Recently, FHWA put on a webinar entitled "Transportation Planning 101: The Role of Resource and Regulatory Agencies in Transportation Planning." The purpose of the webinar was to describe how statewide and metropolitan transportation planning works. The presentation was a good basic overview of transportation planning from the perspective of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).

1. Transportation Planning 101:
The Role of Resource and Regulatory
Agencies in Transportation Planning
Webinar
August 23, 2010

2. Presenters
Mary E. Gray Theresa Hutchins
Federal Highway Administration Federal Highway Administration
Office of Project Development Office of Planning
and Environmental Review
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3. Purpose of Webinar
Describe how statewide and
metropolitan transportation
planning works:
• The role that resource and
regulatory agencies play within
planning
• Identify opportunities for
successful engagement
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4. Intended Audience
• U.S. Fish & Wildlife
• NOAA Fisheries
• BLM/ Forest Service
• U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency
• Tribes
• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
• State Historic Preservation Offices
• State DOT(s)/ FHWA
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5. Interactive Poll
How would you
rate your
familiarity with the
transportation
planning process?
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6. What is Transportation Planning?
Transportation planning:
• Establishing a vision
• Demonstrating influence
or impact of demographics
• Assessing future
opportunities and
challenges
• Identifying short and long-
term options
6

7. Transportation Planning Activities
• Monitoring
• Forecasting
• Identification
• Estimating
• Developing Plans
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8. Why Do We Plan?
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9. Laws and Regulations
• 23 USC 134/135 :
Requires statewide and
metropolitan
transportation planning
• 23 CFR 450 :
Describes the general
transportation planning
process
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10. SAFETEA-LU
• Emphasizes environmental, tribal, and land
management agency consultation
• Establishes funding levels for each year
• Includes natural and human
environmental considerations
• Emphasizes security
• Requires states to consult with
local officials
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11. Planning Regulations Pertaining to Agency
Involvement and Collaboration
• Consultation with agencies during development
of long-range transportation plans
• Consideration of conservation plans, maps, and
inventories of natural
or historic resources
• Discussion of potential
environmental mitigation
activities
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12. The Transportation Process
Visioning &
Goals Objectives
Monitoring & Performance
Regional Measures
Agencies
Tribal
Project States
Government
Development Need
& Operation
MPO
The User/
Special Interest
Identification
Public Groups
Program Federal Private
Development Government Sector
Alternatives
Legal
System
Plan Approval Analysis &
Evaluation
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13. Key Participation Points in the Planning Process:
Vision & Goals
Visioning &
Goals Objectives
Monitoring & Performance
Measures
Project
Development Need
& Operation Identification
Program
Development Alternatives
Plan Approval Analysis &
Evaluation
13

14. Objectives and Performance Measures
Visioning &
Goals Objectives
Monitoring & Performance
Measures
Project
Development Need
& Operation Identification
Program
Development Alternatives
Plan Approval Analysis &
Evaluation
14

15. Problem Identification and Alternatives
Visioning &
Goals Objectives
Monitoring & Performance
Measures
Project
Development Need
& Operation Identification
Program
Development Alternatives
Plan Approval Analysis &
Evaluation
15

16. Selection, Analysis, Evaluation, and Decision-making
Visioning &
Goals Objectives
Monitoring & Performance
Measures
Project
Development Need
& Operation Identification
Program
Development Alternatives
Plan Approval Analysis &
Evaluation
16

17. Arkansas' Ecoregion-Based Approach to Wetlands
Mitigation
• Ecological
connectivity
• Prevention of
further
environmental
fragmentation
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18. Plan Approval and Programming
Visioning &
Goals Objectives
Monitoring & Performance
Measures
Project
Development Need
& Operation Identification
Program
Development Alternatives
Plan Approval Analysis &
Evaluation
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19. Pennsylvania's Ecological Mitigation and
Enhancement Projects
The Bigger Picture:
a way to minimize
road construction
impacts on
ecosystems
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20. Project Development, Operation, and Monitoring
Visioning &
Goals Objectives
Measure &
& Performance
Monitoring
Measures
Project
Development Need
& Operation Identification
Program
Development Alternatives
Plan Approval Analysis &
Evaluation
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21. Role of Federal Agencies in Transportation
Planning
• FHWA and FTA
• Approve the STIP
• Assist the State DOT with
planning oversight
• U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency
• Bureau of Indian Affairs
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22. Role of State DOTs in Transportation Planning
• Prepare and maintain
Long-Range Statewide
Transportation Plan
• Develop Statewide
Transportation
Improvement Program
• Involve the public
• Other duties
22

