ctpp-news August 2002

ctpp-news@mailman.chrispy.net

23 participants
27 discussions

by Williams, Ben <FHWA>

The official population that FHWA is required to use for making the apportionment of STP attributable funds is the official Census UZA numbers. The adjusted urbanized / smoothed boundaries do not make any difference for that apportionment. Another question from Washington asked if FHWA were going to allow adjusted UZAs. The 23 USC Section 101 definition of urban area refers to "...urbanized areas or urban place as designated by the Bureau of the Census....within boundaries to be fixed by responsible State and local officals in cooperation with each other subject to approval by the Secretary." This allows adjusted UZAs but does not require it. If they are done by the local area, then they do need an approval by FHWA and FTA. The metropolitan planning boundaries, UZA plus 20 years of growth, are still defined by the MPOs and States without an approval from FHWA and FTA. Ben Williams, P.E. Metropolitan Planning Specialist Federal Highway Administration Southern Resource Center V (404) 562-3671 F (404) 562-3700 ben.williams(a)fhwa.dot.gov Web Site www.fhwa.dot.gov/resourcecenters/southern >>> vputta(a)incog.org 08/16/02 11:22AM >>> I have to add one more question to my previous list: should the state consider the population of revised/adjusted urbanized area for STP-UZA allocation? It (the Adjusted UZA) might be strictly for HPMS purpose only as most would suggest. Thank you everyone. I am sending this also to the MPO List - as some MPO experts may shed some more light on the practice. (for those on the MPO list: my original question was to do with: the State with co-operation from the MPOs shall fix urbanized area boundaries (smoothing out is the term used often) - for HPMS or other purposes). Following responses are self-explanatory. Viplav Putta INCOG ---------------------------------------- Nancy: I got the following responses on the issue of smoothing, which may help others (-VP): --------------------------------------------- Glen Ahlert [gahlert(a)swfrpc.org] The only guidance available from FHWA on this dates from 1991, and still contains a number of obsolete references. It will also leave a lot of your questions unanswered, I suspect. You can download it at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov//////legsregs/directives/fapg/g406300.htm. You might also want to talk to Bob Diogo (bdiogo(a)swfrpc.org) in this office, who has been trying to develop smoothed urbanized area and urban cluster boundaries for this area, about what he has learned and how he's gone about it. ----------------------------------------------- John Coil [jcoil(a)drcog.org] The FHWA requirement for smoothing urbanized areas (or creating transportation urban areas) was focused as an MPO function in 1975, 1983 and 1992. The MPOs needed to define the transportation urban areas and then the urban and rural functional classification to determine which roads were eligible for federal-aid secondary (rural) and federal-aid urban (urban) funding based on the 1974 Federal-aid Highway Act. The MPOs paid little attention to the HPMS data reporting requirements. With the advent of ISTEA in 1992, the need for transportation urban areas declined to just billboard locations, HPMS data reporting and speed limit controls. Since, the Census urbanized boundary now controls billboard locations and the speed controls have been removed. The only remaining need for transportation urban area definitions is the HPMS data reporting requirement. BUT, I think FHWA and many MPOs would like to have a consistent set of transportation urban areas for mapping and other planning functions. I do not know about the MPO interests in Oklahoma, but Denver MPO has no real interest in the urbanized/ transportation urban data reporting. We need data by the TMA to meet our Congressional transportation planning requirements. The 1990 Clean Air Act and ISTEA changed the geography we use in our planning and air quality conformity process. It is too bad that FHWA did not immediately change the HMPS data reporting requirements to match federal law. ---------------------------------------------------------- Mitchell, Steve R. [Steve.Mitchell(a)ahtd.state.ar.us] Go to the following link (http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/census/faqa2cdt.htm#20 ) for information and contacts on the urbanized area boundary smoothing. It was a very big deal after the 1990 Census and ISTEA because there was a nation-wide functional reclassification of the entire roadway network. Back then there was guidance and workshops to help with the process. The FHWA Division offices (states) are now responsible for assisting the states and the information given out is very fragmented and confusing for everyone, not just those who haven't done it before. The information I have has never given a finite limit to the amount of adjustment...just that everyone involved must agree that it is reasonable. The smoothing affects what is classified as urban and rural by the State and Federal government which affects many things they do and could affect funding. The smoothing may be done for all areas classified as urban, not just urbanized areas above 200,000 population. The smoothing is supposed to be done in cooperation with the MPO in large areas. Make suggestions to your DOT as you think appropriate to make data management easier -----------------------------------------------------

