Strategic Issues Facing Transportation, Volume 4: Sustainability as an Organizing Principle for Transportation Agencies (2014) / Chapter Skim
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Pages 105-124
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From page 105... ...
105 Transportation agencies are considering strategies to prepare for a future in which transportation could best support a sustainable TBL policy system. Those strategies depend on understanding the challenges and opportunities to be found in the envisioned TBL policy system and the gaps -- where do agencies need to go from here?
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From page 106... ...
106 Sustainability as an Organizing Principle for Transportation Agencies 7.1 General Strategies Decisions about investing an agency's focus, funds, and political capital are difficult to make toward what could be a distant objective without careful and continuous assessment of the evolving policy system around sustainable TBL, both regional and national. Although research shows that significant activity and momentum have been building toward green transportation and context-sensitive development, there is no experience with sustainable TBL to conclusively show that it is practicable.
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From page 107... ...
Near-Term Tools and Strategies to Consider 107 Demonstrate ROI, show benefits Increase support, build coalions in favor of change New legislaon or execuve orders State leaders and key stakeholders iniave sustainable iniaves • Public • Stakeholders • Major interest groups • Economic interests DOT changes policies, programs, and process DOT changes culture to support sustainability Program Implemented Program produces benefits Increase support and coalions in favor of change Top-Down Execuve-Led Approach to Building Sustainability Bo om-Up Locality-Led Approach to Building Sustainability Local transportaon challenges create catalyst for change City government leaders develop sustainability program in response to local challenges Demonstrate ROI, show benefits Increase support, build coalions in favor of change • Public • Stakeholders • Major interest groups • Economic interests Local DOT changes policies, programs, and process Program Implemented Program produces benefits Other localies adopt innovaons Success builds support State leaders and key stakeholders iniave sustainable iniaves New legislaon or execuve orders Figure 15. Policy system development -- top down, bottom up.
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From page 108... ...
108 Sustainability as an Organizing Principle for Transportation Agencies • Monitor and assess the development and spread of sustainability rating systems and measures, particularly those sponsored by independent rating bodies • Monitor and assess the development and adoption of measurement and certification standards, particularly those that deal with two or more elements of the TBL • Monitor and assess the deployment of sustainability tools and methods, particularly those adopted by several peer agencies, focusing on those that involve two or more elements of the TBL • Conduct periodic discussions with stakeholders and agency constituents to take stock of the outlook for sustainable TBL (e.g., timing of such dialogue could be triggered by significant events, rulemaking, or significant trend changes in the factors monitored) Voluntary adoption and use of measurement and rating standards by agencies and the private sector is a strong indicator of their utility and credibility within the community or market, which is why they are the focus of several of the previously listed monitoring activities.
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From page 109... ...
Near-Term Tools and Strategies to Consider 109 useful in the near term to test and incorporate public expectations for TBL outcomes. This challenge is magnified by the need to address the needs of multiple civil agencies as the TBL policy system evolves.
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From page 110... ...
110 Sustainability as an Organizing Principle for Transportation Agencies limited version of an SROI model. Figure 16 provides an overview of the structure of HDR's SROI tool.
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From page 111... ...
Near-Term Tools and Strategies to Consider 111 PRISM actually consists of several interrelated but separate modules. In addition to the Regional Economic Impact module, it includes a module for conducting an economic benefit-to-cost analysis; a module for estimating impacts on regional employment from a project's construction and maintenance expenditures (in effect, a short-term stimulus impact model)
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From page 112... ...
112 Sustainability as an Organizing Principle for Transportation Agencies are estimated based on the mode choice changes, such as reduced congestion, reduced idling, and other changes that are intended to occur as a result of sustainability. Environmental benefits are associated with GHGs, criteria air pollutants, water, and other environmental factors.
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From page 113... ...
Near-Term Tools and Strategies to Consider 113 Methods and Tools Developer/Owner Description and Use GreenLITES New York State DOT The expanded program includes rating systems, spreadsheets, and other metrics to assess projects, plans, O&M programs, and regional programs. Smart Mobility Framework (SMF)
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From page 114... ...
