MPO Performance-Based Planning In Response to MAP-21: National Survey Results

Performance measures play an important role in transportation planning, project prioritization, and decision-making. Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) have been tasked by Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21) federal transportation legislation to develop short- and long-term transportation plans that include performance measures. Agencies are responding to federal rulemaking in implementing and incorporating the required performance measures. This paper analyzes the results of a nationwide survey of MPOs on data-driven and performance-based transportation planning practices before and after MAP-21. Survey responses reveal when agencies began collecting federally-mandated performance measures as well as non-mandated measures, how performance measures link to regional and state goals and priorities, what factors currently impede agencies from adopting performance-based planning practices, and where agencies appear to be looking for examples, best practices, and data sharing. Only 12 out of the 183 responding agencies reported that they are using all of the federally required measures. Larger MPOs are generally adopting more measures and introducing measures earlier, and agencies located in the Northeast and Western states (where many larger regions are located) are generally ahead of regions in the South in implementing performance-based planning. Many agencies reported a lack of resources, both monetary and personnel, as contributing to their inability to quickly and efficiently adopt new data-driven practices.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ADA20 Standing Committee on Metropolitan Policy, Planning, and Processes.
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  ,    
• Authors:
  • Grossman, Alice
  • Meyer, Michael D
  • Watkins, Kari Edison
  • Ross, Catherine
  • Schank, Joshua
  • Guensler, Randall
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 98th Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2019-1-13 to 2019-1-17
• Date: 2019

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: References;
• Pagination: 4p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Before and after studies; Implementation; Metropolitan planning organizations; Performance measurement; Surveys; Transportation planning
• Identifier Terms: Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21)
• Geographic Terms: United States
• Subject Areas: Planning and Forecasting; Transportation (General);

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01697351
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 19-04713
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Mar 1 2019 3:50PM