Citation

Hibbard TH, Miller F. Transp. Res. Rec. 1974; 490: 10-19.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1974, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences USA, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Recent trends in transportation planning and in federal and state legislation are leading to greater public participation in transportation project evaluation. Although these trends represent an opportunity, they also obligate citizens and local governments to evaluate the multitude of social, economic, and environmental factors involved in project evaluation, even though they have limited experience and few resources for doing so. The paper suggests a framework for organizing potential project impacts, which emphasizes (a) the development of an environmental overview before project recommendations are made, and (b) an understanding of the relationship between the effects considered in the overview and those included in traditional economic analysis. Effects on road users and nonusers are analyzed to determine whether they are treated explicitly or implicitly in benefit-cost analysis or whether they should be placed in such categories as (a) natural resources and environmental quality, (b) community impacts, (c) leisure and recreation, and (d) economic effects. A technique for rating and weighting the project effects is outlined in order to facilitate the formulation of project recommendations. The paper should be useful to local governments either in providing an approach to be implemented or as a point of departure for developing a system that is responsive to specific local needs.

Language: en