Richard Ducker

AICP Exam Review

Transportation Planning

Spring 2010

NOTES ON TRANSPORTATION PLANNING

A couple of reasonably accessible books on transportation planning and related matters are The Geography of Urban Transportation (2008), edited by Susan Hanson and Genevieve Giuliano. The Guilford Press ( and Smart Growth Task Force Transportation Guidelines (2003), Institute of Transportation Engineers, Washington, D.C., ( )

For a nice summary of the issues involved in developing a regional transportation plan (in this case in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota) see

For a simple summary of transportation planning generally see “A Transportation Modeling Primer at

For access to various transportation planning links through the planning commissioner’s website “Plannersweb” see

For the publication “Pedestrian- and Transit-Friendly Design: A Primer for Smart Growth,” by Reid Ewing see

For a brief piece on the topic of access management see

For a Federal Highway Administration piece on traffic calming see

For a full summary of the various dimensions of transit-oriented development see

For pieces on bicycle and pedestrian programs see

EVOLUTION OF TRANSPORTATION PLANNING PROGRAMS

  • The Federal Highway Act of 1963 required urban areas to use a “continuing, comprehensive, and cooperative” transportation planning process (the 3C process) to qualify for federal funding.
  • Section 4(f) of the federal law governing regional transportation planning enacted in 1966 required “special effort . . . to preserve the natural beauty of the countryside and public park and recreation land, wildlife and waterfowl refuges, and historic sites.” U.S. Sac’s of Transportation is permitted to approve construction of a facility in such a sensitive environment only if “there is no feasible and prudent alternative,” and only if planning has been done to “minimize harm” to such sites.”
  • Clean Air Act of 1970 identified auto as major contributors to nation’s air pollution problem and enlisted transportation planners to in effort to meet air quality goals
  • The 1990 Clean Air Amendments of 1990 required that transportation planning process to include clean air planning and transportation planning at the regional level. Set out goals for cleaner vehicles , for cleaner fuels, and for transportation programs to meet air quality standards
  • Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA, passed in 1991) and Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) recognize the transportation problem is far broader than had previous policies to include energy consumption, air pollution, and economic competitiveness as goals to increase in addition to increased mobility.
  • Funds that earlier had been reserved for highway projects can now be used for all surface modes of transportation, including walking, bicycling, and public transit , which planning process had neglected in the past
  • ISTEA also encouraged the building of bicycle and pedestrian facilities and gave priority to managing existing transport on facilities more efficiently rather than increasing supply (i.e., building more roads)
  • Under ISTEA and TEA-21 regional planning agencies have greater powers in the planning arena and public participation is an integral part of the planning process.
  • Now clear that public transportation not a panacea for air pollution, energy consumption, and congestion problems, but it does fill an important niche.
  • In 1999 transportation of all types consumed one-quarter of all energy, but two-thirds of the petroleum
  • Environmental impacts stemming from facility construction and from the use of motor vehicles still a problem.
  • Air pollution per auto has declined significantly in past several decades, but increases in VMT mean that transportation sources remain primary contributor to air quality problems
  • Standardized methods and published manuals describing travel modeling methods so that transportation modeling and planning practice became standardized.
  • Four steps for travel modeling (known as the Urban Transportation Modeling System (UTMS) or the Urban Transportation Planning System (UTPS).
  • Four steps are (1) trip generation (predicts the number of daily household trips; (2) trip distribution (predicts where each trip goes); (3) modal choice (which predicts which travel mode is chosen; and (4) route assignment (predicts travelers’ routes on roads, rail lines, or bus lines. This traffic flow on network links is then described in terms of volume (quantity) and in terms of speed (quality).
  • Model is run on base-year data and traffic volumes are calibrated in actual traffic counts in certain parts of the region. Models generally run on 20-year horizon for facility planning for facility planning and also run on the intermediate years for which there is a vehicle emission reduction deadline
  • National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 requires detailed environmental assessment of all federal environmental assessment of all federally funde3d project.
  • In 1975 USDOT adopted regulations requiring not only a long-range (20-year) plan, but also a short-term element focusing on low-cost Transportation Systems Management (TSM) policies, such as carpool lanes, ramp metering, and limited parking. These measures were intended to reduce peak-hour travel demand and to manage peak hour flows better. These were first demand management rather than supply management.
  • Clean Air Act of 1970 required all states to adopt a State Implementation Plan (SIP) that includes an emission inventory for each region of the state and a plan for attainment of all ambient federal air quality standards.
  • Clean Air Act Amendments of 1977 and the subsequent Highway Act of 1977 both required all regional transportation plans to show attainment of the vehicle emissions reductions specified in the SIP, through the modeling of travel and emissions from on-road vehicles. W/o plan no federal funds
  • EPS software predicts emissions taking into account daily VMT in each vehicle speed.
  • Clean Air Act of 1990 provides that federal transportation funds can be withheld from regions that adopt plans but cannot show attainment through modeled emissions reductions by the deadlines for each pollutant.
  • 1990 act also strengthens role of demand-side policies, by requiring that Transportation Control Measures (TCMs) be studied in all nonattainment regions, and list the TCMs that must be studied for particular level of nonattainment (moderate, serious, severe, and extreme). TCMs include much stronger demand reduction policies than had appeared on earlier lists of TSM policies. TCMs, for example, include peak-period road tolls.
  • 1990 act requires all MPOs for the AQRs in their area whose air quality is rated “serious” or worse to be able to model peak-period tolls, parking charges, fuel taxes, flextime, paratransit, transit, land use intensification near rail stations, bike and pedestrian facilities, park-and-ride lots and for carpooling, ramp metering, and carpool lanes.
  • 1990 for serious and worse models must show induced travel, land development patterns musts be consistent with facility plan, must model peak and off-peak hours
  • Transportation planning has evolved from adding road and transit capacity to also managing travel demand, connecting models, and reducing emissions.
  • Federal rule (conformity rule) adopted under the act requires all regions with ozone or carbon dioxide nonattainment status to run recalibrate model so as to represent the effect of changes in accessibility on travel demand. Increased road capacity speeds up travel and leads to longer trips and increased travel.
  • Conformity rule also requires that land development effects of regional transportation plans be accounted for in regions with at least serious “serious” conditions. It requires land-use patterns and facility plans to be consistent with each alternative.
  • Need for models that take into account induced travel and induced land development
  • Environmental justice arises when some communities (1) get benefits of improved accessibility and other do not; (2) when some suffer disproportionately from negative impacts like air pollution and neighborhood disruption; (3) some have to pay higher transportation taxes and fees; (4) some receive a disproportionately small share of jobs created; (5) some are less represented than others in the policy making debates

Adapted in part from “Briefing Book” of USDOT

Recent Surface Transportation Reauthorizations
Acronyms
Glossary
Financing the Statewide Plan

RECENT SURFACE TRANSPORTATION REAUTHORIZATIONS

Date signed into law / Title of Bill
1991 / The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA)
1995 / National Highway System Designation Act
1998 / The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21)
2005 / Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU)

