The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key

Issues

A Briefing Notebook for Transportation Decisionmakers, Officials,

and Staff

A Publication of the Transportation Planning

Capacity Building Program

Federal Highway Administration

Federal Transit Administration

NOTICE

This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the

Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange.
The United States Government assumes no liability for its contents or
use thereof. The United States Government does not endorse products
or manufacturers. Trademarks or manufacturers’ names appear
herein only because they are considered essential to the objective of
this document.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction
Part I: Overview of Metropolitan Transportation Planning
Part II: Major Policy and Planning Issues
Air Quality
Asset Management
Financial Planning and Programming
Freight Movement
Land Use and Transportation
Models and Their Use
Performance Measures
Project Development and the NEPA Process
Public Involvement
Safety
System Management and Operations (M&O)
Title V1/Environmental Justice
Transportation Demand Management (TDM)
Acronyms and Glossary
Appendix: Federal Aid Transportation Programs
The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

INTRODUCTION

Transportation helps shape an area’s economic health and quality of life. Not only
does the transportation system provide for the mobility of people and goods, it also
influences patterns of growth and economic activity through accessibility to land.
Furthermore, the performance of this system affects such public policy concerns as
air quality, environmental resource consumption, social equity, “smart growth,”
economic development, safety, and security. Transportation planning recognizes
the critical links between transportation and other societal goals. The planning
process is more than merely listing highway and transit capital investments, it
requires developing strategies for operating, managing, maintaining, and financing
the area’s transportation system in such a way as to advance the area’s long-term
goals.

Because transportation can have a substantial impact on an area, the American

Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), the American
Public Transportation Association (APTA), and the Association of Metropolitan
Planning Organizations (AMPO), requested a document be prepared to serve as a
primer for board members and other transportation decisionmakers. This notebook
is the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) and the Federal Transit
Administration’s (FTA) response to that request; it provides government officials,
planning board members, and transportation service providers with an overview of
transportation planning. This notebook provides a basic understanding of the key
concepts, along with references for additional information. Part I discusses
transportation planning and its relationship to decisionmaking. Part II presents short
descriptions of important policy and planning topics. It is not intended to provide
details of each policy issue. This report is available electronically at the following
website: http://www.planning.dot.gov/and will be updated periodically to include
additional topics or information.

Questions about any of the topics discussed in this book should be directed to the
transportation planning staff in your region. For additional support, contact your
local FHWA division or FTA regional office. For information on how to reach FHWA or
FTA staff, visit the FHWA and FTA websites at: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ and http://
www.fta.dot.gov/, or the Transportation Planning Capacity Building website at
http://www.planning.dot.gov/.

<<Back to Table of Contents

PART I: OVERVIEW OF METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION PLANNING

Metropolitan transportation planning provides the information, tools, and public

input needed for improving transportation system performance. Transportation
planning should reflect the community’s vision for its future. It should also include a
comprehensive consideration of possible strategies; an evaluation process that
Stakeholders: encompasses diverse viewpoints; the collaborative participation of relevant
Individuals, organizations, and agencies transportation-related agencies and organizations; and an open, timely, and
with an interest in or who are affected
meaningful involvement of the public. Transportation planning requires a
by the transportation planning process
comprehensive, holistic look at the needs and the future of the region and its
inhabitants as shown in Figure 1.
The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

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Figure 1: Links between transportation and other societal goals: transportation decisions affect our
society in many ways. Conversely, many of society’s decisions have an impact on our transportation
system.

What is the metropolitan transportation planning process?

Transportation planning in metropolitan areas is a collaborative process, led by the

metropolitan planning organization (MPO) and other key stakeholders in the
regional transportation system.

The process is designed to foster involvement by all interested parties, such as the
business community, community groups, environmental organizations, and the
general public, through a proactive public participation process conducted by the
MPO in coordination with the state department of transportation and transit
operators. It is essential to extend public participation to include people who have
been traditionally underserved by the transportation system and services in the
region. Neglecting public involvement can result in unnecessary delays, litigation,
and can erode public trust. Figure 2 illustrates the metropolitan transportation
planning process.

The planning process includes a number of steps:

● Forecasting future population and employment growth;

● Assessing projected land uses in the region;
● Identifying major growth corridors and analyzing, through detailed planning
studies, various transportation improvements;
● Developing alternative capital and operating strategies for people and
goods;
● Estimating the impact of the transportation system on air quality within the
region; and
● Developing a financial plan that covers operating costs, maintenance of the
system, system preservation costs, and new capital investments.
The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

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Figure 2: The metropolitan transportation planning process

What is a Metropolitan Planning Organization and its functions?

A metropolitan planning organization (MPO) is a transportation policy-making

organization made up of representatives from local government and transportation
authorities. The Federal Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1973 required the
formation of an MPO for any urbanized area with a population greater than 50,000.
MPOs were created in order to ensure that existing and future expenditures for
transportation projects and programs were based on a continuing, cooperative
and comprehensive (3-C) planning process. Federal funding for transportation
projects and programs are channeled through this planning process.

There are five core functions of an MPO:

Establish a setting: Establish and manage a fair and impartial setting for
effective regional decisionmaking in the metropolitan area.

Evaluate alternatives: Evaluate transportation alternatives, scaled to the size

and complexity of the region, to the nature of its transportation issues, and to
the realistically available options. (These evaluations are included in the
Unified Planning Work Program or UPWP-see page 6).

Maintain a Long-Range Transportation Plan (LRTP): Develop and update a

The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

long-range transportation plan for the metropolitan area covering a

Air Quality Nonattainment Area:
A geographic region of the United planning horizon of at least twenty years that fosters (1) mobility and access
States that the EPA has designated as for people and goods, (2) efficient system performance and preservation,
not meeting the air quality standards. and (3) quality of life.

Air Quality Maintenance Area: Develop a Transportation Improvement Program (TIP): Develop a program
A geographic region of the United based on the long-range transportation plan and designed to serve the
States previously designated area’s goals, using spending, regulating, operating, management, and
nonattainment pursuant to the CAA
Amendments of 1990 and subsequently financial tools.
redesignated to attainment subject to
the requirement to develop a Involve the public: Involve the general public and all the significantly
maintenance plan under section 175A affected sub-groups in the four essential functions listed above.
of the CAA, as amended.

In addition to meeting federal mandates, MPOs often have extra responsibilities

under state law. For example, in California, MPOs are responsible for allocating
some non-federal transportation funds in their regions, while other states give MPOs
a shared role in growth management and land use planning.

The metropolitan planning process should include active outreach strategies to

give people the opportunity to provide input. Opportunities for the public to get
involved are to occur throughout the process, especially while the plan and the TIP
are being developed. Special attention should be given to involving those groups
who are underrepresented or have been underserved in the past in terms of the
expenditure of transportation dollars (see section on Title VI/environmental justice).

A metropolitan area’s designation as an air quality nonattainment or maintenance

area creates additional requirements for transportation planning. Most importantly,
transportation plans, programs, and projects must conform with the state’s air
quality plan, known as the state implementation plan (SIP).

Areas with populations over 200,000 are called transportation management areas
(TMAs). TMAs must have a congestion management system (CMS) that identifies
actions and strategies to reduce congestion and increase mobility. In
nonattainment areas, projects that increase capacity for single occupancy
vehicles (by adding new roads or widening existing ones) must conform with the
area’s CMS.

In accordance with federal regulations, the MPO is required to carry out

Capacity: metropolitan transportation planning in cooperation with the state and with
How well an area can accommodate a
operators of publicly owned transit services. The MPO approves the transportation
stream of traffic in a given place at a
given time. Increased capacity can plan. Both the governor and the MPO approve the TIP. In nonattainment or
come from building more roads, maintenance areas for air quality, the MPO is responsible for coordinating
installing more public transit, or from transportation and air quality planning.
many other sources.

Most MPOs are not the actual implementing agencies for projects, but must
provide an overall coordination role in planning and programming funds for
projects and operations.

The MPO must involve local transportation providers in the planning process by
including transit agencies, airport authorities, maritime operators, rail-freight
operators, Amtrak, port operators, and others within the MPO region.
The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

What are the relationships among the MPO, the state DOT, and other
Single occupancy vehicles: agencies involved in transportation planning and project
Cars with just one occupant, the driver.
The large number of single occupancy implementation?
vehicles on the road at rush hour in cities
is recognized as a major cause of
pollution. Transportation planning must be cooperative, because no single agency has
responsibility for the construction, operation, or maintenance of the entire
transportation system. For example, some roads that are part of the Interstate
Highway System are subject to certain standards and are usually maintained by a
State DOT. Others are county arterials or city streets designed, operated, and
maintained by counties or local municipalities. Transit systems are often built,
operated, and maintained by a separate entity. The MPO is responsible for actively
seeking the participation of all relevant agencies and stakeholders in the planning
process.

What are the key documents produced by the metropolitan planning

process?

As illustrated in Figure 3, there are three key documents produced by the

metropolitan planning process:

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Figure 3: Key planning products

The Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP): The UPWP lists the transportation studies
and tasks to be performed by the MPO staff or a member agency. Because the
UPWP reflects local priorities, the content differs from one metropolitan area to
another. The UPWP contains several elements:

● The planning tasks and studies that will be conducted over a one- to two-
year period;
● All federally funded studies as well as all relevant state and local planning
activities conducted without federal funds;
● Funding sources identified for each project;
● A schedule of activities; and
● The agency responsible for each task or study.

The Long-Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) or Metropolitan Transportation Plan

(MTP): The transportation plan is the statement of the ways the region plans to
invest in the transportation system. The plan shall “include both long-range and
short-range program strategies/actions that lead to the development of an
integrated intermodal transportation system that facilitates the efficient movement
of people and goods.” (23 CFR450C, Sec.450.322)
The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

The plan has several elements, for example:

● Identify policies, strategies, and projects for the future;

● Determine project demand for transportation services over 20 years;
● Focus at the systems level, including roadways, transit, non-motorized
transportation, and intermodal connections;
● Articulate regional land use, development, housing, and employment goals
and plans;
● Estimate costs and identify reasonably available financial sources for
operation, maintenance, and capital investments (see Part II, section on
financial planning);
● Determine ways to preserve existing roads and facilities and make efficient
use of the existing system;
● Be consistent with the statewide transportation plan; and
● Be updated every five years or three years in air quality nonattainment and
maintenance areas.

MPOs should make special efforts to engage interested parties in the development
of the plan. In cases where a metropolitan area is designated as a nonattainment
or maintenance area, the plan must conform to the SIP for air quality (see section
on air quality).

Transportation Improvement Program (TIP): The TIP is a financially constrained three-

year program covering the most immediate implementation priorities for
transportation projects and strategies from the metropolitan transportation plan. It is
the region’s way of allocating its limited transportation resources among the various
capital and operating needs of the area, based on a clear set of short-term
transportation priorities.

Under federal law, the TIP:

● Covers a minimum three-year period of investment;

● Is updated at least every two years;
● Is realistic in terms of available funding (known as a fiscally constrained TIP)
and is not just a “wish list” of projects;
● Conforms with the SIP for air quality if the region is designated a
nonattainment or maintenance area;
● Is approved by the MPO and the governor for air quality; and
● Is incorporated into the statewide transportation improvement program
(STIP).

How is federal transportation funding provided to metropolitan areas?

