A MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT "OF TRANSPORTATION: EMPLICATIONS FOR COMPREHENSIVE STATE LEVEL PLANNING Thesis for the Degree of M. S. MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY EDGERTON we. BAILEY ' 1972 IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII “an 3 1293 00103 6486 Michigan State University Tzv‘y 4 ' I ABSTRACT A MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION: IMPLICATIONS FOR COMPREHENSIVE STATE LEVEL PLANNING By Edgerton W. Bailey Transportation is consistently recognized as one of the most essential functions of modern society, providing the linkages through which the needs of people are met and the channels necessary to the development of basic resources. Therefore, the provision of transporta- tion facilities is a subject of widespread interest and general concern. Because of this importance, the development of government policies and programs for the improvement of transportation systems is the subject of national analysis and debate, with continuing demands for more effect- ive solutions to growing problems. Following the pattern of the federal government, several states have consolidated their transportation agencies into Departments of Transportation (DOTS) to achieve a better administration of these res- ponsibilities. Since there is considerable pressure growing in Michigan to also create a state DOT, an analysis of the potential effect of such change was undertaken. The general nature of transportation was described and the historical development of public policy traced. Then the emergence of fundamental transportation issues was stated. It was found that the re- cent emphasis on highway programs has been a dominant feature of national policy, but that there is a trend toward finding ways to improve urban public transportation systems. This focused attention on the key issue of concern; how to best serve the public interest by achieving a balanced transportation program. It was concluded that the institutional frame- work for decision-making was a crucial part of overall policy and program improvement, and that a state DOT for Michigan was highly desirable. Con- ceptually, it was found that long range transportation plans can be the foundation for comprehensive planning for urban and rural development, land use programs and environmental protection as well as for better coor- dination of transportation programs. Creation of a Michigan DOT would provide the means for improved coordination among levels of government, among various government programs and between transportation modes. Finally, the important elements of concern in the process of reorganization were addressed. Because reorganization is a political process, there are a variety of considerations that will influence the structure of a new department. The central issue is the legal fact of restricting gas and weight tax revenue to use for ”highway purposes” only. The Governor has undertaken an aggressive program of requiring that a portion of such revenue be made available for improving urban pub- lic transportation. If this one change can be accomplished, then organi- zational change can be a truly effective improvement in state government in Michigan. A MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION: IMPLICATIONS FOR COMPREHENSIVE STATE LEVEL PLANNING By ri' Edgerton W. Bailey A THESIS submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE Department of Resource Development I972 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The preparation of this thesis was greatly aided by the interest and encouragement of friends, professional associates and other acquaint- ances who contributed a wide range of discussion on the general subject matter. To all of them I wish to express my sincere appreciation. I especially wish to thank Dr. Milton H. Steinmueller, my thesis chairman, for his friendly concern, constructive criticism and excellent advice. Special thanks are also due to Dr. William Kimball for his per- sonal interest and support throughout my graduate program. Thanks also to other members of the faculty that served on the examination committee. The contributions of Charles J. Carroll, Jr., Richard J. Lilly, and G. Robert Adams, through sharing their professional knowledge and gen- eral philosophy, are also gratefully acknowledged. A special thanks to Mrs. Wilma K. McCurdy for the hours of typing, editing and retyping of this material. Her willing assistance added significantly to the prepara- tion of the entire thesis. Thanks, too, to Mr. Graham Burgess for his assistance with the graphic presentations. Most importantly, the steady encouragement and overall patience of my entire family must be recognized as the most substantial contribu- tion of all. The completion of this study program has truly been a family accomplishment. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I Justification Scope of Inquiry Guiding Hypothesis Sources of Information and Basic Limitations II. THE NATURE OF TRANSPORTATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Historical Perspectives and The Evolution of Public Policy The Role of Government Shifting Community Values and Public Concern Emerging Transportation Issues The Public Interest Modern Transportation Systems and National Policies Major Programs Trends of Transportation Demand Balanced Transportation System Integration III. TRANSPORTATION PLANNING. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1+0 The Transportation Planning Function The Federal Role The State Role Attempts To Integrate State Planning in Michigan State Departments of Transportation (DOTS) IV. IMPORTANT ELEMENTS IN THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION FOR MICHIGAN. . . . . . . . . . . 