AIR QUALITY CONSIDERATIONS IN TRANSPORTATION PLANNING

Transportation control plans and related air quality analyses of transportation projects have been the major focus of air quality considerations in transportation planning in metropolitan areas. Experience with control plans has been mixed: In many areas, tight deadlines, weak intergovernmental coordination, limited analysis of the costs and effectiveness of measures, and lack of public support for the plans combined to limit implementation of control measures. The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1977 include provisions to correct these problems. The amendments call for the development and implementation of plans to attain the national ambient air quality standards by 1987 under procedures that emphasize metropolitan, state, and local participation, consultation with elected officials and the public, and incremental progress in implementing transportation measures that improve air quality. Wherever possible, the metropolitan planning organization would coordinate transportation air quality activities as part of the continuing, cooperative, comprehensive transportation planning process for the area. The unified work program, the long-range and transportation systems management elements of the transportation plan, and the transportation improvement program would document the actions being planned or programmed to improve air quality. Periodic reviews of procedures being followed and progress in implementation would serve as the basis for determinations of conformity and for funding decisions. Questions relating to the transportation planning process and air quality improvement measures and the factors which would induce agencies to experiment with measures considered inconvenient to the public are discussed.