APPENDIX C:
AIR QUALITY CONFORMITY STATEMENT
CDTC developed its first long-range transportation plan and adopted it on
March 31, 1981. Routine amendments and
updates have occurred since that time through incorporating recommendations from
sub-regional studies, corridor studies, and NYSDOT project development
work. This New Visions Regional Transportation Plan report is a major update
to that previous work. New Visions focuses on travel conditions
and needs in the year 2015 and
2021.
This plan conforms to the existing Statewide
Implementation Plan (SIP) by supporting the SIP's intentions of achieving and
maintaining the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). CDTC's transportation planning process
historically has ensured that air quality issues are fully considered and given
adequate priority. In this regard,
CDTC's Continuing Operations Plan
defines air quality planning and implementation responsibilities required
ensuring maintenance of air quality standards in the Capital District. In addition, air quality is one factor
considered in corridor and subarea studies, and in the identification and
prioritization of projects for inclusion in CDTC's TIP.
The impacts of the New Visions plan on air quality were evaluated. Air quality effects, as measured by
hydrocarbon emissions and nitrogen oxide emissions, are core performance
measures for New Visions. Improving environmental quality is included
in the CDTC Long Range Transportation System Goals. The air quality impacts of recommended projects, programs and
strategies were evaluated in development of the New Visions plan.
Evaluation of projects for inclusion in the Transportation Improvement
Program will continue to include an assessment of air quality impacts.
There are no applicable transportation
requirements or commitments in the SIP for the four-county Capital District
region. Therefore, no goals,
directives, or recommendations of the plan conflict with SIP or interfere with
implementation of transportation control measures (TCMs). In fact, the Capital District is voluntarily
implementing transportation control measures listed in the Clean Air Act
Amendments of 1990 in Section 108(b)(1)(A).
These implementing actions are summarized below.
(i) programs for improved public
transit; The primary public
transit provider in the Capital District is CDTA. There are also numerous private providers of transit services,
such as Upstate Transit. CDTC has
demonstrated a commitment to public transit in a number of ways. CDTC has advocated full allocation of
authorized levels of Federal Transit Act funding and the use of the SDF for
transit projects. All FTA-provided
funding to CDTA for capital and operating funds is programmed in the CDTC
TIP. CMAQ funds for transit projects
have been programmed and allocated where they are warranted. CDTA and other transit projects have
garnered a significant portion of the available CMAQ funds. Essentially every transit project proposed
for consideration in the CMAQ program was fully funded.
New Visions explored alternative transit futures for the
region. The last time that these
options were studied was in 1980. A
major effort to ascertain public support for expanded transit services of
various types was undertaken.
Recommendations to restructure existing transit service and pursue a
"Best Bus" strategy, particularly in the Route 5 corridor, while
continuing to study fixed guideway opportunities are included in this plan.
CDTA has a Special Events program that adds
service to accommodate increased transit demand during the holiday shopping
season to the malls, to the First Night celebration on New Year's Eve, and to
summer cultural events.
CDTA is actively involved with NYSDOT in mitigation
activities surrounding major construction projects. The provision of new or supplemental transit services where a
major bridge or highway is under construction is a good way to introduce people
to transit services. It can be expected
to attract long term riders. In the
past, transit in construction work zones has been negotiated on a
project-by-project basis. There is now
an acceptance that this practice has merit.
It should be used for every major construction project. CDTA has been granted CMAQ program funds to
allow the provision of these services on an ongoing basis. This will reduce the administrative start-up
time for the provision of such services, thus facilitating implementation.
CDTA has "partnered" with the private
operators serving commuters in the Capital District. Commuters using the private bus service from outlying areas to
downtown Albany are provided free transfers to the CDTA system. CMAQ program funds finance this project; the
project is successful and has increased ridership.
CDTC has established a project merit evaluation
framework for the consideration of new capital projects for flexible funds that
allows transit projects to compete on a level playing field with other project
types for flexible funding opportunities.
