PLANNING: THE CHALLENGE OF BEING THE GLUE (WITH DISCUSSION)

This paper is organized into five sections. In each section an aspect of the challenge that faces the transportation planning profession is addressed. Discussed in the first section is the changing environment of transportation planning and how emphasis is once again on a planning-based decision-making process. The second section covers how planning must meet the challenge. In the third section, the following equation is discussed: (LRP + TSM + TDM) + (TSM + TDM) * (%TCM) = TIP where LRP = long-range plan, TSM = transportation system management, TDM = transportation demand management, TCM = transportation control measures, and TIP = transportation improvement program. The equation is intended to convey the numerous items that planners and decision makers are now required to develop. It highlights the interrelationships among the many different planning activities that now must occur and the critical significance of TIPs, into which many of the planning documents must feed. The trend toward performance-based planning is discussed in the fourth section. The fifth section is focused on the institutional arrangements and capabilities necessary for successful planning to occur.