67 Organizational Concepts Integration of Modes Objectives of Reorganization Evaluation of Alternative Organizational Structures Transportation Revenue The Motor Vehicle Highway Fund Dedicated User Taxes The Discretionary Fund An Appraisal of Possible Political Considerations Policy Implications of a DOT Chapter Page V. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . 90 Summary Conclusions and Recommendations Intergovernmental Coordination Program Coordination Inter-modal Coordination Overview BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . l06 Figure LIST OF FIGURES Transportation Policy Evaluation Model. . . . . . National System of Interstate and Defense Highways. Typical Layout For Integration of Transportation Department Process Into State Development Plans . Basic Organization of Proposed Michigan DOT . . . New York Department of Transportation . . . . . . Proposed Accelerated Freeway Program. . . . . . . Page 26 28 65 69 7i 84 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Because there is an inherent disadvantage in most things being separated by distance, mobility is one of the essential elements of the process of living. Throughout history, the increasing capability for moving things has seemed to be a major determining factor in the complex- ity of the human social order. As mankind progressed through the stages of floating things on logs, using the wheel, utilizing beast of burden, setting a sail and converting energy through machines, his cultural envir- onment expanded as new interrelationships were made possible. Transporta- tion is the function of overcoming the disadvantage of distance by pro- viding the means for the interaction of people and goods. Over the years, the development of transportation systems is one of the most important contributions society provides to succeeding genera- tions, not because of their intrinsic value, but more significantly, because transportation systems are a major determinant of the way other things will be. Few functions are as directly related to man's every activity, so transportation warrants a very high degree of special consid- eration. The complexity of modern transportation systems was stressed at the I960 Woods Hole Conference on Transportation Research, sponsored by the National Academy of Sciences, National Research Council: Transportation is the totality of the vehicles, ways, terminals, supporting facilities, and the personnel required I to achieve the movement of people and goods within and across the borders of this nation. It comprises, also, the institutional arrangements, the industrial complexes, and the public policies by means of which the physical facilities and the manpower are brought together into an operating system.I The recognized importance of transportation and its complex characteristics suggests many areas of inquiry that could produce useful information. One of the more important of such areas of inquiry would seem to be that of analyzing the institutional arrangements and public policies for the provision of transportation. That is: what are the organizational relationships that are the major determinants of trans- portation systems, services, programs and policies; and could some dif- ferent set of relationships be established that would better serve the public interest? With the creation of the United States Department of Transporta- tion in I966, a major change in these institutional arrangements was initiated at the national level. Subsequently, many states are giving evidence that they too are concerned with possible reorganization of responsibilities to achieve a better way of doing things in the public interest. In Michigan, a Special Commission on Transportation, appointed by the Governor, reported: Problem: There is a great diffusion of authority and responsibility at the state level in the regulation of transportation in Michigan. There is no authority over the coordination, planning, promotion and financing of transportation at the state level. There is a similar INational Academy of Sciences, National Research Council. Con- ference on Transportation Research (Washington, D.C.: I960), p. I. lack of coordination at and between the regional and local levels. Recommendation: Immediate attention must be given to the creation of needed governmental structures. “Supporting the concept of needed change in Michigan transporta- tion responsibilities, there has been legislation introduced that would require such change, either through the establishment of a Department of .fifansportation, or through the creation of new policy-making bodies.2 Most recently, the Governor expressed his concern in this area by creating an Interagency Transportation Council, made up of the top administrators of transportation agencies and representatives of the Executive Office to foster ”efficient and comprehensive planning by coordinating the efforts of the respective agencies responsible for the regulation of the various transportation functions . . . .“3 Justification All these expressions of concern serve to postulate that govern- mental reorganization would result in a better way of administering trans- portation responsibilities in Michigan. Thus, it would be useful to inquire into this generally held hypothesis. In a practical sense, the result could be useful to those pri- marily concerned with the Michigan situation, through having formalized lMichigan, Special Commission on Transportation, A Report to the Governor of Michigan l965-l966 (Lansing, I966), p. l4. 2Michigan, Senate Bill No. 556, Introduced April 3, I969, and Senate Bill No. lO30, Introduced April l6, I969. 3Michigan, Executive Order l969-2, I969. 