Urban Transportation Planning

1. Urban Transportation Planning Introduction to Metropolitan Transportation Planning

2. Definition of Transportation Planning • Transportation planning provides the information, tools, and public involvement needed for improving transportation system performance • Transportation planning is a continuous process that requires monitoring of the system’s performance and condition

3. Transportation Planning Affects… • Policies • Choices among alternative strategies • Priorities • Funding allocations

4. More than Transportation • Land Use • Clean Air Act / Air Quality Standards • National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) • Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) • Title VI / Environmental Justice

5. Types of Plans • Long-Range • Strategic • Project/Facility • Implementation • Improvement (“program”) • Comprehensive • Site (TIAs) • Statewide

6. Legislation: SAFETEA-LU • Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users • Plan Requirements • Institutional Structures • Funding • Conformity

7. Metropolitan Planning Factors I • (A) Support the economic vitality of the metropolitan area, especially by enabling global competitiveness, productivity, and efficiency • (B) Increase the safety of the transportation system for motorized and nonmotorized users • (C) Increase the security of the transportation system for motorized and nonmotorized users

8. Metropolitan Planning Factors II • (D) Increase the accessibility and mobility of people and for freight • (E) Protect and enhance the environment, promote energy conservation, improve the quality of life, and promote consistency between transportation improvements and State and local planned growth and economic development patterns

9. Metropolitan Planning Factors III • (F) Enhance the integration and connectivity of the transportation system, across and between modes, for people and freight • (G) Promote efficient system management and operation • (H) emphasize the preservation of the existing transportation system

10. Metropolitan Planning OrganizationMPO • Has the authority of Federal law (SAFETEA-LU) • Is a representative group of local stakeholders • Leads the transportation planning process for the metropolitan area • Is the region’s policymaking organization responsible for prioritizing transportation initiatives • Carries out the urban transportation planning process in cooperation with the State DOT(s) and transit operators

11. MPO Structure • Policy Board (“Planning Commission”) • Sets regional long-term transportation policy and approves plans • Prioritizes and programs specific transportation initiatives for funding • Staff • Advisory Committees • Examples: • SEWRPC, DRCOG, PSRC, DVRPC, SCAG

12. Metropolitan Planning 3 C’s • Comprehensive • Cooperative • Continuing

13. Scope of Work for MPOs • A Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) or simplified statement of work • Public involvement process/plan (PIP) • Financial Plan

14. Principal Products of MPOs • A Long-Range Transportation Plan • Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) • Special Studies

15. Simplified Statement of Work (Large MPOs) • Planning tasks and studies to be conducted • Any transportation-related air quality planning tasks • All Federally funded studies • State/local planning activities conducted without Federal funds • Funding sources identified for each project • Schedule of activities • Agency responsible for each task or study

16. Public Involvement Process • Proactive • Early and continuing • Open and collaborative • A formal Public Involvement Plan (PIP) is required of Large MPOs (TMAs, Transportation Management Areas)

17. The Long-Range Transportation Plan • Describes vision for the region, and policies, operational strategies, and projects to achieve it • Covers at least the next 20 years • Leads to an “intermodal” system • Reflects public involvement • Contains a financial plan and is fiscally constrained • Is updated every 4-5 years

18. Urban Transportation Planning Process

19. Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission • http://www.sewrpc.org/

20. Holistic Approach

21. Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) • A staged, multi-year, intermodal program of prioritized transportation initiatives consistent with Plan • Shows annual activity for a 3-year period • Projects must be in the TIP for FHWA or FTA funding

22. Key Issues • Air Quality • Freight Movement • Land Use and Transportation • Models and Their Use • Performance Measures • Project Development and the NEPA Process • Public Involvement • System Management and Operations (M&O) • Title V1/Environmental Justice • Transportation Demand Management (TDM)

23. Air Quality Conformity • Plans must demonstrate consistency with the emissions budgets needed to satisfy the Clean Air Act • Projects cannot move forward without conformity

24. Air Quality I • Sources • Stationary sources • Area sources • Mobile sources • Pollutants (NAAQS) • Ozone precursors (VOCs, NOx) • Carbon monoxide (CO) • Particulates (PM-10 or PM-2.5)

25. Air Quality II • Nonattainment Areas by Pollutant • Extreme • Severe • Serious • Moderate • Marginal • Maintenance • Milwaukee is Severe for Ozone

26. Air Quality III • Transportation plans, TIPs, and projects cannot: • Create new violations of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS); • Increase the frequency or severity of existing violations of the standards • Delay attainment of the standards.

27. Air Quality IV • State Implementation Plan (SIP) • Conformity • CMAQ • Transit improvements, shared-ride services, traffic flow improvements, pedestrian and bicycle programs, construction of high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes, I/M programs, and transportation demand management strategies

28. Freight I: Process • Define system elements that are critical for efficient movement of freight • Identify ways to measure system performance in terms of freight movement • Develop freight-oriented data collection and modeling • Creating a freight movement advisory committee

29. Freight II: Policies and Projects • Truck Restrictions • Peak period bans, freeway section bans, route diversions… • Road Design and Construction • Improved entry/exit ramps and merges, exclusive truck facilities… • Road Pricing • Peak period permits and tolls, freeway permits… • Fleet Management • Voluntary off-peak operations, automatic vehicle location/routing… • Traffic Engineering • Wider lanes, Speed restrictions, Variable message signs… • Shipper/Receiver Actions • Voluntary off-peak operations, mandatory off-peak operations… • Incident Management • Automated detection, site and area surveillance/communications • Inspection/Enforcement • Automated surveillance… • Information Management • Highway advisory radio, traffic information…

30. Land Use I: Federal Regs • Transportation planning process should consider "the likely effect of transportation policy decisions on land use and development and the consistency of transportation plans and programs with the provisions of all applicable short- and long-term land use and development plans...."

