FHWA State of the Practice Scenario - Questions

FHWA State of the Practice Scenario - Questions

This collection of information is voluntary and will be used to better understand agency capabilities and needs so that FHWA can provide targeted and effective support to these agencies. Public reporting burden is estimated to average 1.5 hours per response, including the time for reviewing instructions searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Please note that an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The OMB control number for this collection is 2125-0646. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden to: Michael Howell Information Collection Clearance Officer, Federal Highway Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, Washington, DC 20590.

Scenario planning enables the exploration and evaluation of different community futures relative to transportation, economic, environmental, land use, and other conditions. The Federal Highway Administration’s Transportation Planning Capacity Building team is distributing this questionnaire to learn more about the state of the practice utilizing scenario planning at Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), Departments of Transportation (DOTs), local government, regional coalitions, and the like. The responses to this questionnaire—along with additional information gathered from phone interviews—will be summarized in a state of the practice white paper and shared with our MPO and state DOT partners. Your organization will not be identified by name in our reporting of the results unless we receive your permission to do so by contacting you directly. Thank you for helping FHWA and your peer organizations learn more about the state of the practice of scenario planning.

Has your organization used scenario planning tools or processes?

Yes or No (links you to tailored questions)

QUESTIONS FOR ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE USED SCENARIO PLANNING

Introduction

1. What is the name of your organization?

2. Please indicate all of the following best describes your organization:

   1. A MPO focused on regional transportation planning

   2. A RPO focused on regional transportation planning

   3. A state DOT or other DOT organizing unit

   4. A regional coalition of governments focusing on regional issues including transportation

   5. Other state agency

   6. Other, please describe: ___________________________

3. Select the option below that describes the population of your planning area.

   1. Less than 50,000 population

   2. Between 50,000 to 200,000

   3. Less than 200,000 people.

   4. Between 200,000 and 1 million people.

   5. More than 1 million people.

4. What of the following categories best describes your role within your organization?

   1. Executive Director

   2. Manager

   3. Technical Staff

   4. Other staff: ­______________________

5. How many full-time equivalent staff work directly for your organization?

   1. Less than 5.

   2. More than 5, but less than 20.

   3. More than 20.

Common Factors Influencing the Use of Scenario Planning

1. When did your organization (or partners) first begin using scenario planning?

2. How frequently is scenario planning used?

   1. Once, to respond to a specific issue

   2. Ten to fifteen years, or periodically to establish or update the Vision for the region or state, comprehensive plan, or statewide long range transportation plan

   3. Every four years, when the long range transportation plan is updated

3. What factors led your organization to use a scenario planning process? (select all that apply)

   1. Long range transportation plan update

   2. Population growth concerns

   3. Land development concerns

   4. Air quality concerns

   5. Environmental sustainability or climate change concerns

   6. Financial or economic development concerns

   7. Transportation mode shift goals

   8. Fuel price volatility

   9. Community visioning

   10. Federal grant or other federal technical assistance

   11. State law

       1. Specify the statute and the year it was adopted: ______________

   12. Other law or regulation

       1. Specify the law and the year it was adopted: ____________

   13. Other ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­__________________

4. What was the outcome of your scenario planning activity?

5. Has your organization developed a set of performance measures to evaluate the performance and condition of the transportation system and other factors? (yes/no question)

   1. If your answer is “yes,” were those performance measures incorporated into the scenario planning process? (yes/no question)

6. The new federal transportation law, MAP-21, requires performance measurement of transportation outcomes. Does this new requirement make your organization more likely to use scenario planning? (yes/no answer)

Technical Capacity

1. Does your organization have an employee(s) who is/are recognized as the staff expert on scenario planning? (yes/no answer)

2. Describe your organization’s level of in-house staff knowledge about scenario planning techniques. Please answer this question by selecting a number on a 1 to 5 scale, where 1 is “very low” and 5 is “very high."

3. Describe the level of understanding about scenario planning among local government staff in your region? Please answer this question by selecting a number on a 1 to 5 scale, where 1 is “very low” and 5 is “very high."