The funding for transportation plans and projects comes from a variety of sources
including the federal government, state governments, special authorities,
assessment districts, local government contributions, impact fees, and tolls.
However, in most metropolitan areas, federal funding, transferred first to the state to
be distributed to metropolitan areas, is considered to be the primary funding
source for plans and projects. (See appendix for a description of the most
important federally aided transportation programs.) The financing provisions
introduced in 1991 with the enactment of the lntermodal Surface Transportation
Equity Act (ISTEA) and continued in 1998 with the reauthorizing legislation known as
the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) are obtained through the
Federal Highway Trust Fund and supplemented by general funds. It is important to
remember that most FHWA sources of funding are sent to and administered by the
State DOTs. The State DOT then allocates the money to urban and rural areas,
based on local priorities and needs. Most transit funds for urban areas are sent
directly from the FTA to the transit operator. Transit funds for rural areas are
administered by the State DOT.
The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

Federal funds are made available to a metropolitan area through a specific

process:

● Authorizing Legislation: Congress enacts legislation that establishes or

continues the existing operation of a federal program or agency, including
the amount of money it will have to spend. Congress re-authorizes federal
transportation programs (known as the Federal-aid Highway Program)
generally over a multi-year time period. The amount authorized, however, is
not always the amount that ends up being available to spend.
● Appropriations: Each year, Congress decides on the federal budget for the
next fiscal year. This process is known as the appropriation process. The
amount appropriated to a federal program is often less than the amount
authorized for a given year and is the actual amount available to federal
agencies to spend.
● Apportionment: The distribution of funds among states using a formula
provided in law is called an apportionment. An apportionment is usually
made on the first day of the federal fiscal year (October 1) for which the
funds are authorized. At that time, the funds are available for obligation
(spending) by the State, in accordance with the State’s approved
transportation improvement program. In many cases, the State is the
designated recipient for federal funds for transportation; in some cases,
transit operators are the recipient.
● Determining Eligibility: Only certain specific projects and activities are
eligible to receive federal transportation funding.
● Match: Most federal transportation programs require a non-federal match.
State or local governments must contribute some portion of the project cost.
This matching level is established by legislation. Normally, the amount the
state or local governments have to contribute is 20 percent of the project
cost.

How do these funding processes affect MPOs?

These various funding procedures determine the way MPOs receive funding from
federal sources. For example, Congress authorizes the use of federal funds for
transportation planning purposes. These are called metropolitan planning funds,
available from FHWA and FTA programs. The total amount of planning funding
available equals one percent of the total amount of highway program funding
appropriated in congressionally defined categories. A formula has been developed
to apportion these funds to each state on the basis of that state’s urbanized
population as a ratio of the nation’s total urbanized area population. MPOs can
use these funds for all eligible planning activities. The federal match for these funds
is 80 percent, unless the Secretary of Transportation determines that increasing or
decreasing this contribution level is warranted.

How is federal funding used?

There are many federal-aid transportation programs that support transportation

activities in metropolitan areas, each having different requirements and program
characteristics. The Federal-aid Highway Program is not a “cash up front” program
but a reimbursable program. That is, even though the authorized amounts are
“distributed” to the states, no cash is actually disbursed at this point. Instead, states
are notified that they have federal funds available for their use. Projects are
approved and work is started; then the federal government reimburses the states
for costs as they are incurred, reimbursing up to the limit of the federal share.

The federal government holds funding recipients accountable for complying with
all applicable federal laws. When local governments directly oversee a federally
funded project, the state DOTs are responsible for the local governments’
The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

compliance with federal laws.

What are flexible funds?

One recent change in federal transportation legislation allows the use of certain
Federal-aid Highway Program funds for either highway or transit projects. This is
referred to as flexible funding or “flex funds.” The “flexible funding” provisions
introduced in ISTEA and continued with TEA-21 were a radical departure from
traditional transportation policy. Prior to the passage of ISTEA, transit, highway, and
safety federal programs had very strict eligibility requirements, and funds could not
be transferred between the programs. The ability to transfer funds (with certain
restrictions) between highway and transit was introduced in ISTEA so metropolitan
areas could apply federal transportation funds to their highest priority transportation
projects. Flexible funding is primarily used for FHWA’s Surface Transportation
Program (STP) and Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program
(CMAQ), and FTA’s Urban Formula Funds.

In urbanized areas with a population of over 200,000, MPOs are responsible for
applying flexible funding to meet local planning priorities. In areas with populations
under 200,000, flexible funding decisions are made jointly by the MPO and the state
DOT, and the state DOT makes the flexible funding decisions in rural areas.

Additional sources of information:

For a description of the federal legislative process as it relates to the transportation

program, see http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/reports/fifahiwy/fifahi02.htm

For an overview of federal funds made available to FTA, U.S. transit agencies, state
Departments of Transportation, and metropolitan planning organizations for transit
purposes, see http://www.fta.dot.gov/library/money/budget

For a complete list of federally-aided transportation programs, see www.fhwa.dot.

gov/programadmin/index.htm

For a complete list of FHWA discretionary programs, see www.fhwa.dot.gov/

discretionary/proginfo.htm

<<Back to Table of Contents

PART II: MAJOR POLICY AND PLANNING ISSUES

Although the transportation planning process for a metropolitan area is concerned

primarily with the issues facing a particular metropolitan area, there are many issues
common to all parts of the country. This section addresses these areas of
commonality and provides additional detail on several important issues facing
MPOs as they undertake transportation planning for their regions.

The purpose of each topic is to provide a basic understanding of the issue, discuss
the role of the MPO, answer other questions about how the topic is addressed in
the transportation planning process, and provide references for further information.
The following topics are covered in this section:

Air Quality
Asset Management
The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

Financial Planning and Programming

Freight Movement
Land Use and Transportation
Models and Their Use
Performance Measures
Project Development and the NEPA Process
Public Involvement
Safety
System Management and Operations (M&O)
Title VI/Environmental Justice
Transportation Demand Management (TDM)

AIR QUALITY

What is the relationship between transportation and air quality?

Air quality issues play a major role in metropolitan planning. MPOs in air quality
nonattainment and maintenance areas are required to ensure that emissions from
transportation investments will not cause new violations or affect an area’s
schedule to attain the air quality standards. Therefore, MPOs need to have a clear
idea of what the requirements are. Air pollution is caused by the interaction of
topography, weather, and human influences on the environment, such as
manufacturing, use of petroleum-based products like gasoline, and even small
business activities, such as dry cleaning.

What are the major sources of pollution?

Sources of air pollution can be classified as stationary, area, or mobile sources, as

shown in Figure 4.

Stationary sources include relatively large, fixed facilities such as power plants,
chemical process industries, and petroleum refineries.

Area sources are small, stationary, non-transportation sources that collectively

contribute to air pollution, and include such sources as dry cleaners and bakeries,
surface coating operations, home furnaces, and crop burning.

Mobile sources include on-road vehicles such as cars, trucks, and buses; and off-
road sources such as trains, ships, airplanes, boats, lawnmowers, and construction
equipment.
The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

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* Emissions reductions targets developed by the state environmental agency

Figure 4: All sources of pollution can be looked at for ways to reduce emissions and improve air quality.

Clean Air Act: The key transportation-related pollutants are ozone precursors, carbon monoxide
The Clean Air Act sets out the criteria by
(CO), and particulates (PM-10 or PM-2.5 or particles smaller than 10 microns or 2.5
which transportation plans, programs,
and projects in nonattainment and microns, respectively). The ozone precursors are pollutants that combine to form
maintenance areas are assessed for ground-level ozone, which in turn is part of smog. Ozone precursors are volatile
compliance with air quality goals. organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides (NOx). These pollutants all
emanate in part from on-road mobile sources and cannot exceed certain
specified levels in a given region.

Nonattainment areas are geographic areas that do not meet the federal air
quality standards, and maintenance areas are areas that formerly violated but
currently meet the federal air quality standards. If no violations of air quality
standards have been found, the area is considered to be in compliance or
attainment with federal air quality standards.The Clean Air Act (CAA) of 1990
identifies the actions states and MPOs must take to reduce emissions from on-road
mobile sources in nonattainment and maintenance areas.

The CAA and Title 23 U.S.C. both require that transportation and air quality planning
be integrated in areas designated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) as air quality nonattainment or maintenance areas. In fact, in nonattainment
and maintenance areas, federal funding and approval for transportation projects is
only available if transportation activities are consistent with air quality goals through
the transportation conformity process. The transportation conformity process
includes a number of requirements that MPOs must meet (see section below on
transportation conformity).

An area can be nonattainment for one pollutant and in compliance for another.
Transportation conformity is required for all ozone, carbon monoxide, nitrogen
dioxide, and particulate matter nonattainment and maintenance areas.
The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

What is the role of the MPO in air quality issues?

The challenge for MPOs in nonattainment and maintenance areas is to decide on

a mix of transit and highway investments that, combined with measures such as
Inspection and Maintenance (I/M) programs or reformulated gasoline, will keep
emissions within the allowable limits for emissions from motor vehicles. According to
the CAA, 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; or
● Delay attainment of the standards.

Reformulated gasoline:
MPOs are encouraged to participate in air quality planning and to identify
Gasoline blended to burn more transportation strategies that will help reduce emissions from on-road mobile
completely and evaporate less easily. sources of pollution.
Fewer volatile organic compounds
(VOCs) are released into the air, thus
reducing ozone. Though not required, many MPOs have developed public education and
communications programs to inform the public of the connection between
transportation and air quality in their respective regions, and to encourage the
public to make travel choices that will benefit air quality.

What is transportation conformity and how does it relate to the

NAAQS?
Inspection and Maintenance Programs:
State programs that require vehicles to
be inspected and repaired to comply The transportation conformity process, as illustrated in Figure 5, is a way to ensure
with specific air quality standards, most
commonly for carbon monoxide and
that transportation projects meet air quality goals in order to be eligible for federal
ozone. funding and approval. Whenever a long-term transportation plan or TIP is approved
or updated, the MPO must make sure that all plans and programs comply with the
conformity requirements.
The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

Figure 5: Transportation conformity process

The CAA requires that each state environmental agency develop a plan called a
Transportation Control Measures (TCM): State Implementation Plan (SIP).The SIP shows how the State will meet the National
Transportation strategies that affect Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for each type of air pollutant, according to
traffic patterns or reduce vehicle use to the schedules included in the CAA. Pollutants are usually measured in parts per
reduce air pollutant emissions. These
may include HOV lanes, provision of
million (ppm) of ambient air, and standards vary by type of pollutant.
bicycle facilities, ridesharing,
telecommuting, etc. Such actions may For each source category (stationary, area, or mobile), the SIP assigns emission
be included in a SIP if needed to
demonstrate attainment of the NAAQS. reduction targets of the pollutant. For on-road mobile sources, the emission
reduction target is further refined into a motor vehicle emissions “budget” –
emissions limits for motor vehicle emissions sources. As a nonattainment area gets
closer to its attainment date (e.g., 2005, 2007, 2010), the motor vehicle emissions
budget may decrease.

Vehicle emissions reductions programs (e.g., the use of reformulated gasoline or

implementation of Inspection and Maintenance [I/M] programs); changing how
we travel (e.g., ride sharing or use of transit); or transportation projects that reduce
ongestion (e.g., signal synchronization programs) can all help areas meet emission
reduction targets for on-road mobile sources. MPOs should be actively involved
with the State in setting the motor vehicle emissions budgets. Transportation officials
need to educate themselves about the options and trade-offs available to them,
so they can balance the need for transportation investment with the need to
achieve healthful air.

Motor vehicle emissions budgets can be revised. However, doing so requires

The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

revising the SIP, which can be a complicated and lengthy process MPOs should
participate in the SIP revision process if it is undertaken.

What is a conformity determination and who makes it?

Transportation conformity on transportation plans and TIPs is demonstrated when

projected regional emissions for the Plan and TIP do not exceed the region’s motor
vehicle emissions budgets. A conformity determination is a finding by the MPO
policy board, and subsequently by FHWA and FTA, that the transportation plan and
National Ambient Air Quality Standards: TIP meet the conformity requirements. While the MPO is ultimately responsible for
The outdoor air in a given area, and its making sure a conformity determination is made, the conformity process depends
level of pollution. It is monitored
according to two sets of criteria: A on federal, state, and local transportation and air quality agencies working
primary standard to protect public together to meet the transportation conformity requirements. If transportation
health, including the health of control measures (TCMs) are part of the SIP, the MPO must provide an assurance
populations such as children, the elderly, that TCMs are being implemented on schedule each time it updates its plan and
and asthmatics; and a secondary
standard to protect public welfare, TIP.
including effects on soils, water, crops,
vegetation, buildings, property, animals,
If transportation control measures (TCMs) are part of the SIP, the MPO must provide
wildlife, weather, visibility, transportation,
and other economic values, as well as an assurance that TCMs are being implemented on schedule each time it updates
personal comfort and well-being. its plan and TIP.