114 Sustainability as an Organizing Principle for Transportation Agencies 7.4 Budgeting and Resource Allocation Looking forward, budgeting and resource allocation functions may need to undergo changes to accommodate new business models that require greater flexibility to enable transfers and shifts of budgets across agency organizational units and among agencies as decisions and risks are shared to a greater extent than today. However, such changes likely will occur only after new business models are developed; no specific changes in typical agency budgeting processes have been identified as needed for the near term.
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From page 115... ...
Near-Term Tools and Strategies to Consider 115 standards useful in EFCA or TCA including for greenhouse gases, the ISO 26000 series for corporate social responsibility, and the ISO 19011 standard for audits. Specifically, TCA differs from traditional accounting and cost approaches by: • Accounting for costs rather than outlays: Traditional costing simply looks at the outlay or initial expenditure on each budget item.
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From page 116... ...
116 Sustainability as an Organizing Principle for Transportation Agencies workshop, and a proof of concept for an LCCA software tool. FHWA Resource Center personnel have presented this workshop to more than 40 states.
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Near-Term Tools and Strategies to Consider 117 sustainable TBL programs. Without this flexibility, rulemaking can be expected to be an onerous task and the rules can be expected to be difficult to comply with.
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From page 118... ...
118 Sustainability as an Organizing Principle for Transportation Agencies • Craft TBL-related measures. • Determine measures of success and rating.
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From page 119... ...
Near-Term Tools and Strategies to Consider 119 sustainability. Rating and performance measurement tools are rapidly being developed and new tools are being developed and modified all the time.
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From page 120... ...
120 Sustainability as an Organizing Principle for Transportation Agencies • Integrate highway projects into the community in a way that helps to preserve and enhance community life • Encourage community involvement in the transportation planning process • Encourage integration of nonmotorized means of transportation into a highway project • Find a balance between what is important to the transportation function of the facility, to the community, and to the natural environment and what is economically sound • Encourage the use of new and innovative approaches in achieving these goals I-LAST includes a checklist-based scorecard for evaluating the sustainable practices included in a highway project, with 17 separate sustainable features in eight categories: • Planning: context-sensitive solutions, land use, community planning • Design: alignment selection, context-sensitive design • Environmental: protection, enhancement, or restoration of wildlife communities; protection, enhancement, or restoration of native plant communities; noise abatement • Water: reduction of impervious area; stormwater treatment; construction practices to protect water quality • Transportation: traffic operations; transit; improvement of bicycle and pedestrian facilities • Lighting: reduction of electrical consumption and stray light • Materials: use of environmentally benign or low-impact materials and/or environmental sound demolition, disposal, and construction techniques • Innovation: use of experimental feature(s) to improve the sustainability of a project For each of the sustainability features, the scorecard lists activities and the points that can be earned for each activity included on a project.
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From page 121... ...
Near-Term Tools and Strategies to Consider 121 Version 1.0 of INVEST includes weighting for the project development criteria only. Criteria in the system planning and operations and maintenance modules are all equally weighted at 15 points (except the bonus criterion in system planning, which is valued at 10 points)
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From page 122... ...
122 Sustainability as an Organizing Principle for Transportation Agencies general, stakeholders believe it will be helpful to promote sustainability as an economy measure and as a more efficient means of delivering service. In particular, a change in the mindset is needed away from focusing on the traditional level of service (LOS)
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From page 123... ...
Near-Term Tools and Strategies to Consider 123 involve coordinated selection and execution of strategies by agencies and entities focused on all three bottom lines. Transportation will likely be called on to support and participate in policy (and possibly funding)
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From page 124... ...
124 Sustainability as an Organizing Principle for Transportation Agencies • Keep outreach and communication activities ahead of the evolution of the transportation policy system. • Support overall outreach activities with relevant facts and figures as sustainable TBL initiatives progress.
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