Introduction to Transportation Planning and Environment

Transportation planning provides a foundation for making good decisions.   Transportation planners analyze information on existing and future travel patterns, problems, and needs; develop and evaluate alternative solutions to meet these needs; and develop short and long range plans and programs to implement transportation improvements.  Transportation planners work for and with a variety of stakeholders including local, regional, and state governments and agencies; transportation planning, funding, and operating entities; and the private sector.  Transportation planners are further engaged in a number of technical analyses, including travel forecasting; capital and operations & maintenance costing; environmental, social, and land use impacts analyses; project, program, and systems performance measurement and evaluation; and financial planning.

FTA supports transportation planners and the transportation planning practice in a number of ways.  FTA administers a metropolitan planning and statewide planning grant program to help fund the multimodal transportation planning efforts of metropolitan planning organizations and state Departments of Transportation.  FTA capital funding may also be used by grantees to support their planning needs.  FTA also provides technical assistance on a broad range of planning topics including regional and statewide planning and programming; corridor planning for major capital investments; environmental project reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and related laws; travel forecasting and analysis; capital costing; operations planning and costing; financial planning and analysis; land use planning; and public involvement. 

In cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration, FTA provides a variety of assistance and resources on planning and environmental procedures and methods, including the joint Transportation Planning Capacity Building program; support of a transportation planning certification review process; implementation of the conformity provisions of the Clean Air Act Amendments; and travel demand forecasting, through the Travel Model Improvement Program.

FTA planning assistance is organized within the following three areas:  transportation systems planning, project planning and development, and the environmental review of proposed projects.  These three functions are described below: 

Transportation Systems Planning – encompasses a holistic approach to evaluating state and regional transportation needs at the broadest level. It is a progression of planning activities that helps establish a context for sound policy decisions and is an avenue for involving the public in transportation plans and projects to support the state and regional vision for the future. The systems planning process leads to a number of tangible products that ensure that local transportation decisions are made in a comprehensive, inclusive manner.  Some of these products include a multimodal long range transportation plan and shorter-term transportation improvement program.

Project Planning – Following the results of systems planning, project planning focuses on a specific transportation need (or set of needs) in a given corridor or sub-area, identifies alternative actions to address these needs, and generates the information needed to select a preferred project for implementation.  This analysis is often referred to as “alternatives analysis,” and typically addresses such issues as costs, benefits, environmental and community impacts, and financial feasibility.  Consequently, an alternatives analysis spans a wide range of technical disciplines, ranging from engineering to patronage forecasting to the natural and social sciences.  Project planning continues beyond the selection of a preferred capital investment strategy (or “New Start”, for fixed guideway transit projects funded with discretionary FTA section 5309 resources) and into further refinement and analysis, including completion of Federal environmental review requirements. 

Environmental Planning and Review  – As part of the Federal grant application process, public transportation agencies work with FTA to consider the social, economic and environmental consequences of proposed projects and activities.   The environmental review process required by NEPA and related laws includes environmental impact analyses and the preparation of documentation for public review.  Smaller, relatively routine actions that do not individually or cumulatively have a significant environmental impact are considered to be “categorically excluded” from extensive environmental analysis.  For larger capital projects, environmental evaluation typically results in a detailed written statement on the environmental impacts of a proposed project and alternatives to reduce the harm to the community and the natural environment.  Typically, environmental reviews for proposed transit projects address the impact areas of air and water quality, noise and vibration, historic and cultural properties, parklands, contaminated lands, displacement of residences and businesses, and community preservation.  During the Federal environmental review process, public transportation agencies usually work concurrently with State and local agencies to comply with State and local environmental laws.