weMove Massachusetts
Stakeholder Advisory Group #2
January 17, 2012
1
| Leading the Nation in Transportation Excellence | www.mass.gov/massdot
Agenda
Project Progress Update
Project Results to Date
Facilitated Discussion & Feedback –
Project Results
Project Direction
Facilitated Discussion & Feedback –
Project Direction
2
| Leading the Nation in Transportation Excellence | www.mass.gov/massdot
Major Project Accomplishments
New WMM web site:
http:www.massdot.state.ma.us/wemove/
Transportation opinion survey on YMM site –
in 4 languages – www.youmovemassachusetts.org
Interviewed 100 Internal agency stakeholder
Reviewed 50 state and regional planning
documents
3
| Leading the Nation in Transportation Excellence | www.mass.gov/massdot
Philosophy of
weMove Massachusetts
We are unable to fund every project and program
We need to make logical, defensible, smart
choices on how to invest our limited resources,
based on our articulated values
We need to develop a forward-looking, data-driven,
decision-making methodology to assist MassDOT
in implementing its priorities transparently and
measurably
4
| Leading the Nation in Transportation Excellence | www.mass.gov/massdot
Outcomes
Stronger ties between modes – integrated planning
and decision-making
Reinforcement of MassDOT agency goals
Greater use of data and demographic analyses to
support project prioritization
Greater use of established metrics to chart
progress of policies, programs, and projects
National leadership and innovation
5
| Leading the Nation in Transportation Excellence | www.mass.gov/massdot
Major Themes
Which Projects?
Discretionary funding
There is limited flexibility to move money across major
categories, but there is discretion within categories
Structural deficits, debt overhangs, and SGR backlogs
limit flexibility
Even within well-established processes with
dedicated funding sources (i.e., preservation)
There is confusion on approach and use
Applications are siloed
6
| Leading the Nation in Transportation Excellence | www.mass.gov/massdot
Major Themes
Current Project Focus
Project-focused, not needs focused
Project lists are too long, projects are rarely filtered out;
25% design work proceeds
Focus is on 1st year of TIP, not 3-5 year plan; staff
resources are limited
PRC approval is seen as “go-ahead” but funding reality
is different
Projects are not scored or reassessed after PRC
approval
7
| Leading the Nation in Transportation Excellence | www.mass.gov/massdot
Major Themes
Relationship Between Projects & Policy
Bottom-up projects generated at municipal level
often have little relationship to statewide policy
Major disconnects at regional boundaries
No consensus on policies; no mechanism for
macro-level tradeoffs
Expansion versus preservation; highway versus transit
Core systems versus edges
MBTA processes are still largely separate from
Highway Division
8
| Leading the Nation in Transportation Excellence | www.mass.gov/massdot
Major Themes
Evaluation Processes
Processes, tools, and criteria vary widely – 180
different criteria are used
Need for better data to evaluate projects against
policies, i.e., economic development, freight
Even where data is strong, it does not always
correspond with clear performance measures
Data and measures are often siloed
Scoring is often arbitrary and inconsistent across
agencies and project types
9
| Leading the Nation in Transportation Excellence | www.mass.gov/massdot
Major Themes
Evaluation Processes (continued)
MPO and municipality resources vary widely,
projects can be driven by the most resourced
municipalities and MPO staffs
MassDOT staff (Districts, OTP) are often caught in
the middle between state priorities and MPO and
municipality-sponsored projects
Quality, style, size, data vary widely across RTPs
There are 24 asset mgt systems in use at
MassDOT
10
| Leading the Nation in Transportation Excellence | www.mass.gov/massdot
What Do We Need from You?
Have we accurately identified
the major issues?
Share with us best practices
that should be identified?
