Performance Measurement of Transportation Systems: Summary of the Fourth International Conference (2013)

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49 BREAKOUT SESSION 4-A Measuring Regional and Community Outcomes Sue McNeil, University of Delaware (Moderator) Peter Hurley, North American Sustainable Transportation Council Keith A. Bartholomew, University of Utah PerformanCe measures in the sustainable transPortation analysis and rating system Peter Hurley reviewed the Sustainable Transportation Analysis and Rating System (STARS), including its devel- opment and purpose. Hurley’s presentation covered the following points: • STARS is a voluntary, national system that pro- vides a framework for developing and rating projects, plans, and programs. It is similar to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, but is for transportation. For use by public agencies and private-sector consultants, STARS is a performance-based system that focuses on access, climate and energy, and cost effectiveness and local economic benefit. STARS compares performance across all modal strategies and includes full life-cycle analysis. Development of STARS began in 2010, and a pilot project phase was initiated in 2011. • The purpose of transportation is to give people access to other people, places, goods, and information. Sustainability requires more than greening-up a project. The STARS principles focus on moving toward true sustainability; improving economic, social, and envi- ronmental performance; and measuring what custom- ers want. Goals drive strategies in STARS. STARS goals focus on transforming transportation industry practice to improve access for all people, reduce oil dependence and climate pollution, maximize cost-effectiveness, and move toward true sustainability. • The triple bottom line metrics for STARS are simi- lar to the triple bottom line metrics for sustainability. The three Es of sustainability—the environment, equity, and the economy—are roughly analogous to the core STARS credits. True sustainability requires optimizing all three Es: economic benefits, environmental benefits, and equity and social benefits. STARS is grounded in the basic principles of the Natural Step. It focuses on an integrated process and access, climate and energy, and analysis of cost-effectiveness. • STARS was developed through a partnership between the City of Portland, Oregon, and the North American Sustainable Transportation Council. There are numerous other public and private partners, including the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission, CH2M Hill, Parsons Brinckerhoff, Confluence Planning, ECONorthwest, David Evans & Associates, and Bright- works. National peer reviewers from public agencies, con- sulting firms, and academia are also involved. • The STARS credit structure includes five required credits and 24 optional credits; 12 core credits were developed for the pilot phase. Credits are accrued to earn certification at the completion of each of three phases: evaluation, implementation, and operations. Not all credits are applicable to all projects. • The STARS process has five steps: 1. Create a multidisciplinary team and host work- shops on training and sustainability, 2. Backcast goals addressing (a) access and (b) cli- mate and energy, 3. Develop economic evaluation strategies, 4. Select alternatives and implement projects and activities, and 5. Monitor and improve performance as appropriate.

50 performance measurement of transportation systems • Several strategies may be considered and analyzed to achieve the identified objectives. Examples of poten- tial strategies include transportation demand manage- ment; transportation system management; provision for vehicle capacity; the addition of transit, bicycle, and pedestrian capacity; and changes in land use. • STARS performance measures for access include modal access; mode split; vehicle miles reduced; travel time consistency; modal capacity; and travel qual- ity focused on safety, user satisfaction, and physical activity. Additional performance measures address greenhouse gas emissions, fossil fuel consumption, and cost-effectiveness. • The STARS performance dashboard can be used to present information on impacts with STARS and with- out STARS. The dashboard was used in the Portland community of Gresham to examine the impact of chang- ing current bicycle and pedestrian trips to automobile trips. STARS pilot projects include analysis of Highway 1 in Santa Cruz County, California, and the Fourth Plain Boulevard project for C-TRAN, the transit agency in Vancouver, Washington. • There are several potential benefits to the STARS approach: – Simplifying and standardizing projects and plans on the basis of triple bottom line goals; – Allowing direct comparison of alternatives and projects through the use of triple bottom line metrics; – Identifying green dividends; that is, money that was leaving the local economy is retained by reducing fuel spending; – Saving time and money through simplified pro- cesses and focused goals; – Increasing healthy transportation—walking, cycling, and the use of transit—on the part of employ- ees and residents; and – Helping meet economic, climate, livability, and equity goals. sCenario assessment: inPuts, ProCesses, and outPuts Keith A. Bartholomew discussed the use of scenario plan- ning for land use and transportation. He summarized the basic elements of the approach, the input measures, and the outputs. Bartholomew’s presentation covered the fol- lowing points: • Land use–transportation scenario planning builds on the federal continuing, comprehensive, and coop- erative (3C) transportation planning process and on the alternatives analysis process laid out in the 1969 National Environmental Policy Act. It also utilizes ele- ments from military and business scenario planning. Land use–transportation scenario planning incorporates variable land use assumptions but does not incorporate broader economic and environmental considerations. • Since 1999, land use–transportation scenario plan- ning has been used in projects throughout the country. The key elements of the process are scenario inputs, assessment tools, and assessment outputs (Figure 8). Examples of scenario inputs for transportation system elements include road lane miles and transit service hours. Examples of land use elements include the num- ber of persons per developed acre, the number of persons per newly developed acre, the density of alternative sce- narios, and the number of households near transit. • Assessment tools can be identified on the basis of their degree of sensitivity to smart growth strategies. Low- sensitivity models include daily vehicle trip models and simple mode choice models. Moderate-sensitivity models include income stratification in distribution and mode choice and the use of nonmotorized modes in the mode choice elements. High-sensitivity models include activity- and tour-based models and integrated land use and trans- portation models. The availability of these different tools in different metropolitan areas has been identified. FIGURE 8 Land use–transportation planning: scenario inputs, assessment tools, and outputs. Scenario Inputs Assessment Tools Assessment Outputs •Transportation system elements: variable • Land use/growth allocations (the Ds): variable • Growth levels: some variable/most constant • Economic conditions (real estate markets & fuel prices): constant •Land use allocation methods •Travel related • Travel demand modeling • Other tools •Air quality & CO2 •Public costs •Other

51measuring regional and community outcomes • Examples of assessment outputs include daily vehicle miles traveled (VMT) per person, vehicle hours of travel, and vehicle hours of delay for alternative sce- narios. Outputs for alternative scenarios are agricultural land consumed, nitrogen oxide emissions, and greenhouse gas emissions. Still another type of assessment output is analysis of multiple variables, examples of which include developed acres versus VMT, persons per acre versus VMT per person, and the percentage of households near transit versus VMT per person. Assessment outputs can be presented graphically in a number of different ways. • In conclusion, denser development patterns result in less driving per person, which indicates an increased level of transportation efficiency. Denser development patterns are less costly per person for road infrastructure than are more dispersed patterns; depending on the cir- cumstances, the level of cost savings may be substantial. Scenario planning is an effective method for understand- ing these relationships and communicating them to deci- sion makers and the public.