Consideration of Environmental Factors in Transportation Systems Planning (2005) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
Pages 11-32
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 11... ...
The second section of this chapter discusses laws, policies and regulations that provide a legislative framework for environmental stewardship in transportation planning. Appendix B, available as NCHRP Web-Only Document 77, provides an extensive list of state laws that refer to some link between transportation and environmental analysis.
|
From page 12... ...
In addition, some states have adopted or are considering policies to promote sustainability in transportation planning and project development. For example, the Maine Sensible Transportation Policy Act of 1992 ensured that transportation decisions, including the commitment of funding, were to be made based on a transportation policy founded on sustainable principles.
|
From page 13... ...
Context-Sensitive Design/Solutions Engineers have been considering environmental impacts in project development for many years. As noted in Schulze 13 (27)
|
From page 14... ...
• Develop new mechanisms and institutions that balance the needs of human and natural systems. • Adopt regional planning based on sustainability principles.
|
From page 15... ...
As noted in that section of the report devoted to planning, "the methods and tools used by engineering and environmental professionals for integrating environmental considerations into various aspects of transportation decision-making are quite rudimentary, having originated in the major highway construction era of the 1950s and 1960s." In fact, the strong relationship between the construction and operation of the transportation system and the resulting effects on the natural environment have led to various approaches for considering environmental issues in transportation planning. One of the first major research efforts on this topic, sponsored by the National Cooperative Highway Research Program, culminated in NCHRP Report 156, Transportation Decision-Making, A Guide to Social and Environmental Considerations (33)
|
From page 16... ...
In particular, the concepts of strategic environmental assessment (SEA) , sustainable transportation planning, and environmental management systems are important approaches that relate environmental factors to systems-level planning for transportation and other civil infrastructure.
|
From page 17... ...
/nonmotorized transportation Education • TABLE 2 Traditional transportation planning process compared to process oriented toward sustainable development Source: Characteristics for process oriented toward sustainable development synthesized from Newman and Kenworthy, 1999 (15) , Maser, 1997 (19)
|
From page 18... ...
Guideline 3. Define health and environmental quality objectives based on health and environmental criteria, standards, and sustainability requirements.
|
From page 19... ...
Sustainable Transportation Planning -- Although sustainability was discussed in an earlier section, sustainable transportation planning has received such attention in the international literature that it is important to describe those aspects of the literature that relate to this topic. The United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development defines sustainable development as "development that meets the needs of present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." (52)
|
From page 20... ...
20 • The OECD has developed a framework of indicators for integrating environmental concerns into transportation policies. The OECD model has been adopted by most members of the European Union, and by some international organizations that deal with environmental information, as the most appropriate way to structure environmental information.
|
From page 21... ...
and sustainable transportation planning indicates that environmental considerations in transportation planning are being elevated to the national agenda increasingly. At least two important messages emerge from these international experiences: (1)
|
From page 22... ...
Respondents to the project survey, and many of those interviewed for the case studies, pointed to such laws and regulations as being the most important reason for environmental considerations being incorporated into transportation planning and decision making. This section reviews some of the more important federal laws and regulations that relate to transportation and environmental quality, and provides examples of similar state laws.
|
From page 23... ...
A good reference for the federal laws, regulations, and guidance that relate to the consideration of environmental factors in transportation decision-making can be found at www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment. State Laws States also have enacted laws or adopted policies and regulations to promote the consideration of environmental factors in transportation planning.
|
From page 24... ...
Regional transportation plans (RTPs) and any subsequent revisions, amendments, or updates to the plan must be in compliance with the law, and the regional planning agency must prepare and certify an environmental document before adopting an updated plan.
|
From page 25... ...
2. The most widely used tools for considering environmental factors in transportation planning are data trend analysis, geographic information systems (GIS)
|
From page 26... ...
• According to the environmental resource agencies, the types of data most readily available to transportation planning agencies relate to air quality, water quality, erosion, wetlands, and storm water runoff.
|
From page 27... ...
The concept of sustainability also is increasingly important in transportation planning. Sustainability refers to economic and social change to improve human well-being while reducing the need for environmental protection.
|
From page 28... ...
Not surprisingly, the United States and countries in the European Union that have passed legislation to promote environmental considerations in planning have given this issue a high priority and allocated appropriate resources to address it. The next chapter presents a transportation planning framework and the important steps needed to consider environmental factors earlier.
|
From page 29... ...
29 Figure 3. Most important methods and tools for environmental consideration, state DOTs and MPOs.
|
From page 30... ...
30 State DOTs MPOs Figure 4. Existence of data for consideration of environmental factors, state DOTs and MPOs.
|
From page 31... ...
31 State DOTs MPOs Figure 5. Obstacles to incorporating environmental factors into transportation planning, state DOTs and MPOs.
|
From page 32... ...
32 State DOTs MPOs Reasons to Consider Environmental Factors Earlier in Project Development Reasons to Consider Environmental Factors Earlier in Project Development Pe rc en t C ho os in g th e O bs ta cl e as Im po rta nt Pe rc en t C ho os in g th e O bs ta cl e as Im po rta nt Figure 6. Reasons for considering environmental factors earlier in project development, state DOTs and MPOs.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.