Project Title: Analysis of the Florida Department of Transportation Transit Corridor Program/Projects

1. Project Objective

To undertake a consolidated, comprehensive review of the Florida Department of Transportation Transit Corridor Program. This project will identify successful corridor projects and the lessons learned from those projects. In addition, a final product from this project will be the development of general recommendations for the Department=s consideration, for improving the Transit Corridor Program.

2. Project Abstract

Traffic congestion has become a severe problem in Florida's urban areas. The inability to construct new capacity fast enough to keep up with the demand, the increasing costs associated with adding that capacity, and the political and environmental controversy often associated with building new roads compound the mobility dilemma requiring different approaches to mobility. Now, more than ever, alternative solutions to mobility must be developed and supported to succeed.

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), in an effort to provide flexibility to urbanized areas to identify and implement congestion and mobility management techniques, developed the Transit Corridor Program. The Transit Corridor Program provides funding to urbanized areas for projects designed to relieve congestion and improve capacity, within a designated transportation corridor, by increasing the capacity of the corridor through the use and facilitated movement of high occupancy conveyances.

In the process of developing and implementing the program, the FDOT established a procedure for administering the Transit Corridor Program that specifically identifies the requirements of the program and the responsibilities given to the FDOT Central Office, each of the district offices, as well as the recipients of the program. Since the inception of the program, there has been no consolidated, comprehensive review of the program, nor the individual projects selected for funding. In addition, there has not been a single source of information developed that identifies successful corridor programs or projects and the lessons learned through the implementation of those projects.

Each project selected for corridor funding must have clearly defined goals and objectives. Milestones must be established by which progress toward the goals and objectives can be measured. The goals, objectives, and milestones are defined by the grantee and must be consistent with local, regional and state plans. After an initial two year period, projects consistently meeting milestones can be reauthorized. Written progress reports are required of the grantee as well as a final report that includes, at a minimum, a description of the project=s history, a summary of its successes, any problems encountered, and recommendations for future implementation. A thorough review of these items should assist in determining the overall success of the program.

The Analysis of the Florida Department of Transportation Transit Corridor Program/Projects will consist of the following tasks:

In this task, the investigators will review Transit Corridor Plans for projects implemented on or after July 1, 1993. The review will determine the effectiveness of the plan in identifying the feasibility of implementing various transit corridor projects, identifying capital, operating, and ancillary support needs, completing a cost analysis of the project(s) to be undertaken, and identifying measurable goals and objectives. The review of the goals and objectives identified in the plans will assist the investigators in moving forward to Task 2 of the project as described below.

In this task, the investigators will review the progress reports submitted for each of the approved corridor projects in an effort to determine the effectiveness of each of the projects in meeting the milestones established. In addition, the investigators will determine the status of the projects in meeting the overall goals and objectives established in the plan.

This task will build on Task 2 with the emphasis on identifying the success and failure of Transit Corridor projects in meeting the goals, objectives and milestones established. This information will be summarized in a Alessons learned@ manner to share with local agencies, including transit agencies and others involved in the program. It is intended that the results of this task be presented at the Florida Transit Association annual meeting or mid-year conference.

Task 4 General Recommendations for Transit Corridor Program

The investigators will interview involved FDOT personnel at both the Central Office and the district offices to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the overall Transit Corridor Program and will review the FDOT procedures for project management and implementation at both the Central Office and each of the district offices, the project selection process, eligible activities and funding, and monitoring. From these efforts, as well as the understanding gained through the review and analysis conducted in each of the previous tasks, recommendations will be made to aid in the continual improvement of the program.

Project Start Date: November 1, 1999

Notes: This budget does not reflect any federal participation.

The project team will include faculty, students, and secretarial and other support staff who will work directly on the project and whose costs are reflected in the direct costs of the project as listed above.

Graduate students will be used to compile data from FDOT district offices and public transit agencies and assist in the review of progress reports and summary of projects= strengths and weaknesses.

A similar analysis was conducted in FY 1996/1997 on the Florida Department of Transportation Service Development Program/Projects which lead to increased adherence to procedural requirements and refinements in the program. The recommendations that are developed in Task Four of this project may lead to better program management and more effective project oversight.

The results of this analysis will be provided to the FDOT through a series of technical memoranda and a final report. Copies of the final report will be provided to the Research Office, the State Public Transportation Administrator, the Manager of the Transit Office, and the Grant Programs Administrator in the FDOT Central Office and the District Directors of Planning and Programs and Public Transportation Managers in Districts One through Seven. The Technical Memorandum Number 3, Summary of Successful Transit Corridor Programs/Projects, will be distributed to each of Florida's transit systems and other local agencies who are participating in the program in an effort to encourage the development and implementation of similar projects statewide.

Peer reviews will be conducted on a continual basis with the Florida Department of Transportation Central Office and each of the district offices in effort to identify areas for improvement within the Transit Corridor Program.

IX. Potential Benefits of the Project

A similar analysis was conducted in FY 1996/1997 on the Florida Department of Transportation Service Development Program/Projects which lead to increased adherence to procedural requirements and refinements in the program. The recommendations that are developed in Task Four of this project may lead to better program management and more effective project oversight.

For those agencies who are eligible to receive Transit Corridor Program funds, the information contained in Technical Memorandum Number 3, Summary of Successful Transit Corridor Programs/Projects, may lead to the development and implementation of a wide variety of projects that transit agencies may not have considered.

X.  TRB Keywords

Public Transit, capacity, corridors.