PROJECT SELECTION
The Center for Neighborhood Technology
www.cnt.org
August 2003
This review will be more easily understood as annotated comments on problem areas in the 2030 RTP.* The 2030 RTP was considered from the point of view of public comment
during 2001 and 2002, particularly the comment found in
Changing Direction: Transportation Choices for 2030.**
Thematic issues that impact this section include:
·
Refusal to "flex" funds; persistent use of the old 60/40 highway/transit split, in spite of overwhelming public support for more transit and almost universal controversy on
major highway projects.
·
Use of implementer "readiness" to determine priority for deploying projects over time, rather than regional priorities.
·
No discussion of the great degree of controversy surrounding some of the expressway and arterial projects proposed.
·
Failure to conduct real alternatives testing; no indication which strategies from "alternatives" were chosen to form the final plan.
·
Refusal to meaningfully incorporate NIPC Evaluation Measure scores. Use of a "composite" score for projects, without showing individual scores, is ineffectual and
uninformative.
* Available at
http://www.sp2030.com/CommentSite/index.html
.
**Available at
http://www.cnt.org/tsp/trans/ctaqc/cc/theplan.htm
The chart below offers specific page references and quotes from the Regional Transportation Plan and commentary on why each quote is relevant or problematic
Page Quote
Comment
72
Capital intensive approaches also improve performance of the
existing system, particularly with regard to reduction in traffic
congestion as well as providing new transit choices in
developing areas.
Reduction in traffic congestion through road building has
repeatedly been shown to be a short-term solution. New
transit choices in developing areas have low overall benefits;
usually they do not improve job access from the most
populous communities and serve small numbers of
commuters on the fringes.
116
A major capital project recommendation's appearance in the
RTP was consensus that discerned the following about each
project:
- Building the project can improve the performance of the
transportation system.
- There is a commitment to steady progress toward
implementing the project in support of the plan's goals and
objectives. . . .
Faulty logic includes: there is no consensus on these projects,
some are hotly contested; progress toward implementation
should not be substituted for objective criteria on the value of
a project. Projects should have been selected to provide
maximum benefit to the greatest number of people and to
reduce environmental impacts.
