Public Report to the Park Foundation

nd

ITHACA LLC. & the INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION (IST)

PRESENTED by CONNECT

SEPTEMBER 14 - 16 2008

PARK FOUNDATION GRANT | FINAL REPORT

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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3 COMPANY | ORGANIZATION | GRANT INFORMATION 4 STATEMENT OF PURPOSE & GOALS OF THE GRANT 5 REPORT ON ACHIEVMENT, PROGRESS & CHALLENGES GENERAL PREMISE - AUTO-CITY VS. ECO-CITY: OUR BASIC INQUIRY 7 MEASUREMENTS OF SUCCESS & LESSONS LEARNED 8 GATHERING & INCORPORATING CITIZEN FEEDBACK 9 CATALYZING COLLABORATION & COOPERATION 13 PRT PROJECT WHEEL OF LIFE 14 CONNECT ITHACA TODAY 15 PCCC3: WHAT’S NEXT? FINANCIAL STATEMENT

COMPANY | ORGANIZATION | GRANT INFORMATION

PARK FOUNDATION, INC. REPORT Grant ID #: _____________ Date Submitted: November 22, 2009 Check one: Final Report X Organization Legal Name: Connect Ithaca, LLC Current Mailing Address: 323 North Tioga ST. Ithaca, NY 14850 Director’s Name/Title: Jacob Alan Roberts Phone Number: 315.729.0820 Email: yesjake@gmail.com Fiscal Sponsor Organization Name (if applicable): Cayuga Ventures (via Sustainable Tompkins) Has there been a revocation of, or change in, your organization’s (or the fiscal sponsor’s) determination as an organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code since your request for this grant? No X Grant was for: Project Support X Grant Amount: $5,000.00

Project Name: 2nd Annual International PodCar City Conference Grant Period: from 08.08 to 08.09

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE & GOALS OF THE GRANT The Purpose of this Park Foundation Grant was to assist Connect Ithaca subsidize the cost of promoting, programming and producing the 2nd Annual

International PodCar City Conference September 14 - 16, 2008 | Ithaca, N.Y. This was the initial North American instatement of PRT conferences created by the Institute for Sustainable Transportation (IST).

The first was presented in Uppsala, Sweden in ‘07; this years’ will be in Malmo, Sweden, during COP:15, on December 8-10 ‘09; and the next one is already being planned by event organizers in San Jose, California for the fall of 2010

REPORT ON ACHIEVEMENT, PROGRESS, & CHALLENGES The 2nd annual PodCar City Conference, held in Ithaca, N.Y.on September 14-16, 2008, became a vital and diverse gathering of professionals interested in the idea of advancing sustainable urban design and regional planning by adopting and employing a new form of transportation technology known as Personal Rapid Transit (PRT or PodCar).

The forum not only covered the basic fundamentals and history of the technology, what designers and developers of this new automated electric transit service claim it provides the environment, commuters, and cities alike, but it also shed light onto the possibility of nationwide growth potential in an emerging industry that could serve as a catalyst for long term economic development for the region.

The event convened top PodCar designers and manufacturers, urban planners, public officials, investors, energy experts, area students, technical specialists, and other interested parties to explore how this mobility system can improve the design, sustainability, quality of life and economic possibilities of American cities. At PCCC2, Connect Ithaca suggested Ithaca, NY be a case study locality, featuring a 3.5 mile Pilot Test Track connecting Cornell University, Ithaca College, the Commons, West State Street, the Waterfront, and Wegman’s.

By working to become the host site for this global conference, we feel that our team succeeded at high-lighting Ithaca, NY as a possible demonstration site to all of the conference attendees, and further helped to establish Upstate NY as a potential research, development, and manufacturing hub in the US. Also, the flood of event coverage from CNN, the New York Times, AP, and numerous news papers from as far away as Turkey and Russia, helped keep Ithaca relevant on the international stage of “progressive” ideals and action.

