Lec 2. Ch.1 UTP: Definition and Context

Primary purpose of the planning effort 4 basic questions of UTP UTP as a process Importance of considering multimodal aspect

and relation with land use A changing society and its impact on UTP

Topics covered

Primary purpose of the planning effort

- To generate information useful to decision makers for the specific types of decisions they are facing. Given that so many agencies and groups are involved with metropolitan-level transportation decision making, a regional perspective is needed on how these activities fit together.

Legacy Highway

Commuter Train

Utah, Wasatch, Summit CountiesDavis, Morgan, Salt Lake,

Tooele, Weber Counties

UTP is the process of answering 4 basic questions

MAG: Utah Valley Long Rang Transportation Plan, Page 1-3

1. Where are we now? – Trends and conditions

2. Where do we want to go? – Issues, community’s desired direction, opportunities, obstacles

3. What will guide us? – Mission statement, goals, objectives, public inputs

4. How will we get there? – revenue estimation, implementation plan, partnerships, policy changes

UTP is the process of

1. Establishing a vision

2. Understanding the types of decisions that need to be made

3. Assessing opportunities and limitations of the future

4. Identifying the near- and long-term consequences

5. Relating alternative decisions to goals, objectives, systems performance measures

6. Presenting this info to decision makers

7. Helping decision makers establish priorities and develop an investment program

MAG: Utah Valley Long Rang Transportation Plan

Example: MAG’s transportation related goals

1. Improve the non-motorized transportation system

2. Minimize air pollution

3. Maximize accessibility to important services

4. Coordinates all transportation elements into an intermodal system

5. Develop a long range plan consistent with land use master plan

6. Funding (secure)

7. Reconstruction and preservation of existing facilities

From multimodal to intermodal system

A mulitmodal system is not enough to provide good access to everybody in the community

Different modes need to be integrated and transfers among them need to be smooth.

Components of a multimodal/intermodal transportation program for achieving community goals

A changing society and its impact on UTP

Population characteristics

The metropolitan economySocietal concerns

Transportation legislation/regulationThe technology of planning

Population characteristics The tremendous growth in population after WW II

and the movement of the “baby-boom generation” through the aging process affected significantly the development of transportation systems in the U.S.

Rising household incomes created a market demand for personal transportation.

Surging economy created more movement of people and goods.

Employment opportunities moved from city centers to suburbs (accessible by automobiles)

Using Figure 1.3 we will see how the interaction of key factors effected the dramatic increase in travel in the past few decades.

Political environment

SLC

Ogden

Orem

Provo

Payson

From the central city to a region – Growth of the metropolitan region

Globalization,

manufacturing to information,

surge of service industry, …

many changes have taken place.

Societal concerns and issues

Auto-oriented TP created many negative effects

Congestion Pollution

Breakdown of community

Segregation

Sustainable development, smart growth, livable community, sustainable transportation“A critical examination of the importance of an automobile-based transportation system on society”

Change in transportation legislation/regulation and UTP technology

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

Clean Air Act Amendments of 1991

Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) of 1991

Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) of 1998

From aggregate to disaggregate models

CAD meant for transportation planning

Extensive use of GIS

New UTP models, like activity simulation

Strong emphasis on intermodal aspect & management aspects

UTMS, Discrete models,TransCAD, TranPlan, QRS II,

Tmodel, UrbanSim,GA-based LU/TS Opt., etc.

EIS

In summary…

UTP is a process to gather and analyze information (data) to provide unbiased information to decision-makers.

UTP needs to be carried out in conjunction with land use planning.

Mulitmodal/intermodal transportation systems need to be developed (in urban areas) to serve all the residents in the community and to create livable communities.

Political, economic and social trends influence the development of transportation facilities (for good or bad) and transportation legislation/regulation and thus the substance and form of transportation planning.

The negative impacts of an automobile-based transportation system on environment and humans have been recognized; we should strive for the development of sustainable development.