CDTC's experience has been that improved public transit services are
able to demonstrate mobility benefits and can be competitive with highway
projects in this regard. The CDTC TIP
project selection methodology has also been modified to encourage arterial
projects to consider the accommodation of transit (and non-motorized modes) in
their design and scope. This will have
the long-term effect of making the transportation system as a whole work
better.
(ii) restriction of certain roads or
lanes to, or construction of such roads or lanes for use by, passenger buses or
high occupancy vehicles (HOVs); Limited
land availability for highway expansion and limited funds available for
expansion projects of all types has prevented the implementation of HOV lanes
in the Capital District. However, the
Northway (I-87) is projected to be the most congested corridor in the region,
and ongoing considerations of expansion alternatives for the corridor will
include HOV options on new and existing lanes as a viable alternative.
(iii) employer-based transportation
management plans, including incentives; New Visions includes
Transportation Demand Management (TDM) strategies as a major focus for its
efforts to maintain and improve mobility in the Capital District. Implementation is at the preliminary stages
at the regional level. However, the
Statement of Findings for the Albany County Airport Area GEIS strongly
recommends the implementation of employer-based transportation management plans
in the Airport/Wolf Road area. This
area is one of the most congested in the region and the program has a high
likelihood of success. CDTC will
continue to work to establish employer-based programs where opportunities
arise.
(iv) trip reduction ordinances; Trip reduction ordinances fall into the same
general work effort as (iii) above.
CDTC's subarea studies have historically considered Transportation
Demand Management strategies alongside capital improvements, and will continue
to do so. In addition, CDTC has established
a planning program with STP funds that will allow local governments to update
and improve their transportation and land use planning efforts. Such efforts may point to the need for trip
reduction ordinances in some instances.
(v) traffic flow improvement
programs that achieve emission reductions; Mobility projects considered for funding the CDTC TIP are analyzed for
hydrocarbon emissions reductions, reductions in travel time, and the excess
vehicle hours of delay reduced by project implementation. This evaluation of project merit leads to the
programming of the best mobility projects in both the CMAQ program and the
STP.
A notable example of CDTC's leadership role in
promoting projects to improve traffic flow is the Intelligent Transportation System
(ITS) project in the TIP. This project
will use a combination of radio broadcasts, signal timing improvements,
incident detection technology, new transit technologies, and incident
management techniques and will significantly reduce emissions and relieve
congestion in the Capital District.
(vi) fringe and transportation
corridor parking facilities serving multiple occupancy vehicle programs or
transit service; CDTA has
sponsored an aggressive program to establish a network of Park-and-Ride
facilities in the Capital District.
This program, which is ongoing, is focused on critical corridors and the
provision of transit service to the parking facilities. The recent inauguration of the lot in
Schodack and the plans for a new lot at Exit 8 on I-87 provide evidence of an
expanding and effective program. CDTA
is also pursuing an agreement for a lot at Exit 8A of I-87.
(vii) programs to limit or restrict
vehicle use in downtown areas or other areas of emission concentration
particularly during periods of peak use; Carbon monoxide emissions are not a major issue in the Capital
District. Therefore, programs to
address CO "hot spots" have not been the focus of CDTC's
efforts. There is, however, a
long-standing program for state workers that buses them from the State Office
Campus area to downtown, thus eliminating a number of vehicle trips to downtown
Albany during the peak period.
Peripheral park and ride lots also exist in Menands and at McCarty
Avenue (Exit 23).
(viii) programs for the provision
of all forms of high-occupancy, shared-ride services; CDTC is the publisher of the Commuter Register, a bimonthly website newsletter. This publication provides
shared-ride-matching services to interested parties. This effort includes periodic checks with carpoolers to confirm
their participation and advice as to how to start and maintain a carpooling
arrangement. This effort is ongoing and
will continue.
A Guaranteed Ride Home Program (GRH) was
established for monthly transit pass holders in 1993 to remove one of the main
obstacles to sharing a ride: fear of being stranded, especially in an
emergency. The GRH program was expanded
in 1996 to provide a "safety" net to carpoolers, persons who bike to
work, and to users of the non-CDTA private commuter services. This program strengthens the shared ride
services already provided.