Some topics presented and discussed at the conference were: ● Development of a case study, using Ithaca, exploring how many current traffic congestion and real estate development roadblocks can be overcome by re-thinking urban and interurban mobility and utilizing PodCar systems inside urban centers. ● How to finance PRT systems and other sustainable transportation infrastructure (like bikeways, pedestrian areas, etc) without creating increased tax burdens. ● Possibilities for the use of alternative energy systems to power our local mobility, and the effects of “peak oil”, CO2 emissions and climate change on future transportation. ● The status of PodCar technology, current implementation projects and an overview of available systems. ● Discussion of plans to implement PodCar technology in other localities, with members of those communities networking. ● Real estate and economic development benefits of PodCar technology for Ithaca, Tompkins County and Upstate New York.

The conference program took place at venues on the Cornell University campus (Statler Hall) and in Downtown Ithaca (Hilton Garden, Holliday Inn, The State Theatre). Over 280 registered attendees from all over the world spent 3 days in Ithaca, NY contributing good will, great ideas, international news, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in direct revenues for the City and Region.

To further express the value of co-hosting PCCC2, Connect Ithaca has since: ● been awarded a $75k NYSERDA / NYSDOT Grant to conduct a preliminary feasibility study for PRT in Ithaca ● been invited by IST to partner in organizing PCCC3 (Malmo, Sweden) & PCCC4 (San Jose, California) ● garnered Global Media Awareness for its local project—including features on NPR & the Discovery Channel ● been invited to give numerous presentations and to discuss its project, such as at:

● ATRA Symposiums @ Harvard (Boston, MA) and in Oakland / San Francisco, CA. ● The NYS Apollo Alliance Annual Meeting in Albany, NY ● The NYS AIA Conference in Buffalo, NY ● The PodCar City 3 Conference in Malmo, Sweden

The biggest challenge Connect Ithaca faced leading up to the PodCar City Conference was how to quickly educate key stakeholders on the potential of PRT in a short amount of time. From the time the event finished, the most arduous task has been creating a consortium of regional interests working jointly to establish a major PRT pilot-project in Ithaca,

GENERAL PREMISE - AUTO-CITY VS. ECO-CITY: OUR BASIC INQUIRY REDUCE AUTO ACCIDENTS REDUCE OIL DEPENDENCY REDUCE COST OF TRANSIT REDUCE BARRIER TO USE REDUCE CO2 EMISSIONS REDUCE NOISE & SMELL REDUCE CONGESTION REDUCE TRIP TIMES REDUCE STRESS REDUCE WASTE REDUCE FEAR

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THE MODEL ECO-CITY

ADD FUN ADD TREES ADD BIKE LANES ADD QUALITY JOBS ADD CONVENIENCES ADD URBAN GARDENS ADD SIDEWALK CAFES ADD PLAZAS & THEATRES ADD GREEN TECHNOLOGY ADD SOLUTIONS TOGETHER Connect Ithaca presented a conceptual framework for envisioning a landscape design (r)evolution due to the introduction of a PRT Network

Proposed 3.5 mile Pilot PRT Network Route

5 minute or less “Walk-shed” to a PRT Station

Potential City-Wide PRT Network Layout

Tompkins County-wide Bus Rapid Transit

MEASUREMENTS OF SUCCESS & LESSONS LEARNED Connect Ithaca measures the effectiveness of its activities by keeping a finger on the pulse of where our local PodCar initiative stands in the eyes of local citizens, private businesses, community leaders, eco-city advocates, the PRT industry, and additional project interests.

So far, in just three short years, the initial response from investors, manufacturers, the public, our peers, local students, government offices, economic development agencies, and many throughout the PodCar Industry as a whole, has been overwhelmingly positive.