4 the question, gathering, organizing, and analyzing relevant information, and providing some supported conclusions and recommendations. In a more intellectual sense, such an inquiry would be a useful exercise, if only by merely adding in some way to the body of knowledge through contributing to an understanding of interorganizational relationships. Then too, there is an acknowledged personal satisfaction to be gained from exploring an area of career interest. This last justification is an important addition since it serves to identify personal bias that could possibly be intro- duced if not carefully guarded against. Scope of Inquiry The broad purpose of this effort is to analyze state level trans- portation responsibilities in Michigan in order to gain familiarity with the advantages and disadvantages of potential reorganization. It is con- ceived as one way to approach the question ”does Michigan need a Depart- ment of Transportation?” “There are a wide variety of interests in transportation and lit- erally hundreds of relatively independent entities directly involved in transportation decision-making. Some of these are: Federal departments, bureaus and offices; the Michigan Governor, Legislature, specific agencies, lobbies, and special interest groups; County Road Commissions, Boards of Commissioners, local mayors, city councils, public service agencies, plan- ’ning commissions, transit authorities; private bus companies, airlines, railroads, trucking firms, taxi companies; and many, many more, including the public at large. With all these interests, this analysis is not intended to address specific problems; rather it is intended to consider basic issues, opportunities and inviolable constraints that could influence reorganiza- tion. To accomplish this, it is intended that the analysis will include a historical review of transportation development and its relationship to social and economic development, both in Michigan and in the United States. Further, the analysis will briefly examine some transportation responsi- bilities as they have developed to date, consider some basic problem areas, and relate these to efforts to achieve a comprehensive planning process. This should provide a basis for considering some alternative organizational concepts as a foundation for drawing conclusions. Guidinngypothesis It is hypothesized that a Department of Transportation would result in better resolution of transportation issues in Michigan. It is hoped that this can be demonstrated by presenting conclusively that orderly planning of our transportation systems has beneficial implications far beyond the efficient movement of people and goods, having the important by-product of providing a more effective approach to other state policy; such as -- the distribution of population and economic activity, the spread of urbanization, control of pollution of the environment, the desire for outdoor recreational opportunity, -- to name but a few of the considerations regarding the Quality of future life. Stated another way, it is hypothesized that new perspectives and basic insights can be gained by objectively addressing the question: Would a state Department of Trans- portation help solve transportation and other state level problems in Michigan? Sources of Information and Basic Limitations Most of the information SUpporting this analysis is derived from secondary sources, including technical journals, governmental agency reports, and topical articles from a wide variety of other publications. Any limitations are mostly limitations of scope and an attempt will be made to recognize them as they come up. Special note should be made of the fact that state Departments of Transportation are relatively new in organizational concept. Consequently, there is a paucity of analysis on their operation and overall effectiveness to date. CHAPTER II THE NATURE OF TRANSPORTATION Although transportation facilities are among the most important features of our environment, they have almost no intrinsic value; their importance is in the means provided to accomplish other purposes. So it serves no useful purpose to discuss transportation as such; to be mean- ingful, it must be related to the objectives of economic or social inter- action. In the consideration of such broad objectives, there are many points of conflict and potential trade-offs, which develop into funda- mental political choices or issues. The purpose of developing a general discussion of the nature of transportation is to better understand the basic elements of current transportation issues and the potential conse- quences of policy alternatives. The most fundamental issue that is most often stated, and there- fore warrants thorough consideration, is that of achieving balanced transportation. The prevalence of statements of the need for balance suggests that there is an imbalance. While this may very well be true, it is not enough to just cite statistics to support a conclusion to that effect. Nor is it enough to just cite economic inefficiencies or social inadequacies as evidence of the problems caused by imbalance. Full con- sideration of the issue requires an evaluation of the many diverse influences that have helped determine the characteristics of present transportation systems, and that might be critical to the selection of future alternatives. Among the important influences at work is the historical evolu- tion of the institutional arrangements that exist for the management of the transportation function. It is intended that this be utilized as a central focus of the following material, in an attempt to better under- stand the nature of transportation in our society, including not only an evaluation of how we achieved what we now have, but also why. -Simply defining transportation as the mere movement of pe0ple and goods does little to indicate society's complex requirements for mobility. To gain a proper perspective, transportation must be viewed with respect to the larger systems within which it functions and the larger objectives it serves. One way to grasp such a view is to relate modern transportation system development to growth and change in our culture over time. Many of the diverse forces that were critical to that relationship extend to the present and are directly influencing con- temporary levels of transportation service. By identifying these deter- minants, it might be possible to gain considerable insight into the institutional components of present transportation elements. Modern transportation service is provided by motor vehicles, air- craft, watercraft, railroads, pipelines and a variety of relatively minor means, such as the new recreational vehicles. In this country, a choice of two or more of the major modes is available almost everywhere, repre- sentative of our very high level of technology and industrial development. But these modes are quite recent developments; the shift from ancient to modern transportation modes occurring with the adaptation of the steam engine to ships and railroads. Automobiles, airplanes and pipelines are even more recent, having been developed within a current lifetime. Historical Perspectives and The Evolution of Public Policy In discussing the importance of transportation for developing countires, Owen devotes a brief chapter to the American experience over the past century or so.I . Beginning with a nearly total dependence upon natural waterways, early settlers were severely limited in the movement of freight and per- sonal mobility. Only the most hardy people would undertake trips of any length, and only the most valuable of freight could be transported. Although, since the very first congress in I789, tariffs have been used to encourage shipping on U.S. vessels, this limited government involvement in transportation was mainly a commercial interest. The first direct governmental interest in improving transportation was to facilitate postal service. ”The beginning of mail delivery provided monthly service from New York, #00 miles south to Virginia, with an elapsed time of four weeks when weather was good and eight when it was bad.”2 Such limited service demonstrated a need for better land trans- port, which was responded to by private investment in toll roads. However, the full integration of the expanding economy awaited the dev- elopment of a cheap means of transportation. Describing the direct IWilfred Owen, Strategy For Mobility (Washington: The Brookings Institution, l96h), pp. 22-3l. 2|bid., p. 23. l0 relationship of improved freight transport to early economic expansion, Owen points out the spectacular results of substantial state level in- vestment in the transportation system: It was the canal, however, that brought the most spectacular reductions in transport costs. When the Erie Canal opened in 1825, freight rates from the Great Lakes to New York City fell from $lOO to $l5 a ton. And the combination of canals and roads, including turnpikes, reduced transport costs and permitted increased range and carrying capacity for barge and wagon. The West could now supply food to the cities of the East, while eastern manufacturers in turn could pay their food bill by selling cloth, shoes, and other goods to the West. Manufacturing came to be centered in New England and the East, sugar in the South, and wheat in the West. This territorial divi- sion of labor and the greater productivity that resulted was made possible because of soil and climate conditions, together with the distribution of population and human skills. But improvements in transport acted as the cata- lyst to bring together these ingredients of the prosperous regional economic integration. Even with the demonstrated impact that transportation investment could have on the general economy, the national government hesitated to get involved in such improvements. Other than the Cumberland Pike, started in l806, as a specific route, there was no federal program for roadway improvements. In fact, the first congressional action to develop a federal program was vetoed in l8l7. The ”strict-constructionist” presidential interpretation of the Constitution prevented any significant federal assistance for internal improvements until the middle of the nineteenth century. The federal government finally got involved in transportation when the steam engine was adapted to rail and water vehicles. This repre- sented a technological breakthrough that created an era of rapid economic llbid., p. 2b.. ll expansion, and massive grants of land were offered as inducements to private investment for the development of the railroad system. Thus, between I825 and l850, a partnership of government subsidy and private capital combined to provide a true national transportation network which opened up vast areas of the country to settlement and economic develop- ment. Although most historians, like Owens, emphasize the effect of transportation improvements on historical economic growth, North sub- ordinates all other factors to the basic influence of the spread of the American market economy: Institutional and political policies have certainly been influential. They have acted to accelerate or retard growth on many occasions in our past, primarily by affecting the behavior of the prices of goods, serv- ices or productive factors either directly or indirectly. But they have modified rather than replaced the under- lying forces of the market economy. Regardless of the emphasis, there is little doubt that invest- ment in transportation improvements was a catalytic factor in economic growth after l850. For the next 40-50 years, railroads and steamships handled most of the nation's commerce, and use of the toll road system was all but abandoned except for extremely local travel. But, as these roads became more and more inadequate, public pressure began to mount for improvement. However, it wasn't until l9l6 that real highway improvement was initiated. lDouglass C. North, The Economic Growth of the United States lZQO-l860 (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc., I961), p. vii. l2 Still in effect, the Federal-aid Highway Act of l9l6 set the pattern for future intergovernmental cooperation in a meaningful highway program. Owen describes this legislation this way: This and subsequent legislation contained a variety of terms on which the states would be eligible for federal assistance. The federal law required the states to establish appropriate highway departments, to desig- nate a limited system of federal-aid routes on which federal-aid funds could be spent, and to adhere to federal standards of design and maintenance.I The success of this cooperative intergovernmental mechanism was quickly demonstrated, with the construction of nearly a million miles of roads and the expenditure of over SAD billion between I920 and I940 for construction and maintenance.2 An important element of this huge program was the gradual imposition of a user tax, paid by vehicle owners through registration fees and a tax on gasoline. The latter source, first intro- duced in Oregon in l9l9, quickly became a major income producer, and by l9hl, user taxes provided about half the total road budget.3 Air transport, initiated at Kitty Hawk in I903, took consider- able time to become viable as a major mode of transportation. Other than minor government interest from a military standpoint, there was little government involvement in air transportation until mail was first trans- ported in l9l9. It wasn't until the Civil Aeronautics Act of I938 that Congress specifically empowered the Civil Aeronautics Administrator to engage in airport development and improvement.“ IOwen, Strategy For Mobility, p. 29. 2Ibid. 3Ibid., p. 30. “Dudley F. Pegrum, Transportation: Economics and Public Policy (Homewood, Ill.: Richard D. Irwin, Inc., I968), p. 6%. l3 This historical review has shown that transportation improve- ments were a major influence upon the settlement patterns of the country, serving as a critical element of community development in its broadest sense. It has also shown that the initial, and pervading interest in transportation system development has been from the private sector, yet government programs developed when one of two situations arose: l. Transportation problems that may not have been adequately recognized at one period of time came to be acknowledged as intolerable according to shifting standards. 2. The scale of needed improvement was too great for private interests to handle alone. Finally this review has also shown that major shifts in trans- portation emphasis have occurred within a relatively short space of time in response to public need, technological innovation, and the degree of government involvement. The Role of Government After the technological breakthrough of the steam engine, the federal government began an involvement that has led to current support for, or regulation over, almost every means of transportation. Yet operation of transportation vehicles has largely remained in private hands, either corporate or individual. As President Johnson reported: The United States is the only major nation in the world that relies upon privately owned and operated transportation..... But private ownership and operation has been made feasible only by the use of publicly granted authority and the investment of public resources: by the construction of locks, dams, channels on our rivers and inland waterways; by the development of a vast highway network; by the construction and opera- tion of airports and airways; by the development of ports and harbors; by the direct financial support of l4 the merchant marine; by grants of eminent domain authority; by capital equipment grants and demon- stration projects for mass transit; and in years past, by grants of public lands to assist the railroads. Enlightened government has served as a full partner with private enterprise in meeting America's urgent need for mobility. In spite of the retention of private ownership and operation, government has, indeed, become a dominant force in transportation policies and programs, with participation from all levels, but largely dominated today by the federal responsibilities for the general public interest of national defense, exchange of information and the mainten- ance of regional balance in economic and social development. Leading up to the modern era, these areas of federal responsibility were tied to a national expansionist philosophy, which has been largely expressed by an overriding emphasis on long-distance travel and the shipment of products of farms, factories and mines to markets. This past emphasis upon long distances may have a particular relevance to current issues in terms of there not being a fully developed government policy posture for urban transportation problems. But, as the previous historical review has shown, government transportation pro- grams have been particularly responsive to the emergence of major issues, and the recent changes toward greater government involvement in urban programs follows a basic pattern. Further, the historical review has shown that initial weak government participation (and even initial prohibition against direct involvement) weakens over time, and later programs of massive proportions IU.S., Congress, Senate, Committee on Government Operations, Establish A Department of Transportation, Hearings, on S. 30l0, 89th Cong., 2nd sess., I966. IS evolved. It was also shown that user taxes in support of programs were not initially important. In fact, it has only been recently that high- way user taxes even came close to matching the amount spent on highway improvements and maintenance. Finally, the federal highway program has emerged as the strong- est of all transportation programs, and set a basic cooperative framework of federal-state-local partnership which might be considered a pattern of the future. This required the states to set up appropriate departments, adherance to basic federal standards, and other terms on which federal aid would become available. Shifting Community Values and Public Concern The role of transportation in the development of this country has been