ACRONYMS

3-C / Continuing, Cooperative and Comprehensive Planning Process
AASHTO / American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
BTS / Bureau of Transportation Statistics
CAA / Clean Air Act
CE / Categorical Exclusions
CMAQ / Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Program
CMP / congestion management process
CO / carbon monoxide
COG / Council of Governments
CPI / Consumer Price Index
CSS / context sensitive solutions
DEIS / Draft Environmental Impact Statement
DOT / Department of Transportation
EA / Environmental Assessment
EIS / Environmental Impact Statement
EJ / Environmental Justice
EPA / Environmental Protection Agency
FAA / Federal Aviation Administration
FEIS / Final Environmental Impact Statement
FHWA / Federal Highway Administration
FONSI / Finding of No Significant Impact
FTA / Federal Transit Administration
FY / fiscal year
GIS / Geographic Information Systems
HC / hydrocarbons
HOV / high-occupancy vehicle
I/M / Inspection and Maintenance
IHS / Interstate Highway System
IM / Interstate Maintenance
ISTEA / Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991
ITS / Intelligent Transportation Systems
LRSTP / Long-Range Statewide Transportation Plan
LRTP / Long-Range Transportation Plan
M&O / management and operations
MPO / Metropolitan Planning Organization
MTP / Metropolitan Transportation Plan
NAA / Nonattainment Area
NAAQS / National Ambient Air Quality Standards
NADO / National Association of Development Organizations
NEPA / National Environmental Policy Act of 1969
NHS / National Highway System
NOI / Notice of Intent
NOx / nitrogen oxide
PL / Planning Funds
PM / particulate matter
PPM / parts per million
ROD / Record of Decision
RPO / Regional Planning Organization
SAFETEA-LU / Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users
SDOT / State DOT
SHSP / Strategic Highway Safety Plan
SIB / State Infrastructure Bank
SIP / State Implementation Plan
SOV / single-occupancy Vehicle
SPR / State Planning and Research Funds
STIP / State Transportation Improvement Program
STP / Surface Transportation Program
TCM / Transportation Control Measure
TDM / Transportation Demand Management
TEA-21 / Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century
TIFIA / Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 1998
TIP / Transportation Improvement Program
TMA / Transportation Management Area
TMIP / Travel Model Improvement Program
TOD / Transit-Oriented Development
TRB / Transportation Research Board
UA / urbanized area
UPWP / Unified Planning Work Program
VOC / Volatile Organic Compound

