Value Capture for Transportation Finance: Technical Research Report
As vehicles become more fuel-efficient and overall levels of travel stagnate in response to increases in fuel prices, conventional sources of revenue for transportation finance such as taxes on motor fuels have been put under increasing pressure. One potential alternative as a source of revenue is a set of policies collectively referred to as value capture policies. Value capture policies seek to generate revenue by extracting a portion of the gains in the value of land that result from improvements to transportation networks. In this report we identify a set of eight policies that contain elements of the value capture approach. These policies include land value taxes, tax increment financing, special assessments, transportation utility fees, development impact fees, negotiated exactions, joint development, and air rights. (University of Minnesote Center for Transportation Studies report CTS 09-18, June 2009, 373p.)
Overlooked Density: Re-Thinking Transportation Options in Suburbia
Suburban multifamily housing is ubiquitous throughout this country and currently comprises nearly one in four units of suburban housing. Although typically located near commercial development, it is often developed without connections to its surrounding and hence fails to reach its potential for promoting active travel and supporting smart growth goals. Through interviews with architects, planners, developers, and property managers of case study multifamily developments from Oregon, Arizona, Florida, and Massachusetts, this report focuses on the ways regulation, typical development practice, and design culture have propagated the typical disconnected and enclaved forms of suburban multifamily development. The report then proposes ways in which current planning, development, and design practices might shift in order to take advantage of this growing housing trend and create more livable, less congested, and multi-modal suburban communities.
(Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium report OTREC-RR-10-03, February 2010, 36p.)
A Domestic Scan of Congestion Pricing and Managed Lanes
Congestion pricing and managed lanes have been receiving increasing attention in the U.S. as viable congestion management strategies and as ways to generate additional revenue. The purpose of this project was to conduct a scan of selected Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) and State Departments of Transportation (State DOTs) to determine how they are planning for congestion pricing and managed lanes. The scan was designed to identify current practices for regional consideration of congestion pricing and managed lanes as strategies for managing congestion as part of the broader transportation planning process.
(US Federal Highway Administration Report, April 2009, 59p.)
Handbook of Emergency Management for State-Level Transportation Agencies
This research project was intended to lay the groundwork for establishing priorities that would lead to a mature management capability for emergencies, disasters and catastrophes. Because transportation agencies typically have significant experience with “normal emergencies” on the roadways, and routinely work with state police and state fire agencies in disaster situations, some elements of a mature emergency management capability have not been emphasized. The following activities should be completed by a state level transportation agency to ensure a robust response and recovery capability. An Emergency Operation Center (EOC) should be created, and reasonable alternative EOC sites selected and developed. The Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) and Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) should be developed, staff should be trained on the plans, and regular exercises should be held. Guidance on these steps is included, as well as detailed examples of some COOP materials. A complete set of EOC model checklists is available in another MTI publication, The Role of Transportation in Campus Emergency Planning, which is available as a free download at http://www.transweb.sjsu.edu/MTIportal/research/publications/documents/Role%20of%20Transportation%20(Complete%20with%20Cover).pdf.
(San José State College Mineta Transportation Institute report 09-10, February 2010, 124p.)
A Case Study of Enterprise Historic Resources Information Management In Large Transportation Agencies
Historic resources are in some way managed by every transportation agency in the nation. Transportation agencies manage historic and prehistoric archaeological sites, buildings, structures, objects, routes, landscapes, and districts to prevent damage to such resources and to mitigate damage when it is unavoidable. In order to track known resources, transportation agencies often keep local files in a variety of forms, rely upon external sources of information (e.g., historic preservation agencies at the state level), and depend upon staff expertise gained by years of local work. The present study focuses on defining how the district office information systems for historic resources can (and cannot) be used to create an enterprise information management model specific to historic resources within Caltrans. Results of this study range from findings specific to Caltrans and its district offices to general findings that should apply to any transportation agency contemplating an enterprise-wide system for managing cultural resources.
(San José State College Mineta Transportation Institute report CA-MTI-09-2502, January 2010, 66p.)
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