The Smart Transportation Guidebook: Planning and Designing Highways and Streets that Support Sustainable and Livable Communities (March 2008) is the latest example of a context-sensitive roadway design practice. The Guidebook is sponsored by the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), and preparation was overseen by the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC), the MPO for the Greater Philadelphia area. The purpose of the book is to provide guidance to those with roles in planning and designing context-sensitive roadways that support livable communities. Design values are recommended for roadway classes from principal arterials through local streets. Within the Guidebook, the term “Smart Transportation” embodies six principles: (1) Tailor solutions to the context. (2)Tailor the approach, (3) Plan all projects in collaboration with the community, (4) Plan for alternative transportation modes; (5) Use sound professional judgment, and (6) Scale the solution to the size of the problem. The selection of roadway androadside design values for a context sensitive roadway is based upon the organizing framework of land use context and roadway type. Seven land usecontexts and five roadway types are defined for the Guidebook. The roadway types represent a modification of the conventional functional classification system, to better reflect the role of a roadway within a community. The Guidebook also establishes the concept of desired operating speed.
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