The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) determined that a collaborative approach would be most effective for compliance with Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA) requirements for the development and implementation of its Statewide Transportation Policy Plan. The process for developing and adopting the plan, along with its companion document, the Performance Report, included cooperative efforts among PennDOT and its transportation partners. Both documents were developed within the contexts of current and future planning initiatives and tailored to fit PennDOT’s overall business strategy, mission statement, and vision for the 21st century. Plan development activities included data collection, cooperative and coordinated planning efforts with metropolitan planning organizations and local development districts, consideration of ISTEA’s 23 planning factors, coordination with private and public transportation interests, and extensive outreach and consensus-building programs. The performance report was conceived as part of the policy plan to measure the status of the transportation system and answer the question, “What difference did it make to have the policy plan?” The report adopted an economic approach to performance, measuring supply, usage, and condition. The report was used to articulate a “maintenance first” philosophy, highlighting PennDOT’s continuing struggle to fund transportation programs and dispelling public myths and misconceptions about transportation in the commonwealth. Lessons learned during development, data collection, and outreach activities are applicable to other states still developing or refining their plans. Discussions of these activities, future endeavors, and the path forward are critical, especially in light of ISTEA reauthorization and the trend toward a more fiscally and, perhaps, politically constrained national transportation context.
Challenges of Institutional Coordination in Planning for Public Transportation in East Africa: Analysis Based on Perceptions of Stakeholders in Dar-es-Salaam and Nairobi
