Download or read book Rural Planning Organizations Their Role in Transportation Planning and Project Development in Texas written by John H. Overman and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 145 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While a formal planning and programming process is established for urbanized areas through Metropolitan Planning Organizations, no similar requirement has been established for rural areas. Currently, under the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users, states are required to consult with non-metropolitan local officials in transportation planning and programming. The consultation process between state Departments of Transportation (DOT) and non-metropolitan local officials is not prescribed in the planning rules, and consultation practices vary widely among each state's DOT. Historically, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has worked in cooperation with each individual rural county to plan and program projects. This has often resulted in a county-by-county project lists that the TxDOT districts must try to fashion into a regional strategy or plan. A need exists to examine the concept of rural planning organizations and research their use in Texas to determine if a formal rural planning organization may offer a means to improve transportation planning and programming. The objective of this research is to identify and examine rural planning organizations, their structure and operation, and their role in transportation planning and programming. The project will include a review of current processes used by TxDOT and other agencies to plan and program transportation projects in rural areas.

Download or read book Rural Planning Organization Workshop Materials written by John H. Overman and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Performance Planning for Rural Planning Organizations written by Kristine Marie Miller and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recent federal rules place increased emphasis on performance-based management of the multimodal transportation system and require the use of performance based methods in state, metropolitan, and non-metropolitan transportation planning and programming. The Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act and the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act emphasizes seven areas including: safety, infrastructure condition, congestion reduction, system reliability, freight movement and economic vitality, environmental sustainability, and reduced project delivery. Establishing a common set of performance measures allows for the evaluation and comparison of different projects and transportation corridors for both current and future conditions, and translates data and statistics into a form that the public and decision makers can easily understand. This research developed a framework, performance measures, tools, and guidance to conduct performance-based transportation planning and programming in non-metropolitan areas of the state and support Rural Transportation Planning Organizations.

Download or read book Enhanced Planning Review of the Dallas Fort Worth Metropolitan Area written by Robert Brodesky and published by . This book was released on 1996 with total page 58 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book An Assessment of Public Involvement for the 2006 Regional Transportation Coordination Planning Process in Selected Texas Cities written by Gwen Goodwin and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 46 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Rural Transportation Planning Guidebook written by Ronald E. Goodwin and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Integrating Land Use and Transportation Planning written by John Thomas Kennedy (active 2010) and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 140 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The role played by Metropolitan Planning Organizations in regional transportation planning across the United States is steadily growing, and with Congressional reauthorization looming, experts expect that role to further expand. Increasingly, MPOs are looking to land use and transportation planning integration as a logical step to address multiple pressing issues, including congestion and air quality. This report investigates selected regional entities across the nation that are engaging in various efforts to influence land use in addition to transportation facilities. Such efforts are usually referred to as "sustainable development," "smart growth," or "livable communities." Historical investigation, combined with a look at agency structure, politics, and regional growth inform the discussion. Stakeholder interviews from each agency provide a unique perspective of challenges from professional staff themselves. Several trends are identified in best practices. Comprehensive findings are developed in the context of institutions, politics, finances, and technology. Relationships with the state department of transportation, strong leadership and goal establishment, dedicated sources of funding, and innovation in activity center visualization, are found to be key trends in MPOs that are producing successful outcomes in their land use and transportation integration programs.

Download or read book Role of Regional Planning Organizations in Transportation Planning Across Boundaries written by Haley Peckett and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 61 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Volpe Center conducted research for the Federal Highway Administration Office of Planning that explores the implications of Regional Planning Organizations (RPO) engaging in transportation planning partnerships and projects of megaregions significance. The research assesses the benefits of this participation to rural areas and to their State and metropolitan partners, specifically in the areas of economic development, freight, and natural resources. Considering the limited resources of RPO staff, the research describes the institutional barriers to entry for RPOs in cross-regional transportation planning and considers partnerships that may lead to greater involvement in megaregions initiatives. Through three case studies, the paper outlines the benefits for rural areas, including economic and transportation benefits, and suggests recommendations and best practices for RPOs to consider in partnering with metropolitan planning organizations and State Departments of Transportation. The recommendations also demonstrate how transportation planning can be the mechanism to support rural participation in plans and projects at a megaregions scale.

Download or read book Planning for Transportation in Rural Areas written by and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 108 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Enhancing Transit Communication in Texas written by Katherine F. Turnbull and published by . This book was released on 1995 with total page 86 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Identifying the Local and Regional Travel Effects of Activity Centers in the Austin Texas Area written by Wenjia Zhang and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 69 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Promoting Smart Growth to Texas written by Brian S. Bochner and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 24 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Smart growth is planned growth that integrates land use and transportation to create urban development that conserves resources and improves quality of life while providing adequate mobility. This project initiated implementation of previous research findings through a series of workshops and through the development ofthis guideline report for Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) consideration. The guidelines in this report could facilitate TxDOT support of local smart growth programs where initiated by local agencies, and could help TxDOT support local smart growth initiatives through typical TxDOT projects or the enhanced TxDOT policies. The report explains how smart growth can be an asset to TxDOT, and relates how basic smart growth principles are consistent with TxDOT's goals under its Strategic Plan.

