1. Chapter 5. The Transportation-Planning Process
Chapter objectives covered in CE361: By the end of this chapter the student will be able to:
Explain how the transportation-planning process is used to help make public investment decisions (only this objective is covered in this class)
Use economic analysis to determine if a proposed project’s benefits justify its costs
Use economic analysis to select the best alternative to meet a specified objective
Rank alternatives using multiple criteria, including non-economic factors
The majority of Chapter 4 and Chapter 5 will be covered in CEEn 565 Urban Transportation Planning taught by Dr. Schultz. (It will be offered in fall semester every year.) If you are planning to take CEEn 565 as a technical elective, keep this textbook.
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2. Scenario – SR361 Congestion Mitigation Alternatives
Developers  A by-pass alternative
Downtown merchants  Widen SR361 from a two-lane to four-lane highway
Environmental groups  A BRT & improved bus routes
Taxpayer watchdog groups  Do-nothing
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3. “Think about it” in P.5.2: Alternatives are a Benefit or a Cost to these stakeholders?
Drivers: thru traffic
Drivers: local traffic
Residents along current road
Developers
Downtown merchants
Environmental groups
Taxpayers
Government agencies
By-pass
B. Widening
C. BRT
D. Do nothing
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4. Primary purpose of the planning effort
- To generate information useful to decision makers for the specific types of decisions they are facing. Given that so many agencies and groups are involved with metropolitan-level transportation decision making, a regional perspective is needed on how these activities fit together.
Utah, Wasatch, Summit Counties
MAG’s 2040 Transportation Plan
Demand Forecasting
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5. 5.1 The transportation-planning process
It is intended to furnish unbiased information about the effects that the proposed transportation project will have on the community and on its expected users.
It is intended to give the appropriate information to those who will be responsible for deciding whether the transportation project should go forward.
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6. Figure 5.2 explained
Vision: “A balanced multimodal/intermodal transportation system”
Goal: “Provide safe, environmentally sensitive, and efficient mobility choices for people and goods; and integrate with and support the social, economic, and physical land use development of the region and state”
Objectives: Offer ways to measure implementation of the transportation plan using MOEs.
Example: Relieve traffic congestion and minimize travel time. MOE = Reduced congestion on many corridors measured by travel time. (i.g., reduce travel time by 20%)
Problem identification: “This highway is congested”
Find alternatives: Widening, public transit, by-pass…
Analysis & evaluation: Projects meeting the expected funding are added to a multi-year list called the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP)
Plan approval: Projects in TIP are ranked and selected
Program development: Scheduling of the projects in the TIP
Initiative development & operation: Operational elements of a completed project are implemented.
Monitoring: Performance measurement continues
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7. 5.1 The transportation-planning process (cont.)
It has become “institutionalized,” meaning federal guidelines, regulations, and requirements for local planning are often driving forces behind existing planning methods.
Transportation planning in metropolitan areas is a collaborative process, led by the metropolitan planning organizations (MPO) and other key stakeholders in the regional transportation system. MPOs in our area include the Mountainland Association of Governments and the Wasatch Front Regional Council.
Or, non-profit organizations like Envision Utah encourage participation of businesses and residents. MPOs were set up by the ISTEA of 1991 (the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) of 1991).
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8. The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) requires consideration of seven broad areas:
Support the economic vitality of the metropolitan area
Increase the safety and security of the transportation system for motorized and non-motorized users
Increase the accessibility and mobility options available to people and for freight
Protect and enhance the environment, promote energy conservation, and improve quality of life
Enhance the integration and connectivity of the transportation system, across and between modes, for people and freight
Promote efficient system management and operation
Emphasize the preservation of the existing transportation system
Current one: FAST Act (Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act): 2015 by Pres. Obama
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9. 5.1.1 A typical structure for the transportation planning process
“Transportation planning in metropolitan areas is a collaborative process, led by the metropolitan planning organizations (MPO) and other key stakeholders in the regional transportation system.”
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10. MPO’s 5 core functions in the planning process
Establish a setting (for fair and impartial decision making environment)
Evaluate transportation alternatives
Maintain a Long-Range Transportation Plan (LRTP): funding over the next 20 years.
Develop a Transportation Improvement Program (TIP): To be funded over the next 1- to 3-year period.
Involve the public in the above four core functions.
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Visit the MAG website.

11. 5.1.2 Involving the public and others (Stakeholders)
Transportation facilities affect a large number of people. And, obviously, the transportation-planning process is ultimately a public process. Many public hearings and meetings are held before certain alternatives are selected.
An effective early planning strategy is to identify (and notify) all possible “stakeholders.” A stakeholder is a person, a group of persons, a company, or an organization that has a stake in the decisions being made.
“Even where community consensus cannot be reached, a sufficient level of consent to a particular solution means that a satisfactory outcome has been obtained.”
See Table 5.1. for sample stakeholders.
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12. Table 5.1 Stakeholders for Example 5.1
List at least six stakeholders who need to be involved in the planning process for the SR361 project described in this chapter’s Scenario. What might their concerns be?
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13. Table 5.1 continued
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