Regionally Significant Projects: A necessary part of the transportation and air quality planning process is consulting
Regionally significant projects serve
with other involved agencies on critical issues and providing opportunities for public
regional transportation needs such as
access to and from the major activity participation. MPOs must inform the public that they are going to make a
centers in the region, and would conformity determination, make all relevant documents reasonably available, and
normally be included in the modeling of give adequate time to review the documents and supporting materials.
a metropolitan area’s transportation
network. These projects include, at a
minimum, all principal arterial highways What plans, programs, and projects are subject to transportation
and all fixed-guideway transit facilities.
conformity requirements?

The MPO’s 20-year transportation plan and TIP must meet the conformity
requirements. This includes all projects that are expected to be funded or that will
require an approval by FHWA/FTA at any point during the life of the plan or TIP.

Also, any regionally significant projects (as defined by the conformity rule), even
those that are not federally funded or approved, must be included in the regional
emissions analysis of the transportation plan and TIP. Regionally significant projects
include at a minimum, all principle arterial highways and all fixed-guideway transit
facilities.

Finally, certain projects in CO and PM nonattainment and maintenance areas must

be assessed for expected concentration levels ("hot spots") of carbon monoxide
and particulates.

How frequently must a transportation conformity determination be

made and what happens if the MPO cannot make a conformity
determination on time?

A conformity determination must be made on the transportation plan and TIP at

least once every three years. Each time the MPO updates its transportation plan or
its TIP (except for minor amendments), a conformity determination is required. A
conformity determination is also required not more than 18 months after a SIP or a
SIP revision is approved or found adequate by EPA.

If an MPO cannot meet the transportation conformity requirements (i.e., is in a

conformity lapse), then only certain types of projects may proceed until the
requirements are met.
The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

The MPO has two choices if it cannot make a conformity determination: 1) it can
change the mix of projects in the transportation plan/TIP in an attempt to meet the
conformity requirements or 2) it can request a SIP revision of the motor vehicle
emissions budget.

Under the metropolitan transportation planning requirements of TEA-21, projects in

air quality nonattainment and maintenance areas cannot be approved, funded,
or implemented unless those projects are included in a conforming (and fiscally
constrained) long-range transportation plan and TIP. This means that the funding
necessary to implement the long-range transportation plan is reasonably expected
to be available over the 20-year plan period, and that funding for the first two years
of the TIP is available or committed.

What funding is available for air quality improvement programs and

projects?

Under the CMAQ program, States receive funding based on the severity of
pollution and the population by county of each nonattainment and maintenance
area. Additional funding is given to areas that violate both the ozone standard and
the carbon monoxide standard. Each state receives CMAQ funding and then
allocates funds, at the State’s discretion, to the air quality nonattainment and
maintenance areas.

How much money does the MPO receive each year in CMAQ
funding?

Each year, the amount of funding any individual MPO receives varies depending
on the following factors: severity of pollution, population, whether both the ozone
standard and the CO standard are violated, and the State’s method for allocating
the funds. The FHWA posts the annual population numbers in each nonattainment
and maintenance area, and the weighting formula for the apportionments of
CMAQ funding, on its website at:
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/cmaqpgs/index.htm

What types of projects are funded with CMAQ funding?

CMAQ funding is reserved for projects that reduce congestion and improve air
quality. Typical projects include 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. Guidance on the CMAQ program can be found at:
www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/cmaqpgs/index.htm

Who decides which projects receive CMAQ funding?

Decisions must be coordinated through the MPO planning process, and are made
collaboratively by the MPO and state, subject to federal eligibility guidelines. These
guidelines are quite flexible, in order to promote innovation.

What other sources of federal funding are there for air quality
improvement projects?

The Surface Transportation Program (STP) in TEA-21 allows states to use certain funds
(known as "flex" funds) for a variety of projects, including transit, transportation
demand management, and other strategies that will help to reduce emissions.
The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

The FTA provides funding for public transit projects, including fixed rail transit, rail
modernization, buses and bus facilities (including the purchase of alternatively
fueled buses), and other public transit projects. Other sources of funding include
programs administered by the EPA and the U.S. Department of Energy; in many
areas, state and local funding programs are in place.

Additional sources of information:

www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/conform.htm gives a basic explanation of

conformity and provides policy guidance.

www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/cmaqpgs/index.htm provides a brochure about

CMAQ, outlines policy, and gives helpful links.

www.fta.dot.gov/transit_data_info/reports_publications/publications/
environment/4805_5136_ENG_HTML.htm provides information on CMAQ,
Transportation and Air Quality Impacts of Transit Projects, and a description of the
FTA General Noise Assessment Spreadsheet.

www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/index.htm is a helpful source of information on funding

programs.

www.energy.gov/engine/content.do?bt_code=ef_ss6 is a consumer-oriented site

hosted by the Department of Energy on how to save fuel, and provides a helpful
example of how MPOs can educate the public about air quality. U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, Criteria and Procedures for Determining
Conformity to State or Federal Implementation Plans of Transportation. Plans,
programs, and projects funded or approved under Title 23 U.S.C. of the Federal
Transit Act, Title 40 CFR, Parts 51 and 93, November 24, 1993, as amended in August
1995, November 1995, and August 1997.

<<Back to Table of Contents

ASSET MANAGEMENT

What is Transportation Asset Management?

Transportation Asset Management is a strategic framework for making cost-

effective decisions about allocating resources (funding and personnel) and
managing infrastructure (physical assets such as roads, equipment, and buildings).
It is based on a process of monitoring the physical condition of assets, predicting
deterioration over time, and providing information on how to invest in order to
maintain or enhance the performance of assets over their useful life.
The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

Facilities:
As used in the transportation world,
What is the role of the MPO in asset management?
"facilities" means all the fixed physical
assets of a transportation system, such A metropolitan area's transportation system represents a massive investment in
as roads, bus terminals, bridges, bike
paths, and train stations.
transportation facilities and the capital assets used to operate and maintain this
system. With the total government investment just in roads and bridges in the United
States estimated to be over $1 trillion, the transportation system is most likely the
largest government-owned asset in any metropolitan area.

Use, as well as wear and tear from the environment (such as heaving from freezing
Capital assets:
A capital asset is an item, usually non- and thawing), will make transportation infrastructure deteriorate over time.
real estate, that has a useful life of Therefore, one of the main goals of transportation agencies is preservation, to keep
greater than one year and a unit cost of the infrastructure in operating condition. If roads, bridges, airports, transit facilities,
$5,000 or more. Examples: road repair ports, bicycle and pedestrian paths, etc. are not maintained, people and goods
equipment, computer systems, and
buses. will not move as easily, resulting in reduced quality of life and diminished economic
activity.

The MPO can support asset management by encouraging the collection of data
and use of the resulting information for establishing priorities for improving the area's
transportation assets. Typically, the MPO does not, on its own, develop and/or
operate an asset management decisionmaking framework. This is usually the
responsibility of state and local operating agencies.

What are the steps decisionmakers use in the transportation asset

management process?

The following steps are typical for the asset management process:

1. Decisionmakers establish expectations for the transportation system's

performance, and use them to guide the analytical process, as well as the
decisionmaking framework. These expectations must be consistent with
goals, available budgets, and organizational policies.
2. The transportation system is inventoried, and performance data is collected
and analyzed. This information is used to determine what is needed.
3. Analytical tools and models are used to find cost-effective strategies for
allocating the budget to meet performance expectations. The alternative
choices are evaluated according to how well they meet long-range plans,
policies, and goals.
4. Decisions are made and implemented. Decisionmakers need to take into
account actual project development, construction, and operation.
5. The entire process is reevaluated annually.

What questions should MPOs ask as part of Asset Management?

● What is our inventory of assets?

● What is the value of our assets (monetary, importance to region, other)?
What are their functions? What services do they provide?
● What are the past, current, and predicted future condition and
performance of our assets?
● How can we preserve, maintain, or improve our assets to ensure maximum
useful life and provide acceptable service to the public?
● What resources are available? What is the budget? How much funding can
we expect in the future?
● What are our choices for investing our transportation budget? What are the
costs and benefits of such choices?
● Which choice, or combination of choices, is optimal?
● What are the consequences of not maintaining our assets? How can we
communicate those consequences?
The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

Additional sources of information:

Asset Management: Advancing the State of the Art Into the 21st Century Through
Public-Private Dialogue, FHWA, Report No. FHWA-RD-97-046. Information on
obtaining a copy of this report may be found at:
www.fhwa.dot.gov/pubstats.html

Asset Management Primer, FHWA, December 1999.

www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/asstmgmt/amprimer.pdf explains the concept of
Asset Management.

www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/asstmgmt/index.htm explains the mission of

FHWA's Office of Asset Management and provides useful links.

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FINANCIAL PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING

What is financial planning?

Financial planning takes a long-range look at how transportation investments are

funded, and at the possible sources of funds. MPOs must consider funding needs
over the 20-year period of the long-range transportation plan, and develop a
financial plan that identifies funding sources for needed investments, including the
maintenance and operation of the existing transportation system.

What is financial programming?

Programming funds means identifying funds for specific projects in the TIP, which
generally covers a three-year period. Notifying FHWA and FTA of the sources of the
funds that will likely be used to support each project is part of programming.

What is the financial plan element of the long-range transportation

plan?

The long-range transportation plan must include a financial section that estimates
how much funding will be needed over the life of the plan, and how the MPO can
reasonably expect to fund the projects included in the plan, including anticipated
revenues from FHWA and FTA, state government, regional or local sources, the
private sector, and user charges.

For example, a financial plan could assume that the amount of available federal
funding will remain constant over the first five years of the plan, and then escalate
at a rate equal to inflation or the Consumer Price Index (CPI). It could also assume
that state gasoline taxes dedicated to transportation will be increased every five
years by a certain amount based on past trends. Further, the transportation plan
might assume a new revenue source from a local sales tax within an MPO region,
so long as there is reason to believe such a new source will be available.

How are funds programmed?

Each state must submit a State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP -- this is
the programming document for the state) to FHWA/FTA every two years. The STIP
includes all of the projects planned for implementation with the funds expected
The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

from FHWA and FTA for the upcoming three years, and includes each MPO's TIP
and all of the projects included in the first three years of that TIP.

The STIP must be fiscally constrained, which means that the costs of the projects in
the STIP must not exceed projected reasonably available revenue while ensuring
continued funding for the operation and maintenance of the existing
transportation system.

Amendments to the STIP are common, given the frequency of changes in

engineering modifications, environmental issues, contracting issues, project
readiness, and other factors that require project schedules and budgets to be
adjusted from time to time. If an MPO wants to amend a project in the STIP, it first
must amend its TIP.

What is the process by which a TIP gets programmed for funding?

● The TIP must be consistent with the transportation plan.

● In the TIP, the MPO indicates which projects will be worked on in each year.
● The MPO must identify which combination of funding sources (federal, state,
local) will be used for each project and must show that enough funds will be
available for all of the projects.
● Projects included in the first two years of the TIP must have funds (i.e., bonds)
available or committed. Some projects are multi-year in nature, which will be
indicated in the TIP.

The TIP (after being approved by the MPO and the governor) is then submitted to
the State DOT for inclusion in the STIP, which is then submitted to FHWA/ FTA. In air
quality nonattainment and maintenance areas, the TIP must also meet
transportation conformity requirements.

How do MPOs know how much money is going to be available?

TEA-21 requires that revenue forecasts be developed cooperatively by the MPO,

the state DOT, and the public transit agency in order to help MPOs know how
much funding is likely to be available for transportation projects in their area. This
provision is intended to improve financial planning and enable a longer-term view
of financial needs.

What are the sources of transportation funds?

Transportation funds come from a number of sources, including income tax, sales
tax, tolls, bonds, and state, local, and federal excise taxes on various fuels, state
infrastructure banks, and credit assistance sources. The source of transportation
funds to construct a particular project can vary greatly from one area to another,
because each area can decide which mix of funds is best suited to local needs.

