NACTO welcomes new transit members in Seattle; Portland, Ore.; and Miami-Dade County

New York — The National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) announced that Seattle’s King County Metro, Portland’s TriMet, and Miami-Dade County have joined NACTO as the association’s newest transit agency members, weeks after New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) joined the association. These four major transit providers join NACTO’s 49 member cities across North America working to build sustainable, equitable streets and transit networks.

NACTO is an association of 53 major North American cities and transit agencies formed to exchange transportation ideas, insights and practices and cooperatively approach national transportation issues.

As more people are choosing to live in cities across North America, cities and transit agencies are partnering to move more people in less space, and make sure all neighborhoods have the streets and transit access that they need. NACTO’s recently-released Transit Street Design Guide, created by this unique coalition, shows how putting transit at the heart of street design greatly expands the number of people a street can move, and unlocks street space to create more vibrant places for everyone.

NACTO’s peer-to-peer network model helps the best ideas from cities gain traction across the continent and around the world. As transit increasingly becomes central to how a street functions, design techniques like on-street transitways, all-door boarding, and transit-friendly signals can keep a city moving, while making streets safer and more enjoyable for everyone.

“Public transit is embedded in NACTO’s DNA,” said Seleta Reynolds, NACTO President and General Manager of the Los Angeles Department of Transportation. “Seventeen of our member cities operate bus or rail, and welcoming transit agencies to the table strengthens the partnership for world-class streets in our cities.”

“People who take transit don’t want bureaucracy that leaves them at the curb, they want seamless, frequent and reliable service that gets them where they want to go,” said Janette Sadik-Khan, NACTO Chair and Principal of Transportation at Bloomberg Associates. “The agencies that oversee city streets and those that run their transit are increasingly working together to identify and fill these gaps and keep our cities moving.”

“Our goal at Miami-Dade County is to create a ‘car optional’ city with a clean, safe, reliable and convenient transportation system,” said Alice N. Bravo, P.E., Director of the Miami-Dade County Department of Transportation and Public Works. “We know the future of transportation is to move more people by increasing mobility options while reducing vehicle dependency. We’re very excited to work with NACTO and its member cities to exchange ideas on innovative designs and policies that better fit our needs.”

“Our riders benefit from NACTO’s leadership in advancing cutting edge and best practice multi-modal designs for all roadway users,” said TriMet General Manager Neil McFarlane. “TriMet values NACTO’s work to date, and looks to increase coordination with NACTO partners going forward and to continue to improve the quality of our customers’ transit experience.”

“We are delighted that TriMet is joining NACTO, which has been such a leading voice for more innovative, sustainable transportation choices,” said Leah Treat, Director of the Portland Bureau of Transportation. “Our collaboration with TriMet has created streets that are people places. We have reduced pollution and made people healthier, and with NACTO, TriMet can help other cities create livable communities.”

“I’m excited and very happy to announce that King County Metro is joining NACTO, offering a transit perspective on the design, delivery, and creation of great cities,” said Victor Obeso, Deputy General Manager of King County Metro. “Seattle has had the fastest growing ridership of any major metro area, and that has to do both with the design of our cities and the design of our system.”

“More people are walking, biking, and using transit in Seattle than ever before,” said Scott Kubly, Director of the Seattle Department of Transportation. “Our 10-year Move Seattle vision puts transit at the center of mobility growth for the region, and working closely with King County Metro, we are achieving our mission to move more people with the same street space.”

NACTO is now accepting membership applications from the transit agency partners of NACTO member cities. For more information, visit nacto.org/membership.