State officials across the country are facing the same challenges. Revenues are falling and budgets are shrinking. Yet state Departments of Transportation (DOTs) have ambitious goals: improve safety, reduce congestion, enhance economic opportunity, improve reliability, preserve system assets, accelerate project delivery, and help to create healthier, more livable neighborhoods, just to name a few. These goals would be challenging even if money were no object, but dwindling conventional federal and state transportation funding makes these goals even harder to achieve.
In response to these challenges, DOTs across the country are changing the way they do business. Knowing that America’s transportation network is crucial to economic growth, agencies are taking new approaches to transportation that fit the unique demands of their states and that provide greater benefits at less cost. They are improving existing services in the short term and planning effectively for the long term. They are adopting innovative yet pragmatic reforms. They are reevaluating and retooling traditional practices to ensure that those practices continue to provide users with a robust, economically beneficial transportation network.
These leaders and agencies are better meeting the needs of their residents, galvanizing political support for their work, and supporting the future prosperity of their state. Their success offers a model for others to follow.
A handbook of policy and practice
Smart Growth America has partnered with the State Smart Transportation Initiative to develop The Innovative DOT, a resource for state transportation officials. This handbook provides 31 recommendations transportation officials can use as they position their agencies for success in the new economy. The handbook documents many of the innovative approaches state leaders are using to make systems more efficient, government more effective and constituents better satisfied.
Download the handbook |
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| The Innovative DOT: A handbook of policy and practice Download the full report including Introduction, User’s Guide, and all 31 tools. |
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Download the eight Focus Areas |
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| Focus Area 1: Revenue Sources Tools included in this area: Identify Mechanisms for Funding Non-Roadway Transportation; Implement Value Capture; Establish a Next-Generation User Fee |
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| Focus Area 2: Revenue Allocation and Project Selection Tools included in this area: Establish Revenue and Funding Flexibility: ModeNeutral Evaluation and Funding Distribution; Incorporate Asset Management; Develop a Performance- and Outcome-Focused; Project Selection Process; Remove Barriers to Off-System Investment; Update Funding Formulas and Implement Competitive Fund Distribution for Smart Transportation. |
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| Focus Area 3: Pricing Tools included in this area: Use Variable Tolling to Manage Demand; Implement Pay-As-You-Drive Insurance. |
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| Focus Area 4: Increasing Transportation System Efficiency Tools included in this area: Reform Level of Service; Use Practical Design and Context Sensitive Solutions; Improve Street Connectivity; Modernize Access Management Standards; Use Transportation Demand Management; Invest in System Management. |
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| Focus Area 5: Improving Options for Mobility and Access Tools included in this area: Make Urban and Metropolitan Transit a Key Partner; Support Statewide Transit for Job Access and Economic Growth; Enact Policies That Support Complete Streets; Provide Leadership in Promoting Bicycle and Pedestrian Travel. |
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| Focus Area 6: Providing Efficient, Safe Freight Access Tools included in this area: Support Freight Rail Service; Support Intermodal Freight Connections; Foster Win-Win Outcomes for Freight and Passenger Rail; Encourage Innovative Freight Delivery. |
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| Focus Area 7: Integrating Transportation and Land Use Decision-Making Tools included in this area: Pursue Policies that Integrate Transportation and Land Use Decision-Making; Conduct Scenario Planning; Improve Public Facility Siting; Coordinate Infrastructure Investments Across Agencies; Promote Transit-Oriented Development. Focus Area 7: Integrating Transportation and Land Use Decision-Making |
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| Focus Area 8: Improving DOT Processes Tools included in this area: Set and Achieve Comprehensive Goals for Transportation Investments; Streamline Project Development and Delivery Processes. |
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