Priority System for Multimodal and Intermodal Transportation Planning

789763PDFProceedingsTransportation planningIntermodal transportationMultimodal transportationStrategic planningPlanning methodsBenefit cost analysisAlternatives analysisOregonMerkhofer, Miley (Lee)Schwartz, MarcyRothstein, EricApplied Decision Analysis, Inc.CH2M Hill, inc.National Research Council (U.S.). Transportation Research BoardNTL-PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION-MultimodalismNTL-FREIGHT-IntermodalismNTL-ECONOMICS AND FINANCE-ECONOMICS AND FINANCENTL-PLANNING AND POLICY-PLANNING AND POLICYNTL-PLANNING AND POLICY-Management SystemsUS Transportation CollectionPrioritization is an increasingly important concept for transportation system planning and programming. The resources for capital improvements to state and regional transportation systems are stagnant or declining. At the same time, population growth, urban development patterns, and travel behaviors are increasing the demands placed on transportation systems. ISTEA mandates consideration of multiple modes, but it is difficult to compare the relative benefits of projects across modes. Given all these factors, planners need to prioritize. Formal priority systems can help planners identify and justify the choices that achieve the greatest benefit in this complex environment. This paper describes an innovative application of formal prioritization principles to intermodal planning. A priority system was constructed as part of the development of Oregon Department of Transportation Intermodal Management System. It is designed to help identify transportation system needs based on quantitative, facility type-specific performance measures; to rank the needs; and to prioritize projects for meeting the needs. In addition, the system provides an opportunity for sensitivity analysis to distinguish which assumptions or uncertainties significantly affect priorities from those that do not. This information can point the way to data collection efforts that are most effective in improving the allocation of investment resources. This work produced a practical and logically defensible system for supporting the ODOT planning process, and generated concepts and models of potential use for other aspects of transportation planning and programming. Topics addressed in the paper include principles of prioritization, methods of quantifying benefit, models for estimating performance for ten types of intermodal transportation facilities (connector and mainline roadways, bus station, rail passenger stations, air passenger terminals, marine terminals, rail truck facilities, grain, reload facilities, petroleum terminals, truck terminals, and air cargo facilities), ranking methodologies, and software implementation. 7p