Performance Objectives

The trend forecasts in Error! Reference source not found. presented a challenge to achieving the stated New Visions goals. Reaching the vision depends on the successful outcome of many initiatives and external events. These include:

1. Successful implementation of physical, operational and institutional actions implied by the New Visions principles and specifically called for by the New Visions strategies and actions.

2. Adequate funding for full implementation of the New Visions plan.

3. Complementary state and national policy actions relating both to the Capital Region's economic competitiveness and to subjects such as vehicle emissions and fuel efficiency standards.

4. Complementary private investment decisions in the Capital Region in the transportation system (rail, air, intercity bus, trucking, communications), in workforce management (telecommuting, demand management, transit pass support, etc.) and in the location and design of residential, commercial and industrial development.

5. Complementary private sector initiatives nationally and internationally to develop and market cleaner, quieter, safer and more fuel-efficient cars and trucks.

Table 1 presents achievable performance objectives relative to selected core performance measures; these objectives are achievable if the five conditions stated above are achieved. It is within the region's grasp to use a combination of transportation, land use and other policies along with private actions and state and national policies to preserve the current strengths of our regional transportation system and address its weaknesses.

Table 1: Performance Objectives for Core Measures

								Year 2015	Year 2021	Year 2021
								Full Plan	Full Plan	Full Plan
Selected Core Measures				2021 Performance Goals	1990	1996	2000	Improvement	Improvement	Improvement
				and Qualifications	Conditions	Conditions	Conditions	from 1996	from 1996	from 2000
Transportation Service
ACCESS	Percent of PM Peak Hour Trips Transit Accessible			Increase from current levels	18.60%	na	na	aa	na	na	*
	Percent of PM Peak Hour Trips With Transit Advantage			Increase from current levels	0.40%	na	na	aaaa	na	na	*
	Percent of PM Peak Hour Trips Accessible by Bicycle			Increse from current levels, and	28.9% (1995)	na	na	aa	na	na	*
		and Walking		improve quality of facilities
ACCESSIBILITY	Travel Time between Representative Locations;			As with congestion measures,	59	64	69		rr	r
	see Appendix; Sample Time: Selkirk Yards			maintain close to current times
	to Saratoga Springs (minutes, PM Peak)			and increase predictability							*
CONGESTION	Daily Recurring Excess Person Hours of Delay			Maintain close to current levels	6,546	16,999	26,344	r	rrr	aa	*
	Excess Person Hours of Peak Hour Delay Per PMT			Maintain close to current levels	1.1	2.4	3.2	a	rrr	a	*
	Daily Excess Vehicle Hours of Delay by Truck			Maintain close to current per VMT	125	357	553	a	rrr	aaa	*
FLEXIBILITY	Reserve Capacity on the Urban Expressway and Arterial			Accept some decline in exchange
	System (PM Peak Hour Vehicle Miles of Capacity)			for greater reliability & route,	855,008	772,039	696,552	r	r	r	*
				mode choice
Resource Requirements
SAFETY	Estimated Annual Societal Cost of Transportation			Reduce from current per capita
			Accidents, Millions of Dollars ($M)	levels	$510	$685	$810	a		a	*
ENERGY	Daily Fuel Consumption (thousands of gallons)			Reduce from current per capita	880	na	na	a		a	*
				levels
ECONOMIC	Annual Vehicle Ownership and Operating Costs for			Reduce from current per capita
COST	Autos and Trucks, Millions of Dollars ($M)			levels	$696	$815	$901	a		a	*
	Other Monetary Costs of Transport: Highway and			Reduce from current per capita
	Transit Facilities and Service, Parking Facilities,			levels
	Environmental Damage, Millions of Dollars ($M)				$779 M	na	na	a		a	*
External Effects
AIR QUALITY	Daily Hydrocarbon (HC) Emissions (kg)			Reduce well below	47,632	40,840	na	aaaa	aaaa	aaaa	*
	Daily Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) Emissions (kg)			current levels	53,661	46,023	na	aaa	aaa	aaa	*
LAND USE	Residential Use Traffic Conflict: Miles at LOC "E" or "F"			Reduce from current levels	82.4	na	na	aaa	aaa	aaa	*
	Arterial Land Access Conflict: Miles at LOC "E" or "F"			Reduce from current levels	29.9	na	na	aaa	aaa	aaa	*
	Dislocation of Existing Residences and Businesses			Enhance rather than dislocate							*
				existing properties
	Community Quality of Life- Factors that reflect			Contribute significantly				a	a	a
	community quality of life in the central cities,			and explicitly
	inner suburbs, outer suburbs, small cities and
	villages, and rural areas.
ENVIRONMENTAL	Number of Major Environmental Issues to be			Use transportation investments
		Resolved to Implement Existing Commitments		to enhance the environment							*
ECONOMIC	How does the transportation system support the			Contribute significantly				a	a	a
	economic health of the region?			and explicitly
aaaa	Positive impact greater than 50%, future relative to base year.
aaa	Positive impact between 20% and 50%.
aa	Positive impact between 10 and 20%.
a	Positive impact less than 10% or not quantified.
	Negligible impact expected.
r	Negative impact less than 10% or not quantified.
rr	Negative impact between 10 and 20%.
rrr	Negative impact between 20 and 50%.
rrrr	Negative impact greater than 50%, 2015 relative to 1990.
*	Indicates impact has been quantified.

Achieving the Core Performance Objectives

Supplemental Performance Objectives