Since the fall of 2007, Connect Ithaca has presented a vision of sustainable transportation and compact land use at Cornell, Ithaca College, to neighborhood and civic groups, as well as to elected officials and their staff. We feel that this outreach activity has led to a deeper understanding of how sustainable transportation and land-use eventually shape the city form.

In addition, our ground-work has stimulated academic interest from Cornell University and Ithaca College, and has also led to an official resolution by the Cornell Student Assembly (aka. Student Government Association) to support the use of PRT on campus as part of a campus-wide strategy to greatly reduce carbon emissions at the Ivy League school.

We can by now see the benefits of embracing a proactive and hands-on communications strategy. As the effort becomes more of an international affair, however, we feel that we need to upgrade our network range to better promote our project around the world.

Therefore, as other PodCar efforts take off in the United States, we feel that the advantage of enhancing our web presence is both practical and advantageous for two important reasons: ● it supports Connect Ithaca in its mission to help teach the importance of supporting more sustainable transportation and land-use principles in a well formulated, creative, and enthusiastic manner. ● it supports the Ithaca community gain access to important information as a key stakeholder of the project, helping to generate more knowledge and social capital around the idea of developing into a model “Eco-City”.

Through giving many live presentation and hosting a major international conference, we have learned that by being prepared and organized, we can better engage in providing a platform for constructive dialog with those who are interested and/or critical of our program.

With continued support for our work, we have no doubt that Connect Ithaca will garner more public backing for achieving a more sustainable way of life in our region, and therefore be able to reach out to potential supporters and investors with confidence when promoting PRT.

ENSURING LONG-TERM SUCCESS Launched in the spring of ‘08 as a profitable, as well as a socially, ethically, and environmentally conscientious corporation that best reflects the values established by the founding partners, Connect Ithaca has been chartered as an LLC that will focus on creating Transit Oriented, Nodal, and Infill development opportunities in the Northeast USA; specifically in Upstate, NY. The value system from which the company grounds itself is a living and breathing set of beliefs interwoven into the very fibers of its corporate DNA. They not only apply internally to the partners, but also to the many relationships it forges in the marketplace.

These values include: Excellence - To strive to be the best that we can be Leadership - To be a beacon of inspiration to those around us Integrity - To exemplify honesty and candor in all that we do Team - To leverage one another to succeed through an awareness of our strengths and development needs Trust - To act in a manner that demonstrates our confidence in one's abilities Communication - To not take another's knowledge or understanding for granted Respect - To treat people the way they want to be treated. To display deference and patience Equanimity - To be calm and collected under pressure

Connect Ithaca measures success with a “quadruple bottom line” that achieves a balance of creativity, environmental stewardship, enhancement of the social community, and financial profitability.

By also establishing high-levels of respect, collaboration, sound business practices, and an entrepreneurial spirit, Connect Ithaca takes a holistic approach to forming a nascent network of mutually supportive partnerships built to succeed over the long haul.

Ultimately, Connect Ithaca recognizes that successful development starts with the mantra: the “Community is the Economy”.

GATHERING & INCORPORATING CITIZEN FEEDBACK Being that Connect Ithaca launched a radical effort to manifest a scale of pro-active “place-making” not seen in America since the end of World War II, we are always encouraging and gathering input from the very community it shares its future dream with; we know this is a massive Civil Works project.

Therefore, information, trends and data gathered from participant feedback at the PodCar City Conference, and at other venues before and since, is almost constantly being used to improve our programs’ direction, merit, and purpose, as it is the collective vision of a better place that moves us forward.

Following the PCCC2 conference, for example, Connect Ithaca hosted “EcoCity Emerging” at The State Theatre, a free public gathering at which members of Connect Ithaca presented information from the conference and emphasized the need to have a community dialog about the importance of transportation decisions and land-use policies in long-range planning efforts.

