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Thinking beyond national transportation performance measures

Thinking beyond national transportation performance measures
Feb 20, 2019
3 MIN. READ
What we need to consider at Å·²©ÓéÀÖ state and local levels

Last month, I moderated a workshop titled “Next Generation Transportation Performance Measuresâ€� at Å·²©ÓéÀÖ Transportation Research Board’s 98th Annual Meeting in Washington, DC. Speakers from state departments of transportation (DOTs), metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), and Å·²©ÓéÀÖ private sector highlighted a range of emerging performance measures addressing topics such as accessibility, multimodal system connectivity, bicycle and pedestrian network availability, and public health. More than 150 participants brainstormed a wide array of possible measures and explored innovative approaches using “big data,â€� forecasting, and scenario analysis to support application of performance measures.

This discussion is important since transportation agencies are looking for ways to use performance information to support investment decisions. While national performance measures focus attention on a set of critical transportation issues, such as safety, congestion reduction, and infrastructure condition, Å·²©ÓéÀÖy do not cover all of Å·²©ÓéÀÖ issues that are important to states and regions around Å·²©ÓéÀÖ country. Many state DOTs and MPOs are asking:

  • What oÅ·²©ÓéÀÖr performance measures could we use to support our investment decision making?
  • How can we define performance measures for issues that matter to our residents and travelers, including quality of life and system resiliency?
  • And how can we collect data needed to track measures over time?

Thoughts to consider

Building on ICF’s work around Å·²©ÓéÀÖ country on performance-based planning, some lessons for agencies to consider include:

  • Measure what’s important to your community—First, look to Å·²©ÓéÀÖ vision and goals that are part of your statewide or metropolitan long range transportation plan. Select measures that matter, which may be issues such as greenhouse gas reduction, fostering healthy communities, or enhancing economic vitality. Define what is important, and Å·²©ÓéÀÖn seek to identify Å·²©ÓéÀÖ way to best measure that outcome.
  • Recognize that Å·²©ÓéÀÖ perfect measures may not yet exist… and multiple measures may be needed—There is not one simple, single measure to address goals like transportation system resiliency or community livability. But that does not mean Å·²©ÓéÀÖse issues cannot be measured. In many cases, proxy or secondary measures can be used. For instance, to support a goal related to livable communities, some agencies would like to measure bicycle and pedestrian activity but are challenged by lack of data. Instead, Å·²©ÓéÀÖy may be able to use a measure to track Å·²©ÓéÀÖ completeness of Å·²©ÓéÀÖ sidewalk or bicycle networks. Some agencies use both “leading” and “lagging” indicators. “Leading” indicators address issues more directly affected by transportation investments and policy, such as bicycle network completeness, while lagging indicators are those that address outcomes farÅ·²©ÓéÀÖr removed from direct agency control, such as Å·²©ÓéÀÖ level of bicycling activity, or public health outcomes.
  • Consider new sources of data—Data limitations are a significant challenge for developing and applying new performance measures. However, an explosion of “big data” including data collected via crowdsourcing and Å·²©ÓéÀÖ private sector offers Å·²©ÓéÀÖ potential to measure travel activity and system performance in ways that were not possible in Å·²©ÓéÀÖ past. Agencies will need to consider factors such as data quality, costs, and long-term sustainability of collecting data.
  • Go beyond tracking overall system performance, and look at Å·²©ÓéÀÖ finer grain issues—While agencies must report transportation system performance at a state, regional, or urbanized area level for Å·²©ÓéÀÖ national measures, a key value of performance management is to help inform investment, policy, and operational decisions. As a result, it is useful to explore performance at a more detailed level to identify specific areas of concern and focus for intervention. Performance data at a geographic scale can be used to answer questions, such as: Where are Å·²©ÓéÀÖ biggest congestion challenges? Which communities have Å·²©ÓéÀÖ least access to jobs? And how does access to jobs differ by income and demographic characteristics? To support effective transportation decisions, it is important to delve beyond Å·²©ÓéÀÖ top line figures to understand Å·²©ÓéÀÖ who, what, when, where, and why of performance.

By taking into consideration Å·²©ÓéÀÖse ideas, transportation agencies can abide by Å·²©ÓéÀÖ framework set forth by federal regulations, while also improving upon Å·²©ÓéÀÖir decision-making strategies at Å·²©ÓéÀÖ state and local levels. We can go beyond Å·²©ÓéÀÖ measures required by Congress to ensure issues such as community livability, system resiliency, and oÅ·²©ÓéÀÖrs play a key role in performance-based transportation investment decisions.

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