New Criteria Supplements Level of Service (LOS) to Assist Agencies with Growth Management & Transportation Impact Analysis

Title: Expanded Transportation Performance Measures to Supplement Level of Service (LOS) for Growth Management and Transportation Impact Analysis (FDOT Contract BDK77 977-14)

Authors:  Lily Elefteriadou, Sivaramakrishnan Srinivasan, Ruth L. Steiner, Patricia C. Tice, Kwangkyun Lim

Many jurisdictions in Florida are moving toward multimodal transportation systems that provide users with viable travel options in an effort to minimize the economic, social, and environmental costs that have been associated with a purely vehicular system. To support this transition, a set of performance measures were developed to supplement the vehicle-based Level of Service (LOS) that has been the primary tool within project impact analysis. This research also created a framework for assisting agencies such as the FDOT in selecting a set of performance measures that are consistent with their overall goals and the quality of life that the community desires. An extensive list of performance measures were synthesized from the literature and categorized into groups according to several typical community and agency goals that they may support. Since there are numerous performance measures that can support each goal, several evaluation criteria were listed that could be used by a local agency to assess each measure in light of the agency’s goals, policies, and resources. These criteria considered the type and quality of data available to the agency, the compatibility of the measures with other agency processes, as well as the degree to which a measure encourages multimodal transportation. In summary, the research showed that even though projects can be evaluated using a variety of performance measures, it is important for local governments to set clear priorities and goals in the planning process and identify the most appropriate set of performance measures to  achieve community goals. The systematic process used in this project can be used to guide local governments in using performance measures that match both the community’s planning priorities and the agency’s resources.  Read the full report for an in-depth look at the methodologies used to carry out this study.

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