The night’s program both offered CI’s vision of PRT and also made a call for active citizen participation in the comprehensive planning processes. Since that event, Connect Ithaca has taken video clips and notes from the evening and has incorporated the ideas and concerns into the preliminary feasibility study for Ithaca it is co-authoring with C&S Engineers of Syracuse, NY. Connect Ithaca’s partners also recognize that having enhanced communications tools, like a vibrant website and online portfolio, will be essential to attaining success as we move forward in our upcoming research, education and outreach initiatives.

To help meet the targets outlined by our mission, we are looking to actively create a professional website and corporate brand to best reflect our ambitions. This effort will include creating a pleasant and proficient design aesthetic for C.I., the offering of web-based tools that can manage communications without a physical back office, and will work well in delivering content to the public about our eco-city movement.

In today’s digital world, a professional website featuring an enhanced portico, quality content, and ease of operation, serves as a primary means of communication with stakeholders and the general public, as well as to function as the core administrative tool of the business itself.

We feel that through a process of gathering feedback on the web from the Ithaca community, designers and engineers, the PRT producers, academic institutions and venture funds, etc., we will be able to better determine the impacts of our efforts.

CATALYZING COLLABORATION & COOPERATION Connect Ithaca, LLC is a working collaboration unto itself. The company has been designed as a professional consortium that aims to reverse the destructive effects of suburban sprawl, urban blight and auto-centric mobility through acts of volunteer advocacy, educational outreach, technical research and projectrelated professional services.

Its collective efforts are geared toward the implementation of transit oriented planning, design and development strategies. Its focus is to help revitalize city centers and save surrounding farmland, by directing transportation priorities on mobility modes which are more sustainable and socially equitable than the automobile, like PRT.

KOMPASS

The following people are members of Connect Ithaca, LLC. Frost Travis – Travis & Travis Real Estate Robert Morache – New Earth Strategies & Design Jason Demarest – JKD Architects Joan Bokaer – EcoVillage @ Ithaca Jacob Roberts – President In addition to the cooperation among the partners of Connect Ithaca, the team has worked hard to forge positive relationships with a number of regional groups, institutions, alliances, and organizations, such as (but not limited to): Sustainable Tompkins Sustainability Enterprise Network (SEN) Cayuga Sustainability Council (CSC) Cornell Co-Operative Extension The Ithaca Green Building Alliance (IGBA) The Green Resource Hub of the Finger Lakes Tompkins County Area Development (TCAD) Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce The Syracuse Technology Garden Kyoto Now Cornell Student Organization The Manufacturers Association of Central NY (MACNY) Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit (TCAT) KOMPASS (network of Cities interested in PRT) Chemung Canal Trust Alternatives Federal Credit Union (AFCU) New York State Energy Research & Development Authority (NYSERDA) New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) Cornell University Ithaca College EcoVillage at Ithaca (EVI) Advanced Transit Association (ATRA) The Institute for Sustainable Transit (IST) The City of Ithaca & Tompkins County

ITCTC

With respect to establishing a Pilot PRT Project in Ithaca NY, we have had conversations with the following stake-holders:

Government * Phyllisa DeSarno, Director of Economic Development, City of Ithaca, ~ Philly loves the prospects of the PRT project and has called it one of the most exciting proposals that she has had the pleasure to consider for Ithaca, NY. She continually encourages us to proceed in our planning and study. * Fernando De Aragon, Director of the ITCTC – our Regional MPO, ~ Fernando has been a great friend to the Ithaca PodCar initiative from Day 1; regularly providing advice, ideas and guidance as we move forward in our efforts. It’s safe to say that Fernando is also a driving force within the effort.

The Ithaca-Tompkins County Transportation Council (ITCTC) is the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for Tompkins County. The ITCTC is charged with facilitating county-wide transportation planning and is responsible for: ● Working jointly and cooperatively with all transportation related agencies in Tompkins County, to promote comprehensive inter modal transportation planning. ● Providing transportation related information and analyses.