one of major significance. If the most basic importance of past transportation programs and policies can be generalized as having been strongly oriented toward fostering geographic accessibility: for the development of national resources; to open up the country and permit universal settlement; - to move products to consumers; and to integrate all areas into a functional national community, then today's ubiquitous transportation service can be recognized as having reached a major level of achievement. While there is no fully integrated theory of the role of trans- portation in regional development programs, there is increasing skepticism l6 in the literature regarding the potential of transportation for further accelerating economic growth.I This view is subject to debate, if only on the magnitude of change being sought and the value of even a marginal transportation related economic improvement as a catalyst for other economic stimuli to foster regional improvement. However, there can be little argument with the concept that the broad role of transportation in terms of its importance to national economic growth can be expected to diminish now that a true national base transport system has been created. This means that the present transportation era is one of transfi- tion, from an overriding emphasis on economic growth to an orientation toward human development in an urbanizing society. This view is well expressed by Webber and Angel: We have freed the economy from the obstacles of geographical distance, and we have freed the metropolis from the boundaries that had previously constricted its spatial expansion. Distance is no longer a constraint either upon the national economy or upon the mobility of the middle-majority of the nation's population. Both have benefitted greatly from the development of the automobile-highway system which by now is highly effi- cient, requiring only incremental expansion to keep pace with future population and economic growth.2 Extending their reasoning to a concern about our automobile oriented society, Webber and Angel recognize the beneficial effects of enhancement of personal freedom provided for the vast majority of the lGerald Kraft, John R. Meyer, and Jean-Paul Valette, The Role of Transportation In Regional Economic Development (Lexington, Mass.: D.C. Heath and Co., I971). PP. 23-35. 2Melvin M. Webber and Shlomo Angel, ”The Social Context For Trans- Port Policy,” (Reprint No. 48, Institute of Urban and Regional Development, U"'\/ersity of California, Berkeley I969), p. 67. I7 public, but trace some extreme disbenefits to those that for any reason cannot utilize the automobile in the way it is used by the majority. Their conceptualization of the contemporary transportation problem is that the auto-dominated highway, with its pervasive effects on community structure and social mobility, has contributed greatly to social and economic isolation of the already disadvantaged poor, especially black people.I Such expressions of concern are creditable, and gaining a great deal of public acceptance. It appears that there is a discernable shifting of public concern from considering transportation as serving mostly the demands of economic efficiency to a means of achieving social equity. This seems to be general recognition that our national problems are now more closely identified with the day-to-day mobility needs of an urban society rather than the long distance mobility of a national economy. Emerging Transportation Issues The prevalence of articles in the national media as well as in sophisticated technical literature that portrays the private automobile as the root cause of many of this country's social problems are expres- sions of wide-ranging concern that outline emerging transportation issues. Some analysts see the increasing use of the automobile as the main reason for the trend toward urban decentralization. This is trans- lated into inefficient land use patterns, the decay of the central city, and the growing dichotomy between affluent ”suburbanites” and the central llbid., pp. 6A-67. l8 city poor. Others see the ”over-emphasis” upon auto transportation as working a serious disadvantage on larger minority segments of society, those too old or too young to drive, the infirm, and those too poor to own a car. This is related to the decline in public transportation which has become too expensive to serve a decreasing ridership. Still others elaborate upon the adverse effects that the automobile has had on the environment, citing increasing levels of air and noise pollution, the rapid depletion of fossil fuels, and the contribution it makes to despoilation of the landscape. While much of the discussion being presented in the literature represents oversimplification as required for brevity, the essential expressions of concern have factual bases. It is undeniable that some fundamental cultural shifts have occured that can be translated into emerging transportation issues. There is a recognizable migratory trend from rural areas to the large urbanized areas, and at the same time, an outward movement from the central cities to the suburbs. One author projects that almost all future increases in the U.S. population will be absorbed by metropolitan areas.I This represents a complex problem with vast economic, social and political implications. What kinds of transportation systems are needed to help solve such problems? Can a developmental highway program be expected to help reverse the rural to urban migration? Can new urban mass transportation programs be expected to help revitalize the central lAlexander Ganz, ”Emerging Patterns of Urban Growth and Travel} Transport Report, M.I.T., Cambridge, Mass., I968 (Mimeographed.) I9 cities? Can the central city and the suburbs be closely linked together through any transportation program? Most of these questions can be framed in terms of viable alterna- tives for