23 years, 6 months

2000 flow data

by Andrew PICKARD

Is the 2000 journey-to-work travel patterns data available yet? At any level (city to city, taz to taz, etc.)? When will it be released? Thanks - Andy Andrew Pickard Senior Transportation Engineer Hampton Roads Planning District Commission 723 Woodlake Drive Chesapeake, VA 23320 Phone: (757) 420-8300 Fax: (757) 523-4881 E-mail: apickard(a)hrpdc.org Web: www.hrpdc.org

23 years, 6 months

TIP/STIP management application

by Daryl Scott

Do any transportation planners at MPOs use a TIP/STIP management application that they would highly recommend to other MPOs? The South Western Region Metropolitan Planning Organization has an outstanding contract with a consultant to develop an application to manage the TIP/STIP for the planning region. The application should be able to generate various reports designed for public officials and the general public, keep track of official decisions about projects, store important comments, and have some document management capabilities. I need to provide detailed application specifications to the consultants before they begin work. I hope to get some good ideas from members of this list serve. If you use an excellent TIP/STIP application, please send me some documentation about the program? Thank you in advance for your assistance. Regards, Daryl -- Daryl Scott South Western Regional Planning Agency Stamford Government Center 888 Washington Blvd., 3rd Floor Stamford, CT 06901 Tel: (203) 316-5190 Fax: (203) 316-4995 E-mail: dscott(a)swrpa.org

23 years, 6 months

NCHRP on American Community Survey

by Elaine Murakami

Subject: New NCHRP Project Statements The following National Cooperative Highway Research Program Project Statements is now available at: http://www4.trb.org/trb/crp.nsf/rfps 8-48 Using American Community Survey Data for Transportation Planning Funds available: $300,000 Responses are due on October 17, 2002, 4:00 p.m. The TRB staff on the project is Ron McCready rmccready(a)nas.edu

23 years, 6 months

FW: [CTPP] TIP/STIP management application

by Holly Massie

Glenn, I received a copy of your response to Daryl at SWRPA concerning your TIP computer program. I would appreciate receiving the installation files as well, if you don't mind. Thank you. Holly Massie Special Programs Officer Assn. of Central Oklahoma Governments 21 E. Main Street, Suite 100 OKC, OK 73104 hmassie(a)acogok.org (405)234-2264 -----Original Message----- From: John Sharp [mailto:jmsharp@acogok.org] Sent: Friday, August 23, 2002 4:06 PM To: Holly Massie Subject: FW: [CTPP] TIP/STIP management application -----Original Message----- From: owner-ctpp-news(a)chrispy.net [mailto:owner-ctpp-news@chrispy.net]On Behalf Of CDTC Sent: Friday, August 23, 2002 3:12 PM To: Daryl Scott Cc: ctpp-news(a)chrispy.net Subject: Re: [CTPP] TIP/STIP management application Daryl, At CDTC we use a computer program we wrote in house. The program runs in a Windows environment on an original Pentium or greater. It allows the user to enter input for TIP projects, produces all relevant output required by CDTC and has various utilities. The output includes project listings and summary tables which go directly into the CDTC TIP document. We only need to add page numbers, since this varies with the version of the TIP document. At the click of a mouse, web pages are produced for every project. These pages are uploaded directly to the Internet and are accessible from the CDTC web site at CDTCMPO.org. (Choose Publications, TIP, 2001-06 TIP, and Project Listings.) Utilities include a feature to find text in a project or find projects by specific criteria, such as fund source. Also, the data can be sent to a file suitable for transmission to DOT for the STIP. We've used this program for several years and find does everything we need it to do. I'll send you the installation files if you like. Glenn Posca Senior Transportation Planner CDTC Daryl Scott wrote: > Do any transportation planners at MPOs use a TIP/STIP management application that they would highly recommend to other MPOs? The South Western Region Metropolitan Planning Organization has an outstanding contract with a consultant to develop an application to manage the TIP/STIP for the planning region. The application should be able to generate various reports designed for public officials and the general public, keep track of official decisions about projects, store important comments, and have some document management capabilities. I need to provide detailed application specifications to the consultants before they begin work. I hope to get some good ideas from members of this list serve. If you use an excellent TIP/STIP application, please send me some documentation about the program? Thank you in advance for your assistance. Regards, Daryl > > -- > > Daryl Scott > South Western Regional Planning Agency > Stamford Government Center > 888 Washington Blvd., 3rd Floor > Stamford, CT 06901 > Tel: (203) 316-5190 > Fax: (203) 316-4995 > E-mail: dscott(a)swrpa.org

