23 C.F.R. § 450.316 Metropolitan transportation planning process: Elements.
Title 23 - Highways
(a) Section 134(f) of title 23, U.S.C., and Federal Transit Act section 8(f) (49 U.S.C. app. 1607(f)) list 15 factors that must be considered as part of the planning process for all metropolitan areas. The following factors shall be explicitly considered, analyzed as appropriate, and reflected in the planning process products: (1) Preservation of existing transportation facilities and, where practical, ways to meet transportation needs by using existing transportation facilities more efficiently; (2) Consistency of transportation planning with applicable Federal, State, and local energy conservation programs, goals, and objectives; (3) The need to relieve congestion and prevent congestion from occurring where it does not yet occur including: (i) The consideration of congestion management strategies or actions which improve the mobility of people and goods in all phases of the planning process; and (ii) In TMAs, a congestion management system that provides for effective management of new and existing transportation facilities through the use of travel demand reduction and operation management strategies (e.g., various elements of IVHS) shall be developed in accordance with §450.320; (4) The likely effect of transportation policy decisions on land use and development and the consistency of transportation plans and programs with the provisions of all applicable short- and long-term land use and development plans (the analysis should include projections of metropolitan planning area economic, demographic, environmental protection, growth management, and land use activities consistent with metropolitan and local/central city development goals (community, economic, housing, etc.), and projections of potential transportation demands based on the interrelated level of activity in these areas); (5) Programming of expenditures for transportation enhancement activities as required under 23 U.S.C. 133; (6) The effects of all transportation projects to be undertaken within the metropolitan planning area, without regard to the source of funding (the analysis shall consider the effectiveness, cost effectiveness, and financing of alternative investments in meeting transportation demand and supporting the overall efficiency and effectiveness of transportation system performance and related impacts on community/central city goals regarding social and economic development, housing, and employment); (7) International border crossings and access to ports, airports, intermodal transportation facilities, major freight distribution routes, national parks, recreation areas, monuments and historic sites, and military installations (supporting technical efforts should provide an analysis of goods and services movement problem areas, as determined in cooperation with appropriate private sector involvement, including, but not limited to, addressing interconnected transportation access and service needs of intermodal facilities); (8) Connectivity of roads within metropolitan planning areas with roads outside of those areas; (9) Transportation needs identified through the use of the management systems required under 23 U.S.C. 303 (strategies identified under each management system will be analyzed during the development of the transportation plan, including its financial component, for possible inclusion in the metropolitan plan and TIP); (10) Preservation of rights-of-way for construction of future transportation projects, including future transportation corridors; (11) Enhancement of the efficient movement of freight; (12) The use of life-cycle costs in the design and engineering of bridges, tunnels, or pavement (operating and maintenance costs must be considered in analyzing transportation alternatives); (13) The overall social, economic, energy, and environmental effects of transportation decisions (including consideration of the effects and impacts of the plan on the human, natural and man-made environment such as housing, employment and community development, consultation with appropriate resource and permit agencies to ensure early and continued coordination with environmental resource protection and management plans, and appropriate emphasis on transportation-related air quality problems in support of the requirements of 23 U.S.C. 109(h), and section 14 of the Federal Transit Act (49 U.S.C. 1610), section 4(f) of the DOT Act (49 U.S.C. 303) and section 174(b) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7504(b))); (14) Expansion, enhancement, and increased use of transit services; (15) Capital investments that would result in increased security in transit systems; and (16) Recreational travel and tourism. (b) In addition, the metropolitan transportation planning process shall: (1) Include a proactive public involvement process that provides complete information, timely public notice, full public access to key decisions, and supports early and continuing involvement of the public in developing plans and TIPs and meets the requirements and criteria specified as follows: (i) Require a minimum public comment period of 45 days before the public involvement process is initially adopted or revised; (ii) Provide timely information about