available funds which in turn presents new facets to the debate. How can priorities be rationally determined? Can the nation afford to continue a massive highway program that is not even keeping pace with its growing needs? Do public transportation systems require huge opera- tional subsidies? Should modern rail mass transportation systems be built to help redirect growth? How much improvement cost can be added to accommodate environmental protection needs and social considerations? In all of these issues there is a common theme; that of improv- ing the quality of life. Resolving such issues requires an examination of priorities, which is, in essence, a requirement to redefine the public interest. The Public Interest It has been shown that the development of government policies and programs has been closely related to shifts in economic and social emphasis over time, and that the promotion, regulation and operation of transportation systems has evolved into a true partnership between govern- ment and the private sector. Yet, any well rounded examination of governmental policies and programs must include another view; that of the ”public interest”, as distinguished from mere response to social, economic or political pressure. The author of a basic planning textbook introduces this topic, 20 although in a different context, this way: The public interest is frequently used in law to refer to what the courts will sanction as a public purpose, whether under the police power, the power of eminent domain, or the power of taxation. For example, health, welfare, morals, and safety have become gen- erally recognized tests of the public interest in American jurisprudence. Convenience, comfort and prosperity are sometimes cited, but are less frequent- ly allowed by the courts and usually only in combina- tion with the other four tests. In a restricted sense, the courts thus provide a barometer of what are generally held to be the limits of the public interest. As indicated in the history of court ac- tions, the public interest concept in a legal sense is an evolving one, tending to broaden in time as new elements become more generally sanctioned in a cultural context, but also tending to lag behind their social acceptance.I Thus, another dimension of the role of government can be examined on the basis of what is good for the general public. Instead of just deriving a concept of the public interest from an evolving legal inter- pretation, or even from some generalized perception of the predominant will of the public at large, there should be some derivation that is less vague to guide the development of public policy. However, there does not appear to be any well developed, and fully accepted theory in this regard. There is considerable academic debate on this topic among both social scientists and political scientists.2 The main concern here is the true meaning of public responsibility on the part of government officials in the exercise of discretionary power in policy making. IF. Stuart Chapin, Jr., Urban Land Use Planning (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1965). p. AI. 2Herbert J. Storing, ”The Crucial Link: Public Administration, Responsibility, and the Public Interest,” Public Administration Review, (March l96h), pp. 39-h6 2l This question is particularly relevant to the development of transportation policies because of the profound influence that trans- portation has on the quality of life. It is especially pertinent to the current issue of the need to improve public transportation facilities in our automobile oriented society. Here, the will of the majority (as interpreted from accumulated historical marketplace decisions) is to abandon public transportation in favor of increasing use of the auto- mobile. While this issue will be discussed in greater detail later in the chapter, it serves here as a foundation of the question of whether the public interest is a mere aggregation of individual interests, or whether something else needs to be added to adequately define the broad interests of the general public. This current issue appears to be a classic example of what Storing calls ”the basic ambiguity in the notion of the public interest: the tension between public wants and the public good.”I How should policy makers resolve such issues? Some theorists see it as a problem of accountability; a need to legitimize policy deter- mination to predominant support groups as the most democratic interpreta- tion of public responsibility.2 But this seems to leave policy determina- tion too much to the desires of ”special” interest to fit any true con- cept of the public interest. Others see the public interest as only a ”verbal symbol, whose value is primarily psychological and does not extend beyond the significance that each responsible civil servant must 'Ibid., p. 1+6. 2Ibid., p. ALI. 22 find in the phrase for himself.Ill This, too, seems to beg the issue, providing no real test of the degree to which the real needs of the public are to be served. As a leading critic, Schubert emphatically states that ”there is no public interest theory worthy of the name,” and that ”it may be nothing more than a label attached indiscriminately to a miscellany of particular compromises of the moment.”2 In modeling his critical stance, Schubert organizes dominant theoreticians into three basic classes: Rationalists - who believe that it is the func- tion of public officials to execute the popular will, that is expressed either through the political parties, or can be readily defined from public opinion; Idealists - who believe that the true interests of the public may not coincide with what the public itself feels is the public interest, and administrators must rely heavily upon their conscience; and Realists - who believe that the bureaucratic struc- ture of government functions to provide full considera- tion of all relevant interests and perspectives, and that resultant decisions are the best possible for all interests. Even as Schubert rejects the formulation of a worthwhile con- cept, his review serves a real purpose of identifying some basic truths in all the theoretical positions. As such, his review is useful herein to provide a background from which to articulate a personal statement of public interest philosophy which is based upon a belief in the inherent 'Ibid. 2Glendon Schubert, The Public Interest (Glencoe, Ill.: The Free Press of Glencoe, I960), p. 223. 