Transportation supports the vitality of every community and is essential to quality of life. In the last half of the 20th century, transportation system planning has become reactive to increasingly uncertain long-term funding streams and significant changes in laws and regulations that govern how transportation’s infrastructure is planned and built. Although many state departments of transportation (DOTs) have invested in innovations through partnerships, processes, tools, and technologies in response to specific aspects of this changing context, few, if any, have been able to get ahead of the pace of change to provide the long-term comprehensive support for the strategic decisions DOTs need to make in the 21st century. The uncertainties of the 20th century are still with us but added to these are new unknowns– broadening public expectations about the form and purpose of transportation infrastructure and services, significant shifts in demographic patterns and life style choices, and intermingling of driver and vehicle technologies. These and other changes represent fundamental shifts in the traditional drivers of transportation demand and supply. We can rarely predict or anticipate the future with accuracy. Our level of certainty decreases the farther into the future we look. Incremental, reactive planning will not work in the 21st century. Planners should support the DOT by being able to stay ahead of change by defining problems, conducting fact-based analysis, and anticipating potential questions and answers before critical situations occur. NCHRP Report 798: The Role of Planning in a 21st Century State Department of Transportation– Supporting Strategic Decision-making is not a general guide on how to conduct transportation planning at a state DOT. Resources that describe planning processes and the technical aspects of planning practices are available from the FHWA, AASHTO, and the Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations (AMPO). In addition, the Strategic Highway Research Program 2 (SHRP 2) and NCHRP continue to provide information about new approaches to address a variety of transportation planning issues. Instead, this report describes why and how planning should be different in the 21st century. This report • Describes why planning is important to a state DOT in the 21st century and provides guidance for communicating the “case for change” in planning to the agency’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and senior executives. • Addresses the question, “What’s different?” about state DOT planning in the 21st century. • Describes what is changing and what changes planners should make to meet the challenges and leverage the opportunities DOTs are facing. • Identifies specific strategic decisions that planning and planners can help inform. • Provides state DOTs with a framework to assess where they are in the process of adapting to meet the needs of planning in the 21st century. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting