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Transportation Action Plan
Transportation and Air Quality
Transportation Options
Transportation and Air Quality
Air quality is an area which involves emissions from automobiles and other mobile sources, stationary sources such as stack emissions and indoor air quality. The following provides a variety of tools that you may wish to utilize in considering air quality information, regulations and policy in your community as they relate to transportation issues.
Check out EPA's Office of Transportation and Air Quality as a first step.
Policy and Planning Tools
- Transit oriented development
and congestion
management
- Methane Reduction Programs are available from EPA's Atmospheric Pollution Prevention Division.
Regulatory Tools
- For codes and other "smart growth" tools, Check out Maryland's
Smart Growth Office
- Pennsylvania
Air Quality Permitting
- State of
Washington Air Quality Programs
- Southern California Air Quality Rules,
Regulations and Permitting
- State
of Delaware Air Quality Program
- Information on Vehicle Emissions and Vehicle Emission Regulations are available from EPA's Office of Mobile Sources.
- Sustainable
Transportation Tools
Technical Tools
- Check out EPA's home page for the Office of Air and Radiation for information on mobile source modeling tools and stationary source modeling tools.
- Smart Growth Index [PDF, 100 pp., 977KB] A GIS sketch model for simulating alternative land use and transportation scenarios and evaluating their outcomes.
Financial Tools
- EPA's financial information home page is a source of information for loans, grants and other sources of funding.
- Listed here are Transportation
Solutions-VMT Reduction Program Grant Recipients, from the International
Council for Local Environmental Initiatives; Cities for Climate Protection
Campaign-U.S.
Transportation Options
Transportation options include tools on reducing the vehicle miles traveled by auto, reducing traffic congestions, transit oriented development, urban solutions including intelligent transportation solutions, and more.
Policy and Planning Tools
- Intelligent Transportation
Systems
- Transportation
and Livable Communities, a Project for Public Spaces.
- TEA - 21 US Dept.
Of Transportation Federal Highway Administration's web site.
- EPA's Transportation Partners Program
- The Planning Commissioners Journal
can help point you in the right direction.
- Look here for great tools for understanding transportation
planning processes and information on how to put ideas into action
such as pursuing alternatives to new roads.
- Roads
Less Traveled: Transportation Systems for Sustainable Communities is
referenced on Public Technology, Inc's website.
- Transportation Strategies
for Addressing Urban Transportation Needs from the Metropolitan
Planning Council in Chicago, IL
- Bicycle Federation of America
(BFA) is a "national nonprofit organization working to create bicycle-friendly
and walkable communities."
- Efficient Transportaion
Rocky Mountain Institute provides a listing of resources about efficient
automobiles.
- Walkable Communities Inc. helps
communities become more walkable and pedestrian friendly.
Regulatory Tools
- TEA - 21 US Dept.
Of Transportation Federal Highway Administration's web site
- Zoning / Subdivision / Land Development Ordinances: Portland
has some of the best traditional urban design zoning of any major American
city. This government site includes a copy of the city's zoning ordinance,
and zoning maps.
- Speed Limits
- Parking Regulations
- State Air Quality Implementation Plans
Technical Tools
- Mass Transit Alternatives (buses, rail, boats, etc.)
- To learn more about the basics
of telecommuting (from home or from neighborhood centers) click
here .
- Computerized Toll Systems
- Smart Traffic Flow Systems (timing of lights, lane changes, etc.)
- Texas Transportation Institute,
part of the Texas A&M University System, features technical tools
for multi-modal control systems and Translink for managing surface transportation
systems.
Financial Tools
- ISTEA (the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act) is the
main source of funding for transportation projects. Clicking here will
take you back to the ISTEA web site.
- Public Transit Subsidies (bus, rail)
- Car Pooling Subsidies
- Development Impact Fees
- Road Tolls
- Bonds
- Taxes (energy / auto / etc.)
- You might want to consider congestion pricing, where users of a particular road, for example, would be charged a higher fee if they used the road during peak periods of demand. An EPA fact sheet [PDF, 3 pp., 13KB]
- Preferential Auto Insurance Rates
Other Tools
The following web sites have a variety and a wealth of information:
- The Center for Livable
Communities
- Multi-state Technical Assistance Program
- Transportation Research Board
(TRB). Studies, information services, and research programs.
- San
Diego Council of Governments Transportation Page
| You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader, available as a free download, to view some of the files on this page. See EPA's PDF page to learn more about PDF, and for a link to the free Acrobat Reader. |