STATEWIDE TRANSPORTATION PLANNING: INTRODUCTION AND EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In June 1996, the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Committee on Statewide Multimodal Transportation Planning sponsored a national conference on statewide transportation planning that was held in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. The purpose of the conference was to examine the state experience with Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA)-mandated statewide planning and to discuss potential changes to the planning requirements in the forthcoming ISTEA reauthorization. The meeting was held in conjunction with the mid-year meeting of the Standing Committee on Planning of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). The conference was organized to promote as much dialogue as possible. Breakout discussion groups and plenary discussion sessions were structured to provide opportunities for input. The conference formal program consisted of six plenary sessions that provided a focus for the discussion. The first session included presentations from three state department of transportation chief administrative officers who were asked to discuss how transportation planning was used in their organizations and to discuss potential changes in the regulations that would enhance this role. The second session focussed on reauthorization and consisted of speakers from many different perspectives offering their suggestions. The third session examined one of the key themes of the ISTEA planning vision - linking planning to programming and finance. The fourth session reflected the growing importance and interest in system management and operations, and how to incorporate such concerns into the transportation planning process. The fifth session discussed alternative analytical tools that are being used in statewide planning, and improvements to the current state-of-practice in analysis methodology. The final session presented examples of states where all of these elements were brought together in a coordinated and comprehensive manner. This executive summary presents an overview of the key concepts and themes discussed at this conference.