The Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program Assessing 10 Years of Experience -- Special Report 264 (2002) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
Executive Summary
Executive Summary
Pages 1-18
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 1... ...
of 1991, CMAQ is the first and only federally funded trans portation program explicitly targeting air quality improvement. CMAQ's program structure reflects the basic philosophy of ISTEA: project planning and decision making are decentralized.
|
From page 2... ...
Are CMAQ projects cost-effective rela tive to other pollution reduction strategies? Should the program be broadened and project eligibility expanded to cover new pollutants and emission reduction strategies?
|
From page 3... ...
MPOs have the primary responsibility in a region for developing a consensus list of projects for funding and programming. An analysis of program obligations for the first 8 program years, drawn from an FHWA national database of all CMAQ projects, reveals that funding has been concentrated in two areas: transit and traffic flow improvements (see Figure ES-1)
|
From page 4... ...
Traffic flow improvement programs that achieve emission reductions; (vi) Fringe and transportation corridor parking facilities serv ing multiple-occupancy vehicle programs or transit service; (vii)
|
From page 5... ...
Transportation Control Measures Included in the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, Eligible for CMAQ Funding (xv) Programs for new construction and major reconstruction of paths, tracks or areas solely for the use by pedestrian or other non-motorized means of transportation when economically feasible and in the public interest.
|
From page 6... ...
0660-01/Executive Summary 6/12/02 3:51 PM Page 6 Ride 10% 9% 4% Shared Ped./Bike STP/CMAQ Mgmt. 7% Program.
|
From page 7... ...
. Thus, it is not surprising that estimates of emission reductions from a region's CMAQ pro gram amount to only a small fraction of the total emission reduc tions needed for a region to achieve and maintain the targets set by air quality regulations.
|
From page 8... ...
In addition, within broad constraints, CMAQ funds can be used for a wide range of eligible activities, providing local agencies great flexibility in comparison with many other transportation pro grams whose funds are limited to specific programmatic areas. It is not possible to undertake a credible scientific quantitative evaluation of the cost-effectiveness of the CMAQ program at the national level.
|
From page 9... ...
Project performance depends on the transportation systems already in place, the air quality and congestion mitigation measures already implemented, and the projects (CMAQ-funded and others) imple mented together with any CMAQ projects.
|
From page 10... ...
The historical performance of CMAQ projects does not provide a basis for confident projections about the future cost-effectiveness of these projects. Since the CMAQ program was enacted in 1991, the vehicle fleet has gradually become cleaner as newer vehicles meeting more stringent emission regulations have come to make up a larger share of the fleet, and alternative-fuel vehicles have become more common.
|
From page 11... ...
First, CMAQ is the only federally funded transportation program explicitly targeting air quality improvement. Arguably the most important benefits of the CMAQ program are the incentives and resources provided to local agencies to think seriously about strategies for improving air quality and reducing congestion.
|
From page 12... ...
The CMAQ program's legislative restriction on projects involving con struction of new highway capacity should also be maintained, given the availability of other funding sources for those projects and their uncertain effect on air quality. Where it can be demon strated that CMAQ-eligible congestion relief projects may make important contributions to emission reductions, those projects should be supported by the program.
|
From page 13... ...
The CMAQ program should encourage MPOs to select and approve the most cost-effective local strategies available for reducing mobile source emissions. For example, vehicle scrappage programs, which appear to be more cost-effective than many other types of projects routinely approved under the program, should be eligible for CMAQ funding.
|
From page 14... ...
The restriction on using CMAQ funds for operating expenses of newly initiated CMAQ projects for more than 3 years creates an incentive for making capital expenditures that may not be efficient, and may arbitrarily eliminate some cost-effective operating expenditures. The committee, how ever, recognizes that not all operating subsidies are cost-effective or will continue to be so.
|
From page 15... ...
At a minimum, these indicators should include measures to estimate pollution reduction, but it would also be desir able to define and measure other effects, such as congestion mitiga tion and, where appropriate, effects on ecosystems or on economic development. With greater ability to measure regional program per formance against objectives, responsible local agencies should be in a better position to document the effects of CMAQ projects, report on those effects to their constituencies, and provide more complete inputs to FHWA's national CMAQ database that could be used for evaluation purposes.
|
From page 16... ...
The program would fund a selected group of studies -- perhaps drawing on a representative sam ple of CMAQ projects both within and across regions -- in which competitively selected researchers would work with local agencies to collect baseline data and track project performance using credible evaluation criteria. FHWA or EPA should synthesize the results of these studies and maintain a cumulative database for their broad dis semination.
|
From page 17... ...
The committee believes that if the program is reauthorized on the basis of the above recom mendations, program sponsors should be in a better position in the future to account for the cost-effectiveness of implemented proj ects, to evaluate the success of different strategies, to monitor advances in scientific knowledge and modify the program accord ingly, and to share this information widely among program recipients and the general public. Reference Abbreviation FHWA Federal Highway Administration FHWA.
|
From page 18... ...
0660-01/Executive Summary 6/12/02 3:51 PM Page 18
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.