Lesson 25 for Grad Course on CSS (from UTCM Report #08-14-03 "Making Mobility Improvements a Community Asset: Transportation Improvements Using Context-Sensitive Solutions")

1. Context Sensitive Solutions in Transportation
Class 25 Planning, Environmental Analysis and Design
CSS Project Checklist
and
the Approval Process
1

2. Context Sensitive Solutions in Transportation
Project types Planning, Environmental Analysis and Design
• Highway/street
– New
– Upgrade
– Segment
– Bridge
– Interchange
– Grade separation
– HOV, managed lanes
– Multimodal
2

3. Context Sensitive Solutions in Transportation
Project types Planning, Environmental Analysis and Design
• Transit
– Transitway
– Transit street
– Station
– Transit center
– Joint development
– Maintenance facility
3

4. Context Sensitive Solutions in Transportation
Project types Planning, Environmental Analysis and Design
• Pathway
– Bike
– Pedestrian
– Joint
4

5. Context Sensitive Solutions in Transportation
Project types Planning, Environmental Analysis and Design
• Safety and operational
– Hazard removal/protection
– Intersections
– Minor improvements
– ITS
5

6. Context Sensitive Solutions in Transportation
Project development checklist Planning, Environmental Analysis and Design
1. Initiation
1. Identify project leadership team
2. Review initial project scope based on inputs from system or corridor
planning and any system or programmatic EIS, context statements, core
values, or other prior input as well as CSS guidelines.
3. Partner identification
4. Public involvement plan1
5. Initial stakeholder meetings1
6. Preliminary partnership building
7. Select resource agency consultation team
8. Identify multidisciplinary project staff including owner and consultants
9. Agree on project limits1
10. Clarify intended project outcomes1
11. (NEPA) Identify probable level of documentation required (EIS, FONSI,
EA) and develop initial purpose and need statement
12. (NEPA) If EIS needed, publish notice of intent
13. (NEPA) Initiate agency scoping
14. (NEPA) Identify agency project teams, roles, initial membership
1 Likely stakeholder and/or public involvement; actual involvement to be determined in public involvement plan
6

7. Context Sensitive Solutions in Transportation
Project development checklist Planning, Environmental Analysis and Design
2. Vision and work plan
1. Develop and sign memorandum of understanding with project partners
2. Review team roles and responsibilities
3. Stakeholder, public meetings to establish vision1
4. (NEPA) perform scoping with stakeholders, public1
5. Identify interests, values, issues, opportunities, constraints, strengths,
weaknesses, concerns with stakeholders, public1
6. Identify and analyze context1
7. Reconfirm problems and needs statement1
8. (NEPA) Collect data and assess existing conditions for the affected
environment1
9. Develop project and area goals and objectives1
10. (NEPA) confirm purpose and need1
11. Refine and confirm project work plan
1 Likely stakeholder and/or public involvement; actual involvement to be determined in public involvement plan
7

8. Context Sensitive Solutions in Transportation
Project development checklist Planning, Environmental Analysis and Design
3. Evaluation process and criteria
1. Establish applicable design criteria
2. Establish evaluation criteria based on stakeholder needs, objectives,
values, issues, opportunities, constraints, strengths, weaknesses,
concerns, environmental impacts, value capture, costs, and operational
and regulatory factors as applicable1
3. (NEPA) Establish evaluation based on the purpose and need and the
above factors1
4. Establish evaluation process and measures for applying criteria in
analysis and evaluation1
5. Develop analysis and evaluation methodologies
6. Identify additional information needs to supply analyses and evaluation
1 Likely stakeholder and/or public involvement; actual involvement to be determined in public involvement plan
8

9. Context Sensitive Solutions in Transportation
Project development checklist Planning, Environmental Analysis and Design
4. Vision and work plan
1. Develop and sign memorandum of understanding with project partners
2. Review team roles and responsibilities
3. Stakeholder, public meetings to establish vision1
4. (NEPA) perform scoping with stakeholders, public1
5. Identify interests, values, issues, opportunities, constraints, strengths,
weaknesses, concerns with stakeholders, public1
6. Identify and analyze context1
7. Reconfirm problems and needs statement1
8. (NEPA) Collect data and assess existing conditions for the affected
environment1
9. Develop project and area goals and objectives1
10. (NEPA) confirm purpose and need1
11. Refine and confirm project work plan
1 Likely stakeholder and/or public involvement; actual involvement to be determined in public involvement plan
9

