ISTEA established sixteen
factors to be considered in the development of the TIP. TEA-21 summarizes these into seven planning
issues which are listed below.
1. Support
the economic vitality of the United States, the States and metropolitan areas,
especially by enabling global competitiveness, productivity, and efficiency;
2. Increase
the safety and security of the transportation system for motorized and nonmotorized
users;
3. Increase
the accessibility and mobility options available to people and freight;
4. Promote
and enhance the environment, promote energy conservation and improve quality of
life;
5. Enhance
the integration and connectivity of the transportation system, across and
between modes, for people and freight;
6. Promote
efficient system management and operation; and
7. Emphasize
the preservation of the existing transportation system.
CDTC's project selection
process for new projects, including the solicitation, screening, evaluation and
programming considers these issues.
Documentation of how each individual issue is considered follows.
Issue number one is
"Support the economic vitality of the United States, the States and
metropolitan areas, especially by enabling global competitiveness,
productivity, and efficiency".
The CDTC Policy Board and
Planning Committee include Albany Port District Commission and the Albany
County Airport Authority. Freight
providers, such as Conrail, CP Rail Systems, and private shippers and trucking
interests participate in the CDTC planning process through its Goods Movement
Task Force, which meets quarterly and reviews the products of CDTC’s planning
and programming processes.
Surface access to the Albany
International Airport is a major issue in the Capital District. The results of the Airport GEIS were
strongly considered in the formulation of the 1997-02 TIP, and eventually
carried over into the 2001-06 TIP.
Major improvements, both publicly and privately financed, are planned
for the area as a result.
New Visions considers tourism and recreational travel as
part of the overall picture of vehicle-miles traveled (VMT) in the region. Enhancement-type projects, which are an
integral part of implementing New Visions,
have significant tourism and recreational travel impacts, and are explicitly
incorporated in the CDTC process. These
factors increase the competitiveness of the Region and the State.
Issue number two is
"Increase the safety and security of the transportation system for
motorized and nonmotorized users".
CDTC's TIP includes projects
specifically intended to increase safety during the 1997-02 update that have
carried over into the 2001-06 TIP.
There are many other projects on the 2001-06 TIP that, although not
specifically designated as such, make the transportation system safer for both
motorized and non-motorized users.
New Visions enhancements to traditional projects make the
system more accessible and safer for non-motorized users. These enhancements are considered in all
projects. A set-aside (RG82) was added
to the 1999-04 TIP for the purpose of supplementing funding for these improvements
for projects already on the TIP. These
funds were depleted between updates to accommodate funding increases to
existing projects necessitated by New
Visions enhancements.
Also added during the 1999-04
update was increased funding for RG37, ITS Operating Costs. These funds provide NYSDOT HELP patrol on
the Northway, which provides emergency assistance to disabled vehicles. The funding for this project was replenished
during the 2001-06 update.
Also during the 2001-06
update, funds were programmed for the realignment of an “S” curve on Maple
Avenue. This project was on the 1986-91
TIP as project C4 and was reinstated as S157.
Issue number three is
"Increase the accessibility and mobility options available to people and
freight". CDTC addresses this issue at many stages.
Congestion mitigation is
related to New Visions goals
concerning mobility. The implementation
of this goal was a key consideration in the formation of the 1997-02 TIP, which
was eventually carried over into the 2001-06 TIP. The programming principles used to build this TIP are based on
CDTC's findings that a mixed strategy is most effective in maintaining and
improving current levels of mobility.
In addition, CDTC required all fixed capacity improvements to be linked
to local land use management prior to consideration for programming. This essential link to land use is key to a
policy that seeks to prevent future congestion. Only those mobility projects that address a Level of Service E or
below condition were considered for programming.
New Visions enhancements to traditional projects increase
the accessibility options for transportation system users. As stated above regarding issue number two,
these enhancements are considered in all projects.
Issue number four is
"Promote and enhance the environment, promote energy conservation and
improve quality of life".
Energy conservation is an
explicit consideration in the CDTC project merit evaluation, and one of the key
factors in the cost/benefit analysis of federal flexible funding
candidates. Energy conservation was
emphasized for mobility projects in particular in the merit evaluation of
candidate projects.
CDTC applies a screening
criterion that requires all fixed capacity improvements to be linked to local
land use management. Keeping
transportation improvement projects consistent with land use plans helps the
quality of life of the residents of the Capital District. The TIP also includes projects specifically
intended to improve quality of life by diverting truck traffic from
neighborhoods and to attract traffic from local roads to higher function roads.
Transportation enhancement
projects often relate to quality of life issues rather than traditional
movement of automobiles. CDTC's
evaluation framework included all eligible enhancement activities, with a focus
on bicycle and pedestrian projects with significant transportation
benefits. This TIP contains projects
funded by the Enhancement program, as well as about $4M in bicycle, pedestrian,
and canal projects funded with other federal-aid highway sources.
Issue number five states
"Enhance the integration and connectivity of the transportation system,
across and between modes, for people and freight".
Transportation enhancement
projects are often related to non-automobile modes. CDTC's evaluation framework included all eligible enhancement
activities, with a focus on bicycle and pedestrian projects with significant
transportation benefits. This TIP contains projects funded by the Enhancement
program, as well as about $4M in bicycle, pedestrian, and canal projects funded
with other federal-aid highway sources in recognition of New Visions emphasis on increasing the region’s investment in
non-motorized travel options significantly over current levels.
Issue number six is
"Promote efficient system management and operation". Even though the management systems are no
longer required, performance monitoring remains part of CDTC planning process.
CDTC has many years of
experienced with the Pavement Management System (PMS) approach to prioritizing
pavement infrastructure projects and used that expertise in its merit
evaluation procedure and screening criteria for pavement projects. NYSDOT uses a Bridge Management System whose
basic tenets were incorporated into the screening and merit evaluation
criteria. NYSDOT also has primary
responsibility for the Safety and Traffic Monitoring Management Systems.
CDTC has developed a
Congestion Management System (CMS) for the region, resulting in ongoing
improvements to CDTC's modeling capabilities.
The CMS is a significant tool for identifying and managing mobility in
the Capital District.
Issue number seven is
"Emphasize the preservation of the existing transportation
system". Preservation of the
existing system is one of the main tenets of the New Visions plan, which was used to guide the selection of new
projects for inclusion in the TIP.
Summary Figure 1 on page 54 shows a breakdown of capital projects in the TIP. Infrastructure projects, which focus on the preservation of the existing transportation system, make up 58% of the total program (by summing the "bridge" and "pavement" categories), demonstrating a strong commitment to a preservation strategy.