About MIST

Elements of Sustainable Transportation

Overview

All transportation systems are developed through public process. A legitimate process is open, fair, and comprehensive. Each community needs to develop its own guidelines for public process. Here are some questions worth thinking about:

How does a community balance the concerns of all stake holders?

How are local values recognized and accounted for?

How are problems identified and prioritized for fixing?

How are solutions implemented, paid for, and monitored?

How is success of an overall transportation system measured?

Planning Processes

Every community with more than 50,000 people is required to have, by law, both a planning and policy body called a Metropolitan Planning Organization, or MPO, and a 20-Year Transportation Plan. It is the job of the MPO to oversee the development and implementation of the 20-year plan.

Every year a Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP) is updated. The TIP is a 3-year plan that tackles the larger goals of the 20-year plan. In addition, the 20-yr plan is updated every three years and overhauled, or rewritten, every six years.

An Example of a Decision Making Process

In Missoula, our MPO is called the Transportation Policy Coordinating Committee (TPCC). TPCC meets once a month and is open to the public.

TPCC generally goes by the recommendations of the Transportation Technical Advisory Committee (TTAC). TTAC meetings are also held once a month and are open to the public.

Other key groups that influence transportation decisions include the city council, the county commissioners, the planning board, and the bicycle/ pedestrian advisory board.

Links:

In:

Context for engineering term 'Level of Service'

Out:

www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/citizen/index.htm
A CITIZEN'S GUIDE TO TRANSPORTATION DECISION-MAKING
The Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Transit Administration developed a guide for citizens to help them understand federal requirements in the transportation decision-making process. The guide addresses such issues as: * How do government officials decide where to put a bus stop, road, or bridge? * How are these and other transportation projects planned? and * How are opinions heard and considered by the planners, road designers, elected officials and other citizens?

About MIST