Back to Table of Contents

GLOSSARY

A
Administrative Modification / A minor revision to a long-range statewide transportation or metropolitan transportation plan, TIP, or STIP that includes minor changes to project/project phase costs, minor changes to funding sources of previously included projects, and minor changes to project/project phase initiation dates. An administrative modification is a revision that does not require public review and comment, redemonstration of fiscal constraint, or a conformity determination (in nonattainment and maintenance areas).
Amendment / A revision to a long-range statewide or metropolitan transportation plan, TIP, or STIP, that involves major change to a project included in a MTP, TIP, or STIP, including the addition or deletion of a project or a major change in project cost, project/project phase initiation dates, or a major change in design concept or design scope (e.g., changing project termini or the number of through traffic lanes). Changes to projects that are included only for illustrative purposes do not require an amendment. An amendment is a revision that requires public review and comment, redemonstration of fiscal constraint, or a conformity determination (for MTPs and TIPs involving "non-exempt" projects in nonattainment and maintenance areas). In the context of a long-range statewide transportation plan, an amendment is a revision approved by the state in accordance with its public involvement process.
Area Sources / Small stationary and non-transportation pollution sources that are too small and/or numerous to be included as point sources but may collectively contribute significantly to air pollution (e.g., dry cleaners).
Attainment Area / Any geographic area in which levels of a given criteria air pollutant (e.g., ozone, carbon monoxide, PM10, PM2.5, and nitrogen oxide) meet the health-based National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for that pollutant. An area may be an attainment area for one pollutant and a nonattainment area for others. A "maintenance area" (see definition below) is not considered an attainment area for transportation planning purposes.
C
Capacity / A transportation facility’s ability to accommodate a moving stream of people or vehicles in a given time period.
Capital Program Funds / Financial assistance from the transit major capital programs of 49 U.S.C. Section 5309. This program enables the Secretary of Transportation to make discretionary capital grants and loans to finance public transportation projects divided among fixed guideway (rail) modernization; construction of new fixed guideway systems and extensions to fixed guideway systems; and replacement, rehabilitation, and purchase of buses and rented equipment, and construction of bus-related facilities.
Carbon Monoxide (CO) / A colorless, odorless, tasteless gas formed in large part by incomplete combustion of fuel. Human activities (i.e., transportation or industrial processes) are largely the source for CO emissions.
Clean Air Act (CAA) / The original Clean Air Act was passed in 1963, but the national air pollution control program is actually based on the 1970 revision of the law. The Clean Air Act as amended in 1990 made major changes and contains the most far-reaching revisions of the 1970 law.
Conformity (Air Quality) / A CAA (42 U.S.C. 7506[c]) requirement that ensures that federal funding and approval are given to transportation plans, programs and projects that are consistent with the air quality goals established by a State Implementation Plan (SIP). Conformity, to the purpose of the SIP, means that transportation activities will not cause new air quality violations, worsen existing violations, or delay timely attainment of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). The transportation conformity rule (40 CRF part 93) sets forth policy, criteria, and procedures for demonstrating and assuring conformity of transportation activities.
Congestion Management Process (CMP) / A systematic approach required in transportation management areas (TMAs) that provides for effective management and operation, based on a cooperatively developed and implemented metropolitan-wide strategy of new and existing transportation facilities eligible for funding under title 23 U.S.C. and title 49 U.S.C. through the use of operational management strategies. Provides information on transportation system performance and finds alternative ways to alleviate congestion and enhance the mobility of people and goods, to levels that meet state and local needs.
Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) Program / A federal-aid funding program created under ISTEA. Directs funding to projects that contribute to meeting national air quality standards. CMAQ funds generally may not be used for projects that result in the construction of new capacity available to SOVs (single-occupancy vehicles).
D
Department of Transportation (DOT) / When used alone, indicates the U.S. Department of Transportation. In conjunction with a place name, indicates state, city, or county transportation agency (e.g., Illinois DOT, Los Angeles DOT).
E
Emissions Budget / The part of the State Implementation Plan (SIP) that identifies the allowable emissions levels, mandated by the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), for certain pollutants emitted from mobile, stationary, and area sources. The emissions levels are used for meeting emission reduction milestones, attainment, or maintenance demonstrations.
Environmental Justice (EJ) / Environmental justice assures that services and benefits allow for meaningful participation and are fairly distributed to avoid discrimination. (See also "Title VI.")
Environmental Mitigation Activities / Strategies, policies, programs, actions, and activities that, over time, will serve to avoid, minimize, or compensate for (by replacing or providing substitute resources) the impacts of to or disruption of elements of the human and natural environment associated with the implementation of a long-range statewide transportation plan or MTP. The human and natural environment includes, for example, neighborhoods and communities, homes and businesses, cultural resources, parks and recreation areas, wetlands and water sources, forested and other natural areas, agricultural areas, endangered and threatened species, and the ambient air. The environmental mitigation strategies and activities are intended to be regional in scope, and may not necessarily address potential project-level impacts.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) / The federal regulatory agency responsible for administering and enforcing federal environmental laws, including the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act, and others.
F
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) / A branch of the U.S. Department of Transportation that administers the federal-aid highway program, providing financial assistance to states to construct and improve highways, urban and rural roads, and bridges. The FHWA also administers the Federal Lands Highway Program, including survey, design, and construction of forest highway system roads, parkways and park roads, Indian reservation roads, defense access roads, and other Federal Lands roads.
Federal Transit Administration (FTA) / A branch of the U.S. Department of Transportation that administers federal funding to transportation authorities, local governments, and states to support a variety of locally planned, constructed, and operated public transportation systems throughout the U.S., including buses, subways, light rail, commuter rail, streetcars, monorail, passenger ferry boats, inclined railways, and people movers.
Financial Plan / The documentation required to be included with a MTP and TIP (optional for the long-range statewide transportation plan and STIP) that demonstrates the consistency between reasonably available and projected sources of federal, state, local, and private revenues and the costs of implementing the proposed transportation system improvements.