When federal funds are authorized by Congress for the U.S. Department of
Transportation, they are allocated into various programs before DOT redirects them
to the states. Some primary examples of these programs include the Interstate
System/Interstate Maintenance Program, the Highway Bridge Replacement and
Rehabilitation program, the Surface Transportation Program (STP) (which includes
enhancements funding and safety funding), the Federal Lands Highway Program,
and the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program.

Each of these programs has specific eligibility requirements, although there is quite
a bit of flexibility in TEA-21 that allows the shifting of funds among some of the
programs. For example, STP funding can be used for transit buses, and interstate
program funds can be shifted to other programs so long as interstate highway
The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

program investment needs are being fully addressed.

FTA oversees the allocation of federal transit funds, which generally fall into two
major categories: formula capital grants for transit operators, and capital
investment grants, which include new rail starts funds, rail modernization funds, and
funds for buses and bus-related facilities.

TEA-21 also provides formula planning funds that are allocated from various FHWA
and FTA programs to states and MPOs. Called State Planning and Research Funds
(SPR) and Planning Funds (PL) respectively, these planning funds generally make up
a large portion of the MPO budget for conducting necessary studies and for
developing transportation plans and TIPs.

Additional sources of information:

www.fhwa.dot.gov/programs.html is a guide to FHWA programs, core business units,

and service business units, providing a handy overview of the agency's activities.

www.fta.dot.gov/library/policy/prgms/toc.htm serves as a gateway to all of FTA's

funding programs and activities as well as providing useful links and updates.

<<Back to Table of Contents

FREIGHT MOVEMENT

What is the role of freight movement in transportation?

The movement of freight is an important part of a metropolitan area's

transportation system. The efficient movement of freight within and through a
region is critically important to industry, retail, agriculture, international trade, and
terminal operators. Metropolitan areas (especially ports) with their air cargo
airports, intermodal freight yards, large trucking terminals, and shipyards are
especially affected by freight movement issues.

Examples of intermodal freight projects include bridge replacements, road

widening, port and rail access roads, terminal facility improvements, grade
separations for highway and rail, and providing connections to air cargo and new
infrastructure.

What is the role of the MPO in freight transportation planning?

As the forum for cooperative transportation planning and decisionmaking, the

MPO is responsible for making sure that freight movement is considered in the
transportation planning process.

Many MPOs have systematically incorporated freight movement issues into their
planning activities, for example by:

● Defining those elements of a metropolitan area's transportation system that

are critical for efficient movement of freight.
● Identifying ways to measure system performance in terms of freight
movement.
● Developing freight-oriented data collection and modeling to identify
problems and potential solutions.
● Creating a freight movement advisory committee to identify important
The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

bottlenecks in the freight network.

Different freight-transport tactics that might be considered in transportation

planning include the following:

Truck Restrictions:

Peak period bans

Freeway section bans
Route diversions
Designated access routing
Hazardous materials route restrictions
Local truck and noise ordinances
Peak HOV only/off-peak truck lanes

Road Design and Construction:

Capacity and safety improvements

Improved entry/exit ramps and merges
Continuous merge lanes
Exclusive truck facilities

Road Pricing:

Peak period permits

Freeway permits
Peak period tolls
Peak/off-peak rate differentials

Fleet Management:

Voluntary off-peak operations

Automatic vehicle location/routing
Driver training and management

Traffic Engineering:

Lane design restrictions

Wider lanes
Continuous merge lanes
Variable message signs
Sign placement
Truck advisory signs
Speed restrictions

Shipper/Receiver Actions:

Voluntary off-peak operations

Mandatory off-peak operations

Incident Management:

Automated detection
Site and area surveillance/communications
Organizational changes

Inspection/Enforcement:

Automated surveillance
The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

Urban truck inspections/enforcement

Information Management:

Highway advisory radio

Traffic information

What requirements must the MPO adhere to?

TEA-21 states that the transportation planning process should "...support the
economic vitality of the metropolitan area (or state), especially by enabling global
competitiveness, productivity, and efficiency; increase the accessibility and
mobility options available to people and for freight; and enhance the integration
and connectivity of the transportation system, across and between modes, for
people and freight."

What funding is available for freight planning and project

implementation?

MPOs can use planning funds for freight planning, and can dedicate funds for
specific project implementation. Funding of specific freight projects must meet
federal eligibility requirements for funding.

Projects that provide improved access to terminals or ports can be included in the
federally funded transportation improvement program.

In those cases where freight investment projects can directly bring about
reductions in pollutant emissions, Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality funds can
also be used to support those projects.

Additional sources of information:

www.fhwa.dot.gov/freightplanning/index.htm is FHWA's guide to freight planning,

providing guidelines, case studies, and a manual.

www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/freight/freight_finance_report.htm is a guide to financing

freight transportation improvement.

www.planning.dot.gov/freight.asp is a link to information on freight planning at the

TPCB website.

<<Back to Table of Contents

LAND USE AND TRANSPORTATION

What is the relationship between land use and transportation?

Transportation's basic purpose is moving people and goods from one place to
another, but its effect on economic development goes well beyond this. An
efficient transportation system can improve the economy, shape development
patterns, and influence quality of life and the natural environment.

Land use and transportation are symbiotic: how development is spaced can
greatly influence regional travel patterns, and, in turn, the degree of access
The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

provided by the transportation system can influence land use distribution.

What is the role of the MPO in land use and transportation?

The role of the MPO varies according to state and locality. In some areas, MPOs are
responsible for reviewing local land use decisions considered regionally significant.
In others, land use decisions are solely the prerogative of local officials. Regardless
of the MPO's role in decisionmaking, transportation planners must make every effort
to consider the comprehensive land use plans of the region and local jurisdictions,
and create a constructive dialogue with land use officials. In that way, each group
is informed of actions that might affect the other.

What are the requirements for considering land use in the

transportation planning process?

Federal planning regulations place considerable importance on the link between

transportation planning and land use, though there are no federal laws mandating
specific actions. According to the 1993 joint FHWA/FTA regulations for metropolitan
and statewide planning, the metropolitan 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...."

The regulations also state that the plan itself should "reflect, to the extent that they
exist, consideration of: the area's comprehensive long-range land use plan and
metropolitan development objectives; national, state, and local housing goals and
strategies; community development and employment plans and strategies...."

How does land use relate to economic development?

Activities meant to stimulate economic development can affect the transportation

network and adjacent parcels of land in terms of zoning. It is important to consider
the effects of development on the quality of life for residents (i.e., traffic noise,
improved mobility, more jobs, etc.), the transportation network, and the regional
economy as a whole. Much of this will require balancing projected benefits against
projected externalities.

Better planning tools are increasingly available to help MPOs understand the
impact of economic development decisions on the transportation network and the
natural environment. Examples of planning tools include the following:
transportation models that include land use; technology such as Geographic
Information Systems (GIS) to help illustrate how transportation facilities can affect
specific parts of a region or community; and travel demand and emission models
which help show how transportation can affect air quality.

Policymakers should ask what effects proposed investments would have on

economic development and on future transportation needs:

● How should an MPO use its available funding to balance and maximize
economic growth with transportation priorities?
● Can the transportation system accommodate the increased growth that
proposed development might bring?
● What is the trade-off between additional growth in an urban area and the
cost of expanding?
● What modes of transportation are most cost-effective in meeting a region's
transportation needs?
The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

What is "smart growth"?

Smart growth is a set of policies and programs designed by local governments to

protect, preserve, and economically develop established communities and natural
and cultural resources. Smart growth encompasses a holistic view of development.
From a transportation perspective, smart growth includes building walkable
communities and providing a variety of transportation choices by integrating land
use planning and transportation planning. Smart growth policies link transportation
projects with desired land use patterns in order to make more efficient use of
infrastructure (assets such as roads, bridges, and equipment) and reduce
environmental impact.

Using a smart-growth approach, an area can consider land use strategies that will
reduce both transportation and environmental problems, and achieve quality-of-
life goals. These land use strategies may include:

● Site design planning, with an emphasis on pedestrian access and transit

service.
● Incentives and bonuses for desired land uses and for developments that
provide desired transportation and land use amenities.
● A balance of job growth with housing developments priced and located to
match the needs and incomes of the work force.
● Minimum as well as maximum development densities and floor area ratios
that ensure adequate ridership for transit.
● Requirements for providing adequate public facilities (i.e., schools, fire and
police protection) commensurate with development, or for attaining a
minimum level of service standards.
● Urban growth limited to areas where urban services are already available or
are scheduled.
● Consistency between local land use plans and local and regional
transportation plans.

What is the role of the MPO in smart growth?

Smart growth policies are usually developed and mandated at the state (and
sometimes the regional) level. The role of the MPO varies according to the authority
and influence it has in regional land use matters.

As the organization that adopts the transportation plan and the TIP, the MPO is able
to influence transportation investments toward improving quality of life, and can
tailor some transportation activities to improve both specific economic
development projects and regional mobility in general. The transportation planning
process provides critical input into a regional smart growth strategy. The
transportation plan, in particular, outlines the vision and goals for transportation
investment, thus incorporating smart growth policies.

Additional sources of information:

A Toolbox for Alleviating Traffic Congestion and Enhancing Mobility, Institute of

Transportation Engineers: Washington, D.C., 1997.

Institute of Transportation Engineers, "Smart Growth? Sensible Growth? Sustainable

Growth? Balanced Growth? Responsible Growth -- What Are the Transportation
Needs to Achieve This Growth?" ITE Journal, April 2000.

Apogee Research, Inc. and Greenhorne & O'Mara, Research on the Relationship
Between Economic Development and Transportation Investment, National
Cooperative Highway Research Program Report 418, Washington, D.C.:
The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

Transportation Research Board, 1998.

Louis Berger, Inc., Economic Trends and Multimodal Transportation Requirements,

National Cooperative Highway Research Program Report 421, Washington D.C.:
Transportation Research Board, 1999.

M. Bell and T. McGuire, Macroeconomic Analysis of the Linkages Between

Transportation Investments and Economic Performance, National Cooperative
Highway Research Program Report 389, Washington D.C.: Transportation Research
Board, 1997.

www.mdp.state.md.us/smartintro.htm
The new Maryland Office of Smart Growth is a "one-stop shop" on smart growth that
promotes interagency cooperation to help local governments bring smart growth
projects to fruition; serves as an information clearinghouse on smart growth for local
officials, developers, and citizen groups; and provides targeted advisory and
technical assistance to local jurisdictions, developers, and the public, in
cooperation with the Department of Planning.

http://www.uli.org/
The Urban Land Institute's mission is to take a leadership role in bringing together
people involved in important issues related to land use and the built environment.

<<Back to Table of Contents

MODELS AND THEIR USE

What are models?

Models are simulations of the "real world" that can be used to show the impact of
changes in a metropolitan area on the transportation system (such as adding a
new road or transit line, or increases in population or employment). Current FHWA
and FTA planning regulations require only that the MPO have an analytical process
in place for evaluating projects.

Three important assumptions are part of any model used for transportation analysis:

● Key characteristics of the system to be modeled can be described in terms

of quantifiable variables (e.g., number of automobiles per household,
household size, etc.).
● There is a relationship between these variables and the behavior of
individuals or of systems (e.g., the more automobiles per household, the
greater the number of automobile trips per household). This relationship is
most often expressed in mathematical terms.
● This relationship is the same for all individuals and is constant over time.

Challenges to the validity of transportation models often focus on one of these

three assumptions.

What is the four-step modeling process?

For the past 40 years, transportation professionals have used a four-step approach
in modeling transportation demand. Most modeling approaches use some form of
these steps today. Once some understanding has been established as to what the
land use, population, and employment levels are in a study area, the four modeling
The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

steps are:

● Trip generation: Estimating the number of trips generated in a zone or at a

particular location, and attracted to a zone or a particular location, based
on the assumed relationship among socio-economic factors, land use
characteristics, and the number of trips. Trip generation then leads to:
● Trip distribution Estimating the number of trips that originate in every zone in
the study area, with destinations to every other zone. The result is a trip table
that is used in:
● Mode split: Estimating, for the number of trips predicted between each origin
and destination, the number of trips made via each type of mode that is
available for that trip. Thus, "x" percent are likely to drive alone, "y" percent
are likely to take transit, "z" percent are likely to ride-share, etc. Mode split
leads to:
● Network assignment: Estimating the number of trips via a particular mode
that will take specific paths through a road or transit network. The end result,
when all trips are assigned to a network, is an estimate of the total number of
trips that will use each link in the network. When compared to the capacity
of this link, planners can forecast the level of congestion that will occur at
that location. This becomes the basis for assessing the performance of the
transportation system.

