All about transportation
What Is Transportation Planning?
Safer. Smarter. Faster. More convenient. That’s the purpose of transportation planning. First, you plan – a long term view of your transportation strategy. Then, you program – a near term view of your projects and implementation plan.
| Planning | Programming |
|---|---|
| Develop a vision | Prioritize proposed project |
| Create goals, objectives and strategies to support the vision | Match projects with available funds |
| Establish a long-term approach to implement the plan | Establish tangible expenditures in the near-term to achieve success |
Transportation planning is the process of looking at the current state of transportation in the region, designing for future transportation needs, and combining all of that with the elements of budgets, goals and policies. It helps shape how a community or city grows by evaluating everything from streets and highways to cargo ships to public transit and bike lanes. It can influence everything from business to recreation to quality of life.
Transportation Planning Accomplishes Many Different Things
Provides the information, tools and public engagement needed for improving transportation system performance
Is a Comprehensive, Cooperative and Continuing process (“3 Cs”) that requires monitoring of the system’s performance and condition
Influences many decisions, including policies, choices among alternative strategies, priorities and funding allocations
Planning also includes multiple factors outside of transportation. It also focuses on:
- Land Use (state and local law)
- Clean Air and Air Quality (Clean Air Act and Air Quality Standards)
- Environmental Policy (National Environment Policy Act – NEPA)
- Environmental Justice (Title VI)
- Americans with Disabilities Act
Contributors to the Transportation Planning Process
The transportation planning processes includes many contributors. The thoughts and ideas from all of the stakeholders are critical to ensure a successful outcome.
Transportation Planning Goals
There are numerous important goals in the transportation planning process . The key is to balance them while designing a plan that meets the Transportation Planning Goals.
- Access to Employment: Provide for transportation system connections to areas of employment density and key activity centers, with an emphasis on connecting to areas of high poverty rates.
- Freight Mobility: Enhance freight corridors and intermodal connections to facilitate goods movement into, within and out of the region.
- Safety & Security: Provide for transportation improvements that increase safety and security for system users.
- System Reliability: Implement technologies and programs to improve travel times and support the ease of travel throughout the region.
- Congestion Mitigation: Support transportation system improvements that address existing and expected future traffic congestion.
- Environment & Air Quality: Provide for project alternatives that protect and enhance the region’s natural resources.
- Multimodal Connectivity: Improve accessibility and interconnectivity of various transportation modes for all systems users.
- Preservation & Maintenance: Ensure that existing transportation infrastructure and facilities achieve a constant state of good repair.
What is The Transportation Planning Process?
The Transportation planning process has many factors to consider. Modes of transportation , infrastructure , technology, demand and users are all needs to be considerations for the overall process.
As the population of our region continues to grow while sources and funds for transportation continue to shrink, we must make smart choices about our transportation options. The best solutions are those that provide a system of integrated travel modes that are balanced among the environmental, economic and community development goals of our region.