Project Abstract

Several global and local issues began converging several years ago that led PennDOT in this direction. Financially, costs have soared and revenue has been severely limited. Environmentally, Pennsylvanians have become more concerned about the impacts of climate change, and local communities have grown increasingly concerned about sprawl and the loss of farmland. Socially, long commutes have led to less time with families and a degradation of "livability." And armed with a better understanding of the tight link between transportation and land development, we now understand that it is impossible to "build our way out of congestion." All of these factors led the Department to decide that it must evolve the way it plans, builds, and maintains the state’s transportation infrastructure.

-- Excerpt from Smart Transportation Submission Form --

Overview

Smart Transportation (ST) is an overarching philosophy at PennDOT that is being implemented through changes to the Department's culture, policies, and procedures. The 10 Themes of ST, attached to this application, drive the overall approach. Many of these themes relate directly to CSS, such as #5 "Look Beyond LOS," #8 "Build Towns Not Sprawl," and #9 "Understand the Context; Plan and Design Within the Context."

ST has been systematically implemented at PennDOT through several measures. In coordination with DVRPC and the New Jersey DOT, we developed the ST Guidebook that helps our transportation engineers and planners develop projects that respond to community, financial, environmental, land use, and transportation contexts. PennDOT has adopted the Guidebook as interim policy guidance, giving our staff the assurance they need to actually apply the Guidebook and consider all aspects of the context to real transportation projects. (The Guidebook is attached to this application).

PennDOT has revised the Highway Occupancy Permit (HOP) process to allow more flexibility in mitigating traffic impacts, in order to ensure solutions that fit with the local context. PennDOT, local governments, and developers will now coordinate this process as partners, rather than sitting on opposite sides of a negotiating table.

The Department has also been engaged in a significant outreach and training effort related to ST. Changing the culture, policies, and procedures is not an easy task; we need the buy-in of our internal staff and external stakeholders to make this work. To that end, the Department has been holding workshops with local communities; partnering with state organizations such as the Pennsylvania Association of Township Supervisors (PSATS) and 10,000 Friends of Pennsylvania; and developing land use and transportation training modules. PennDOT is also coordinating the implementation of the program with state agencies such as the Dept of Community and Economic Development and the Dept of Conservation and Natural Resources. We are also placing a heavy focus on communication, internally and externally. PennDOT has developed a website, brochures, a quarterly newsletter, and other materials to ensure that the Department is sharing the ST message with a variety of audience.

Currently, we are working on the next phase of ST's systematic implementation. This includes revising our project/program development process to have a much stronger emphasis on comprehensive planning at the beginning of the process. The process will align our projects and programs with local community needs and fiscal responsibilities. We are also revising all of our Design Manuals to allow more flexible transportation solutions that will cater to the diverse communities throughout Pennsylvania.

CSS Qualities: Process

The Smart Transportation Guidebook was the first and most important tool developed to promote application of CSS throughout the Department. The Guidebook contains a wealth of specific information on how to determine the local land use and transportation contexts, and how to design solutions that are compatible with each. PennDOT’s design criteria policy has been revised, in accordance with the Guidebook, to include design values that are aligned with both functional classifications and land use contexts. This policy change provided PennDOT staff with greater assurance needed to utilize the Guidebook criteria in their day-to-day work.

In late 2008, PennDOT launched a competitive funding program called the Pennsylvania Community Transportation Initiative (PCTI). The PCTI program had $60 million to award to projects throughout the state that best exemplified ST (and, inherently, CSS). The Department received over 400 applications requesting nearly $600 million from a wide diversity of communities; this response revealed a tremendous interest in the principles of ST. PennDOT has awarded the funding to the best projects. The next step will be to carefully monitor the implementation of the projects, in order to learn lessons about how to refine the program and how to better coordinate with local governments.

The revised Highway Occupancy Permit (HOP) process greatly increases the flexibility available to PennDOT, local governments, and developers in designing mitigation projects for the transportation impacts caused by new developments. The focus of the program is now on ensuring that the mitigation options are compatible with the local context.

The new Project Development Process, currently in the planning stages, will also greatly increase the use of CSS principles in developing the overall transportation program, as well as in designing the specific projects on a program. This revised Project Development Process will not only streamline the process, it will more ably link Pennsylvania's statewide Mobility Plan with the Regional Long Range Transportation Plans and the Municipal Comprehensive Plans. As a consequence, PennDOT is exploring organizational change to strengthen the planning component of our business

PennDOT also participates in the Interagency Land Use Team (ILUT), a group started through a gubernatorial executive order that involved all state agencies that are involved with land use. PennDOT has conducted a workshop on Smart Transportation with the ILUT, and continues to engage with the group on numerous aspects of the program.

CSS Qualities: Outcomes

Smart Transportation will have a number of benefits for all stakeholders. The program will result in streamlined review processes, thus saving taxpayers money and getting transportation improvements built more quickly and efficiently. It will result in more flexible options for the mitigation of traffic impacts caused by new development, ensuring that the mitigation can fit within the local community context. Transportation engineers and planners will have more flexible design manuals that allow them to safely design projects that are compatible with the financial, environmental, physical, and social contexts of their projects. Finally, the principles, tools, and lessons of ST and CSS will be imparted to our partners (MPOs, RPOs, municipalities, counties, etc.) throughout this process.

   Smart Transportation Submission Form

   Smart Transportation Themes

   Smart Transportation Guidebook

   Smart Transportation Quarterly - Volume 1

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