Discussion groups – then reconvene
for proposed project direction
11
| Leading the Nation in Transportation Excellence | www.mass.gov/massdot
Informing the Development Process
Decision-Making Framework
KDP-1 Allocate funds across modes by need
Some stakeholders want to see mode shift as a specific
performance measures
Likely to be increased funding flexibility at Federal level
Focus initially on highway (including non-motorized) and
transit
KDP-2 Establish priorities within modes by need
Expansion versus preservation
Core network versus edges
12
| Leading the Nation in Transportation Excellence | www.mass.gov/massdot
Informing the Development Process
Decision-Making Framework (continued)
KDP-3 Prioritize Projects by need
Policy filter to screen out projects and reduce backlog
Build on existing processes for each project type
Combine highway and transit processes where potential
for overlap exists, for example, corridor-based analyses
Incorporate well-established performance measures
such as safety and preservation
For example, a capacity project which also improves safety and
has bridges which need to be replaced, would score higher
13
| Leading the Nation in Transportation Excellence | www.mass.gov/massdot
Informing the Development Process
youMoveMass Themes
14
Reliability
User Friendly
Maintenance
Broaden System
Design
Funding
Shared Use
Environment
Capacity
Access
| Leading the Nation in Transportation Excellence | www.mass.gov/massdot
Informing the Development Process
Proposed Project Categories
Capacity for Mobility
YMM Themes: Capacity, Broaden System, Access
Reliable Mobility
YMM Theme: Reliability
Safe Mobility
YMM Themes: Design, User Friendly, Environment
Mobility for Economic Development
Governor’s Priority: Create Jobs & Grow Economy
15
| Leading the Nation in Transportation Excellence | www.mass.gov/massdot
Informing the Development Process
Policy Analysis
Transportation
and Land Use –
YMM Themes: Broaden
System, Environment, Access
Economic Development –
Governor’s Priority: Create Jobs and Grow Economy
Estimates of Total Jobs Created Per $1 Billion Investment
10,156 (WSDOT)
10,870 (CEA/CBO)
21,152 (Maryland)
24,000 (NYSDOT)
27,800 (HOUSE)
43,204 (AASHTO)
16
| Leading the Nation in Transportation Excellence | www.mass.gov/massdot
Informing the Development Process
Policy Analysis (continued)
Mode Shift – YMM Themes: Shared
Use, Capacity, Broaden System,
Environment, Access
Demographic Shift – Aging
Population – YMM Themes: Design,
User Friendly, Access
17
| Leading the Nation in Transportation Excellence | www.mass.gov/massdot
Informing the Development Process
Policy Analysis (continued)
Environmental Benefits – Governor’s Priority: Lower Health
Care Costs: YMM Theme – Environment
18
| Leading the Nation in Transportation Excellence | www.mass.gov/massdot
Informing the Development Process
Other Considerations
“Inside the gate” projects such as airports, ports,
intermodal yards, should continue to use
specialized modal processes
“Last mile” connectors (highway or transit) should
be included
RMV too specialized to be included now but data
can be applied to other purposes as they relate to
the other divisions
19
| Leading the Nation in Transportation Excellence | www.mass.gov/massdot
Informing the Development Process
Discussion
Are we heading
in the right direction?
Will this approach capture your main
issues and concerns?
20
| Leading the Nation in Transportation Excellence | www.mass.gov/massdot
Plan Overview and Timeline
Four primary task areas
1
2
Plan Framework
Data Collection
• Current stage
• Estimated
completion –
January/
February 2012
• Ongoing
throughout plan
3
Framework for
Decision-Making
• Draft tool and
report delivered
to Secretary
• Estimated
completion –
Late 2012
21
| Leading the Nation in Transportation Excellence | www.mass.gov/massdot
4
Final Report
Estimated
completion –
Early 2013
MassDOT Multimodal Transportation Plan
Project Schedule
22
| Leading the Nation in Transportation Excellence | www.mass.gov/massdot
Next Steps
Report on the themes and key conclusions
We will seek your input
Developing the policy tool
Drafting an approach for review
Seeking additional public input from targeted
audiences
Our next meeting: April/May 2012
23
| Leading the Nation in Transportation Excellence | www.mass.gov/massdot