White Papers for Right-Sizing Transportation Investments (2020) / Chapter Skim
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1 White Papers for Right-Sizing Transportation Investments 1. Introduction to Research Assessment White Papers This technical appendix includes three white papers developed as part of NCHRP Project 19-14, "Right-Sizing Transportation Investments." The white papers were developed through the use document research, interviews with practitioners, and case examples to address key topics of relevance to right-sizing through an assessment of the current state of practice and research.
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2 White Papers for Right-Sizing Transportation Investments Understanding the above from practical examples of the current state of the practice is instructive for developing a roadmap of how agencies can and should approach the role of jurisdictional transfers within right-sizing scenarios. It is important to learn from both the successes and unresolved challenges of jurisdictional transfer policies to date from recognition of need, through evaluation and implementation.
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3 White Papers for Right-Sizing Transportation Investments ownerships. These include situations such as a park-and-rides adjacent to mixed-use development where regulations that apply to state facilities restrict how revenues can be raised and locals want more flexibility for development, as well as other situations that involve the generation of revenue on parts of the SHS.
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4 White Papers for Right-Sizing Transportation Investments The negotiation process for transfers centers on negotiation regarding the cost of relinquishments (and assumption of costs) , with formal and legally binding Cooperative Agreements codifying the transfer agreement.
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5 White Papers for Right-Sizing Transportation Investments direct implications for prioritization. For a facility that might not reach the top of a list when competing at the state level, local ownership can enable a higher priority.
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6 White Papers for Right-Sizing Transportation Investments Table 1 Arizona State Transportation Board Policy 16. Transfer of State Routes Policy It is the policy of Board that the State Highway System consist primarily of routes necessary to provide a statewide network to serve the ever-changing environment with regard to the interstate, statewide and regional movement of people and freight.
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7 White Papers for Right-Sizing Transportation Investments ADOT's handbook has many elements that can provide significant value in guidance for jurisdictional transfers in right‐sizing situations. The checklists in ADOT's manual offer a balance of flexibility and consistency in the structure of the transfer process which is very conducive to efficiently considering whether and how transfers may fit into a right‐sizing scenario. Inclusion of factors related to land use and transportation relationships recognizes that there can be significant economic development benefits to a jurisdictional transfer. Furthermore, ADOT's evaluation of low‐volume roads for transfer potential as a potential source of cost savings is instructive as several states in the initial round of interviews raised the issue of lifecycle costs for low‐volume roads as a right‐sizing need. Additionally, the fact that the policy for jurisdictional transfer is codified at the level of the State Transportation Board is instructive regarding the potential role of executive bodies in establishing policies supportive of right‐ sizing. Finally, ADOT's guidance on financial considerations for negotiation outlines a more complete set of factors than just a transfer of operating and maintenance burdens between agencies. This broader view of potential benefits and costs is important to the question of right‐sizing and whether and how to determine if all parties emerge from a transfer with net positive outcomes. 1.2. Findings Related to Program-Level Performance Targets and Trade-Offs One major area of right-sizing in transportation departments pertains to the issue of re-allocating resources from one program or performance area to another.
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8 White Papers for Right-Sizing Transportation Investments both where (and to what degree) both investment and disinvestment are either tolerable or efficient.
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9 White Papers for Right-Sizing Transportation Investments The Utah case is instructive as it demonstrates how a state can intentionally right‐size its investment portfolio using time as a critical dimension of the equation. Instead of simply prioritizing facilities and letting low BCA projects go unfunded, Utah deliberately considered specific classes of roadway based on performance needs and characteristics, anticipating and preparing for the implications of this de‐ funding in the near term. The Utah case suggests that states can benefit from right‐sizing guidance pertaining to short‐term versus long‐term changes in needs and funding, as well as how considering funding and performance levels for asset classes can provide more leverage in investment decisions than simply prioritizing individual projects. Minnesota: Right‐Sizing Through Condition Targets Much like Utah, Minnesota DOT made a conscious decision to respond to a revenue shortfall by disinvesting in certain parts of the state highway system to reinvest in the National Highway System (NHS) based on the need to match federal funds.
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10 White Papers for Right-Sizing Transportation Investments Should the DOT and commuters adapt to the decreased performance in this tradeoff to ensure better (or maintain) performance on those higher AADT and VMT parts of the network?
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11 White Papers for Right-Sizing Transportation Investments lower investment levels and performance standards are indicated as part of a statewide right‐sizing investment/disinvestment strategy, practical ways to achieve optimal performance even at these lower thresholds is essential to realizing the envisioned savings and performance on the right‐sized system. 1.3. Findings Related to Design and Re-Invention of Facilities Among the most challenging and creative areas for right-sizing is its implementation in the design of specific facilities and corridors.
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12 White Papers for Right-Sizing Transportation Investments For example, a good rule-of-thumb published by the Institute of Transportation Engineers in the early 1990s recommended ideal network spacing of a modest-sized freeway every 5-miles, a principal arterial every 2-miles, a minor arterial every 1-mile, and a collector street at least every half-mile. Salt Lake County, Utah, applied that recommendation as part of a network analysis and arterial best practices effort to compare what they have ‒ existing and planned ‒ with that ITE guidance.
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13 White Papers for Right-Sizing Transportation Investments In general, the tighter the grid, the more adaptable the area is to changing conditions. However, there are still a great many greenfield areas emerging or likely to emerge with super-grids, and communities that want to or will emerge this way need to understand that right-sizing in these cases could mean protecting much larger right-of-way footprints, and/or more alignments, than their normal practice would dictate, in part for multimodal uses that have no other location available.
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14 White Papers for Right-Sizing Transportation Investments designs are opportunities in newly developing areas that will give future designers optimal freedom to respond to unforeseen changes in the nature and volume of demand. Right‐Sizing Existing Facilities Every right of way, when first built, was judged to be "right" by stakeholders for its time and context. So, what kind of changes in context can turn a right street into a wrong street?
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15 White Papers for Right-Sizing Transportation Investments different roadway types under different land development typologies and densities can enable designers to make decisions about integrating safety features such as sidewalks, crosswalks, traffic calming, and innovative intersections when right-sizing facilities in changing areas. Modal Demand Analysis / Trip Length Analysis As localities change, the nature of trips starts to change, and there may also be significant latent demand for alternative modes.
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16 White Papers for Right-Sizing Transportation Investments Tax‐Base Analysis One of the key objectives facing designers in right-sizing situations is the effort to avoid getting caught with more infrastructure than the economy can afford to maintain. In that context, it is helpful to identify districts that create more tax revenues than the same areas cost to maintain, vs.
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17 White Papers for Right-Sizing Transportation Investments but it also includes design criteria for a wide spectrum of contexts, from rural to suburban to heavily urban. The figure below considers three different ways of using the same right of 125' right-of-way, by integrating different modal, aesthetic and livability elements and operational characteristics assuming different development typologies, planning scenarios and transportation market characteristics.
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18 White Papers for Right-Sizing Transportation Investments Right‐Sizing Freeways Designers are often confronted with either an existing reality or forecast of freeway congestion, finding themselves caught in debates about induced demand and the risk of endless investment in freeway widening with no clear answer to when or where freeways find diminishing marginal returns. Some freeways are so popular that there is seemingly endless demand, and communities debate major double-decker projects, either below or above ground level to find space for ever expanding freeway capacity.
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