PROCEDURES USED IN DEVELOPMENT OF UNIFIED TRANSPORTATION WORK PROGRAMS FOR THE MASSACHUSETTS PLANNING PROCESS

The Massachusetts Department of Public Works has undertaken an ambitious program to revitalize its transportation planning process. The major focus has been on the 12 regional planning agencies that incorporate every community in the commonwealth. For each of the regions, unified transportation work programs have been developed that describe the comprehensive transportation planning work to be undertaken for a 5-year period. The work programs will be implemented under the direction of policy groups established in each region. Each policy group is composed of representatives from state, regional, and local agencies and from citizen groups and the general public. A major objective of the revitalized planning process is to develop projects for implementation that are mutually agreeable. Therefore, the success of the program will be measured by its ability to produce agreed-upon projects for implementation. A key mechanism for accomplishing this objective is the development and subsequent implementation of the unified transportation work programs. This paper describes the major features of the revitalized planning process, the procedures used to develop the unified transportation work programs, and the manner in which the planning specified in the work programs is being implemented.