(ix) programs to limit portions of
road surfaces or certain sections of the metropolitan area to the use of
non-motorized vehicles or pedestrian use, both as to time and place; CDTC expended a major effort to incorporate
bicycle and pedestrian considerations into New
Visions. This work included the
establishment of an advisory committee of interested parties, the documentation
of available fund sources for bicycle and pedestrian projects, and the
establishment of a regional bicycling network.
This effort will continue.
In addition, CDTC has considered bicycle and
pedestrian projects in its programming of both CMAQ and STP Flexible funds.
There is limited experience in limiting the road
network to non-motorized vehicles. Jay
Street in Schenectady for a portion of its length does this. The practice has been more towards separated
bike paths/sidewalks or bike lanes in addition to road surface for
vehicles. The popular support for
restricting road surface use is limited, but will be pursued where local
support exists.
(x) programs for secure bicycle
storage facilities and other facilities, including bicycle lanes, for the
convenience and protection of bicyclists, in both public and private areas; The planning effort cited above in (ix) included
all aspects of the promotion of bicycle usage.
The primary funding mechanisms for these projects are the CMAQ and STP
Enhancement Programs. CDTA recently instituted buses
equipped with bicycle racks to allow cyclists to store their bicycles while
riding the bus.
(xi) programs to control extended
idling of vehicles; The ITS
effort cited in (v) above includes signal timing and other projects that would
reduce the extended idling of vehicles at intersections. In addition, the focus of the mobility
portion of the CDTC TIP is on congestion relief, prevention, and incident
management, which would reduce the extended idling of vehicles on the highway
network.
(xii) programs to reduce motor vehicle
emissions, consistent with Title II, which are caused by extreme cold start
conditions; The CDTC efforts to
improve public transit in the region will all reduce cold starts.
(xiii) employer-sponsored programs
to permit flexible work schedules; The CDTC RTP includes Transportation Demand Management strategies as a
major focus for our efforts to maintain and improve mobility in the Capital
District. Implementation is at the
preliminary stages at the regional level.
However, the Statement of Findings for the Albany County Airport Area
GEIS strongly recommends the implementation of employer-based transportation
management plans, which would include flexible work schedules in the
Airport/Wolf Road area. This area is
one of the most congested in the region and the program has a high likelihood
of success. CDTC will continue to work
to establish employer-based programs of all kinds where opportunities
arise.
(xiv) programs and ordinances to
facilitate non-automobile travel, provision and utilization of mass transit,
and to generally reduce the need for single-occupant vehicle travel, as part of
transportation planning and development efforts of a locality, including
programs and ordinances applicable to new shopping centers, special events, and
other centers of vehicle activity; CDTC initiated a program, funded with STP funds to encourage local
government planning processes to better integrate transportation and land
use. This program incorporates methods
of facilitating non-automobile travel as an essential component.
CDTC's TIP project selection criteria includes a
basic screening requirement for all capacity-increasing projects to be linked
to local land use management. Because
the Capital District must maximize the effectiveness of existing facilities, a
plan or commitment to access management, construction of new local streets, or
provision of supplemental transit services was required to be in place prior to
commitment to major capacity work.
CDTA, the regional transit operator, does have a
program for Special Event service, as noted in (i) above. In addition, as part of a CMAQ-funded
project, CDTA will prepare a manual to guide policy officials on how to amend
local ordinances so that transit options are incorporated into the project
review process.
(xv) programs for new construction
and major reconstruction of paths, tracks or areas solely for the use by
pedestrian or other non-motorized means of transportation when economically
feasible and in the public interest.
For the purposes of this clause, the Administrator shall also consult
with the Secretary of the Interior; This TCM is addressed in (ix) and (x) above.
(xvi) programs to encourage the
voluntary removal from use and the marketplace of pre-1980 model year light
duty vehicles and pre-1980 model light duty trucks. There
are no programs in place or planned in the Capital District that will remove
older vehicles from use voluntarily.
