Level of Service F for Grade A Streets
- 1. 1 Level of Service F for Grade A Streets Massachusetts’ Project Selection Advisory Council September 9, 2014 Scott Hamwey, Manager of Long Range Planning MassDOT September 9, 2014 | Leading the Nation in Transportation Excellence | www.mass.gov/massdot
- 2. 2 Created in 2009 Consolidation of several independent authorities/departments resulted in a statewide multimodal DOT including: Roads, bridges and tunnels (tolled/untolled) Mass transit (commuter rail, subway, buses, ferries, paratransit) Bicycle/shared used paths Intercity Rail Registry of Motor Vehicles September 9, 2014 | Leading the Nation in Transportation Excellence | www.mass.gov/massdot 2 MassDOT: Background
- 3. 3 GreenDOT a comprehensive implementation plan outlining MassDOT’s approach to reducing transportation-related GHG emissions Healthy Transportation Directive a policy requiring all MassDOT project designs to accommodate all system users (or secure a waiver from the Secretary) Mode Shift a goal to triple the share of travel conducted by transit/bike/ped by 2030 September 9, 2014 | Leading the Nation in Transportation Excellence | www.mass.gov/massdot 3 MassDOT: Key Goals and Policies
- 4. 4 Purpose - Created by the Massachusetts Legislature to recommend : A set of uniform project selection criteria A project prioritization formula to be used in development of statewide transportation plan Membership - 8 seats filled by (3) gubernatorial and (4) legislative leadership appointments (plus Secretary) Deadline - 12/31/14 September 9, 2014 | Leading the Nation in Transportation Excellence | www.mass.gov/massdot Project Selection Advisory Council
- 5. 5 September 9, 2014 | Leading the Nation in Transportation Excellence | www.mass.gov/massdot Massachusetts Experience with Project Prioritization MassDOT Project Review Committee – scores projects as they are submitted by municipalities to enter the pipeline MBTA – used third party software and facilitation to develop scoring system MPOs – comprehensiveness and use varies by MPO; typically applied only to roadway projects weMove – scenario planning tool Statewide, multimodal set of evaluation criteria are entering uncharted territory
- 6. 6 Applicable across modes and project types Simple and transparent (quantitative metrics where possible) Consider regional equity and cost Focus on existing data; but identify aspirational data and metrics September 9, 2014 | Leading the Nation in Transportation Excellence | www.mass.gov/massdot PSA Council Goals
- 7. 7 Challenges to Aligning Criteria with MassDOT Goals Addressing existing auto-dependency and realistic potential for mode shift given existing land use Overcoming sub-par bicycle, pedestrian, and safety data and forecasting abilities Comparing projects across and within modes with one set of criteria Avoiding metrics becoming a box to check Recognizing political context September 9, 2014 | Leading the Nation in Transportation Excellence | www.mass.gov/massdot
- 8. 8 Specific Challenges for Bike/Ped with Proposed Objectives It is tempting to reward projects with bike/ped elements for both real and imagined (or at least distant) outcomes Mode Shift: How closely should the metric align with this goal? How meaningful is the metric if it doesn’t? Reliability: Unlike transit, harder to improve upon the reliability/predictability of travel via biking/walking Safety: What if the near-term consequence of encouraging shift to a “safer” mode is more injuries/deaths? September 9, 2014 | Leading the Nation in Transportation Excellence | www.mass.gov/massdot
- 9. 9 Other Proposed Objectives and Considerations Increase persons per hour capacity Reduce GHG emissions Increase physical activity Support sustainable development Reduce exposure to noise/air/water pollution September 9, 2014 | Leading the Nation in Transportation Excellence | www.mass.gov/massdot
- 10. 10 September 9, 2014 | Leading the Nation in Transportation Excellence | www.mass.gov/massdot What do you think? How do you prioritize all projects against the same goals? – Some roads need to be auto focused. If we were to get a 6 month extension – what other approach should we consider?