The ITCTC is responsible for preparing and updating the: ● Unified Planning Work Program, an annual work program detailing activities of the ITCTC ● Transportation Improvement Program, a five year program of federally funded transportation projects. ● Transportation Long Range Plan, a county-wide plan with a 20 year horizon. * Maurice Hinchey, our United States Congressman, ~ Mr. Hinchey openly pledged his support for the Ithaca PRT project at the Conference, stating “this is the type of innovative thinking that we need to be sponsoring”; and that he would do “whatever he can” to sponsor our project.

Congressman Hinchey is a progressive Democrat representing New York's 22nd Congressional District, which spans eight counties from the Hudson Valley to the Finger Lakes region. Now serving in his ninth term in the U.S. House of Representatives, Hinchey is a member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, which allocates funds in the federal budget. His local Staff Assistant, Dan Lamb, has always made himself available, continually expressing interest and giving us positive signs of encouragement. * Ed Marx, Planning Director of Tompkins County, ~ Ed’s office is committed to Transit Oriented and Nodal Development patterns, clearly expressed in their newly drafted Long Range Comprehensive Plan. His office doors are open for further discussion.

The Tompkins County Planning Department provides planning and related services to County government and local municipalities. The Department's focus is on implementing the Tompkins County Comprehensive Plan and its priority action plan.

On December 16, 2008, the Tompkins County Legislature approved an amendment to the County’s Comprehensive Plan to address the issue of energy and greenhouse gas emissions. The amendment sets in motion a multi-faceted plan for the Tompkins County community to reduce energy demand, improve energy efficiency, make the transition to renewable sources of energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Its goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the county by at least 2 percent of the 2008 level for each of the next 40 years, achieving at least an 80 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2050.

* Joe Tario, Associate Project Manager at NYSERDA (New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, ~ Joe was a big force in helping Connect Ithaca prepare its Grant Application, and has definitively pledged “strong support” for the initiative; New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) is a public benefit corporation created in 1975 the reconstitution of the New York State Atomic and Space Development Authority. NYSERDA’s efforts focus on research and development with the goal of reducing the State’s petroleum consumption.

Subsequent research and development projects focused on topics including environmental effects of energy consumption, development of renewable resources, and advancement of innovative technologies. * Gary Fredrickson, our District Supervisor at NYSDOT (New York State Department of Transportation), who is also our end-client for the Ithaca PRT preliminary feasibility study, ~ Gary has encouraged us to “quickly gather (our) case together” and has agreed to review any and all proposals from Connect Ithaca.

Academia * Mina Amundsen, Director of Cornell University’s Planning Dept, and Bill Wendt, Director of CU Transportation and Mail Service, ~ Mina and Bill both agreed that a direct Academic R&D link with various schools, departments, labs, and programs on campus would be a “no-brainer” for CU – and that, if the system is highly subsidized, a strong consideration for implementing PRT on, or adjacent to, Campus would warrant strong consideration by the University; * In 2008, the Students of Cornell University passed a resolution through Student Government to support PRT as a transit alternative on campus. The vote was overwhelmingly in favor. In addition, a CU Landscape Architecture class just became the first to dedicate a full semester curriculum to the study PRT in Ithaca, as they choreographed an interpretation of an ideal PRT route from campus to the supermarket! * Marian Brown, Assistant to the Vice Provost and head of Sustainable Practices for Ithaca College, ~ Marion has routinely expressed interest in both serving campus with PRT, and involving students, faculty, academic departments and programs with the ongoing study and development of PRT. Marion believes, specifically that the scholastic areas of multi-media and communications would have high interest in documenting and broadcasting the ongoing story of PRT in Ithaca. “Extreme City Makeover”, Anyone?

Private Sector * Christer Lindstrom, Principal of ENCITRA Software, of Irvine, California, ~ Christer agreed that a partnership with the Ithaca PodCar / Eco-City project would be a tremendous initial test case for ENCITRA to demonstrate its revolutionary new eco-planning tool.

