INNOVATIVE APPROACH TO MULTIPLE-CRITERIA EVALUATION OF MULTIMODAL ALTERNATIVES: NEWBERG-DUNDEE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROJECT CASE STUDY
Document Type
Journal Article
Publication Date
1998
Subject Area
planning - environmental impact, land use - impacts, land use - planning, policy - environment, economics - appraisal/evaluation
Keywords
Transportation planning, Trade off analysis, Planning, Oregon, Multimodal transportation, Multimodal systems, Investments, Investment requirements, Investment planning, Innovation, Environmental impacts, Environmental effects, Decision making, Comparison studies, Case studies, Alternatives analysis
Abstract
Dissatisfied with the time and resources required to conduct a number of high-profile, controversial major investment studies, the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) decided to use the Newberg-Dundee transportation improvement project to explore methods for streamlining the alternatives analysis process and better controlling the time frames and expenditures for these efforts. The Newberg-Dundee project concerned a highly congested segment of highway just outside the Portland metropolitan area. Over 95% of all trips in the corridor are made by automobile; public transportation in the area is infrequent and ineffective. Heightening the area's transit needs is a population growth rate substantially higher than the statewide average. Previous studies had not incorporated a comprehensive evaluation of modal alternatives. The Newberg-Dundee alternatives analysis was completed in 9 months on a budget significantly lower than budgets for comparable previous studies. Within ODOT, the approach may serve as a model for early integration of environmental and planning activities in alternatives analyses for project development. Explored are innovative aspects of the six-step decision process used in this major investment analysis which led to a selection of alternatives to be forwarded for detailed evaluation in an environmental impact statement. The paper focuses on management structure, definition of multimodal alternatives, development and application of a quantitative, multiple-criteria evaluation framework, and strategy for compliance with National Environmental Policy Act requirements.
Recommended Citation
Schwartz, M, Merkhofer, M, Upton, R. (1998). INNOVATIVE APPROACH TO MULTIPLE-CRITERIA EVALUATION OF MULTIMODAL ALTERNATIVES: NEWBERG-DUNDEE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROJECT CASE STUDY. Transportation Research Record, Vol. 1617, p. 139-148.