In accordance with the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) designated the Capital District area as a
marginal non-attainment area for ozone pollution in 1991. This designation was based on the fact that
national ambient air quality standards were exceeded at all three Capital
District monitoring sites at some time during the three-year period 1988-90[1]. The
Capital District has not been in violation of the National Ambient Air Quality
Standards (NAAQS) for ozone since 1989.
As a marginal non-attainment area, the Capital District must show
conformity of the Regional Transportation Plan with the Clean Air Act
Amendments of 1990, and must abide by actions set forth in an approved State
Implementation Plan. Until a new SIP
can be prepared and approved, conformity of transportation plans and programs
must be based on analysis of the potential impacts of plans, programs, and
projects on air quality. CDTC used the
methodology developed cooperatively by the New York State Department of
Transportation and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. CDTC's draft Plan, New Visions for the Capital District, was found to meet the
requirements established by the 1990 amendments to the Clean Air Act regarding
the conformity of transportation plans.
As demonstrated in the following narrative, emission levels of volatile organic compounds
(VOCs) and nitrogen oxides (NOx)-- the precursors to ozone formation--
are less for the plan build scenario than for the 1990 base year.
The methodology that was used is described in the January, 1994 NYSDOT
memorandum, Proposed Transportation
Improvement Program Conformity Determination Process Based on EPA's Final
Transportation Conformity Rule. In
accordance with these guidelines, regional emissions estimates were generated
by using EPA's Mobile Model 5B software for 1990 (base year), 1996 (plan year),
and "no-build" and plan "build" scenarios for years 2005,
2015 and 2021. These regional emissions rates were updated
by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation using EPA's
Mobile Model 5B software in year 2000.
The estimates of emissions were based upon the most recent population,
employment, travel, and congestion information developed by the CDTC staff for
the four counties.
The calculation of base year (1990) travel and congestion data (VMT and
speed) for the four county Capital District regional highway network was
derived from CDTC's Systematic Traffic Evaluation and Planning (STEP) model.[2] Using
TMODEL2 software, the regional STEP model directly generated PM peak hour VMT
and speed data attendant to existing land use, traffic, and highway network
conditions. Twenty four-hour estimates
were generated by factoring the PM peak hour trip set in accordance with NYSDOT’s
guidelines. For this exercise, the
factor used to adjust the trip set was derived from hourly traffic
distributions at more than 100 locations in the Capital District.
In order to evaluate the impact of the TIP on emissions,
the impacts of a “no-build” scenario were evaluated. The no-build scenario is a hypothetical scenario that would
result if the TIP were not implemented.
The networks used for the 2005, 2015 and 2021 “no-build” scenarios assume projects in
the TIP would not be implemented.
Travel demand for the year 2005, 2015 and 2021
"no-build" scenarios was simulated using Capital District Regional
Planning Commission (CDRPC) official forecasts of households and employment,
and CDTC forecasts of vehicle ownership.
These forecasts are documented in the CDTC reports, Forecasts of Regional Traffic Growth for Use in the Year 2000 Needs Estimate, November 1, 1989 and Analysis of Year 2000 Congestion Levels in
Critical Corridors of the Capital District, October, 1993.
For build conditions for years 2005 and 2015, travel
demand forecasts were prepared that were consistent with achievements expected
from implementation of the New Visions
plan. With full implementation of the New Visions plan, increases in daily
vehicle travel will be dampened from the trend forecast of 30% (1996-2015) to
approximately one-third to one-half that level. This will occur through a combination of substitution of
communication for travel, increased carpooling, increased bus, bike, and/or
walk travel, and shorter trip lengths (due to proximity of activities). This dampening of daily vehicle travel was
represented in the CDTC STEP model as a 10% reduction in vehicle trips in 2005
with respect to trend growth forecasts, and as a 15% reduction in vehicle trips
in 2015 and 2021.
The financially constrained plan is based on
"steady-state funding".
Steady state funding is the currently expected state, federal and local
funds would continue at current levels (adjusted for inflation) through the
20-year period, and all federal demo project funds would be received. This scenario makes comparable progress
across all plan improvement initiatives.
The financially constrained plan is assumed to achieve comparable
progress -- 71
percent -- in the reduction in travel that would be achieved by full plan
implementation.
