TRANSPORTATION 2020 UPDATE

By WM. T. SUNLEY, Illinois Department of Transportation

Transportation 2020, as explained in our March, 1988 column, is an effort to draw a national consensus of the nation's transportation needs through the year 2020 and to build a plan to meet those needs. This month's column is dedicated to fulfill our commitment to keep you advised of developments in the Transportation 2020 Program.

A major factor leading to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials' initiation of the Transportation 2020 Program was the pending completion of the Interstate and Defense Highway System. With completion of construction on the Interstate System near, transportation leaders in AASHTO and other organizations agreed upon the need to examine the mission of the nation's highway system.

A second factor which led to the Transportation 2020 Program was the difficulty in obtaining passage of the 1987 Surface Transportation and Uniform Relocation Assistance Act. You may recall that this legislation passed only after the Congress was able to override a Presidential veto by one vote. Transportation leaders recognized the need to develop a consensus-oriented transportation program for consideration by the members of Congress and the administration.

The Transportation 2020 Program was organized by AASHTO into a four-phase process. Phase I was to examine transportation needs and issues, which AASHTO essentially has completed. Three separate but related activities were undertaken to examine transportation needs and issues. They were as follows:

1. Transportation professionals from the AASHTO member departments undertook to develop, collect and analyze information from a variety of sources, including the member departments, the Federal Highway-Administration, the Urban Mass Transportation Administration, organizations representing local governments and transit agencies, and other sources. This resulted in publication of the AASHTO Report, "Keeping America Moving: The Bottom Line".

2. To obtain the view of transportation users, AASHTO organized the Advisory Committee on Highway Policy, and in cooperation with the member departments and with the help of the Highway Users Federation, the Committee sponsored 65 forums nationwide that involved some 9,000 people. The results of this effort were summarized in the report "Beyond Gridlock: The Future Of Mobility As The Public Sees It".

3. To gain insights on what America will be facing as it moves into the next century toward 2020, AASHTO, the Federal Highway Administration and the National Association of Regional Councils provided funding to the Transportation Research Board to conduct a futures conference. That conference was conducted in June, 1988 and the conference proceedings were published as TRB Special Report 2020, "A Look Ahead: Year 2020".

The completion of Phase I provides the basis for AASHTO's policy development work.

Phase II was to develop alternatives to meet transportation needs and challenges, and to make recommendations. During this phase the AASHTO Policy Committee identified key transportation issues, the Chief Administrative Officers further defined the key issues, and assigned their priority, and the Task Force on a consensus Transportation Program developed the several editions of the "New Transportation Concepts for a New Century" report. The publication of the Final

Credits to: Frank L. McCarthy, Local Planning & Programming Engineer

Page 13 / Illinois Municipal Review / November 1990

Edition of the "New Transportation Concepts tor a New Century" report concluded Phase II for AASHTO.

Phase III was to reach consensus regarding the best transportation program for the nation. As a new, unique tool to help reach a consensus program, AASHTO urged creation of the Transportation Alternatives Group (TAG) and took part in its establishment. The TAG is a non-profit, non-partisan coalition of 12 national public and private interest groups representing users, policy-makers and service providers sharing a broad interest in the nation's surface transportation system and its operation. The TAG consensus development, in addition to its long-range focus, provides positions for consideration by the member organization of the TAG, and also by others, including the U.S. Department of Transportation in the development of its National Transportation Policy, and by the Congress in the development of the next surface transportation authorization. The publishing and submittal of the TAG's "Future Federal Surface Transportation Program - Policy Recommendations", in January, 1990, essentially concluded Phase III.

Phase IV is to work to implement the new National Transportation Policy and a new surface transportation program. This Phase is now underway. At the AASHTO Annual Meeting held in Atlanta, Georgia in October, 1989, the AASHTO Policy Committee endorsed the establishment of an Implementation Team to help with the Phase IV implementation effort. The Implementation Team, in conjunction with the AASHTO Task Force on a Consensus Transportation Program, is to engage in a research and education program in support of the Transportation 2020 Program.

The overall focus of this total effort is the year 2020, as the name for the Program implies, with a major interim target being the next authorization of a Surface Transportation Assistance Act by the U.S. Congress. The surface transportation program currently is authorized through Federal Fiscal Year 1991.

Although space does not permit us to provide details regarding all submitted policy recommendations, some broad generalizations of the TAG consensus involving local Federal-aid highway programs are as follows:

1. The new surface transportation program should include a renewed federal commitment to a national highway system, public transportation, and an increased emphasis on urban/suburban mobility and rural access. Selected categorical programs should be simplified and consolidated with programs focused on metropolitan and rural needs.

2. Bridge rehabilitation and replacement is a high priority and should be an eligible expenditure from highway programs.

3. Funds for federal-aid highway programs should be allocated and apportioned to states. Within states, federal funds for state and local programs should be further distributed by states and appropriate local officials in cooperation with each other. Federal funds for public transit to support existing systems, services, and programs should continue to be provided directly to designated recipients. Federal transit funds for rural and small urban areas should continue to be provided to and through the states.

Information regarding the availability of reports mentioned above may be obtained from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, Inc., 444 North Capitol Street, N.W., Suite 225, Washington, D.C. 20001. Their telephone number is 202-624-5800.

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