LongRange Transportation Planning in Utah: Summary of Research Results from Interviews and Focus Gro

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Long-Range TransportationPlanning in Utah
Summary of Research Results from Interviews and
Focus Groups

• Final Report from Phase II
• Natural Resource and Environmental Policy Program
  USU

2
Acknowledgements

• Utah Department of Transportation
• Individuals who participated in this study
• Natural Resource and Environmental Policy Program
• Institute for Outdoor Recreation and Tourism
• Department of Environment and Society
• College of Natural Resources
• Utah State University

3
Research Methods

• Face-to-Face Interviews
• 17 Internal Participants (Utah Transportation
  Commissioners, UDOT Administrators, UDOT Public
  Involvement Coordinators)
• 14 External Participants (State and Federal
  Government Representatives, MPOs, UTA, Land
  Developer)
• Focus Groups
• 4 Internal Focus Groups (Regional Maintenance
  Workers)
• 5 External Focus Groups (Persons with
  Disabilities, Bicyclists, Utah DEQ, Environmental
  Groups, Low Income Representatives)

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Research Methods

• Question Sets
• Protocols
• Internal / External
• Interviews / Focus Groups
• Main Content Areas
• UDOTs Image and Relationships with Other Groups
• Transportation Planning
• Long-Range Transportation Plan
• UDOT as an Organization

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Research Methods

• Data Analysis Techniques
• Transcriptions
• Entire team read raw transcripts
• Development of thematic coding scheme
• Sample coding of interviews
• Coding refinement
• Ensuring inter-rater reliability (all codes
  checked)
• Production of master list of pages of text on
  which all codes are located (reference guide)
• Interpretation, synthesis and write-up

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Theme 1 Challenges Involved in Comprehensive
and Innovative Transportation Planning

• Transportation Planning Context
• Rapid population growth makes it hard to stay
  ahead of the curve
• Suburban sprawl creates developments often
  distant from existing infrastructure
• Diversifying transportation demands
• Importance of the transportation system for the
  states economy and its future strategies
• Compliance with environmental laws
• Compliance with social justice,
  anti-discrimination, and disability laws

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Theme 1 Challenges Involved in Comprehensive
and Innovative Transportation Planning

• Difficulties in Transportation Planning
• Lack of predictability of specific development
  locations puts transportation planners in
  reactive mode and forces compromises from
  strategic perspectives
• Lack of flexibility due to restrictions on
  funding, timing, under-funded planning, long-term
  vs. short-term planning needs
• Lack of appropriate sequencing to put various
  parts of the system in place

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Theme 1 Challenges Involved in Comprehensive
and Innovative Transportation Planning

• Separation of transportation and other planning
  functions
• Between various transportation planning entities
• Between transportation planning and land-use
  planning
• Between transportation planning and natural
  resource planning
• General recognition of need for and benefit of
  greater coordination

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Theme 1 Challenges Involved in Comprehensive
and Innovative Transportation Planning

• Interface Between Politics and Planning
• Influence of the Governors transportation
  agenda
• MPOs often have own lobbyists and agendas
• Local community officials can sidestep the MPO
  planning process by lobbying independently for
  projects they did not get through the MPOs
• Main Points
• Politics can subvert the transportation planning
  process.
• Prioritization of projects can be difficult.

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Theme 1 Challenges Involved in Comprehensive
and Innovative Transportation Planning

• Need for a Paradigm Shift
• To create a good intermodal transportation
  system that provides travel alternatives and
  meets the needs of a diverse group of users
• Provide more transportation alternatives for
  urban areas (in particular)
• Promote mass transit for the Wasatch Front
• Need a change in mindsets and behaviors of the
  public to demand and use alternative
  transportation

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Theme 2 Coordination and Leadership in
Transportation Planning and Partnerships

• Importance and Challenges of Coordinating
  Transportation Planning
• Funding and jurisdictional responsibilities
  differ from agency to agency
• Need for improved integration between the
  various forms of transportation
• Must serve the needs of diverse users and
  stakeholders
• Efficient and equitable use of limited resources
  is seen as very important

