ISTEA established
sixteen factors to be considered in the development of the
1.
Support the
economic vitality of the
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.
TEA-21 was due to expire
prior to the beginning of this
Issue number one is
"Support the economic vitality of the
The CDTC Policy Board
and Planning Committee include Albany Port District Commission and the Albany
County Airport Authority. Freight
providers, such as CSX, 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
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
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
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 2005-10 update.
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
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
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
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
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
Summary Figure 1
on page 67 shows a breakdown of capital projects
in the