARTA’s office and website. CARTA also operates the Electric Vehicle Information Center, the only public display dedicated solely to electric vehicles in the country. The center provides an opportunity to learn about electric vehicles through a number of displays and interactive activities.

Exterior and interior signage is available on the CARTA buses. Brochures are also available for advertising and are located inside each bus.

Management and future plans: An 11-member Board of Directors, representing communities which the authority serves, has guided public transit in the Chattanooga area to a point where, today, CARTA has a worldwide reputation for innovation and excellence. Board members are selected by the mayor or other board representatives. All board meetings are open to the public.

Sources and contacts: Helen Cahill Cindee Pulliam http://www.carta-bus.org

CASE STUDIES

Type of service and hours of operation: Chattanooga Area Regional Transit Authority (CARTA) operates fixed route and paratransit systems, and an incline railway for Lookout Mountain. Operating hours and days depend on routes but some type of service is available everyday of the week, generally between 5:00 a.m. and midnight.

http://smalltown.coa.msstate.edu

The Carl Small Town Center

College of Architecture

Mississippi State University

Barr Avenue

PO Box AQ

Mississippi State, MS 39762