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Theme 2 Coordination and Leadership in
Transportation Planning and Partnerships

• How to Coordinate Transportation Planning
  Structure
• Create one transportation agency
• Retain current transportation entities, but
  create an umbrella organization for coordinating
  purposes
• One transportation entity takes the lead, but
  all entities continue to exist and operate in
  their defined areas of responsibility

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Theme 2 Coordination and Leadership in
Transportation Planning and Partnerships

• How to Coordinate Transportation Planning
  Function
• Improve communication and information sharing
• Build strong relationships with other entities
• Improve cooperation and partnership arrangements
• Engage in more cost sharing agreements
• Note Most people favored these types of
  functional improvements over a structural
  reorganization of transportation agencies.

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Theme 2 Coordination and Leadership in
Transportation Planning and Partnerships

• Leadership in Statewide Transportation Planning
• Internal participants felt UDOT can and should
  play the role of transportation leader in Utah.
• Reasons department mandate moving in the
  right direction to be able to do it agency
  survival.
• External participants had more mixed opinions
  some people felt another entity (e.g. advisory
  committee) should play the role of
  transportation leader in Utah.
• Reasons image of UDOT as roads department
  without a broad enough vision poor customer
  service bad move politically

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Theme 3 Engaging the Public in Transportation
Planning

• Challenges of Public Involvement
• Public apathy and time constraints
• Hard to get people involved in long-range
  planning
• Designing effective public involvement forums
• Perception that public input is ignored
• Perception that decisions are made prior to
  public involvement
• Legacy of mistrust that must be overcome

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Theme 3 Engaging the Public in Transportation
Planning

• Effectiveness of Public Involvement
• UDOT leadership perceived to be more open and
  collaborative in recent years
• Addition of Public Involvement Coordinators
• Use of smaller, more personal public involvement
  forums
• Appointment of staff liaisons with other
  agencies
• Context Sensitive Solution initiative
• UDOT personnel attending the meetings of other
  groups and organizations

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Theme 3 Engaging the Public in Transportation
Planning

• Recommendations for public involvement from the
  interviewees and focus group participants
• Do it early and frequently take it seriously
• Be more proactive in soliciting input
• Ensure feedback is representative of the public
• Encourage members of the public to talk to each
  other
• Less emphasis on public hearings greater
  emphasis on small groups and electronic
  communication
• Use input received from the public when making
  decisions or explain why it was not used

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Theme 4 UDOTs Public Image and Its Relationship
With Other Entities

• Improvement in UDOTs Public Image
• Decentralization efforts have improved
  communication with local entities
• UDOT is perceived as more open and inclusive
• The 2002 Winter Olympics and UDOTs coordination
  with other agencies was a big success
• Use of new technology to keep the public
  informed of current construction is appreciated
• Context Sensitive Solutions concept is well
  received by communities

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Theme 4 UDOTs Public Image and Its Relationship
With Other Entities

• Continuing Challenges for UDOTs Public Image
• Often perceived as a Roads Department
• Thought to be lacking the big picture view
• The organizational culture seen as dominated by
  the engineering mentality
• Perceived lack of concern for environmental
  issues
• Some people say lawsuits are the only effective
  method for getting UDOTs attention

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Theme 4 UDOTs Public Image and Its Relationship
With Other Entities

• UDOTs External Relationships
• Relationships in good standing
• Federal and State agencies, MPOs, UTA, cities
  and counties (i.e., others in the transportation
  or planning communities)
• Relationships in need of improvement
• Special interest groups and stakeholders such
  as persons with disabilities, bicyclists, low
  income citizens, and environmental groups (i.e.
  certain customer groups)

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Theme 4 UDOTs Public Image and Its Relationship
With Other Entities

• Recommendations for improving public image and
  relationships (made by participants)
• Sincere behavior that increases stakeholders
  trust in UDOT (e.g., follow-through,
  explanations, frequent contact)
• Follow both the spirit and letter of laws such
  as ADA and NEPA and ensure that contractors
  comply
• Build roads that do not create barriers for
  bicyclists and disabled people
• Engage in open and honest communication