31. Land Use II • Transportation/Land Use Interaction • Land use creates trips • Transportation facilities create land use • Smart Growthand Economic Development • Models

32. Travel Forecasting Models • A travel forecasting model is the major analysis tool for evaluating urban transportation plans and conducting conformity analysis

33. Travel Models: Four Steps? • (Activity Allocation) • Trip Generation • Trip Distribution • Mode Split • Traffic Assignment • (Measures of Effectiveness) • (Impact Models)

34. Performance Measures I • Accessibility • Percent population within "x" minutes of "y" percent of employment sites • Access by elderly • Quality of ADA compliance • Mobility • Average travel time • Change in average travel time • Average trip length • Percentage of trips per mode • Time lost to congestion • Percent on-time transit performance

35. Performance Measures II • Economic development • Jobs created • New housing starts • Percent of region's unemployed who cite lack of transportation as principal barrier • Economic cost of congestion • Environmental quality of life • Environmental and resource consumption • Tons of pollution generated • Fuel consumption

36. Performance Measures III • Sprawl • Change in difference between urban and suburban household densities; decrease in wetlands; changes in air quality, land use, or mobility. • Safety • Number of crash incidents or economic costs of crashes

37. National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) • It is the policy of the US government to protect the environment • Environmental Impact Statements • Environmental Assessments (FONSI) • Categorical Exclusions • Council on Environmental Quality

38. Environmental Impact Assessment Process

39. Public Involvement • Early and continuous involvement • Reasonable public availability of technical and other information • Collaborative input on alternatives, evaluation criteria, and mitigation needs • Open public meetings where matters related to transportation policies, programs, and projects are being considered • Open access to the decision making process prior to closure

40. Transportation System Management • Metropolitan traffic management centers • Traffic signal coordination • Incident management programs • Preferential treatment for transit/rideshares • Special event traffic management • Emergency management strategies • Pricing of transportation services • ITS applications for transit • Traveler Information

41. Environmental Justice • Avoiding, minimizing, or mitigating disproportionately high and adverse human health and environmental, social or economic effects on minority and low-income populations • Ensuring the full and fair participation in the transportation decision making process by all potentially affected communities • Preventing the denial of, reduction in, or significant delay in the receipt of benefits by minority and low-income populations

42. Discussion: Milwaukee Environmental Justice • Are these strategies environmentally just? • Locating Miller Park at old County Stadium site • Widening all Milwaukee freeways by 1 lane • Eliminating the park-n-ride lot a Bayshore Mall

43. Transportation Demand Management • Offering commuters alternative transportation modes and/or services • Providing incentives to travel on these modes or at non-congested hours • Providing opportunities to link or "chain" trips together • Incorporating growth management or traffic impact policies into local development decisions • See www.vtpi.org

44. Transportation Decision Making • Vision • What do you want your transportation system to be in 20 years? • Coordinate with land use vision • Identify current strengths and weaknesses • Identify opportunities and threats

45. Vision Metropolitan Washington DC • In the 21st Century, the Washington metropolitan region remains a vibrant world capital, with a transportation system that provides efficient movement of people and goods. This system promotes the region's economy and environmental quality, and operates in an attractive and safe setting--it is a system that serves everyone. The system is fiscally sustainable, promotes areas of concentrated growth, manages both demand and capacity, employs the best technology, and joins rail, roadway, bus, air, water, pedestrian and bicycle facilities into a fully interconnected network.

46. Goals Broad General Intangible Abstract Few “Improve transportation safety” Objectives Narrow Precise Tangible Concrete Many “Reduce the number of traffic conflict points” Goals and Objectives

47. Criteria Specific numerical expression of an objective “Number of conflict points” Standards Desired level of achievement through plan implementation “10% reduction in conflict points” Criteria and Standards

48. Operational Strategies • The “how” • Linked to objectives • “Identify intersections with poor crash experience; introduce channelization, better signalization and coordination.” “The one thing we need to do to solve our transportation problems is to stop thinking that there is one thing we can do to solve our transportation problems.” -Robert Liberty, Executive Director, 1000 Friends of Oregon

49. Example: Ann Arbor Goals • 1. Provide appropriate access and mobility, with minimal negative impacts, for all people and goods • 2. Protect and enhance the natural environment and the human, residential and built environment. • 3. Promote a safe and secure transportation system. • 4. Invest in transportation infrastructure in a manner consistent with other goals.

50. Example: Ann Arbor Objectives I • First Goal: Provide appropriate access and mobility, with minimal negative impacts, for all people and goods. • Objective A: Minimize vehicle miles and vehicle hours spent traveling. • Objective B: Increase the occupancy rate for motorized modes. • Objective C: Reduce barriers to the use of the transportation system, especially its non-motorized components by facilitating pedestrian and bicycle access on public rights-of-way. • Objective D: Improve bicycle access on public roads.