MAKING WORK ZONES WORK BETTER BY LINKING PLANNING and OPERATIONS Steven Gayle, Chair FHWA Working Group on Linking Planning and Operations

MAKING WORK MAKING WORK ZONES ZONES

WORK BETTERWORK BETTER BY LINKINGBY LINKING

PLANNING and PLANNING and OPERATIONSOPERATIONS

MAKING WORK MAKING WORK ZONES ZONES

WORK BETTERWORK BETTER BY LINKINGBY LINKING

PLANNING and PLANNING and OPERATIONSOPERATIONS

Steven Gayle, Chair

FHWA Working Group on Linking Planning and Operations

Linking Planning and Operations Working Group

THE WORKING GROUPTHE WORKING GROUPSteven Gayle, ChairPublic Agencies:

MPOs State DOTs Municipalities Transit Authorities Law Enforcement FHWA and FTA

Associations AASHTO APTA AMPO ITE PTI


THE WORKING GROUPTHE WORKING GROUPMet three times, concluding in December 2001Focus:

Understand the perspective of planning agenciesUnderstand the perspective of operating agenciesSynthesize those perspectivesAssist in development of FHWA guidanceTransition to TRB Subcommittee


THE ISSUETHE ISSUE

How do we plan, construct, operate, and maintain a regional transportation system that meets or exceeds our customers’ expectations for safe and reliable travel?


WORKING DEFINITIONWORKING DEFINITION Effective management of transportation

systems maximizes system performance through a coordinated and integrated decision making approach to construction, operation, preservation, construction, operation, preservation, and maintenanceand maintenance of transportation facilities, with the goal of providing safe, efficient, and reliable transportation to all users.


WHAT IS PLANNING’S ROLE?WHAT IS PLANNING’S ROLE?

Planning integrates potentially disparate activities and directs the investment of public funds.MPOs incorporate multi-jurisdictional and multi-modal thinking.


BARRIERS FOR PLANNERS

BARRIERS FOR PLANNERS

The “project culture” mindsetThe “project culture” mindset

Fragmented institutions: no one is in chargeFragmented institutions: no one is in charge

Planners, decision makers lack operations Planners, decision makers lack operations vocabulary vocabulary

MPOs don’t own transportation assetsMPOs don’t own transportation assets

Planning analysis tools may not reflect Planning analysis tools may not reflect operationsoperations

Planners already have a full platePlanners already have a full plate


BARRIERS FOR OPERATORS

BARRIERS FOR OPERATORS

Agencies have internal stovepipes Agencies have internal stovepipes which separate planning and which separate planning and operations.operations.

Business procedures (budgeting, Business procedures (budgeting, procurement) work against multi-procurement) work against multi-agency cooperation.agency cooperation.

Operators don’t see the relationship Operators don’t see the relationship of planning to their “24/7” culture.of planning to their “24/7” culture.


BARRIERS FOR OTHER AGENCIES

BARRIERS FOR OTHER AGENCIES

Stakeholders not directly involved in transportation (enforcement, public safety, media) don’t speak the language.

Law enforcement and public safety have very different performance measures.


PRESSURE TO ACTPRESSURE TO ACTPublic is demanding greater accountability and credibility: if the “project” approach does not improve their daily travel, they expect other solutions.Crisis response (Olympics, natural disasters) has demonstrated to the public that operations can work, and regions can overcome institutional fragmentation.


WHAT ABOUT WORK ZONES?

WHAT ABOUT WORK ZONES?

Work zones, both short and long term, are high on the public’s list of negatives. They want us to “get in, get out, stay out”.


WHAT IS PLANNING’S ROLE?


Understand the customer’s Understand the customer’s perspective, and apply planning perspective, and apply planning techniques to minimize disruption:techniques to minimize disruption:

Asset managementAsset management

Capital program developmentCapital program development

Interjurisdictional coordinationInterjurisdictional coordination

Stakeholder involvementStakeholder involvement


WHAT IS PLANNING’S ROLE?WHAT IS PLANNING’S ROLE?

Asset Management: Life cycle implications of project choices:

“You just paved this road 5 years ago. Why are doing it again?”

Coordination of capital programs:“Why did you pave the road last year, then close it again this year to fix the bridge?”




Coordinate construction schedules within and between jurisdictions

“Why did you start construction on the detour route 6 months before the main route was reopened?”

Ensure participation of stakeholders “Why didn’t you tell the transit authority

that you would be working on a bus route?”


HOW DO WE GET THERE?

HOW DO WE GET THERE?

Inter-disciplinary education: Planners need to learn the language of operationsOperations/traffic engineers need to learn the value that planning bringsPublic safety agencies need to understand how they fit in


THOUGHTS ABOUT LINKAGES…THOUGHTS ABOUT LINKAGES…

The Working Group identified tools The Working Group identified tools to develop the linkage between to develop the linkage between planning and operations, including planning and operations, including those that are:those that are:

Performance-basedPerformance-based Product-basedProduct-based Structural/institutionalStructural/institutional Resource-basedResource-based


WHERE DO WE GO WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?FROM HERE?

WHERE DO WE GO WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?FROM HERE?

Consider how TEA-3 Consider how TEA-3 reauthorization can facilitate the reauthorization can facilitate the linkagelinkage

Disseminate good practiceDisseminate good practice

And just start And just start

talking locally…talking locally…

Documents

MAKING WORK ZONES WORK BETTER BY LINKING PLANNING and OPERATIONS Steven Gayle, Chair FHWA Working Group on Linking Planning and Operations