What are other types of models?

Four-step models are commonly used to predict the demand for transportation
services. Transportation planners and engineers also use other types of models to
analyze and evaluate the performance of transportation systems and resulting
impacts.

Impact models determine the likely effects that constructing and operating
transportation facilities will have on the surrounding environment and community.
For example, planners often use air quality models, noise models, and community
impact models in analyzing transportation alternatives.

Cost models estimate the likely costs of transportation facilities and services. For
example, cost models estimate the unit cost per component of a facility (e.g.,
dollars per linear foot of rail line), and multiply this by the estimated number of units
needed. Most recent cost-modeling approaches incorporate a life-cycle costing
perspective that requires the planner to estimate expected costs, both capital and
operating, for a possible project over the expected life of that project. The total
"cost picture" is then presented to decisionmakers when choosing among different
alternatives.

What should MPOs consider when presented with the results of

models?

Results of a model are still only estimates - they cannot provide a definitive picture
of what will happen in the future. Much like economic projections, transportation
forecasts are greatly affected by the long-term economic health and
attractiveness of the region, by population changes, and by the individual
behavior of each person using the transportation system, which no one can predict.

Model results are only as good as the data that go into the model. MPOs must use
the most current socio-economic and census data available, especially if the
region is growing rapidly. MPOs should make every effort to explain the information
and assumptions that went into creating the model in plain, understandable terms.

Additional sources of information:

The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

Cambridge Systematics and Transmode Consultants, Multimodal Corridor and

Capacity Analysis Manual: National Cooperative Highway Research Program
Report 399. Transportation Research Board, 1998.

http://tmip.fhwa.dot.gov/ is a link to the Travel Model Improvement Program (TMIP).

Meyer, M. and E. Miller, Urban Transportation Planning: A Decision-Oriented

Approach. New York: McGraw Hill, 2001.

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PERFORMANCE MEASURES

What are performance measures?

Performance measures demonstrate how well the transportation system is doing its
job of meeting public goals and/or expectations of the transportation network.
Some methods used to measure performance include tracking average speeds
and crash rates. Many metropolitan areas monitor how close they are to achieving
specific goals, such as the mobility of disadvantaged populations, levels of air
quality, and the health of the economy, by using performance measures.
Performance measures provide feedback on the decisionmaking process. They
aim to answer questions such as whether the performance of the transportation
system (or economy, air quality, etc.) is getting better or worse over time; and
whether transportation investments are making a difference. Examples of
performance measures include:

● Accessibility: Percent population within "x" minutes of "y" percent of

employment sites; whether special populations such as the elderly are able
to use transportation; whether transportation services provide access for
underserved populations to employment sites; also whether services are ADA
compliant.
● Mobility: Average travel time from origin to destination; change in average
travel time for specific origin-destination points; average trip length;
percentage of trips per mode (known as mode split); time lost to congestion;
transfer time between modes; percent on-time transit performance.
● Economic development: Jobs created and new housing starts in an area as
a result of new transportation facilities; new businesses opening along major
routes; percent of region's unemployed who cite lack of transportation as
principal barrier; economic cost of lost time.
● Environmental quality of life: Environmental and resource consumption; tons
of pollution generated; fuel consumption per vehicle mile traveled.
● 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.

What is the role of the MPO in defining and using performance

measures?

The MPO can take the lead in creating performance measures that provide
information critical to regional and local decisionmakers. Because performance
measures strongly influence the goals and objectives of the planning process, their
development and ongoing support can become part of the activities of the MPO.
If performance measures are to be developed, they should be subject to the MPO-
sponsored public involvement program.
The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

Additional sources of information:

A Guidebook for Performance-Based Transportation Planning, NCHRP Report 446.

Transportation Research Board: Washington, D.C., 2000.

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PROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND THE NEPA PROCESS

What is NEPA and how does it apply to the highway project

development process?

The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) established a national policy
to promote the protection of the environment in the actions and programs of
federal agencies. The FHWA and FTA have the role of the lead federal agency and
are responsible for implementing the NEPA process and working with state and
local project sponsors during project development. The FHWA and FTA NEPA
process is designed for transportation officials to make project decisions that
balance engineering and transportation needs with the consideration of social,
economic and environmental factors. This process allows for involvement and input
from the public, interest groups, resource agencies and local governments. The
FHWA and FTA NEPA process is used as an "umbrella" for compliance with over 40
environmental laws, regulations, and executive orders and provides an integrated
or streamlined approach to addressing impacts to the human and natural
environment from transportation projects.

How is NEPA related to the Transportation Planning Process?

The NEPA process is designed to promote environmentally sound transportation

decisions and cannot be used as a justification for decisions already made.
Therefore, a coordinated approach between planning and project development
contributes to the selection of transportation investments that reflect community
needs, have benefited from an active public involvement process and are sensitive
to the environment. The first stages of the NEPA process - development of project
purpose and need - should build upon the transportation needs identified during
planning and will be the basis for the final selection of an alternative for design and
construction. Another direct link between NEPA and transportation planning is the
requirement that a project must be included in a conforming plan and TIP before it
can be given NEPA approval; a major change in the project scope and design as it
evolves during the NEPA process triggers a conformity and plan reassessment.

What NEPA documentation is required?

A good decision based on an understanding of environmental impacts is the

objective of the NEPA process and a thorough analysis of these impacts as
presented in the NEPA document is essential in meeting that objective. NEPA
documentation serves several purposes: to disclose the analysis of benefits and
impacts to the human and natural environment; to get input from the public and
other stakeholders on the proposed project and the environmental consequences;
and to present the final decision and supporting rationale.

Different types of transportation projects will have varying degrees of complexity

and potential to affect the environment. Under NEPA, the required environmental
document depends on the degree of impact. FHWA and FTA, in coordination with
the project sponsor, prepare one or more of the following documents for a
proposed project:
The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

● Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) - prepared for projects that have a

significant impact on the human and natural environment. Draft EIS (DEIS)
and Final EIS (FEIS) documents provide a full description of the proposed
project, the existing environment, and the analysis of the beneficial and
adverse impacts of all reasonable alternatives, including input from the
public.
● Record of Decision (ROD) - presents the selected transportation decision
analyzed in an EIS, the basis for that decision, and the environmental
commitments to mitigate for project impacts to the human and natural
environment.
● Categorical Exclusions (CE) - prepared for projects that do not have a
significant impact on the human and natural environment.
● Environmental Assessments (EA) and Finding of No Significant Impacts
(FONSI) - prepared for projects where it is not clearly known if there will be
significant environmental impacts. If the analysis in the EA indicates the
proposed project will have significant environmental impacts, an EIS is
prepared. If there is not a significant impact, this conclusion is documented
in a separate decision document, the FONSI.

Regardless of the type of NEPA document prepared, final selection or approval of

a proposed project alternative by FHWA and FTA allows the project to be eligible
for federal funding of subsequent project activities such as final design, right-of-way
acquisition, and construction.

D
Figure 6: Documentation required as part of the NEPA process

Additional sources of information:

http://nepa.fhwa.dot.gov/ReNepa/ReNepa.nsf/home
This site is dedicated to the open exchange of knowledge, information, and ideas
concerning NEPA and other environmental issues. Re: NEPA allows anyone
The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

interested in NEPA and related topics to contribute thoughts and ideas in an open
forum.

http://environment.fhwa.dot.gov/strmlng/index.htm
This website provides information on environmental streamlining -- the term for a
new cooperative approach to implementing transportation projects that brings
together timely delivery and the protection and enhancement of the environment.
It was first enacted into legislation for highway and transit projects with TEA-21.

http://www.fta.dot.gov/office/planning/envr.htm
This website provides information on environmental streamlining and the
environmental process.

<<Back to Table of Contents

PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT

What is the role of public involvement in developing transportation

policies, programs, and projects?

Public involvement is integral to the MPO's transportation mission. Without

meaningful public participation, there is a risk of making less than optimal decisions.
With it, it is possible to make a lasting contribution to an area's quality of life. Public
involvement is more than an agency requirement and more than a means of
fulfilling a statutory obligation. True public participation is central to good
decisionmaking.

The fundamental objective of public involvement programs is to ensure that the

concerns and issues of everyone with a stake in transportation decisions are
identified and addressed in the development of the policies, programs, and
projects being proposed in their communities.

Paratransit:
A variety of smaller, often flexibly
Who is the public?
scheduled and routed transportation
services using low-capacity vehicles, The public includes anyone who resides, has an interest, or does business in a given
such as vans, which operate within
normal urban transit corridors or rural
area potentially affected by transportation decisions. This includes both individuals
areas. These services usually serve the and organized groups. It is also important to provide opportunities for the
needs of people that standard mass participation of all private and public providers of transportation services, including,
transit services would serve with but not limited to, the trucking and rail freight industries, rail passenger industry,
difficulty, or not at all. Often, the patrons
include the elderly and people with
taxicab operators, and all transit and paratransit service operators. Finally, those
disabilities. persons traditionally underserved by existing transportation systems, such as low-
income or minority households (see section on Title VI/environmental justice) and
the elderly, should be encouraged to participate in the transportation
decisionmaking process.

Federal, state, and local agencies with an interest in transportation issues play a
particularly important role in the development of transportation projects. Many of
those agencies have a statutory responsibility to review environmental documents
or issue permits for transportation projects. FHWA and FTA encourage MPOs and
state DOTs to aggressively pursue improved communication and collaboration with
these partners, beginning early in the transportation planning process, to identify
and address their concerns.

What is the role of the MPO in implementing public involvement

processes?
The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

As the agency responsible for coordinating the regional transportation planning

process, the MPO must actively involve all affected parties in an open,
cooperative, and collaborative process that provides meaningful opportunities to
influence transportation decisions. Transportation has a profound influence on the
lives of people. Decisionmakers must consider fully the social, economic, and
environmental consequences of their actions, and assure the public that
transportation programs support adopted land use plans and community values.

MPOs must develop, with the public, effective involvement processes custom
tailored to local conditions. Rather than establishing a set of uniform rules, the
policies of FHWA and FTA establish performance standards that include:

● 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; and
● Open access to the decisionmaking process prior to closure.

What are the indicators of an effective public participation process?

A well-informed public has the best chance to contribute meaningful input into
transportation decisions, through a broad array of involvement opportunities at all
stages of decisionmaking. Six useful elements in planning for effective public
involvement are:

● Clearly defined purpose and objectives for initiating a public dialogue on

transportation issues;
● Specific identification of who are the affected public and other stakeholder
groups with respect to the plans and programs under development;
● Identification of techniques for engaging the public in the process;
● Notification procedures that effectively target affected groups;
● Education and assistance techniques, which result in an accurate and full
public understanding of transportation issues; and
● Follow through by the MPO demonstrating that decisionmakers seriously
considered public input.

Additional sources of information:

www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/pubinv2.htm explores many of the transportation

issues of greatest concern to the public, and provides more information to MPOs
seeking guidance on involving the public.

Public Involvement Techniques for Transportation Decision-making, FHWA and FTA,

1996, Publication No. FHWA-PD-96-031.

www.fta.dot.gov/office/planning/pi.htm provides access to a number of

publications on public involvement.

http://trb-pi.hshassoc.com/ is a link to the TRB Public Involvement Committee.

<<Back to Table of Contents

SAFETY
The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

How important is safety in transportation planning?