23. Key Products of Statewide Transportation
Planning Process
Long-Range Statewide Transportation Plan (LRSTP)
• Policy statements
• Covers at least 20 years
• Developed in consultation with Tribes and local governments
• Public involvement
• Updated periodically
Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP)
• 4-year list of priorities
• Fiscally constrained by year
• Updated at least every four years
• Approved by FHWA and FTA
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24. Role of the Metropolitan Planning
Organization in Transportation Planning
• An MPO is a decision-
making body made up of
representatives from
local government and
transportation agencies
with authority and
responsibility in
metropolitan planning
areas.
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25. Typical functions of an MPO
• Establish a setting for
regional decision-making
• Identify and evaluate
transportation improvement
options
• Prepare and maintain a
Metropolitan Transportation
Plan
• Develop a Transportation
Improvement Program
• Involve the public
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26. Key Products of the Metropolitan
Transportation Planning Process
• Metropolitan Transportation
Plan (MTP)
• Transportation
Improvement
Program (TIP)
• Unified Planning Work Program
(UPWP)
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27. Relationship between State DOT and MPO in
Transportation Planning
• Continuing, cooperative, and
comprehensive process
• Plans and programs must be
consistent
• Providing a forum to discuss issues
and plan transportation
improvements
• State DOTs have primary oversight
for MPO planning processes
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28. Integrated Planning
Land Use
System
Transportation
System
Water Resources
System
Other Natural,
Cultural Resource
Systems
Integrated
Approach
Opportunities to support multiple community
goals and improve quality of life 28

29. Planning and Environment Linkages
29

30. Interactive Poll
Have you been
involved in
helping your DOT
or MPO create a
transportation
plan?
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31. Role of the Resource and Regulatory
Agencies in Transportation Planning
• Provide data and expertise on the
natural and human environment
• Collaboration and information
exchange, leading to:
- Better stewardship of the
environment
- Improved project delivery
• Required by law and regulation
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32. When should information be provided?
• Early in the planning
process
• At key decision points
• Whenever your
expertise is needed
• Through out project
development process
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33. Benefits to Resource Agencies from this
Involvement
• Early involvement can be
efficient and increase flexibility
• Early consultation can help
avoid and minimize
environmental impacts and
improve advance mitigation
• Balance needs among agencies
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34. Important information to Provide
• Resource maps
• Species recovery plans
• State Wildlife action plans
• Environmental Justice
population data
• Identification of Tribal
Resources
• Historic Properties Inventories
• Expertise to interpret and use
data
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35. Tools & Methods for Integrating Planning and
the Environment
• Education and training
• Formalize interagency
coordination
• Fund resource agency
positions
• Data and information sharing
• Analysis and decision support
tools
• Joint scenario planning
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36. Data and Information Sharing Example
North Carolina’s
Conservation Planning Tool
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37. Joint Scenario Planning Example
Sacramento Blueprint
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38. Long-Range Transportation Plan
Participation Example
What Moves You Arizona
Participation Plan:
• Transparency
• Involvement Opportunities
• Meaningful Engagement
• Effective Communication
• Education
• Continuous Evaluation
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39. What Types of Agreements are Helpful?
• MOA
• MOU
• Advance Mitigation Site
Concurrence
• Agency Collaborations
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40. Documentation
There are three potential levels of
process/decision documentation:
• Identification of issues or
concerns that will need to be
studied during NEPA
• Passing data or analyses
from planning to NEPA
• Documenting decisions
made in planning for
NEPA
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41. Role of Other Stakeholders
• General public
• Elected officials
• Advocacy groups
• Tribal governments
• Private sector
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42. Role of Tribes
• Consultation applies to
MPOs and State DOTs
• Maintain Sovereignty
• Tribal lands and
Traditional Tribal
Lands
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43. Local preservation commissions, historical
societies, other NGOs
• Inform planners of historic
places and preservation
priorities
• Avoid and minimize
transportation impacts to
historic districts
• Promote heritage tourism
and preservation efforts
43

44. Other Involvement Opportunities
• Planning & Environment
Linkages training
• Ecological Grants
• STARS Workshops
• SHRP 2 pilots
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45. Question and Answer Session
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46. Federal Resource Agency Liaisons
Agency Contact Phone Email
U.S. Environmental
James G. Gavin (202) 564-7161 Gavin.JamesG@epa.gov
Protection Agency
U.S. Fish & Wildlife
Catherine Liller (303) 236-4318 Catherine_Liller@fws.gov
Service
U.S. Army Corps of
Michael Lamprecht (202) 761-4599 Michael.J.Lamprecht@usace.army.mil
Engineers
Advisory Council on
Carol Legard (202) 606-8522 clegard@achp.gov
Historic Preservation
Advisory Council on
Valerie Hauser (202) 606-8530 vhauser@achp.gov
Historic Preservation
USDA Forest Service Paul T. Anderson (703) 605-4617 ptanderson@fs.fed.us

47. Thank you
Mary E. Gray Spencer Stevens
Federal Highway Administration Federal Highway Administration
Office of Project Development Office of Planning
and Environmental Review
(360) 753-9487 (202) 366-0149
mary.gray@dot.gov spencer.stevens@dot.gov
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