23 years, 6 months

SF3 Data released today

by Chuck Purvis

TO: CTPP-News, August 27, 2002 Summary File #3 (Long Form, Sample data) has been released for an additional seven states: California, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana and New Mexico. New information for today: SF3 data planned for release on 9/10/02 include: Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee. The following "Press Release" link will be updated by the Bureau over the next month to provide expected release dates for the remaining states. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2002/sumfile3.html 1. In terms of schedule, the Census Bureau is anticipating releasing all of SF3 by the end of this September. 2. In terms of what states will be released when, I don't know anything beyond what's posted on this press release page. You may want to talk to your state data center for more insiders information. Enjoy! Chuck Purvis, MTC

23 years, 6 months

TIP/STIP management application

by ed christopher

Marty Dowell posted the follow message in response to a TIP question. unfortunately (or fortunately<grin>) the email bounced due the 6.8 meg size of the attachment. anyone who is interested in the subject can see the websites that are referenced. Also, keep in mind that this list is for those who are interested in the use and application of census related data for transportation planning purposes. (however, thanks for the info) ==================== From: Dowell, Marty Sent: Monday, August 26, 2002 10:24 AM To: 'dscott(a)swrpa.org'; 'cdtc(a)crisny.org' Cc: Davis, Roger Subject: RE: [CTPP] TIP/STIP management application There is a system called Transportation, Economic & Land Use System (TELUS). It is a very powerful MS Access Data-Base program developed by the Institute for Transportation, New Jersey Institute of Technology in conjunction with Center for Urban Policy Research, Rutgers University. All 16 (now 17) MPOs in Ohio received it. It is FREE to MPOs and SDOTs. http://www.telus-national.org/ http://www.transportation.njit.edu/TELUS/overview.html http://www.transportation.njit.edu/NCTIP/final_report/telus2.htm -- Ed Christopher Metropolitan Activities Midwest Resource Center Federal Highway Administration 19900 Governors Drive Olympia Fields, Illinois 60461 708-283-3534 (V) 708-283-3501 (F)

23 years, 6 months

Summary File 3: A reminder!

by Nanda Srinivasan

As of today morning b(08/26/02), Summary File 3 (SF 3) data for 19 states have been released (http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2002/sumfile3.html). SF 3 offers us the first opportunity to look at commuting data at a detailed level of geography. Some of the SF 3 tables in which you may be interested are: Key Tables Summarized at the Block Group Level P30. Means of transportation to work [16] P31. Travel time to work [14] P33. Aggregate travel time to work (in minutes) by travel time to work (4) by means of transportation to work [2] P34. Time leaving home to go to work [16] P35. Private vehicle occupancy [10] P52. Household income in 1999 [16] P151a-i. Household income in 1999 [16] by race/Hispanic origin (9) H44. Tenure [2] by vehicles available [6] H46. Aggregate number of vehicles available by tenure [2] Key Tables Summarized at the Census Tract Level Pct65a-i. Means of transportation to work for workers 16 years and over [16] by race/Hispanic origin (9) Hct33. Vehicles available (3) by race/Hispanic origin (9) For more information on the table specifications for SF3, please visit: http://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/SF3-pop.html, and http://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/SF3-housing.html Also, Darryl Scott, South Western Regional Planning Agency sent me a zipped file of a procedure to convert the SF 3 data into an oracle platform. Attached is a zipped file containing the codes. We will post this information to the FHWA website on Census issues shortly. Please bookmark at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/census/ Thank you! Nanda Srinivasan

