1962•Highway Research Board Special ReportRequires access
DEVELOPMENT OF HIGHWAY PLANNING
S T Hitchcock
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Abstract
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE HIGHWAY PLANNING PROCESS IS PRESENTED. THIS PROCESS MUST TAKE INTO ACCOUNT SUCH ITEMS AS: (1) MAPS THAT SHOW TOPOGRAPHY, CENTERS OF POPULATION, INDUSTRY, EDUCATION, AND RELIGION, OR PLACES THAT GENERATE TRAFFIC, (2) AN INVENTORY OF THE PHYSICAL EXTENT OF HIGHWAY HIGHWAY FACILITIES, MILEAGE, PHYSICAL EXTENT OF THE HIGHWAY FACILITIES, MILEAGE, SURFACE TYPE AND CONDITION, SURFACE WIDTH, SHOULDER WIDTH, EXTENT OF GRADES, CURVATURE AND SIGHT DISTANCE, (3) TRAFFIC USAGE IN TERMS OF VOLUME, VEHICLE CLASSIFICATION, AND WEIGHTS AND LOADS, (4) TRAVEL CHARACTERISTICS OF ORIGIN AND DESTINATION, CAR OCCUPANCY, TRIP LENGTH AND PURPOSE, MODE OF TRAVEL, AND TRIP FREQUENCY, (5) STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS, (6) POPULATION CHARACTERISTICS, (7) HIGHWAY COSTS AND FISCAL DATA, (8) LAND USAGE AND ECONOMIC FACTORS, AND (9) ADMINISTRATION. INVENTORIES AND DATA ACQUISITION STUDIES FOR THESE DATA ARE DISCUSSED. THE HIGHWAY PLANNING SURVEY ACTIVITY MUST PLACE HIGHWAY FINANCING ON A SOUND CONTINUING BASIS UNDER WHICH THE COST OF SUPPORTING THE SYSTEMS MIGHT BE DISTRIBUTED AS EQUITABLY AS POSSIBLE AMONG THE USERS AND OTHER BENEFICIARIES. HIGHWAY PLANNING MUST BE AN OPERATING FUNCTION IN ALL HIGHWAY DEPARTMENTS. ADVANCE PLANNING FUNCTIONS MUST BE BASED ON: (1) AN ACCOUNTING OF EXISTING ROAD FACILITIES, (2) THOROUGH STUDIES OF THE KIND AND VOLUME OF TRAFFIC, AND (3) SYSTEMATIC GROUPING OF SIMILAR ROADS INTO CLASSES. WITH THIS FOUNDATION, PROGRAMMING CAN BE ESTABLISHED WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF A FINANCIAL PLAN, AND THE ASSIGNMENT OF PRIORITIES TO WORK PROJECTS AND THE SCHEDULING OF THEM INTO LONG AND SHORT-RANGE ROAD IMPROVE- MENT PROGRAMS TO MEET THE NEEDS OF TRAVEL GROWTH. WITH THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE INTERSTATE SYSTEM THERE MAY BE REASON TO CONSIDER THE PRIMARY ROUTE IN RELATION TO URBAN PLANNING. URBAN TRAVEL STUDIES IN RELATION TO THE PLANNING OF HIGHWAY FACILITIES ARE DISCUSSED. THE HIGHWAY COST ALLOCATION STUDY IS DESCRIBED IN RELATION TO THE FEDERAL-AID HIGHWAY PROGRAM. DATA NEEDS FOR HIGHWAY PLANNING ARE DESCRIBED.