4. Have any local governments in your region conducted their own scenario planning process?

   1. If you answered yes to the previous question, please specify the local government: _____________________

5. Describe the level of understanding about scenario planning among your organization’s governing board (if applicable) members. Please answer this question by selecting a number on a 1 to 5 scale, where 1 is “very low” and 5 is “very high.”

Key Players and Stakeholders

1. Who were the key champions of the scenario planning process? (open ended)

2. How many members of the public were engaged in the process?

3. Representatives from which of the following groups have participated in scenario planning? (Select all that apply that do not describe your organization)

   1. Elected officials

   2. Metropolitan Planning Organization

   3. State DOT

   4. Other State agencies

      1. Please specify which: _______________________

   5. Municipal government land use planners

   6. Public or nonprofit housing organizations

   7. Advocacy groups focused on traditionally underserved groups

   8. Advocacy groups focused on transportation, land use, and environmental issues

   9. Land developers and builders

   10. Business organizations

   11. Port authorities (airports or seaports)

   12. Toll authorities

   13. Transit operators

   14. Other: _______________________

4. How involved were local government elected officials in defining the scenarios? Please answer this question by selecting a number on a 1 to 5 scale, where 1 is “not involved” and 5 is “very involved."

5. How were perspectives concerning environmental justice issues, housing, and equity factored into the scenarios? (open ended)

6. Describe the level of expectation held by non-government stakeholders that the scenario planning process would lead to transportation or land use policy changes? Please answer this question by selecting a number on a 1 to 5 scale, where 1 is “very low” and 5 is “very high."

Using Scenario Planning in Regional Visioning, Long-Range Transportation Plans, and Other Planning Processes

1. Did your organization lead the scenario planning process?

   1. Yes

   2. No. Who led the process? ____________________

2. What was the context of your organization’s scenario planning effort? (check all that apply)

   1. Regional visioning independent of an update to the long-range transportation plan.

   2. Review of a major project, such as an alternatives analysis.

   3. Update of the long-range transportation plan.

   4. Corridor or sub-area planning.

   5. Other:____________________.

3. If the context was a regional visioning process, how were the results used in the long-range transportation plan? (Contingent on answering “a” to the previous question.)

   1. To select a preferred future land use.

   2. To evaluate transportation projects against different possible land uses.

   3. To evaluate transportation system performance under different scenarios.

   4. To evaluate the mix of transportation funding by mode.

   5. Other: ____________________

4. Did your process consider the effects of alternative future land use scenarios on freight transportation? (yes/no answer)

5. Did the scenario planning process lead to any changes in local land use plans, policies, or development regulations? (yes/no)

Key Steps, Tools, and Methods

1. In designing your scenario planning process, did you follow the steps suggested in the FHWA Scenario Planning guidebook?

   1. Yes.

   2. No.

   3. Not familiar with the guidebook.

2. Did you participate in a FHWA peer exchange or workshop on scenario planning?

   1. Yes.

   2. No.

   3. Not familiar with these.

3. How useful are the following types of scenario planning training? Assign each a rating of 1-5, with one being “not useful” to 5 being “very useful.”

   1. Hands-on with an expert that meets with your staff and partners, in person.

   2. Hands-on with an expert that meets with both your staff and board, in person.

   3. Webinar.

   4. FHWA guidebook.

   5. State-level training.

   6. Peer exchange.

   7. Workshop or conference.

4. Which tools did your organization use to study impacts and tradeoffs, visualize outcomes, or stimulate discussion for different land use scenarios? Please select all that apply:

   1. CommunityViz.

   2. Envision Tomorrow.

   3. INDEX.

   4. I-PLACE3S.

   5. Other: _________________________________

5. Describe how these tools were useful and any areas in which they fell short. (open ended)

6. Who used the tool(s)?

   1. In-house MPO staff.

   2. Consultants/Contractors.

   3. Partner agencies.

   4. Other: __________________

7. How did you engage the public in the crafting of future scenarios? Select all that apply:

   1. Public meetings.

   2. Interactive workshops.

   3. Surveys.

   4. Polls.

   5. Maps, 3D models, animations, or other visualizations.

   6. Group exercises using physical pieces on a map to assign future growth.

   7. Online exercises or evaluations of scenarios.

   8. Other: _______________________

8. Was the future price of fuel an input variable in the scenario planning process? (yes/no answer) If you answered yes, please explain how you did this.