“ENCITRA employs a dynamic 3-D software application to create a “model” virtual world from real world data points (tax base, real property stock, CO2 emissions, water quality, etc.) to help simulate the potential impacts of executing a major civic project: new architecture; waste, water & energy systems; housing; food sourcing; and transit. In essence, ENCITRA would allow citizens, designers, engineers and planners to pre-engineer a project in a way everyone can “see” the anticipated and quantified results ahead of time, before one concrete slab is laid; Such as - what are the foreseeable effects, benefits and consequences of introducing PRT into the streetscape, education, workforce, life-style, rhythm and character of Ithaca, NY? * Debra Eichten, Global Marketing Program Manager at Cognos, an IBM company, ~ Debra is interest pairing our effort with Cognos.

Cognos is a business intelligence and financial performance management software that has been created to help government, companies, and NGO’s track spending, analyze progress, and report on outcomes of Federal Stimulus projects. The software is used for continual analysis and offers a way for the project management team to provide radical transparency and efficiently and effectively administer and account for the real-time flow of information.

* Paul Wilke and Aileen Maguire-Meyer, senior staff with C&S Companies, Syracuse, NY, the firm we are partnered with on our PRT Preliminary Feasibility Study ~ Paul and Aileen both expressed interest in learning more about how their firm could participate and add value beyond the initial study.

C&S Companies has a solid reputation for quality engineering, architectural, planning, technology and construction services. They employ nearly 400 professional engineers, architects, geologists, scientists, planners, designers, and construction specialists are supported by a full administrative staff, state-of-the-art field equipment, and use the latest in computer hardware and software. * Joseph Turcotte, President of TCAT, ~ Joe told me recently that, after seeing the CU Landscape Architecture student presentation, a light bulb went off and he saw this as a new lifestyle paradigm, not just transit. He saw the property development was connected, literally, to a new form of mass transit, allowing for density and a new way to use space in the city. He got it, and expressed a great deal of interest in learning more.

TCAT, Inc (Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit, Inc.) is a not-for-profit corporation that provides public transportation for Tompkins County New York and portions of Tioga County. * Pat Govang, CEO of E2E Materials, ~ Pat and I have spoken on various occasions, and he agrees that his organic material building capabilities would be a perfect match for the manufacturing of PRT chassis, interiors, wheels, and any other plastic, rubber, wood, etc. components’ eco-alternative. When we talk, the smile on his face is priceless. e2e Materials, a spin-out from Cornell University, is a clean technology company in Ithaca, New York that produces petroleum-free, biodegradable composites that are stronger, lighter and cheaper than composites filling landfills today. Its composite material platform can be tuned to achieve a range of strength properties reaching into midrange steels delivering tremendous strength-to-weight ratios. These biodegradable materials are made from annually renewable resources including soy proteins and natural fibers such as jute, flax and kenaf.

Project Consultants * Matthys Van Court, former Director of City Planning and Development, City of Ithaca, NY ~ After 35+ years of leading the City’s growth and development from City Hall, Thys is now a private consultant with intimate knowledge and immeasurable experience in the “ways” of taking a valid plan and executing it.

He has been a supporter of the project since he first attended a stakeholder roundtable C.I. hosted at the regional Chamber of Commerce, in the Fall of 2007. * Sam Gordon, Founder and owner of Plan•it, a community and environmental planning firm in Syracuse, NY, ~ Sam has been close to the PRT initiative here in Ithaca and has always been available to consult. His skill set as a designer and facilitator is a tremendous asset to the team.

Plan•it is a community and environmental planning firm, Sam Gordon brings over 10 years of community revitalization experience from both the government and non-profit sectors in the US and abroad to the process of planning for community sustainability.

Plan•it engages in a variety of projects from greenway planning and development to neighborhood revitalization through an open and collaborative process where community ideas are integrated with professional expertise to create positive change.