Safety is one of the most important goals in the operation of the transportation
system. Over the past three decades, transportation fatality rates have declined in
relationship to system usage, due in large part to safer cars, tougher police
enforcement, and increasing use of seat belts, air bags, and child safety seats.
However, in many accident categories, the actual number of accidents has
increased because there are more people using the transportation system.
Integrating safety into metropolitan transportation planning requires MPO
coordination with transit, state highway and motor carrier safety agencies, and
their safety processes.

What is the role of the MPO in transportation safety?

Transportation planning takes safety considerations into account by identifying high-

accident locations and giving them high priority for improvements. Many MPOs
also participate in safety campaigns that educate the public on good safety
practices.

Many state DOTs and local transportation agencies have developed safety
management systems that monitor accident locations in their jurisdictions over
time. The MPO can participate in data collection for these systems or coordinate
the development of a regional safety management system.

What are the planning requirements for incorporating safety into

transportation planning?

TEA-21 included safety as one of the seven planning factors to be considered in the
transportation planning process, stating that the planning process should consider
projects and strategies that will "increase the safety and security of the
transportation system for motorized and non-motorized users."

Short- and long-range plans should have a safety element as part of the plan, and
when projects and strategies are evaluated for possible inclusion in the TIP, safety
should be a factor in their rating.

Additional sources of information:

http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/ is an FHWA site that provides information on ways to

improve safety on roadways.

http://transit-safety.volpe.dot.gov/ is an FTA site that provides information on safety

and security of mass transit systems.

Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Annual statistical reports provide national

numbers on crash statistics: www.bts.gov/

http://gulliver.trb.org/publications/circulars/ec025.pdf is a TRB circular on safety-

conscious planning for a multi-stakeholder workshop held in May 2000.

www.ite.org/ contains an Institute of Transportation Engineers' discussion paper,

"The Development of the Safer Transportation Network Planning Process."

http://tmip.fhwa.dot.gov/clearinghouse/docs/safety/ is a link to the Travel Model

Improvement Program (TMIP) Clearinghouse.
The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

<<Back to Table of Contents

SYSTEM MANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONS (M&O)

What is system management and operations?

Reliability of trip making: System management and operations (M&O) analyzes regional transportation as an
The level of reliability of the time it takes
interconnected set of services and systems, to improve system performance
to make a specific trip; for example,
one's daily commute, or the time it takes through better management and use of the transportation network.
for goods to move between shipper and
receiver.
In identifying possible system M&O improvements, it is important to understand
what system users want in terms of performance. Some examples of user-oriented
performance measures are average trip travel time, length of delay, and reliability
of trip making. These are important indicators of how well the transportation system
is operating.

Successfully implementing M&O strategies requires close coordination among the

many different agencies and groups with responsibility for transportation system
performance.

What are some examples of M&O tools?

Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) are technological tools that can help to
facilitate better system M&O. For example, roadway video surveillance allows
better responses to changes in network conditions, such as clearing an accident
faster to keep traffic moving. ITS technologies also can be used to collect real-time
data, like travel speeds, which can be used to monitor system performance over
time.

Other examples of system M&O tools include:

● Metropolitan traffic management centers

● Traffic signal coordination
● Freeway/arterial corridor management
● Incident management programs
● Preferential treatment for transit/rideshares
● Special event traffic management
● Emergency management strategies
● Pricing of transportation services
● Customer information services
● ITS applications for transit
● Traveler Information
● Commercial vehicle programs

What is the role of the MPO in enhancing system management and

operations?

Identifying M&O strategies and benefits: When developing the transportation plan,
the MPO should consider using M&O strategies as one method of improving
mobility for constituents. Those programs and projects should then be given high
priority in the TIP.

Coordinating with all agencies involved: Many different agencies assist in system
management and operations in a typical metropolitan area. The MPO can provide
regional leadership in establishing a decisionmaking framework by bringing parties
The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

together, by helping to determine how M&O decisions will be made in an area,

and by asking for input on M&O issues as part of the planning process. This allows
agencies to develop M&O strategies in common.

Develop performance measures: The MPO should develop system performance

measures that take into account the desires and expectations of transportation
users, and can be used to decide how funds should be spent. The MPO can then
work to improve the system through future plans and TIPs.

Additional sources of information:

www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/ is the FHWA's operations site, with information on travel

management, transportation operations, freight management, and ITS.

http://www.its.dot.gov/ is the Department of Transportation's official ITS site.

A Toolbox for Alleviating Traffic Congestion and Enhancing Mobility. Institute of

Transportation Engineers: Washington, D.C., 1997.

Federal Highway Administration, Managing Our Congested Streets and Highways, U.

S. DOT, 2001.

www.itsa.org/ is the website for ITS America, a nonprofit organization that acts as a
clearinghouse for information on ITS.

<<Back to Table of Contents

TITLE VI/ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

What is Title VI/environmental justice?

The goal of Title VI/environmental justice is to ensure that services and benefits are
fairly distributed to all people, regardless of race, national origin, or income, and
that they have access to meaningful participation. Title VI/environmental justice in
transportation programs is achieved through:

● Avoiding, minimizing, or mitigating disproportionately high and adverse

human health and environmental effects, including social and economic
effects, on minority and low-income populations.
● Ensuring the full and fair participation in the transportation decisionmaking
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.

What is the role of the MPO in incorporating Title VI/environmental

justice into transportation planning?

As the agency responsible for coordinating the regional transportation planning

process, the MPO must make sure that all segments of the population have been
involved with the planning process.

The impact of proposed transportation investments on underserved and

underrepresented population groups must be part of the evaluation process. In
particular, the following questions are important in addressing Title VI/
The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

environmental justice issues in the planning process:

1. How will the public participation process reach low-income and minority
communities? Specifically:
❍ How and where will information be disseminated?

❍ What information will be disseminated?

❍ Where and when will public meetings be held?

❍ At what point in the planning process do the meetings take place?

❍ Are other avenues being used to reach minority/low-income

communities (e.g., contacts with community leadership, community

advisory boards, focus groups, surveys, etc.)?
❍ How will the process elicit issues of particular concern to low-income

and minority communities?

2. What statistics are being collected about minority/low-income communities,
and how are they used to assess possible inequities? Actions to take include:
❍ Evaluating what information is already being collected.

❍ Identifying what further information can and should be collected.

❍ Analyzing the data to identify potential inequities.

❍ Developing measures to verify whether there is equitable distribution

of the benefits and burdens of transportation services.

3. How are information and data incorporated into decisionmaking? Questions
to ask include:
❍ How is Title VI/environmental justice considered in creating the

transportation plan?
❍ How is Title VI/environmental justice information collected by the MPO

and relayed to officials?

❍ Is additional information needed to adequately consider the impacts

of transportation decisions on low-income and minority communities?

❍ How are the specific interests of minority and low-income populations

addressed in transportation policies, plans, and projects?

What are the regulatory foundations for Title VI/environmental justice?

The legal foundation for environmental justice considerations is Title VI of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination in any program receiving federal
assistance.

The 1969 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and 23 USC 109(h) also require
that social, economic, and environmental consequences of programs be
considered when contemplating any action having federal support.

The FHWA and the FTA have jointly issued policy guidance on how Title VI/
environmental justice concerns can be incorporated into metropolitan
transportation planning.

Additional sources of information:

www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/ej2.htm provides extensive information and case

studies on Title VI/environmental justice, including the joint FHWA/FTA policy
guidance on incorporating Title VI/environmental justice concerns into
metropolitan transportation planning.

www.fta.dot.gov/office/planning/environj.html is another resource on FTA's website.

<<Back to Table of Contents

The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

TRANSPORTATION DEMAND MANAGEMENT (TDM)

What is TDM?

In its broadest sense, TDM is any action or set of actions designed to influence the
intensity, timing, and distribution of transportation demand, in order to reduce
traffic congestion or enhance mobility.

Such actions can include 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, and/or incorporating
growth management or traffic impact policies into local development decisions.

What is the role of the MPO in encouraging the use of TDM actions?

Transportation demand management strategies are part of the toolbox of actions

available to transportation planners for solving transportation problems. As such,
MPOs should make sure that TDM actions are considered in the planning process.

In areas where congestion management systems are required (populations greater

than 200,000), TDM actions are among the strategies that can reduce congestion
or enhance mobility.

What is the likely impact of TDM actions on transportation system

performance?

Available evidence suggests that well-conceived and aggressively promoted

demand reduction programs can decrease peak period traffic by as much as 10
to 15 percent. In fact, significantly higher demand reduction levels have been
achieved at several employment sites.

Demand reduction efforts, however, unless undertaken on a truly massive scale,

can have only a local impact. They can relieve spot congestion -- for example, at
entrances and exits to large employment centers -- but they cannot appreciably
reduce traffic on freeways and major arterials.

The only exception to this seems to be areawide road pricing practices, such as
tolls and "hot lanes," that (at least as modeled) appear to have significant influence
on travel demand.

Studies have shown that employer support for ride sharing, use of financial
incentives to shift travel to alternative modes, restricting the number and use of
parking spaces, and charging higher prices for parking are important supporting
strategies for changing traveler behavior.

Additional sources of information:

A Toolbox for Alleviating Traffic Congestion and Enhancing Mobility. Institute of

Transportation Engineers: Washington, D.C., 1997.

<<Back to Table of Contents

ACRONYMS AND GLOSSARY

The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

3-C Continuing, Cooperative and Comprehensive Planning Process

AASHTO American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
ADA Americans with Disabilities Act
ADT Average Daily Traffic (or Average Daily Trips)
AMPO Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations
APA American Planning Association
APTA American Public Transportation Association
BMP Best Management Practice
BMS Bridge Management System
BTS Bureau of Transportation Statistics
CAA Clean Air Act
CAAA Clean Air Act Amendments
CE Categorical Exclusions
CFR Code of Federal Regulations
CIP Capital Improvement Program
CMAQ Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Program
CMS Congestion Management System
COG Council of Governments
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
GPS Global Positioning Systems
HOV High-Occupancy Vehicle
HSR High-Speed Rail
I/M Inspection and Maintenance
IHS Interstate Highway System
IM Interstate Maintenance
ISTEA Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991
ITS Intelligent Transportation Systems
LOS Level of Service (traffic flow rating)
LRT Light Rail Transit
LRTP Long-Range Transportation Plan
M&O Management and Operations
MIS Major Investment Study
MOA Memorandum of Agreement
MOU Memorandum of Understanding
MPO Metropolitan Planning Organization
MSA Metropolitan Statistical Area
MTP Metropolitan Transportation Plan
NAA Nonattainment Area
NAAQS National Ambient Air Quality Standards
The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

NARC National Association of Regional Councils

NEPA National Environmental Policy Act of 1969
NHS National Highway System
PE Preliminary Engineering
PL Planning Funds
RFP Request for Proposal
ROD Record of Decision
ROW Right of Way
RR Railroad
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
STPP Surface Transportation Policy Project
TAC Technical Advisory Committee
TAZ Traffic Analysis Zone
TCM Transportation Control Measure
TDM Transportation Demand Management
TDP Transit Development Program
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
TSM Transportation System Management
UGB Urban Growth Boundary
UPWP Unified Planning Work Program
VMT Vehicle Miles Traveled
VOC Volatile Organic Compound
VPD Vehicles Per Day

<<Back to Table of Contents

A
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).

Arterial Street A class of street serving major traffic

movements (high-speed, high volume) for
travel between major points.
The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

Attainment Area An area considered to have air quality that

meets or exceeds the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) health standards
used in the Clean Air Act. Nonattainment
areas are areas considered not to have
met these standards for designated
pollutants. An area may be an attainment
area for one pollutant and a
nonattainment area for others.

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 Capital

Program of 49 U.S.C. 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 contamination.

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
version of the law. The 1990 Clean Air Act
Amendments (CAAA) are the most far-
reaching revisions of the 1970 law. The 1990
Clean Air Act Amendment is the most
recent version of the 1970 version of the
law. The 1990 amendments made major
changes in the Clean Air Act.

Congestion Management System (CMS) Systematic process for managing

congestion. 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 A categorical Federal-aid funding program

created with the ISTEA. Directs funding to
Improvement Program (CMAQ) 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-occupant
vehicles).

D
Department of Transportation (DOT) When used alone, indicates 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).
The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

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.