The TIP network used in the analysis assumes that all
TIP projects are implemented. All
non-exempt projects were modeled, as well as a number of exempt projects that
will affect intersection capacities. In addition, the year 2015 and 2021 full plan
scenario was modeled that includes TIP
projects plus additional economic development and congestion management
projects, as well as VMT reduction that would result from the full
implementation of the New Visions
Plan.
EPA's Mobile Model 5B emission rates for volatile
organic compounds and NOx were applied on a link by link basis using speed and
VMT estimates developed in the STEP model for each scenario. VMT was increased by ten percent in all
scenarios to reflect summer traffic volumes, since the highest levels of ozone
are usually detected in the summer months. The Mobile Model 5B emission rates
reflect the most current New York State SIP proposals for upstate
non-attainment.
Supplementary Table C-1 presents the results of the emission
modeling of the TIP and the New Visions Plan
impacts. Supplementary Table C-1
indicates that although vehicle miles of travel are forecast to increase in the
Capital District between 1996 and the year 2021, hydrocarbon and nitrogen oxide (NOx)
emissions will be reduced under all scenarios.
Reduced vehicle emission rates are the primary cause. Compared to the “no-build” scenario, VOC and NOx emissions
will be reduced by financially constrained New Visions Plan, and further
reduced by the Full Plan Implementation.
The analysis demonstrated that full implementation of the New Visions Plan would result in the
lowest emissions of any scenario tested.
The analysis described above indicates that CDTC's New Visions Plan satisfactorily meets
the requirements established by the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments regarding the
conformity of transportation programs.
The analysis demonstrates that emission levels of volatile organic compounds
and nitrogen oxides -- the precursors to ozone formation -- are less for the
plan implementation scenarios in 2005 and 2015 relative to the
"no-build" condition. These
levels are dramatically lower than 1990 or 1996 emission levels.
Supplementary Table C - 1: Air Quality Impact of the New Visions Plan
|
Scenario |
Volatile
Organic Compounds (VOCs) Emissions in Kilograms Per Day |
Nitrogen
Oxides (NOx) Emissions in Kilograms Per Day |
Daily Vehicle
Miles Traveled (Thousands) |
|
1990 |
52,182 |
59,954 |
17,740 |
|
1996 |
55,912 |
62,234 |
20,470 |
|
Year 2005 No-build |
42,790 |
46,332 |
23,979 |
|
Year 2005 with Financially
Constrained New Visions Plan |
38,912 |
44,177 |
22,447 |
|
Year 2015 No-build |
22,338 |
18,114 |
26,581 |
|
Year
2015 with Financially Constrained New Visions Plan |
18,756 |
16,724 |
23,739 |
|
Year
2015 with full |
17,565 |
16,184 |
22,739 |
|
Year 2021 No-build |
19,742 |
12,473 |
27,773 |
|
Year
2021 with Financially Constrained New Visions Plan |
16,564 |
11,540 |
24,935 |
|
Year
2021 with full |
15,479 |
11,149 |
23,797 |
1.
The “Financially Constrained New Visions Plan” for 2005, 2015
and 2021 includes the TIP network as well as the VMT reduction that would
result from the implementation of the financially constrained New Visions Plan. It is assumed that 71% of the VMT reduction
of the full implementation of the plan would be achieved by the financially
constrained plan.
2.
“Year 2015 with full New
Visions Plan” and “Year 2021 with full New
Visions Plan” includes TIP projects plus additional economic development
and congestion management projects, as well as VMT reduction that would result
from the full implementation of the New
Visions Plan.
This section
was revised on September 27, 2000.
[1] Determination of the compliance of the ozone standard for the Capital
District is based on data collected at monitoring sites located at the Loudonville
Reservoir in Albany County, Skidmore College in Saratoga County, and Mont
Pleasant High School in Schenectady County.
The compliance status is determined by the most recent three consecutive
years of air quality data;
non-attainment is designated if the standard of 0.12 ppm (one-hour
average) is exceeded three times over the monitoring period.