Paper Details

TRB 91st Annual Meeting (January 22-26, 2012)

Event Number:	358
Event Title:	Transportation Systems Performance Measurement
Event Date:	Jan 23 2012 2:00PM- 3:45PM
Event Location:	Hilton, International Center
Event Description:
Event Agenda:

Performance Results: Metropolitan Planning Organization's Experience with Developing a Pragmatic Methodology for Project-Level Performance Assessment (12-0481)

Increasingly, with serious budget constraints and seemingly multitudinous transportation needs, transportation planning agencies are called upon to measurably demonstrate prudent and cost-effective use of public resources. A study conducted by the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority has approached this challenge in a comprehensive fashion, developing practical methods for systematically evaluating impacts of implemented projects and programs. The effort drew from approaches in the literature, adapted techniques to the wide range of improvements overseen at a large metropolitan planning organization, and importantly, paid close attention to the effects of transportation on a region’s economic, environmental, and social well-being. Finding no organized methodology of this scope, the study investigated the relevance and viability of sets of performance measures and constructed a guidebook of methods geared toward various project types. Based on trials with example projects, the study found challenges of data availability, quantitative accuracy, and the ability to decisively attribute project impacts amidst otherwise changing conditions. Its findings, along with potential approaches to navigating the challenges, present valuable lessons for the development of future transportation projects and policies.

Authors
     Fineman, Brian J., North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority, Inc.
     ten Siethoff, Brian , Cambridge Systematics, Inc.
     Gock, Anson , North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority, Inc.
     Vernick, Jeffrey F., North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority, Inc.