9. Was scenario planning used to evaluate greenhouse gas emissions? (yes/no answer)

10. Does your organization use a traditional four-step travel demand model? (yes/no answer)

11. Is your organization using advanced modeling techniques, beyond the traditional four-step travel model? If you answered “yes,” please describe the techniques your organization is using.

12. Is your organization exploring the use of advance modeling techniques, beyond the use of a traditional four-step model? (yes/no answer).

13. Is your organization using an integrated transportation/land use model that predicts the effects of transportation infrastructure on land use development decisions? (yes/no answer). If you answered “yes,” please name the model your organization is using.

14. If you answered “no” to the previous question, is your organization exploring the development of an integrated transportation/land use model? (yes/no answer).

Key Successes and Lessons Learned

1. How successful was your organization in accomplishing the goals it had for scenario planning? Please answer this question by selecting a number on a 1 to 5 scale, where 1 is “very unsuccessful” and 5 is “very successful.”

2. What goals did your organization accomplish?

3. What goals did your organization not accomplish?

4. What was missing from the process that might have helped achieve all of your goals?

5. Was your organization’s scenario planning effort worth the resources expended? (yes/no answer)

6. How likely is your organization to conduct scenario planning again in the future? Select a number on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being “very unlikely” and 5 being “very likely.”

QUESTIONS FOR ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE NOT USED SCENARIO PLANNING

Introduction

1. What is the name of your organization?

2. Select the option below that describes the population of your planning area.

   1. Less than 200,000 people.

   2. Between 200,000 and 1 million people.

   3. More than 1 million people.

3. What of the following categories best describes your role with the organization?

   1. Executive Director

   2. Manager

   3. Technical Staff

   4. Other Staff

4. How many full-time equivalent staff work directly for your organization?

   1. Less than 5.

   2. More than 5, but less than 20.

   3. More than 20.

Reasons Your Organization is not Using Scenario Planning

1. Which of the following are obstacles to your organization using scenario planning? Select all that apply.

   1. Technical capabilities of existing staff.

   2. Funding to hire staff or consultants with scenario planning experience.

   3. Existing technology.

   4. Funding to purchase scenario planning technology.

   5. Lack of local interest.

   6. Political will.

   7. Lack of familiarity with the process and value of it.

   8. Other: ­___________________

2. Describe your organization’s level of in-house staff knowledge on scenario planning techniques. Please answer this question by selecting a number on a 1 to 5 scale, where 1 is “very low” and 5 is “very high."

3. Has your organization developed a set of performance measures to evaluate the performance and condition of the transportation system and other factors? (yes/no question)

4. The new federal transportation law, MAP-21, requires performance measurement of transportation outcomes. Does this new requirement make your organization more likely to use scenario planning? (yes/no answer)

5. Please rank the following training tools based on how useful you think they would be for your organization. Assign each a rating of 1-5, with one being “not useful” to 5 being “very useful.”

   1. Hands-on with an expert that meets with your staff in person.

   2. Hands-on with an expert that meets with both your staff and governing or technical board in person.

   3. Webinar.

   4. FHWA Guidebook.

   5. State-level training.

   6. Peer exchange.

   7. Workshop or conference.

6. What would need to change for scenario planning to be more attractive to your organization?

7. What would need to change for scenario planning to be more relevant to your organization?

Key Steps, Tools, and Methods

1. Does your organization use a traditional four-step travel demand model? (yes/no answer)

2. Is your organization using advanced modeling techniques, beyond the traditional four-step travel model? If you answered “yes,” please describe the techniques your organization is using.

3. Is your organization exploring the use of advance modeling techniques, beyond the use of a traditional four-step model? (yes/no answer).

4. Is your organization using an integrated transportation/land use model that predicts the effects of transportation infrastructure on land use development decisions? (yes/no answer). If you answered “yes,” please name the model your organization is using.

5. If you answered “no” to the previous question, is your organization exploring the development of an integrated transportation/land use model? (yes/no answer).

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