CDTC has enjoyed a long and successful history carrying out the "3C" planning process required by federal law. CDTC's planning process has included consideration of a wide range of issues in order to maintain modal and geographic balance, seek innovative solutions and recognize regional needs. The ISTEA reinforced long-standing federal requirements (23 CFR §450.110(b)) that the TIP adopted by CDTC be derived from CDTC's continuing planning process and related to CDTC's long-range plan. Because the ISTEA, and subsequently TEA-21, has provided increased federal transportation authorizations and because it also provided greater programming flexibility to the states and MPO's, the importance of the relationship between the long range plan and TIP has increased.

New Visions is the long-range Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) adopted by the CDTC in March 1997. Taking over three years to develop, New Visions went beyond all previous CDTC efforts in its level of public participation and scope of issues considered. The goal of New Visions process was to devise a plan to ensure mobility, achieve intermodal integration, and enhance the Capital District's economic health.

New Visions began in 1993, with an update to the Regional Transportation Plan that detailed thirteen CDTC commitments. In Phases 1 and 2 of New Visions, task forces focused on nine issue areas and performed significant technical analysis and research. Using a performance-based approach, an in-depth 14-volume technical report series was produced. Much of this work, particularly new approaches to comparing project benefits and costs ("full cost accounting") has received nation-wide attention. The task forces proposed principles to guide the future investment of transportation dollars, as well as many actions for all levels of government to consider. A positive vision of where Capital District transportation could be in 2015 emerged from this work.

New Visions focused on the major transportation policy choices facing the region, gathering public input at every opportunity. The apparent consensus developed by the task forces was tested through a broad public outreach program using speakers, a slide show, and a New Visions Workbook, and was largely upheld by public reaction. A final document was then drafted, submitted for over 90 days of public comment, revised, and then adopted in March 1997. The TIP is the primary mechanism to implement the New Visions plan.

An objective of the CDTC TIP is to make progress in meeting the goals and objectives of the New Visions plan. Within the context of broader national, state, regional and local public and private actions to meet the economic, social, educational and other needs of the region, CDTC's long-range transportation system goals are:

• Transportation Service: Maintain or improve overall transportation service quality from 1996 conditions and enhance the quality of life in the region.

• Resource Requirements: Reduce the per-capita resource requirements related to provision, operation, use and mitigation of the impacts of the transportation system from 1996 per capita costs; in particular, reduce the total cost of accidents.

• External Effects: Build strong urban, suburban and rural communities; knit them together into a cohesive metropolitan area; support economic and social interactions that accommodate population, household, employment and commercial and industrial growth while improving environmental quality and enhancing the natural and built environment.

The New Visions plan goes further than stating these broad goals: Programming principles and a budget that calls for "comparable progress" across multiple project types is stated. The planning and programming principles are organized under four broad themes:

1. Preserve and Manage. CDTC's highest priority is preserving and managing existing investment in the region's transportation system. Specific policies direct investment based on function and need; the priority for improved design and condition of major facilities should not depend on facility ownership.
2. Develop the Region's Potential. The Capital Region is a single economic unit containing a rich heritage, historic communities that cannot be replicated elsewhere, vibrant suburban areas, abundant open space and recreational opportunities, great natural resources and a highly educated work force. This region can grow into a uniquely attractive, vibrant and diverse metropolitan area. CDTC will consider community development and regional development plans as key factors in making transportation investment decisions.
3. Link Transportation and Land Use. Local land use decisions impact the function of the transportation system -- and vice versa. This relationship is paramount to all transportation planning and programming decisions. Achieving the plan's goals is as much dependent upon achieving unprecedented success in the land use area as it is on improving the transportation system.
4. Plan and Build for All Modes. Transportation planning and project design need to consider and accommodate more than cars. Pedestrians, bicyclists, delivery vehicles, long-distance trucks, rail crossings and intermodal terminal access are among the modes and modal considerations elevated by the plan.

The principles state when and how CDTC believes transportation investment is warranted, and when it believes such investment is not warranted. New Visions budgetary guidance is stated as follows:

1. CDTC desires full implementation of all plan elements.

For example, reducing the percentage of deficient bridges to 20% (one element of the plan) and improving bike and pedestrian accommodations on a priority network (another element) are both important and complete implementation success is desired for both.

2. Under constrained budgets, preserving the existing transportation system has a higher priority than making improvements or additions.

CDTC's existing principles and the New Visions effort have repeatedly emphasized the need to maintain what we currently have as a priority.

3. Even under constrained budgets, making some degree of progress with improvements is essential.

It is realistic and appropriate to assume that some amount of highway or bridge improvement, bike accommodation or access management redesign will be included in CDTC's and members' action agendas -- even if budgets are reduced from historic levels.

4. Availability of funds dedicated to a particular mode, system or purpose frees up "flexible" funds.

Sources with a tightly defined list of eligible purposes are a reality. These benefit specific purposes directly, and other purposes indirectly. Practically speaking, if CDTA receives a discretionary Section 5309 capital grant for bus replacement, or if State Dedicated Funds for state highway projects are increased, this increase reduces the load on other, flexible fund sources.

5. Priority for the use of flexible funds is not to be based on ownership.

Based on these principles, CDTC's approach to TIP development is based upon the conclusions that:

1. Flexible funds can be broadly targeted to specific project categories based on relative funding need -- after accounting for the availability of dedicated funds and after assigning extra weight to the funding requirements of preserving the existing system; and,
2. Project priority within a project category can be determined based on need, cost effectiveness, urgency and other factors.

The budgets for various project types established in New Visions were used explicitly as a reference in assessing TIP balance and influenced the mix of projects chosen for programming. Using New Visions budgets to target funding to various project categories was treated broadly during TIP development, as a guide in developing a balanced program rather than a rigid funding sub-allocation. Partly this recognizes the fact that the full implementation budget estimates are imperfect and will be refined in coming years. Broad treatment will also keep this potentially valuable tool from becoming a hindrance to CDTC's effective decision-making process. CDTC is not a project sponsor or builder, and flexibility is necessary to respond to those aspects of the plan which are implemented.

The New Visions budgets were particularly valuable in selecting a large number of new projects in developing the 1997-02 TIP. During the 1999-04 TIP development, most new funding was dedicated to implementing the existing project set. Only a handful of new projects were added. But despite the limited opportunity for new projects, the New Visions principles and budget helped in project selection.

In addition to the direct budgetary link between the New Visions plan and the TIP, there are a number of policy linkages as well. Integration of the planning and investment principles adopted in New Visions influenced every aspect of TIP development, from the types of projects solicited from sponsors to the evaluation criteria used. Implementation of the projects in the TIP will continue to rely heavily on a multimodal performance-based approach to project development that takes into account community compatibility and economic development concerns.

New Visions budgets include all fund sources (federal, state and local) over twenty years. TIP commitments, complemented by non-federal sources total to slightly over $400M per year in the Capital District. The two pie charts on the next page compare annualized New Vision budget targets by project type with the overall transportation-funding picture for the 1999-04 period. The contribution of the federal-aid program to meeting important regional goals in transportation is highlighted. While federal-aid provides for less than 25% of the total expenditures, it provides for significantly larger share of system improvements.

The categories within "Improvements" are directly related to the budget categories established in New Visions. "Supplemental Actions" includes bicycle and pedestrian accommodations, safety improvements, and goods movement. Using the federal-aid program to fund these types of projects was a major factor in the achievement of a high degree of correlation between the long range budget targets and the short-range capital program.