Table 7 groups the various New Visions actions into categories of regional programs and
specific major investments for purposes of estimating financial needs. While an effort has been made to make the
list as comprehensive as possible, there are some exceptions that should be
noted for categories that include activities outside CDTC's traditional realm
of highway and transit projects. First,
private funds are shown only for projects that are carried out through a formal
public-private financing mechanism (such as building service roads through
publicly collected mitigation fees).
Private costs for goods movement, rail operation and airline operation,
for example, are not shown, nor are annual operating expenses for the port,
airport or Amtrak service.
Within the transit arena, no firm estimate for the total cost of
operating human service transportation is available locally or nationwide. Therefore, only the costs related to
FTA-financed vehicle replacement at human service agencies are shown.
Not surprisingly, the largest categories of costs shown in Table 7 are
related to maintenance, operation and rehabilitation of the area's highways and
bridges, exceeding $300 million per year
in the four-county Capital Region.
Table 7: Budget Categories Used in New Visions
|
Actions Included |
|
REGIONAL PROGRAMS |
|
|
1 |
Intermodal Facilities |
Amtrak stations,
airports, port, other public facilities |
2 |
Transit Infrastructure |
Buses, garages,
stops/shelters, etc… |
3 |
Transit Service |
Cost of operations |
4 |
ITS and Traffic
Infrastructure |
Signals/surveillance/communication
technology |
5 |
ITS and Traffic
Operations |
ITS operations;
non-ITS traffic operations |
6 |
Highway Rehabilitation
& Reconstruction -- Priority Network |
Capital work:
contractual and force account |
7 |
Highway Rehabilitation
& Reconstruction -- other |
Capital work:
contractual and force account |
8 |
Bridge Rehabilitation
& Reconstruction -- Priority Network |
Capital work:
contractual and force account |
9 |
Highway and Bridge
Maintenance |
Routine
patching, plowing, sweeping, etc… |
10 |
Strategic Highway
& Bridge Actions -- CMS based |
Congestion relief,
development mitigation |
11 |
Strategic Highway
& Bridge Actions -- economic development/community |
Community enhancement,
economic inducement |
12 |
Supplemental Goods
Movement Accommodations |
Other projects not
captured in projects above |
13 |
Supplemental Bike
& Pedestrian Accommodations |
Other projects not
captured in projects above |
14 |
Supplemental Access
Management Actions |
Other projects not
captured in projects above |
15 |
Supplemental Safety
Actions |
Other projects not
captured in projects above |
16 |
Demand Management |
Rideshare/transit/telecommuting/flex
hour support |
17 |
Integrated Planning
& Outreach |
Regional and local
transportation/land use work |
|
The New Visions budget makes a
distinction between system preservation and desired improvements that are part
of the full implementation of recommendations.
The system preservation or "basic maintenance" budget is an
estimate of the average annual cost over 20 years to preserve the system with
its current design, current capacity and current average physical
condition. Financial requirements for
system preservation include routine transit vehicle, highway, and bridge
rehabilitation and replacement, but do not reflect improvement in vehicle or
facility design. If future funding were
limited only to the system preservation levels, it would be possible to provide
an equivalent transportation in the year 2015 and 2021 that is currently
available -- with the same capacity, same design, same overall condition. CDTC's careful articulation of system
preservation budgetary requirements reflects the high priority that CDTC
assigns to system preservation.
The full implementation budget reflects the average annual cost of
implementing the New Visions actions
at an aggressive, but plausible pace.
Under the full implementation budget, facilities and vehicles are
improved per the recommendations of the plan and the overall physical condition
of pavement and bridges is improved to meet stated goals. The difference between the system
preservation budget and the full implementation budget represents the plan's desired improvements. The desired improvements are those items
intended to make the region's transportation system function better, reduce
user and environmental costs, complement the community, and meet the economic
and travel challenges of the 21st century.
The desired improvements can also be seen as the primary source of
policy direction; under constrained financial conditions, these improvements
compete for scarce funds.
CDTC's policy approach to advancing the desired improvements is to
(1) Assure that basic system preservation needs are
met first;
(2) Seek progress across all fronts whenever funding
levels exceeds the basic system preservation level and
(3) Pursue funding levels sufficient to permit full
implementation of the entire plan of reasonable actions.
CDTC's budget plan shows assumptions of funding availability and
identifies the level of improvements possible under each.