CP6361- Regional Transportation Planning and Administration

Course Description
 

The role of metropolitan transportation planning has evolved over the last forty-seven years into one that is inextricably linked to the economic well-being of a region. Nowhere is this more evident than in the recent Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) of 1991. This legislation establishes the role of the transportation plan and the significance of regional transportation modeling and administration. According to ISTEA, the metropolitan transportation plan is the official intramodal transportation document developed through the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) [Rule, "58 FR 58065 (October 28, 1993)].

The Regional Transportation Plan must include both long and short range strategies and actions that lead to the development of an intermodal management system that facilitates the efficient movement of people and goods [Rule 58, FR 58070 (October 28, 1993)]. ISTEA requires that the regional transportation planning process include the following:

• Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) requirements for the conduct of Major Investment Studies (MIS)

• Planning done over a twenty year time horizon

• Transportation Control Measures (TCM) for metropolitan areas that are classified as non-attainment areas such as the Atlanta Region

• A metropolitan transportation plan and a Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) that conform to the State Implementation Plan (SIP)

The course will address the administrative, political, methodological, and social issues underlying the regional transportation planning process. This will be supplemented by case studies of areas with progressive approaches to regional transportation planning.

Regionalism has reemerged as a primary vehicle for the delivery of a variety of urban services including transportation, sewer and water, utilities, economic development activities and many others. In fact, it is only at the regional level that many issues can be addressed effectively. The course will introduce students to the role of regional transportation planning and the methods useful in the study of transportation problems at the regional level. This includes the formulation, analysis and testing of hypotheses and models of social, economic, and physical phenomena of cities and regions. This overview of the theoretical and practical issues affecting regional transportation planning will be linked to local area planning.

Course Topics

• An overview of regional planning and analysis (National and International)

• The regional transportation planning process versus local area planning

• Organizational and administrative structure for delivery of regional transportation services (Europe and the United States)

• Theoretical and practical models of regional transportation planning and organization

• Regional Travel Demand Modeling

The Generic Regional Model

ISTEA and Travel Demand Modeling (Case Studies)

• Social, economic, and environmental issues affecting regional transportation planning

• The impact of regional transportation planning on land use and conformity with local area land use plans

• Relief and prevention of congestion

• Transportation needs identified by the management systems

• Expansion and enhancement of transit facilities

• Freight Movement

• Public Participation