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Theme 5 Assessment of UDOT as an Organization

• Understanding of UDOTs Mission
• External participants views to plan,
  construct, and maintain state highways
• Internal participants views a comprehensive
  transportation provider, playing a key role in
  the statewide transportation system

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Theme 5 Assessment of UDOT as an Organization

• Participants Perceptions of UDOTs Leadership
• Executive Leadership Viewed positively both
  internally and externally, willing and able to
  institute change and tackle challenges
• Transportation Commissioners Views were mixed,
  some felt commissioners were responsive to public
  concerns, others felt there was too much
  political motivation in their decision-making
  process

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Theme 5 Assessment of UDOT as an Organization

• Improvements in UDOTs Organizational Structure
  and Function
• Decentralized, regional decision-making viewed
  as appropriate and effective (helps build
  relationships, keeps
• UDOT in tune with local needs and the public)
• Some centralization is deemed necessary, such as
  for specialized functions
• Recognition of a need for better integration
  between UDOTs internal Divisions
• Use of technology traffic information boards
  good accounts/billings in need of updated
  technology

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Theme 5 Assessment of UDOT as an Organization

• Perceptions of UDOTs Organizational Culture
• Road builders too much emphasis on asphalt
• Engineering mentality dominates UDOT
• Need for better integration of the human
  component into project planning and UDOTs
  management
• Need to improve communication skills of
  the Department as a whole

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Theme 5 Assessment of UDOT as an Organization

• Personnel Issues
• Internal Participants
• Agency stretched thin financially and employees
  work hard to do as much as they can with limited
  resources
• Loss of well-trained employees to private sector
  and other agencies hurts UDOT
• Concern with fairness issues in pay, training,
  advancement, and status
• External Participants
• Turn-over makes it hard to get consistent,
  reliable help
• Lack of environmental expertise

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Theme 6 Long-Range Transportation Plan

• Process of Developing the Plan
• Needs good inter-agency coordination
• Involve the public in the process
• Allow adequate time for effective review of the
  draft plan by both internal and external
  constituents
• Use MPO and community long-range plans already
  in place when devising UDOTs plan
• Review other State Transportation Plans for good
  ideas (e.g. Georgia, Minnesota)
• Solicit ideas from UDOT employees (not just
  planners)
• Allow adequate time for the planning process

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Theme 6 Long-Range Transportation Plan

• Recommendations for Plan Content
• Vision of the Plan
• Promotes paradigm shift toward intermodal
  transportation system through policies, goals,
  and investment strategies that will make that
  happen
• Serves as a master list of projects for the next
  20 years and balances preservation plan with
  capacity plan
• Helps UDOT manage its resources and employees
  more efficiently

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Theme 6 Long-Range Transportation Plan

• Recommendations for Plan Content Framework for
  Thinking About Transportation Needs
• Provides direction for addressing
  transportation concerns in Utah tells people
  what to focus on provides criteria and rationale
  for decision-making lays out strategies for
  addressing transportation problems
• Discussion document that articulates the various
  choices and trade-offs the public needs to make
• Incorporate more explicit goals and objectives
  for how UDOT intends to engage in the on-going
  task of transportation planning and public
  involvement

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Theme 6 Long-Range Transportation Plan

• Recommendations for Plan Content
• Specific Issues the Plan Should Address
• Corridor Preservation
• Project Prioritization
• Project Sequencing
• Air Quality and Water Quality
• Transportation Funding
• Other Issues open space, view sheds, public
  land access considerations, wildlife mitigation
  corridors, sensitive species habitats,
  environmental justice concerns

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Theme 6 Long-Range Transportation Plan

• Anticipated Plan Outcomes
• Serve as a guide to transportation decision
  making
• Tool to encourage citizens to think more
  strategically about the states future
  transportation system and to engage them earlier
  in transportation planning
• A dynamic plan that is flexible and adaptable
• Incorporate an internal monitoring and
  evaluation strategy for the plan
• Plan would allow for periodic review by external
  constituents