Sam holds Master's degrees in Landscape Architecture and Environmental and Community Land Use Planning from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse, NY.

ITHACA PRT PROJECT

Connect Ithaca understands that by introducing a new public transit utility infrastructure (PRT), a fresh R&D and industrial base, and a new urban development paradigm (TOD), we will be creating a new game.

Here are some the opportunities unveiled as a result::

Connect Ithaca Today In September 2008, Connect Ithaca hosted the 2nd annual PodCar City Conference in partnership with the Institute for Sustainable Transportation, Cornell University, Ithaca College and many other associates. This conference drew almost 300 participants from 5 continents and many local citizens to the Cornell campus and various Downtown venues to learn about the latest developments in Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) technology and its applications. As a result, Ithaca, NY has gained global recognition as a potential hub of innovative thinking about sustainable public transportation.

Most recently, Connect Ithaca LLC, in partnership with C&S Companies, was awarded a $75,000 grant from New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and the New York State department of Transportation (NYSDOT), to study the first phase of a possible PRT network connecting Cornell and IC to Downtown Ithaca. This feasibility study is supported by the City and Town of Ithaca, Cornell University, Ithaca College, and the Ithaca/Tompkins County Transportation Council (ITCTC), which is the federally funded local Metropolitan Planning Organization. It’s scheduled to be complete by March 2010, yielding detailed information about potential implementation of a 3.4 mile PRT connector between Cornell University, Downtown Ithaca and Ithaca College.

In addition, Connect Ithaca is launching an effort to develop a much more comprehensive impact study. The effort, dubbed the “Tompkins County Sustainable Mobility Network Study (SMNS)”, will be an examination of the potential impacts of the use of a PRT system as a city circulator and core of a regional, multi-modal mobility network, for the Ithaca NY metropolitan area. In partnership with a core team of local stakeholder representatives, the study will begin with the conceptual design of such a network.

The initial design will be presented to focus groups to determine market readiness, potential concerns about its civic implementation, to receive feedback from the community, and determine how various modes can be integrated, and also quantify probable rider-ship levels. This would be similar to the methodology used to develop the recent Cornell Master Plan.

Using this input, a cost-benefit analysis comparing the proposed system to the existing transportation arrangements will be made, and a strategy for implementation will be developed if the cost-benefit analysis results prove favorable. The focus group feedback will be incorporated into a final design presentation, and all results of the study will be made public on the Internet and will be on display at numerous public exhibition with the purpose of soliciting the broadest possible public feedback.

It is our goal to shift the transportation paradigm in Tompkins County such that rural land is preserved while urban places and village centers become denser, more vibrant and more efficient to operate, while still providing a high quality of life. The Sustainable Mobility Network Study will address the arrangement of transportation modes that will be needed to achieve this goal. Our efforts are timely in light of the converging crises of diminishing fossil fuel supplies, climate change and economic stress. They are geared toward not only dealing with these crises, but also capitalizing on related opportunities, such as linking to the Empire High Speed Rail Line.

Faced with ageing infrastructure, economically and environmentally un-sustainable mobility systems and land use practices, and a growing demand for urban housing, we feel that it is an appropriate time to take a fresh look at Ithaca and Tompkins County’s current transportation and land-use paradigm, to propose a more sustainable set of alternatives, and to help foster satisfaction in the marketplace. We feel that this is an effort that finds perfect timing in our current Political, Environmental, Industrial and Social landscape.

We understand that helping to evolve Ithaca into Model Eco-City, a modern transit-oriented community that features a green mobility network linking a variety of mixed-use residential and commercial areas is quite a gallant ambition. Therefore, in order to help ease the creative and logistical challenges ahead, Connect Ithaca has decided that developing a PodCar Demonstration Facility is the best way to showcase the PRT technology first hand, and display its service potential to the general public.

Connect Ithaca is now in the beginning phases of establishing a joint-venture to build such a facility in Ithaca, NY.