Transportation Planning Handbook


Book Description

A multi-disciplinary approach to transportation planning fundamentals The Transportation Planning Handbook is a comprehensive, practice-oriented reference that presents the fundamental concepts of transportation planning alongside proven techniques. This new fourth edition is more strongly focused on serving the needs of all users, the role of safety in the planning process, and transportation planning in the context of societal concerns, including the development of more sustainable transportation solutions. The content structure has been redesigned with a new format that promotes a more functionally driven multimodal approach to planning, design, and implementation, including guidance toward the latest tools and technology. The material has been updated to reflect the latest changes to major transportation resources such as the HCM, MUTCD, HSM, and more, including the most current ADA accessibility regulations. Transportation planning has historically followed the rational planning model of defining objectives, identifying problems, generating and evaluating alternatives, and developing plans. Planners are increasingly expected to adopt a more multi-disciplinary approach, especially in light of the rising importance of sustainability and environmental concerns. This book presents the fundamentals of transportation planning in a multidisciplinary context, giving readers a practical reference for day-to-day answers. Serve the needs of all users Incorporate safety into the planning process Examine the latest transportation planning software packages Get up to date on the latest standards, recommendations, and codes Developed by The Institute of Transportation Engineers, this book is the culmination of over seventy years of transportation planning solutions, fully updated to reflect the needs of a changing society. For a comprehensive guide with practical answers, The Transportation Planning Handbook is an essential reference.




Assessing and Managing the Ecological Impacts of Paved Roads


Book Description

All phases of road developmentâ€"from construction and use by vehicles to maintenanceâ€"affect physical and chemical soil conditions, water flow, and air and water quality, as well as plants and animals. Roads and traffic can alter wildlife habitat, cause vehicle-related mortality, impede animal migration, and disperse nonnative pest species of plants and animals. Integrating environmental considerations into all phases of transportation is an important, evolving process. The increasing awareness of environmental issues has made road development more complex and controversial. Over the past two decades, the Federal Highway Administration and state transportation agencies have increasingly recognized the importance of the effects of transportation on the natural environment. This report provides guidance on ways to reconcile the different goals of road development and environmental conservation. It identifies the ecological effects of roads that can be evaluated in the planning, design, construction, and maintenance of roads and offers several recommendations to help better understand and manage ecological impacts of paved roads.







Transportation Planning Handbook


Book Description

A multi-disciplinary approach to transportation planningfundamentals The Transportation Planning Handbook is a comprehensive,practice-oriented reference that presents the fundamental conceptsof transportation planning alongside proven techniques. This newfourth edition is more strongly focused on serving the needs of allusers, the role of safety in the planning process, andtransportation planning in the context of societal concerns,including the development of more sustainable transportationsolutions. The content structure has been redesigned with a newformat that promotes a more functionally driven multimodal approachto planning, design, and implementation, including guidance towardthe latest tools and technology. The material has been updated toreflect the latest changes to major transportation resources suchas the HCM, MUTCD, HSM, and more, including the most current ADAaccessibility regulations. Transportation planning has historically followed the rationalplanning model of defining objectives, identifying problems,generating and evaluating alternatives, and developing plans.Planners are increasingly expected to adopt a moremulti-disciplinary approach, especially in light of the risingimportance of sustainability and environmental concerns. This bookpresents the fundamentals of transportation planning in amultidisciplinary context, giving readers a practical reference forday-to-day answers. Serve the needs of all users Incorporate safety into the planning process Examine the latest transportation planning softwarepackages Get up to date on the latest standards, recommendations, andcodes Developed by The Institute of Transportation Engineers, thisbook is the culmination of over seventy years of transportationplanning solutions, fully updated to reflect the needs of achanging society. For a comprehensive guide with practical answers,The Transportation Planning Handbook is an essentialreference.




Management and Use of Data for Transportation Performance Management


Book Description

TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) has released a pre-publication version of NCHRP Research Report 920: Management and Use of Data for Transportation Performance Management: Guide for Practitioners that provides practical guidance to transportation agencies to help improve their use of data for performance management. Recent federal legislation has established requirements for agencies to set performance targets and report on safety, pavement and bridge conditions, transit asset state of good repair, system performance, freight, and mobile source emissions. These requirements have resulted in increased visibility and attention to Transportation Performance Management (TPM) and increased awareness of the importance of data within that process. Transportation agencies are recognizing that the value of performance management goes far beyond meeting federal requirements; NCHRP Report 920 will assist agencies to make visible progress in meeting their objectives. The guidance is organized around six data life-cycle stages and includes a discussion of what is involved in implementing each step and some of the critical choices to be made; a synthesis of key points in the form of "Dos and Don'ts" checklists that can be used to assess agency capabilities and identify opportunities for improvement; and illustrative examples. While this guide draws on many examples related to the federally defined TPM areas (safety, pavement, bridge, and system performance), it does not provide official guidance for MAP-21/FAST Act target setting or reporting. It provides a framework for assessing current data management practices and a source of ideas for practice improvement. Its purpose is to promote practices that will enable agencies to go beyond meeting reporting requirements, to get valuable insights from data that can be used to boost agency results.




Technical Assistance and Safety Programs


Book Description




Travel Survey Manual


Book Description







Freight Transportation Planning Practices in the Public Sector


Book Description

This synthesis describes the process by which state departments of transportation and Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) integrate freight planning into the surface transportation planning process. It will be of interest to state and MPO planners, port planners; traffic engineers; and to the trucking, rail, and shipping interests in both the public and private sectors. This report of the Transportation Research Board discusses the requirements for freight planning resulting from the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) with particular emphasis on the development of an intermodal management system (IMS). In addition, that act narrowed the application of the congestion management system (CMS), which is also discussed in the synthesis. Since enactment of that legislation, another act, the National Highway System Designation Act of 1995 was passed and makes the IMS optional rather than mandatory. This has not changed the philosophy or the intent of these planning applications, but it has changed the implementation aspects. Many agencies, however, are continuing with the IMS and CMS planning process. This report describes the methods used by selected agencies for forecasting freight flows, data collection practices, and the techniques for integrating freight planning into the established surface transportation planning processes at the state and regional levels.