transportation issues and processes to citizens, affected public agencies, representatives of transportation agency employees, private providers of transportation, other interested parties and segments of the community affected by transportation plans, programs and projects (including but not limited to central city and other local jurisdiction concerns); (iii) Provide reasonable public access to technical and policy information used in the development of plans and TIPs and open public meetings where matters related to the Federal-aid highway and transit programs are being considered; (iv) Require adequate public notice of public involvement activities and time for public review and comment at key decision points, including, but not limited to, approval of plans and TIPs (in nonattainment areas, classified as serious and above, the comment period shall be at least 30 days for the plan, TIP and major amendment(s)); (v) Demonstrate explicit consideration and response to public input received during the planning and program development processes; (vi) Seek out and consider the needs of those traditionally underserved by existing transportation systems, including but not limited to low-income and minority households; (vii) When significant written and oral comments are received on the draft transportation plan or TIP (including the financial plan) as a result of the public involvement process or the interagency consultation process required under the U.S. EPA's conformity regulations, a summary, analysis, and report on the disposition of comments shall be made part of the final plan and TIP; (viii) If the final transportation plan or TIP differs significantly from the one which was made available for public comment by the MPO and raises new material issues which interested parties could not reasonably have foreseen from the public involvement efforts, an additional opportunity for public comment on the revised plan or TIP shall be made available; (ix) Public involvement processes shall be periodically reviewed by the MPO in terms of their effectiveness in assuring that the process provides full and open access to all; (x) These procedures will be reviewed by the FHWA and the FTA during certification reviews for TMAs, and as otherwise necessary for all MPOs, to assure that full and open access is provided to MPO decisionmaking processes; (xi) Metropolitan public involvement processes shall be coordinated with statewide public involvement processes wherever possible to enhance public consideration of the issues, plans, and programs and reduce redundancies and costs; (2) Be consistent with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Title VI assurance executed by each State under 23 U.S.C. 324 and 29 U.S.C. 794, which ensure that no person shall, on the grounds of race, color, sex, national origin, or physical handicap, be excluded from participation in, be denied benefits of, or be otherwise subjected to discrimination under any program receiving Federal assistance from the United States Department of Transportation; (3) Identify actions necessary to comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 (Pub. L. 101–336, 104 Stat. 327, as amended) and U.S. DOT regulations “Transportation for Individuals With Disabilities” (49 CFR parts 27, 37, and 38); (4) Provide for the involvement of traffic, ridesharing, parking, transportation safety and enforcement agencies; commuter rail operators; airport and port authorities; toll authorities; appropriate private transportation providers, and where appropriate city officials; and (5) Provide for the involvement of local, State, and Federal environment resource and permit agencies as appropriate. (c) In attainment areas not designated as TMAs simplified procedures for the development of plans and programs, if considered appropriate, shall be proposed by the MPO in cooperation with the State and transit operator, and submitted by the State for approval by the FHWA and the FTA. In developing proposed simplified planning procedures, consideration shall be given to the transportation problems in the area and their complexity, the growth rate of the area (e.g., fast, moderate or slow), the appropriateness of the factors specified for consideration in this subpart including air quality, and the desirability of continuing any planning process that has already been established. Areas experiencing fast growth should give consideration to a planning process that addresses all of the general requirements specified in this subpart. As a minimum, all areas employing a simplified planning process will need to develop a transportation plan to be approved by the MPO and a TIP to be approved by the MPO and the Governor. (d) The metropolitan transportation planning process shall include preparation of technical and other reports to assure documentation of the development, refinement, and update of the transportation plan. The reports shall be reasonably available to interested parties, consistent with §450.316(b)(1). [58 FR 58064, Oct. 28, 1993, as amended at 61 FR 67175, Dec. 19, 1996]
Title 23: Highways
PART 450—PLANNING ASSISTANCE AND STANDARDS
Subpart C—Metropolitan Transportation Planning and Programming
§ 450.316 Metropolitan transportation planning process: Elements.
