NEW CONCEPTS AND GOALS IN HIGHWAY PLANNING

A SHORT SURVEY IS PRESENTED OF HIGHWAY PLANNING ACTIVITY IN WISCONSIN. THREE REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSIONS ARE NOW ACTIVE, WITH TWO OTHER REGIONS HAVING FORMALLY PETITIONED THE GOVERNOR TO CREATE SUCH COMMISSIONS. THE STATE HIGHWAY COMMISSION CREATED AN OFFICE OF URBAN PLANNING WHICH WORKS CLOSELY WITH THE RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT OFFICE ON COMMUNITY PLANNING PROGRAMS AND WITH VARIOUS REGIONAL PLANNING STAFFS. THIS CONFERENCE'S NEW STATEWIDE PLANNING PROGRAM RECOGNIZES THE NON-DISPARATE QUALITY OF THE COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH TO PLANNING. IN ADDITION TO THE MOVEMENTS OF PEOPLE, OTHER THINGS BEING CONSIDERED IN WISCONSIN'S PROGRAM INCLUDE: (1) AN IDENTIFICATION OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT TRENDS IN TRANSPORTATION, (2) AN EVALUATION OF THE POSSIBILITY OF MAJOR TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGES IN THE FIELD OF TRANSPORTATION, (3) A DETERMINATION OF THE SPECIAL AND UNIQUE PROBLEMS WITH WHICH THE STATE IS FACED IN RESPECT TO TRANSPORTATION, AND (4) AN EVALUATION OF THE ADVANTAGES THAT WISCONSIN HAS IN THIS FIELD. AN INTEGRATED TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS DESIGN APPROACH IS BEING TAKEN BY THE LARGEST REGIONAL PLANNING AREA IN WISCONSIN, WHICH CONSISTS OF THE FOLLOWING: (1) RELATING TRIP GENERATION DIRECTLY TO LAND USE, (2) ESTABLISHING THE FUTURE LAND USE PATTERN OF THE AREA FOR WHICH THE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM IS BEING PLANNED, (3) ESTABLISHING TOTAL TRIP GENERATION FOR THE DESIGN YEAR USING THE PREVIOUSLY ESTABLISHED TRIP GENERATION FACTORS AND FUTURE LAND USE PATTERNS, (4) CONVERTING TRIP GENERATION TO TRAVEL PATTERN BY MEANS OF A MATHEMATICAL MODEL EXPRESSING ZONAL INTERCHANGE, AND (5) DEVELOPING A PLANNED NET-WORK OF FACILITIES TO SERVE THE VOLUMES AND LOCATIONS OF THESE SYNTHESIZED TRAVEL DEMANDS. THE NEED TO LAUNCH VIGOROUS PROGRAMS OF STATE PLANNING COMES BECAUSE OF THE MASSIVE TRANSITION IN: (1) A SHIFT FROM AN AGRICULTURAL TO AN INDUSTRIAL BASE, (2) A GROWING POPULATION, AND (3) RAPIDLY MOUNTING PRESSURES ON PUBLIC FACILITIES.