Glossary

 

Acronyms and Abbreviations

 

AADT - Average Annual Daily Traffic: Estimate of typical daily traffic on a road segment for all days of the week over a period of one year.

 

ADA - Americans with Disabilities Act: Federal law designed to help provide transportation services for the elderly and handicapped.

 

ARISE  - A Regional Initiative Supporting Empowerment:  a faith-based community-organizing project covering the Capital District’s four counties.

 

ATMS – Advanced Traffic Management System (ITS)

 

CAAA90 - Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990: Federal law which stresses the relationship of transportation and air quality and the attainment of national ambient air quality standards.

 

CBD - Central Business District: Core area of urban center where commercial activity is concentrated.

 

CDRPC – Capital District Regional Planning Commission

 

CDTA – Capital District Transportation Authority

 

CDTC – Capital District Transportation Committee

 

CEG – Center for Economic Growth:  not-for-profit organization established in 1988 by a group of business, academic, and opinion leaders to promote the economic growth of New York’s Capital Region.

 

CFR - Code of Federal Regulations: a codification of the rules and guidance published in the Federal Register by the Executive departments and agencies of the Federal Government.

 

CMAQ - Congestion Mitigation/Air Quality Improvement Program: category of FHWA funds to help improve air quality in non-attainment and maintenance areas.

 

CMS - Congestion Management System: management system required in TMAs; CMS addresses congestion on the highway and transit systems.

 

CNG - Compressed Natural Gas - one of the alternate fuels to gasoline.

 

CO - Carbon Monoxide: a criteria pollutant that is the product of incomplete fuel combustion.

 

COE - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

 

CSS – Context Sensitive Solutions:

 

DOE- U.S. Department of Energy

 

EJ - Environmental Justice: effort to assure that the planning and decision-making process does not have a disproportional high impact on minority and low-income populations.

 

EPA - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

 

ESTA - Empire State Transportation Alliance

 

FHWA - Federal Highway Administration

 

FTA - Federal Transit Administration

 

HBRR - Highway Bridge Replacement and Rehabilitation Program: category of FHWA funds.

 

HC - Hydrocarbons: gaseous compounds made of carbon and hydrogen (used interchangeably with VOC).

 

HOV - High Occupancy Vehicle: vehicle carrying a large number of passengers, such as buses, carpools, and vanpools.

 

ISTEA - Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991: federal law passed by Congress covering federally funded highway and transit programs for the period 1992-1997.

 

ITS - Intelligent Transportation System: Development and use of technology to enhance ground travel, to improve safety and the environment. This includes the gathering and dissemination of traveler information, traffic management and vehicle management in an overall manner.

 

JARC – Job Access Reverse Commute:  FTA grant program that assists states and localities in developing new or expanded transportation services that connect welfare recipients and other low income persons to jobs and other employment related services.

 

LOS - Level of Service: Traffic engineering term describing the operating conditions a driver experiences while traveling a particular street or highway.

 

MAB - Metropolitan Area Boundary: Federally approved transportation planning boundary of a MPO; the MAB covers the area presently urbanized and that area expected to be urbanized during the next 20 years – sometimes called the MPA.

 

MIS - Major Investment Study: Stand-alone analysis required under ISTEA for major corridor or subarea study.  TEA-21 replaced the stand alone MIS requirement with the directive that the planning analyses be integrated with NEPA.

 

MPA – Metropolitan Planning Area:  the MPO’s study area (see MAB)

 

MPP - Metropolitan Planning Program: FTA=s planning funds supporting MPOs.

 

MPO - Metropolitan Planning Organization: Federally mandated organization of coordinating transportation planning.  Each urbanized area with a population of over 50,000 must have an MPO.

 

MSA – Metropolitan Statistical Area:  a core area containing a substantial population nucleus, together with adjacent communities having a high degree of social and economic integration with that core.  Defined by the Office of Management and Budget

 

NAAQS - National Ambient Air Quality Standards: Emissions standards established under the CAAA90 and subsequent rulings by EPA.

 

NEPA - National Environmental Policy Act of 1969

 

NHS - National Highway System: designated a priority system of highways; it is also a category of FHWA funds.