Download or read book Performance Measurement in Small Texas Metropolitan Planning Organizations written by Devin Moore and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 99 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Performance measurement has grown in importance within transportation agencies due to decreased and stipulated funding and federal focus on system performance. A shift has occurred in how transportation planning and decision making historically took place including a rise in prominence of the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO). The public, state and local agencies, and other stakeholders are mutually served by the regional MPO to assure that transportation funding allocation and project selection meet the regional needs and coordinate the transportation planning process to provide a seamless transportation system. The recent Federal transportation funding program MAP-21 establishes performance measures for each MPO in coordination with the State department of transportation (DOT). Small MPOs, those which serve populations of less than 200,000 people, differ vastly from larger MPOs in the amount of funds available and authority to allocate funds as well as the resources that are available to perform a performance measurement program. Small MPOs often lack the resources to identify and use performance measures, even though performance measurement at the MPO level has promoted efficient decision-making in large MPOs. This research strives to find by interviews and surveys of the small Texas MPOs if the use of certain performance measures in small MPOs can be financially upheld with limited resources and budget. This thesis is timely in relation to the MAP-21 performance measurement requirements as it shows that performance measurement is, at this time, difficult to impossible based on small Texas MPOs' very limited resources. Due to the estimated costs of basic performance measurement programs and the difficulty in quantifying the tangible benefits, the use of performance measurements in small Texas MPOs is unlikely. Small Texas MPOs listed potential performance measurement program benefits such as: project prioritization, funding allocation, and showing the public that professional planning is useful. It was found that any potential benefits of performance measurements are limited when dealing with small communities with fairly obvious transportation problems. The estimated cost of a basic performance measurement program in a small Texas MPO was determined to be around $150,000 per year. This cost exceeded both their abilities to fund a performance measurement program and the perceived benefits of such an effort. This research suggests the following performance measures are most likely to be beneficial when proven cost effective: V/C ratios, travel times, crash rates (safety) and VMT. These measures are often easily accessible and could be beneficial in the long-range planning of a local transportation system. However, fiscal and staffing limitations, along with realities of planning for a small community make the use of performance measures difficult. The results of this study can aid the Secretary of Transportation in understanding the limited technical capacities of small Texas MPOs in regards to performance measurement. The electronic version of this dissertation is accessible from http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/148114

Download or read book Regional Planning and Development Organizations written by Texas. Office of the Governor. Division of Planning Coordination and published by . This book was released on 1973 with total page 41 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Transportation Planning and Public Involvement in Texas written by Emil Frank Kresl and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 154 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While the Texas Department of Transportation and other transportation planning organizations may seem to be succeeding at their mission on at least some levels, whether or not that mission is the best thing for the state and local communities remains to be seen. This report examines how TxDOT engages with the public, their intentions with that engagement, and the effects of that engagement on the planning process and the implementation of transportation solutions. Understanding how transportation objectives on a local scale correspond to those on a state scale is fundamental to this examination. Ultimately recommendations are provided with the aim of improving public involvement in the transportation planning process.

Download or read book Current Practices for Assessing Economic Development Impacts from Transportation Investments written by Glen Weisbrod and published by Transportation Research Board. This book was released on 2000 with total page 88 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This synthesis report will be of interest to DOT administrators, supervisors, and staff, as well as to the consultants working with them in assessing the economic development impacts of existing or proposed transportation investments. Metropolitan Planning Organization regional and local staffs might also find it informative. It is intended to help practicing planners become aware of the range of methods and analysis techniques available, organized by the different categories of agency needs, to address different types of planning, policy, and research needs. This synthesis summarizes the current state of the practice by means of a survey of transportation planning agencies in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. This report provides reviews of the analysis methods used in recent project and program evaluation reports of these agencies, in addition to a bibliography of economic literature and guides.

Download or read book Introducing Smart Growth to Texas written by and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Smart growth is planned growth that integrates lad use and transportation to create urban development that conserves resources and improves quality of life while providing adequate mobility. The primer provides a basic background on smart growth and is intended to be an introduction to smart growth for transportation professionals. This primer reviews the origins and background of smart growth development in the United States and describes smart growth programs, practices, and applications at various levels (state, region, municipality, neighborhood, site, etc.). The primer provides a basic background on smart growth and is intended to make smart growth accessible to professionals at all levels of experience and in all scopes of urban and transportation planning.