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 assists communities in
developing and improving mass
transportation equipment, facilities,
techniques, and methods with the
cooperation of public and private mass
transportation companies. The FTA also
assists States and local governments and
their authorities in financing areawide
urban mass transportation systems that are
to be operated by public or private mass
transportation companies as decided by
local needs.

Financial Planning The process of defining and evaluating

funding sources, sharing the information,
and deciding how to allocate the funds.

Financial Programming A short-term commitment of funds to

specific projects identified in the regional
Transportation Improvement Program.

Fine Particulates Particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in

size (PM-2.5). A micron is one millionth of a
meter. See "Particulate Matter" below.

Fiscal Constraint Making sure that a given program or

project can reasonably expect to receive
funding within the time allotted for its
implementation.

Formula Capital Grants Federal transit funds for transit operators;

allocation of funds overseen by FTA.
The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

G
Geographic Information System (GIS) Computerized data management system
designed to capture, store, retrieve,
analyze, and display geographically
referenced information.

H
High-Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) Vehicles carrying two or more people. The
number that constitutes an HOV for the
purposes of HOV highway lanes may be
designated differently by different
transportation agencies.

I
Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) The application of advanced technologies
to improve the efficiency and safety of
transportation systems.

Intermodal The ability to connect, and the connections

between, modes of transportation.

Intermodal Surface Transportation Legislative initiative by the U.S. Congress

that restructured funding for transportation
Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA) programs; authorized an increased role for
regional planning commissions/MPOs in
funding decisions; and required
comprehensive regional and statewide
long-term transportation plans.

Interstate Highway System (IHS) The system of highways that connects the
principal metropolitan areas, cities, and
industrial centers of the United States. Also
connects the U.S. to internationally
significant routes in Canada and Mexico.

L
Land Use Refers to the manner in which portions of
land or the structures on them are used, i.e.
commercial, residential, retail, industrial, etc.

Long-Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) A document resulting from regional or

statewide collaboration and consensus on
a region's or state's transportation system,
and serving as the defining vision for the
region's or state's transportation systems
and services. In metropolitan areas, the
plan indicates all of the transportation
improvements scheduled for funding over
the next 20 years.

M
Maintenance Area Maintenance area is any geographic
region of the United States previously
designated nonattainment pursuant to the
CAA Amendments of 1990 and
subsequently redesignated to attainment
subject to the requirement to develop a
maintenance plan under section 175A of
the CAA, as amended.
The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

Metropolitan Planning Organization Regional policy body, required in urbanized

areas with populations over 50,000, and
(MPO) designated by local officials and the
governor of the state. Responsible in
cooperation with the state and other
transportation providers for carrying out the
metropolitan transportation planning
requirements of federal highway and transit
legislation.

Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP) The official intermodal transportation plan

that is developed and adopted through
the metropolitan transportation planning
process for the metropolitan planning area,
in accordance with 23 U.S.C. 134, 23 U.S.C.
135 and 49 U.S.C. 5303.

Mobile Source Mobile sources include motor vehicles,

aircraft, seagoing vessels, and other
transportation modes. The mobile source-
related pollutants are carbon monoxide
(CO), hydrocarbons (HC), nitrogen oxides
(NOx), and particulate matter (PM-10 and
PM 2.5).

Mode A specific form of transportation, such as

automobile, subway, bus, rail, or air.

N
National Ambient Air Quality Standards Federal standards that set allowable
concentrations and exposure limits for
(NAAQS) various pollutants. The EPA developed the
standards in response to a requirement of
the CAA. Air quality standards have been
established for the following six criteria
pollutants: ozone (or smog), carbon
monoxide, particulate matter, nitrogen
dioxide, lead, and sulfur dioxide.

National Environmental Policy Act of Established a national environmental policy

requiring that any project using federal
1969 (NEPA) funding or requiring federal approval,
including transportation projects, examine
the effects of proposed and alternative
choices on the environment before a
federal decision is made.

National ITS Architecture A systems framework to guide the planning

and deployment of ITS infrastructure. The
national ITS architecture is a blueprint for
the coordinated development of ITS
technologies in the U.S. It is unlikely that any
single metropolitan area or state would
plan to implement the entire national ITS
architecture.

Nonattainment A geographic region of the United States

that the EPA has designated as not
meeting the air quality standards.

O
The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

Ozone (03) Ozone is a colorless gas with a sweet odor.

Ozone is not a direct emission from
transportation sources. It is a secondary
pollutant formed when VOCs and NOx
combine in the presence of sunlight. Ozone
is associated with smog or haze conditions.
Although the ozone in the upper
atmosphere protects us from harmful
ultraviolet rays, ground-level ozone
produces an unhealthy environment in
which to live. Ozone is created by human
and natural sources.

P
Particulate Matter (PM-10 and PM 2.5) Particulate matter consists of airborne solid
particles and liquid droplets. Particulate
matter may be in the form of fly ash, soot,
dust, fog, fumes, etc. These particles are
classified as "coarse" if they are smaller than
10 microns, or "fine" if they are smaller than
2.5 microns. Coarse airborne particles are
produced during grinding operations, or
from the physical disturbance of dust by
natural air turbulence processes, such as
wind. Fine particles can be a by-product of
fossil fuel combustion, such as diesel and
bus engines. Fine particles can easily reach
remote lung areas, and their presence in
the lungs is linked to serious respiratory
ailments such as asthma, chronic bronchitis,
and aggravated coughing. Exposure to
these particles may aggravate other
medical conditions such as heart disease
and emphysema and may cause
premature death. In the environment,
particulate matter contributes to diminished
visibility and particle deposition (soiling).

Performance Measures Indicators of how well the transportation

system is performing with regard to such
things as average speed, reliability of travel,
and accident rates. Used as feedback in
the decisionmaking process.

Planning Funds (PL) Primary source of funding for metropolitan

planning designated by the FHWA.

Public Participation The active and meaningful involvement of

the public in the development of
transportation plans and programs.

R
Regional Councils of Government/ Regional councils of government are
multipurpose, multijurisdictional, public
Planning Organizations organizations. Created by local
governments to respond to federal and
state programs, regional councils bring
together participants at multiple levels of
government to foster regional cooperation,
planning and service delivery. They have a
variety of names, ranging from councils of
government to planning commissions to
development districts.

S
The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

Smart Growth Smart growth is a set of policies and

programs designed by local governments
to protect, preserve, and economically
develop established communities and
natural and cultural resources. Smart
growth encompasses a holistic view of
development.

Sources Refers to the origin of air contaminants.

Can be point (coming from a defined site)
or non-point (coming from many diffuse
sources). Stationary sources include
relatively large, fixed facilities such as
power plants, chemical process industries,
and petroleum refineries. Area sources are
small, stationary, non-transportation sources
that collectively contribute to air pollution,
and include such sources as dry cleaners
and bakeries, surface coating operations,
home furnaces, and crop burning. Mobile
sources include on-road vehicles such as
cars, trucks, and buses; and off-road
sources such as trains, ships, airplanes,
boats, lawnmowers, and construction
equipment.

Sprawl Urban form that connotatively depicts the

movement of people from the central city
to the suburbs. Concerns associated with
sprawl include loss of farmland and open
space due to low-density land
development, increased public service
costs, and environmental degradation as
well as other concerns associated with
transportation.

Stakeholders Individuals and organizations involved in or

affected by the transportation planning
process. Include federal/state/local
officials, MPOs, transit operators, freight
companies, shippers, and the general
public.

State Implementation Plan (SIP) Produced by the State environmental

agency, not the MPO. A plan mandated by
the CAA that contains procedures to
monitor, control, maintain, and enforce
compliance with the NAAQS. Must be
taken into account in the transportation
planning process.

State Infrastructure Bank (SIB) A revolving fund mechanism for financing a

wide variety of highway and transit projects
through loans and credit enhancement.
SIBs are designed to complement
traditional Federal-aid highway and transit
grants by providing States increased
flexibility for financing infrastructure
investments.

State Planning and Research Funds Primary source of funding for statewide
long-range planning.
(SPR)

State Transportation Improvement A staged, multi-year, statewide, intermodal

program of transportation projects,
Program (STIP) consistent with the statewide transportation
plan and planning processes as well as
metropolitan plans, TIPs, and processes.

Statewide Transportation Plan The official statewide intermodal

transportation plan that is developed
through the statewide transportation
planning process.
The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

Stationary Source Relatively large, fixed sources of emissions (i.

e., power plants, chemical process
industries, petroleum refining and
petrochemical operations, or wood
processing).

Surface Transportation Program (STP) Federal-aid highway funding program that

funds a broad range of surface
transportation capital needs, including
many roads, transit, sea and airport access,
vanpool, bike, and pedestrian facilities.

T
Telecommuting Communicating electronically (by
telephone, computer, fax, etc.) with an
office, either from home or from another
site, instead of traveling to it physically.

Title VI Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Prohibits discrimination in any program
receiving federal assistance.

Transportation Conformity Process to assess the compliance of any

transportation plan, program, or project
with air quality implementation plans. The
conformity process is defined by the Clean
Air Act.

Transportation Control Measures (TCM) Transportation strategies that affect traffic

patterns or reduce vehicle use to reduce
air pollutant emissions. These may include
HOV lanes, provision of bicycle facilities,
ridesharing, telecommuting, etc. Such
actions may be included in a SIP if needed
to demonstrate attainment of the NAAQS.

Transportation Demand Management Programs designed to reduce demand for

transportation through various means, such
(TDM) as the use of transit and of alternative work
hours.

Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Authorized in 1998, TEA-21 authorized
federal funding for transportation
Century (TEA-21) investment for fiscal 1998-2003.
Approximately $217 billion in funding was
authorized, the largest amount in history,
which is used for highway, transit, and other
surface transportation programs.

Transportation Improvement Program A document prepared by a metropolitan

planning organization that lists projects to
(TIP) be funded with FHWA/FTA funds for the
next one-to-three-year period.

Transportation Infrastructure Finance A federal credit program under which the

DOT may provide three forms of credit
and Innovation Act of 1998 (TIFIA) assistance - secured (direct) loans, loan
guarantees, and standby lines of credit - for
surface transportation projects of national
or regional significance. The fundamental
goal is to leverage federal funds by
attracting substantial private and non-
federal co-investment in critical
improvements to the nation's surface
transportation system.

Transportation Management Area (TMA) All urbanized areas over 200,000 in

population, and any other area that
requests such designation.
The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

Trust Fund A fund credited with receipts that are held

in trust by the government and earmarked
by law for use in carrying out specific
purposes and programs in accordance
with an agreement or a statute.

U
Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) The management plan for the
(metropolitan) planning program. Its
purpose is to coordinate the planning
activities of all participants in the planning
process.

Urbanized Area Area that contains a city of 50,000 or more

population plus incorporated surrounding
areas meeting size or density criteria as
defined by the U.S. Census.