10. Context Sensitive Solutions in Transportation
Project development checklist Planning, Environmental Analysis and Design
5. Evaluate, refine alternatives
1. Form issue task forces as necessary to address specific topics or issues 1
2. Evaluate and further narrow alternatives based on measures reflecting
environmental impacts, purpose, need, value capture, sustainability, costs,
other objectives, issues and concerns
3. Select best performing alternatives based on evaluation1
4. (NEPA) Refine best performing alternatives to avoid or minimize
environmental impacts and better address other criteria or issues
5. Conduct detailed evaluation of final alternatives
6. Develop recommendation for preferred alternative that best meets project’s
stated purpose and needs as well as stakeholder objectives1
7. (NEPA) Analyze environmental impacts and determine needs for mitigation1
8. Propose FONSI or EIS
9. Refine preferred alternative considering additional factors such as
sustainability community core values, aesthetics, and other features
consistent with community/stakeholder objects and issues
10. Secure consensus on preferred alternative1
11. Spin off related community projects
1 Likely stakeholder and/or public involvement; actual involvement to be determined in public involvement plan
1
0

11. Context Sensitive Solutions in Transportation
Project development checklist Planning, Environmental Analysis and Design
6. Final documentation, evaluation, and conceptual design
1. (NEPA) Prepare draft FONSI or DEIS
2. (NEPA) Public and resource agency reviews of FONSI or DEIS1
3. (NEPA) Respond to comments and refine FONSI or DEIS
4. Finalize documentation of recommendation and decision-making process
5. Finalize conceptual design for preferred alternative1
6. (NEPA) Finalize FONSI or EIS
7. (NEPA) Prepare decision document
8. Agency approvals1
9. (NEPA) Record of decision
10. Develop preliminary partnership (funding, implementation) agreements
1 Likely stakeholder and/or public involvement; actual involvement to be determined in public involvement plan
1
1

12. Context Sensitive Solutions in Transportation
Planning, Environmental Analysis and Design
Colorado DOT – I-70 through alternatives
12
evaluation

13. Context Sensitive Solutions in Transportation
Evaluation – different detail levels Planning, Environmental Analysis and Design
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14. Context Sensitive Solutions in Transportation
Evaluation – different detail levels Planning, Environmental Analysis and Design
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15. Context Sensitive Solutions in Transportation
Evaluation – different detail levels Planning, Environmental Analysis and Design
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16. Context Sensitive Solutions in Transportation
Evaluation – different detail levels Planning, Environmental Analysis and Design
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17. Context Sensitive Solutions in Transportation
Evaluation – different detail levels Planning, Environmental Analysis and Design
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18. Context Sensitive Solutions in Transportation
Evaluation – different detail levels Planning, Environmental Analysis and Design
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19. Context Sensitive Solutions in Transportation
Evaluation – different detail levels Planning, Environmental Analysis and Design
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20. Context Sensitive Solutions in Transportation
Evaluation – different detail levels Planning, Environmental Analysis and Design
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21. Context Sensitive Solutions in Transportation
Project approvals Planning, Environmental Analysis and Design
• Starts from the very beginning
– Open, meaningful involvement
– Seek buy-in from start
– Seek to provide benefits
• Project
• Community
– Accept input constructively
– Address issues early and continuously
– Reduce/improve objectionable components
– At end – few issues, concerns
2
1

22. Context Sensitive Solutions in Transportation
Class project discussion Planning, Environmental Analysis and Design
• Projects to be
– Presented Class 28
– Submitted at start of Class 29
• Last minute student questions?
2
2

23. Context Sensitive Solutions in Transportation
Planning, Environmental Analysis and Design
2
3

24. Context Sensitive Solutions in Transportation
Planning, Environmental Analysis and Design
Colorado DOT I-70 project
development process
24

25. Context Sensitive Solutions in Transportation
Planning, Environmental Analysis and Design
25

26. Context Sensitive Solutions in Transportation
Planning, Environmental Analysis and Design
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27. Context Sensitive Solutions in Transportation
Planning, Environmental Analysis and Design
Colorado DOT – I-70 through alternatives
27
evaluation

28. Context Sensitive Solutions in Transportation
Planning, Environmental Analysis and Design
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29. Context Sensitive Solutions in Transportation
Planning, Environmental Analysis and Design
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30. Context Sensitive Solutions in Transportation
Planning, Environmental Analysis and Design
30