Institute for Community Inclusion Institute for Community Inclusion

Episode 5 of the Transit Planning 4 All Podcast Series features John Egelhaaf, Executive Director at the Southwest Michigan Planning Commission and a certified planner with the American Institute of Certified Planners. The Commission co-sponsors workshops and is a participant in many discussions or work groups relating to various topics.  The topics generally relate to the continuing program areas that the Commission undertakes such as transportation, economic development, land use/growth management, solid waste, and resource management.
Listen as John shares his story of working with others to advocate for a redesign a major transportation corridor in Michigan and improve the inclusivity of transportation services in his community.

The Transit Planning 4 All Podcast Series examines what we know about today’s most urgent inclusive transit planning challenges and how we can make progress in addressing them. In a series of conversations, transportation planners and advocates share lessons learned in their journey towards inclusive transportation planning. Transit Planning 4 All is an inclusive and coordinated transportation-planning project that has funded a series of pilot projects across the nation, each seeking to increase inclusion in transportation planning and services for people with disabilities and older adults. The project is a partnership of the Administration for Community Living (ACL), the Community Transportation Association of America (CTAA), the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging, the Institute for Community Inclusion at UMass Boston, and DJB Evaluation Consulting Group. The project is sponsored by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Community Living.

Episode 4 of the Transit Planning 4 All Podcast Series features guest speaker Angel Bond, a program manager for Mobility for All in Boulder County, Colorado. The mission of the program is to promote affordable multimodal transportation options and to raise awareness that transportation is a basic social and economic need. Listen as Angel shares her story of empowering Boulder County residents and working with individuals with disabilities and older adults to advocate and plan for inclusive transit options within their communities.

The Transit Planning 4 All Podcast Series examines what we know about today’s most urgent inclusive transit planning challenges and how we can make progress in addressing them. In a series of conversations, transportation planners and advocates share lessons learned in their journey towards inclusive transportation planning. Transit Planning 4 All is an inclusive and coordinated transportation-planning project that has funded a series of pilot projects across the nation, each seeking to increase inclusion in transportation planning and services for people with disabilities and older adults. The project is a partnership of the Administration for Community Living (ACL), the Community Transportation Association of America (CTAA), the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging, the Institute for Community Inclusion at UMass Boston, and DJB Evaluation Consulting Group. The project is sponsored by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Community Living.

Episode 3 of the Transit Planning 4 All Podcast Series features guest speaker Lynn Norris, a steering committee member at Worcester Community Connections, one of 22 coalitions that provide family support services including access to reliable transportation. Listen as Lynn shares her story of responding to the threat of budget cuts to already limited funding for transportation and her work building connections and coalitions to advocate for transportation funding and services. Hear how she worked with multiple cities, lobbied pubic officials, and built alliances with organizational partners to avoid these threats and how she continues to use inclusive models of planning to address the ongoing challenges of reliability, affordability, and access to transportation, which is a critical resource for her community.

Download this episode's transcript

The Transit Planning 4 All Podcast Series examines what we know about today’s most urgent inclusive transit planning challenges and how we can make progress in addressing them. In a series of conversations, transportation planners and advocates share lessons learned in their journey towards inclusive transportation planning. Transit Planning 4 All is an inclusive and coordinated transportation-planning project that has funded a series of pilot projects across the nation, each seeking to increase inclusion in transportation planning and services for people with disabilities and older adults. The project is a partnership of the Administration for Community Living (ACL), the Community Transportation Association of America (CTAA), the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging, the Institute for Community Inclusion at UMass Boston, and DJB Evaluation Consulting Group. The project is sponsored by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Community Living.

Episode 2:
Episode 2 of the Transit Planning 4 All Podcast Series features guest speaker Julie Wicke, the Executive Director of Ride Connection. Ms. Wicke has been instrumental in Ride Connection’s service expansion, program innovation, and partnership building, allowing customers to access transportation that fits their individual needs. Listen as she describes the successes and challenges of collaboratively creating their dialysis transportation service, aimed at keeping people healthy with access to care through high quality, customer focused transportation. In order to create an environment that fosters transformative ideas, Ms. Wicke describes the strategies of honing an inclusive, cross-disciplinary planning process that builds trust, manages change, and ensures that all voices are respected and heard. She shares important insights into the methods of involving and engaging those most impacted by an issue in the generation and implementation of solutions. 
Download this episode's transcript

The Transit Planning 4 All Podcast Series examines what we know about today’s most urgent inclusive transit planning challenges and how we can make progress in addressing them. In a series of conversations, transportation planners and advocates share lessons learned in their journey towards inclusive transportation planning. Transit Planning 4 All is an inclusive and coordinated transportation-planning project that has funded a series of pilot projects across the nation, each seeking to increase inclusion in transportation planning and services for people with disabilities and older adults. The project is a partnership of the Administration for Community Living (ACL), the Community Transportation Association of America (CTAA), the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging, the Institute for Community Inclusion at UMass Boston, and DJB Evaluation Consulting Group. The project is sponsored by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Community Living.

Episode 1 of the Transit Planning 4 All Podcast Series features guest speaker Adam Thielker, a public transportation activist. Mr. Thielker has been working for transportation justice in Worcester, Massachusetts for nearly three years with the Transportation Advocacy Coalition and Ridership Advisory Committee, both organized with the help of Worcester Community Connections. As a daily rider and advocate for public transport, Adam shares his experiences, challenges, successes, and lessons learned in navigating the maze of effective transportation advocacy and planning. Listen as he discusses the importance of understanding local and regional transportation systems, the role of networking and coalition building with other groups, connecting transit goals such as improving convenience of public transit with other issues such as the environment, health, and road congestion, lobbying for transit funding with elected officials, and effectively advocating for and including the voices of riders in transportation planning efforts.

Download this episode's transcript
The Transit Planning 4 All Podcast Series examines what we know about today’s most urgent inclusive transit planning challenges and how we can make progress in addressing them. In a series of conversations, transportation planners and advocates share lessons learned in their journey towards inclusive transportation planning. Transit Planning 4 All is an inclusive and coordinated transportation-planning project that has funded a series of pilot projects across the nation, each seeking to increase inclusion in transportation planning and services for people with disabilities and older adults. The project is a partnership of the Administration for Community Living (ACL), the Community Transportation Association of America (CTAA), the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging, the Institute for Community Inclusion at UMass Boston, and DJB Evaluation Consulting Group. The project is sponsored by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Community Living.