<<Back to Table of Contents

APPENDIX: FEDERAL-AID TRANSPORTATION PROGRAMS

A modified version of the following tables is found in Financing the Statewide Plan: A Guidebook,
Federal Highway Administration, November 1999: www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep10/state/04703r04.pdf

Federal Transportation Programs and Revenue Sources

Mode Major Transportation Federal Revenue Sources
Programs

Administered ● Interstate ● Highway Trust Fund with

by FHWA Maintenance funds from federal:
● National Highway ■ Motor Fuel Tax

System (15.44 cents/gallon

● Bridge of gasoline; varies
Replacement and for other fuel types)
Rehabilitation ■ Truck and Trailer

● Congestion Tax
Mitigation and Air ■ Tire Tax

Quality ■ Heavy Vehicle Use

Improvement (in air Tax

quality non- ■ Tire Tax Quality

attainment and Improvement

maintenance
areas)
● Surface
Transportation
Program (includes
transportation
enhancements
and planning
funds)
● National Corridor
Planning and
Development and
Coordinated
Border
Infrastructure
● High Priority
(Demonstration)
The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

Projects
● Intelligent
Transportation
Systems
● Minimum
Guarantee
● Federal Lands
Highway Program
● National Scenic
Byways Program
(discretionary for
use on nationally
designated routes
only)
● Recreational Trails

Administered ● Capital (Section ● Mass Transit Account of

by FTA 5309) the Highway Trust Fund
● Urbanized Area with funds from motor fuel
Formula (Section tax (2 cents/gallon)
5307) ● General Fund
● Other than ● Interest
Urbanized Area
Formula (Section
5311)
● CMAQ (only when
funds flexed from
FHWA)
● Formula Grants for
Special Needs of
Elderly Individuals
and Persons With
Disabilities (Section
5310)
● Clean Fuels
Formula Grant
Program (Section
5308)
● Over-the-Road Bus
Program (Section
3038)
● Over-the-Road Bus
Accessibility (Rural
Transportation
Accessibility
Incentive Program)

Administered ● Federal Airport and ● Aviation Fuel Tax

by FAA Airway Trust Fund, ● Air Freight Tax
which is the source ● Passenger Ticket Tax
for: ● International Departure
- Airport Tax
development
grants
- Airport planning
grants
The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

Administered ● Light Density Rail ● General Fund

by FTA, FHWA, Line Pilot Projects
FRA ● Federal Railroad
Administration
Grants (planning,
rail service
continuation,
rehabilitation,
provision of
substitute service)
● CMAQ (only when
funds flexed from
FHWA)

Administered ● Magnetic ● Highway Trust Fund

by FRA & FTA Levitation ● General Fund
Transportation ● General Fund (relies on
Technology specific capital
Deployment appropriations)
● High-Speed Rail ● Passenger Fares
● Amtrak ● Food/Beverage Revenue

Administered ● Army Corps of ● Fuel taxes paid by inland

by MARAD & Engineers water carriers
FHWA - Construction, ● Ad valorem taxes paid by
operation, and users of ports
maintenance of ● Highway Trust Fund
waterways, locks
and harbors
● Construction of
Ferry Boats and
Terminal Facilities

<<Back to Table of Contents

Major Federal-Aid Highway Programs Under TEA-21

Program Eligible Uses Federal Share of
Funded Projects

Bridge Replacement and Replacement and 80%

Rehabilitation rehabilitation of any
public bridge.

Congestion Mitigation A wide range of projects 80%

and Air Quality in air quality
nonattainment and
maintenance areas for
ozone, carbon
monoxide, and small
particulate matter, which
reduce transportation-
related emissions.
The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

Interstate Maintenance Resurfacing, restoring, 90%;80% for added

and rehabilitating routes capacity in
on the interstate highway attainment areas.
system, but no new
capacity except HOV or
auxiliary lanes in
nonattainment areas.

Metropolitan Planning All planning activities are Federal participation

(PL) Funds eligible (e.g., modeling, is 80% unless the
air quality analysis, public Secretary determines
outreach, environmental that changing this
analysis). contribution level is
warranted.

National Highway Interstate routes, major 80%

System (NHS) urban and rural arterials,
connectors to major
intermodal facilities,
national defense
network. Fifty percent of
NHS funds can be freely
flexed to STP; 100% with
USDOT approval.

Surface Transportation Broad range of surface 80%

(STP) transportation capital
needs, including many
roads, transit, sea, and
airport access, vanpool,
bike, and pedestrian
facilities.

<<Back to Table of Contents

Federal Transit Administration Urban-Related Programs

Program Eligible Uses Federal Share
of Funded
Projects /
Services
Capital Investment Grants and New starts or 80%; 90% for
Loans extensions to existing incremental costs
Section 5309 fixed guideway of vehicle-related
systems (40%); comply equipment.
with CAAA and ADA.

Fixed guideway
modernization (40%).

Bus and related

facilities (20%).

Clean Fuels (Set-aside before Purchase, lease of 80%

allocation to areas) clean fuel buses and
Section 5308 facilities;
improvements to
existing facilities to
accommodate clean
fuel vehicles.
The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

Job Access and Reverse Commute Capital and operating 50%

Grants costs of job access
Section 5310 transportation
services. Promotion of
special services,
programs.

Other than Urbanized Areas (6.37%) Capital and operating 80%; 90% for
Section 5311 expenditures in non- incremental costs
urbanized areas of vehicle-related
(under 50,000). equipment to
comply with
CAAA and ADA.

Over-the-Road Bus Accessibility Eligible Capital 90%

(Rural Transportation Accessibility Projects include
Incentive Program) adding lifts and other
Section 3038 accessory
components. Eligible
training costs include
developing training
materials or providing
training.

Special Needs of the Elderly and Capital assistance to 80%; 90% for
Individuals with Disabilities (2.4%) organizations incremental costs
Section 5310 providing specialized of vehicle-related
services for the elderly equipment to
and disabled. comply with
CAAA and ADA.

Urbanized Areas (91.23%) Capital and operating 80%; 90% for

Section 5307 expenditures. incremental costs
50,000-200,000 of vehicle-related
equipment to
comply with
CAAA and ADA.
Over 200,000 Capital and
preventive
maintenance; 1%
must go to transit
enhancements.

<<Back to Table of Contents

Funding Transferability Under TEA-21

Program Transferability
Bridge Replacement and ● Up to 50% of Bridge Program
Rehabilitation apportionments may be transferred to
NHS, IM, STP, and/or CMAQ.
● Funds set aside for bridges not on federal-
aid highways (off-system bridges) may not
be transferred unless a determination is
made that the state has inadequate
needs to justify expenditure of the full
amount of the set aside funds.
The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

Congestion Mitigation and ● States may transfer up to 50% of the

Air Quality (CMAQ) amount by which the CMAQ
apportionment for the fiscal year exceeds
the amount that would have been
apportioned for that fiscal year if the
CMAQ program had been funded at
$1.35 billion annually to STP, NHS, IM and/
or Bridge Replacement/Rehabilitation.
Transferred funds may only be used in
nonattainment and maintenance areas.

Interstate Construction (IC) ● A state other than Massachusetts may

transfer an amount equivalent to the
federal share of the cost to complete its
open-to-traffic Interstate segments
included in the latest Interstate Cost
Estimate (ICE) from its IC funds to NHS and/
or IM.The work on which the transfer is
based will be removed from the ICE and
will lose its IC fund eligibility.
● States may transfer IC funds remaining
after all work included in the ICE has been
fully financed to the NHS.
● States with remaining completion work on
Interstate gaps or open-to traffic segments
may relinquish IC fund eligibility and
transfer to the NHS amounts equivalent to
the federal share of the cost of such work
in the most recent ICE.

Interstate Maintenance (IM) ● States may transfer up to 50% of IM

apportionments to NHS, STP, CMAQ, and/
or Bridge Replacement/Rehabilitation.

National Highway System ● States may freely transfer up to 50% of NHS

(NHS) apportionments to IM, STP, National
Highway System (NHS),CMAQ, and/or
Bridge Replacement/Rehabilitation.
● States may transfer up to 100% of NHS
apportionments to STP, if approved by the
Secretary of Transportation and if sufficient
notice and opportunity for public
comment is given.

Surface Transportation ● Transportation Enhancement (TE) set aside

Program (STP) states may transfer up to 25% Program
(STP) of the difference between the
amount set aside for TE for the fiscal year
and the amount set aside for TE for FY 1997
to IM, CMAQ, NHS, and/or Bridge
Replacement/Rehabilitation.
● Safety set aside funds equivalent to the
funds made available for FY 1991 for the
Hazard Elimination and Railway-Highway
Crossing Programs may not be transferred.
Up to 25% of the difference between the
remainder of the safety set aside for the
The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

fiscal year -- the "optional safety" funds --

and the comparable amount for FY 2007
may be transferred to IM, CMAQ, NHS,
and/or Bridge Replacement/
Rehabilitation.
● Suballocation to areas—STP funds
allocated to sub-state areas (rural,
urbanized areas over 200,000 population)
may not be transferred.
● Transfers to STP from IM, NHS, CMAQ, and
Bridge Programs will not be subject to
further STP set asides or suballocations.

<<Back to Table of Contents

Innovative Highway Financing Strategies/Tools

Cash Flow Approaches
Tool Approach
Advance Construction Allows states to independently raise
upfront capital required for a project
and preserve eligibility for future
federal funding for the project.
Projects must be designated as
advance construction projects to be
eligible.

Bond Cost Reimbursement: Grant State-issued short-term note or long-

Anticipation Revenue Vehicle (GARVEE) term bond that uses future federal
funds to support payment of principal
and interest. Issuance and insurance
costs are also eligible. This is generally
used in combination with advance
construction.

Flexible: Federal Land Management Funds from other federal agencies

Agency Funds may count toward the non-federal
matching share for recreational trails
and transportation enhancement
projects.

Flexible: Federal Lands Funds from a DOT's Federal Lands

Highway Program may count toward
non-federal match for projects within
or providing access to federal or
Indian lands.

Flexible: Publicly-Owned Land Permits donations of publicly owned

property to count toward non-federal
match on all federal-aid highway
projects.

Partial Conversion of Advance Form of advance construction; state

Construction only converts, obligates, or receives
reimbursement for part of its funding
for an eligible project in a given year.
States no longer have to wait until the
full amount of obligation authority is
available.
The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

Program Level For STP projects, allows federal share

for funds to be matched across the
full program, not on a project-by-
project basis.

Tailored (Variable) Match Allows non-federal share to vary over

project life, so long as the ultimate
matching share is preserved over
time.

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Tolls and Other Income-Generating Tools

Tool Approach
Right-of-Way Income This allows income from right-of-way sales and leases to
be used for Title 23 (highway) purposes, as currently
allowed for airspace income. ISTEA Section 1044 Toll
allows states to recieve investment credit for certain toll
revenue Investment Credits expenditures, which can be
applied toward the non-federal matching share of all
ISTEA programs.

<<Back to Table of Contents

Leveraging Tools
Tool Approach
Bonds and Debt Costs, Issuance Allows states to use federal funds for bond
principal, interest "Instrument Financing" costs,
and insurance on eligible projects.

Federal Share on Toll Projects Expanded use of federal funds for toll projects
to include construction of new facilities,
resurfacing, restoration, and rehabilitation of
existing facilities and conversion of free
facilities. Private facilities are now also eligible.

Flexible Match Allows states to apply private donations of

materials, labor, or assets and private funds
toward the state or local match for federal-aid
projects.

ISTEA Section 1012 Loans Removes the limitation that federal funds can
be used only once. Allows states to loan
federal funds to leverage any eligible
investment; the state can use the funds again
once they have been paid back.

<<Back to Table of Contents

Credit Tools
Tool Approach
Rail Credit Pilot This provides direct federal loans and
loan guarantees for rail and intermodal
projects.
The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

State Infrastructure Bank States could allocate up to 10% of their

ISTEA/TEA-21 apportionment to
capitalize the state bank. Funds can be
used to provide loans for projects.This
can be structured as a revolving loan
fund, where loans are recycled for new
projects.

State infrastructure banks can provide

third-party guarantees to projects to
ensure that there is sufficient revenue
to pay project costs or debt service.

Surface Transportation Credit Program This provides direct federal loans, loan
guarantees, and lines of credit for large
surface transportation programs of
national significance.

TIFIA (Transportation Infrastructure A federal credit program under which

Finance and Innovation Act of 1998) the USDOT may provide three forms of
credit assistance -- secured (direct)
loans, loan guarantees, and standby
lines of credit -- for surface
transportation projects of national or
regional significance.The fundamental
goal is to leverage federal funds by
attracting substantial private and non-
federal co-investment in critical
improvements to the nation's surface
transportation system.

<<Back to Table of Contents

A Publication of the Transportation Planning Capacity Building Program

Federal Highway Administration

Federal Transit Administration

For More Information Contact:

The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues

Federal Highway Administration Federal Transit Administration

Office of Planning (HEPP) Office of Planning and Environment (TPE)
400 7th Street, SW, Room 3301 400 7th Street, SW, Room 9413
Washington, DC 20590 Washington, DC 20590
(202) 366-0106 (202) 366-6385

U.S. Department of Transportation

FHWA-EP-03-041

http://www.planning.dot.gov/