23 years, 6 months

SF3 Release Schedule Updates

by Chuck Purvis

TO: CTPP-News, August 20, 2002 Summary File #3 (Long Form, Sample data) has been released for an additional seven states: Connecticut, Illinois, Kentucky, Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Oregon. New information is that CALIFORNIA will be released 8/27/02. The data for OHIO will be postponed for one week. SF3 data will be released for seven states on 8/27/02: California, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana and New Mexico. New information: SF3 data planned for release on 9/3/02 include: Arizona, Idaho, Maine, New Hampshire, Ohio, Puerto Rico and Wyoming. The following "Press Release" link will be updated by the Bureau over the next month to provide expected release dates for the remaining states. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2002/sumfile3.html

23 years, 6 months

Fw: Bureau of Transportation Statistics--TranStats User Testing--Please delete any duplicate submisisons

by Peter J. Foote

Please forgive any duplication - I am sending this as a bcc to a variety of lists in the interest of time - if you get this more than once, please just delete the other notices that originate from me. Please forward this to others that you know of that may find this service of interest. Peter J. Foote PFoote(a)TransitChicago.com Market Research/Resource Planning Planning Division Chicago Transit Authority 120 N. Racine Avenue Chicago, IL 60607 (312) 733-7000 x 6840 (Voice) (312) 432 - 7108 (Fax) ----- Original Message ----- From: "TRANSTATS" <TRANSTATS(a)inet.bts.gov> Sent: Monday, August 19, 2002 4:46 PM Subject: Bureau of Transportation Statistics--TranStats User Testing We'd like your help in testing a new website--TranStats, the intermodal transportation database. TranStats is a new website (http://www.bts.gov/transtats) for transportation researchers and analysts aimed at providing "one-stop shopping" for transportation data. The premise is fairly simple: By reducing the time needed to gather data, more time is made available for analysis. And easy linkages across many data sets can provide new insights. Ultimately, this should result in more timely and more informed decisions, and a better transportation system. Until now, the process of compiling data to analyze a transportation problem commonly involved searching for data sources, contacting various data providers to get the data--often many times, sorting through the data, and integrating data from various sources for analysis. This is a very labor-intensive process, often taking months. TranStats is an e-government initiative aimed at streamlining this process. TranStats offers analysts several unique features: · A searchable index of over 100 transportation-related databases across every mode of transportation, along with many social, economic and demographic data sets commonly used in transportation analysis. · Selective download--the ability to choose variables of interest and download the data directly to your PC for analysis using any database, spreadsheet, or statistical package. · Online data documentation--summary information about each database, data definitions, and code information for data variables. · Interactive analytical tools--the ability to perform simple statistical summaries, create time series or cross tabulations, generate graphics online, and cut/paste results into reports. · Interactive mapping to help visualize geographic data. · A mapping center with the full National Transportation Atlas Database, as well as applications for easily mapping several other key data sets. Users can explore data by transportation mode, agency or by subject area, use keyword searches to find relevant datasets, and get online help. And because all the data in TranStats are indexed with a transportation thesaurus, links to other transportation research information and data are easy through the National Transportation Library. The website is at http://www.bts.gov/transtats. Check out "Getting Started" on the TranStats homepage. Your comments and feedback will help us ensure high standards of quality and usability before we release TranStats to the public. For example, we want to know if the site is user friendly. Are databases easy to access? Are database descriptions adequate? Are the analytical tools useful? Is the site easy to navigate? Is the design intuitive? Please explore TranStats and send us your comments and feedback through e-mail (answers(a)bts.gov) or call us toll-free (1-800-853-1351). If you have trouble starting up and need help, please send us an e-mail at the same address or call the same toll-free number--our information service specialists will be there to answer your questions. The user testing will continue through COB Friday, August 30th, 2002. Please feel free to spread this message to other users who might be interested. We'll appreciate your help in making this a success. Ashish K. Sen Director, Bureau of Transportation Statistics U.S. Department of Transportation Washington, DC.

23 years, 6 months

2026

2025

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

2000

1999

1998

ctpp-news August 2002