 

NOx - Nitrogen Oxides: a collective term for all compounds of nitrogen and oxygen.

 

NYSDEC - New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

 

NYSDOT - NYS Department of Transportation

 

NYSERDA - NYS Energy Research & Development Authority

 

PL - Metropolitan Planning Funds: a category of FHWA funds established specifically for metropolitan transportation planning purposes.

 

PM-10 - Particulate Matter with a diameter less than 10 micrometers: a criteria pollutant from many sources; diesel engines are a major contributor.

 

Section 3010 - FTA-funded discretionary program for New Starts.

 

Section 3037 - FTA-funded discretionary program supporting Access to Jobs initiatives.

 

Section 5303 - FTA-funded discretionary program supporting continuing planning activity and special transit studies.

 

Section 5307 - FTA-funded formula grant program for capital improvements and operating assistance to mass transit.

 

Section 5308 - FTA-funded discretionary program supporting Clean Fuels programs.

 

Section 5309 - FTA-funded discretionary program for capital improvements to mass transit.

 

Section 5310 - FTA-funded program for capital projects to meet the special needs of elderly and handicapped (formerly 106(b)(2)).

 

SEQRA - State Environmental Quality Review Act: Article 8 of the New York State Environmental Conservation Act.

 

SHPO - State Historic Preservation Officer

 

SIP - State Implementation Plan for air quality: A document required by CAAA90 to be produced and updated.  The document details required levels of pollution emission reductions and sets deadlines to meet emission reduction targets.

 

SOV - Single Occupant Vehicle: A vehicle occupied by one person, the driver.

 

STIP - Statewide Transportation Improvement Program: State document combining the federally funded highway and transit projects contained in all MPO TIPs plus those projects planned in rural areas of a State.

 

STP - Surface Transportation Program: a category of FHWA funds.

 

TANF - Temporary Assistance to Needy Families: US Department of Health and Human Services program that replaced the Aid to dependant Children and several other social aid programs.

 

TAZ – Traffic Analysis Zone:  The smallest geographical unit used in the travel-demand forecasting model.

 

TCM - Transportation Control Measure: Means established by ISTEA and CAAA90 to reduce single occupant vehicle use or total vehicle miles of travel (e.g., HOV lanes, new parking restrictions, tolls).

 

TCSP - Transportation and Community and System Preservation Program: FHWA demonstration program to help control urban sprawl.

 

TDM - Transportation Demand Management activities: Strategy designed to improve travel by reducing demand through techniques such as ridesharing.

 

TE - Transportation Enhancement: a subcategory of STP funding; set aside for strengthening the cultural, aesthetic and environmental aspects of the intermodal transportation system.

 

TEA-21 - Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century: Federal legislation June 1998; authorizes the Federal surface transportation programs for highways, highway safety, and transit for the six-year period 1998-2003.

 

TIP - Transportation Improvement Program: Five-year program of capital and operating projects, as required by federal regulation.

 

TITLE VI - Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

 

TMA - Transportation Management Area: An urbanized area that contains over 200,000 population according to the Bureau of the Census.

 

TOA  –  NYS Transit Operating Assistance.

 

TSM – Transportation System Management: strategies to improve travel through low-cost techniques such as signalization and channelization.

 

UAB – Urbanized Area Boundary: sometimes called the FHWA UAB .  Boundary resulting from an MPO’s smoothing/adjusting of the Census UZA

 

UZA – Urbanized Area Boundary:  urbanized area boundary according to the Bureau of the Census.

 

UPWP - Unified Planning Work Program: The annual or biennial document that guides the federally funded transportation planning activities within the MPO area.

 

URA - Uniform Relocation Act: Federal regulations regarding land use and right-of-way matters.

 

USDOT - United States Department of Transportation

 

VHD - Vehicle Hours of Delay: Measure of delay indicating the number of hours the traffic stream is delayed.

 

VMT - Vehicle Miles of Travel: One vehicle traveling one mile.

 

VOC - Volatile Organic Compounds: gaseous compounds made of carbon and hydrogen (used interchangeably with HC).

 

4(f) - Section 4(f) of the USDOT Act of 1966: requires special effort to preserve public parks, recreational areas, wildlife and waterfowl refuge areas and historic sites.