New FHWA study improves on regional transportation operations

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) released a new study, "Organizing for Regional Transportation Operations," that shows how state and local agencies can work together to improve the operation of road networks in their regions. Findings from the report's six case studies demonstrate how a region can benefit when various government agencies organize to work together. The report focuses on six locations that have undertaken innovative approaches to regional transportation operations, including: TRANSCOM in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut; Translink in Vancouver, British Columbia; the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) in the San Francisco Bay Area; the ITS Priority Corridor in Southern California; TranStar in Houston; and AZTech in Phoenix. The case studies focus primarily on large metropolitan areas with many findings broadly applicable to regions of all sizes. Despite differences among the locations, certain common critical elements emerged, including the importance of visionary, influential leadership and the need for a source of funding to suppport coordinated regional efforts. The report, a product of FHWA's National Dialogue on Transportation Operations, was developed with assistance from the Federal Transit Administration and the Institute of Transportation Engineers, and can be ordered via e-mail at vince.pearce@fhwa.dot.gov.