23 acquisition of broadly based concern for the general welfare by govern- ment policy makers as they rise to positions of power. It may be assumed that no policy-maker can long remain in a powerful position if he continually offends others who may have a parti- cular view of the public interest, whether they be strong pressure groups, an opposing political party, or disorganized minority Interests. Each public policy maker must have developed some kind of support base on his way to his position, and must retain some credibility of being attuned to the general welfare in order to maintain or advance his posi- tion. Perhaps a concept of the public interest that is representative of the real world is nothing more than the series of compromises that must be continually made by leaders as they strive to maintain or enlarge their position of responsibility. This would be a concept of pragmatic accommodation of varying points of view that is developed over time; a responsiveness to the public welfare that is necessary to success. This view is quite similar to the conclusion developed by Storing, that per- sonal responsibility and a willingness to confront difficult choices on the part of all public officials is a major determinant of what the pub- lic interest is at any particular period of time.I It refers to the ”art of governing” as the crucial link between public administration and the public interest. Accepting that there is an ”art of governing” inherent in public administration, then that ”art” should be most well developed among top elected officials that are confronted by the electorate periodically. IStoring, ”Crucial Link,” p. 46. 24 This leads to a conclusion that is herein offered as a personal philosophy regarding the public interest; that the top elected official serves as the focal point of interpreting the public interest, and at the state level, this is a function of the Governor. It may not always be possible for even the Governor to serve the public interest as he sees it, but his basic sensitivity to the general welfare must be reflected in his deci- sion making. If there should be a basic conflict between the Governor and any functional agency in the area of discretionary decision making, then the basic responsibility of resolving the differences rests with the Governor. Such differences do occur. A syndicated columnist recently wrote: Whatever institutions we devise for whatever good and noble purposes - eventually develop a life and raison d'etre of their own. They soon begin (unconsciouslw to operate for their own sake, for surviving, controlling, expanding, more than for the sake of the community that formed them, or the original purpose for which they were established.I This sketches a potential conflict situation wherein an agency might see the public interest from a narrow point of view, and the Governor from another. After thorough discussion of all considerations, such con— flicts should be responsive to the Governor's point of view. Modern Transportation Systems and National Policies Reporting to Congress on the complexity of transportation policy, President Kennedy identified ”A chaotic patchwork of inconsistent and lSydney Harris, ”Strictly Personalfl State Journal, Lansing, M'Ch.q Sept. 3, l97l. 25 often obsolete legislation has evolved from a history of specific ac- tions addressed to specific problems of specific industries at specific times.”l The late President's words are used by Lansing to initiate his discussion of the objectives of public policy and the history of each major transportation mode. After thorough review and analysis, Lansing concludes ”Viewed as a whole, there is a disorderly, one might say unkempt, character to American transportation policy."2 With so much acknowledged difficulty involved in trying to trace federal transportation policy, it seems that little can be gained from further attempts at detailed analysis of ”specific actions addressed to specific Problems” that have occurred at ”specific times” in the past. Yet, federal policies are of dominant importance to this discussion of modern transportation systems and the consideration of future directions. Therefore, it is intended that national policy be evaluated in a differ- ent way, using a form of policy consideration that presents a major pro- gram area which has generated significant debate, identifying pertinent legitimate constraints, portraying trends that bear on the issue, con- sidering alternatives that have been proposed, and the feedback to the basic policy area. This technique can be modeled along the following lines: IJohn B. Lansing, Transportation and Economic Policy (New York: The Free Press, I966), p. xiii. zlbid., p. 399. 26 Policy or _ Trends and Lack of Policy Influences l l I I Emerging Issues l I I I I______ Potential Alternatives Figure l. Transportation Policy Evaluation Model While this simplistic approach to very complex problems may have some limitations in regard to depth, it has the compensating virtue of clarity in getting directly to the points of concern. Because of its clarity, any mis-statement or omission can be quickly identified and the result easily traced. As such, it seems adequate for a generalized dis- cussion of modern transportation systems and resultant problems. In the following discussion, major attention will be devoted to urban transporta- tion policy as the most critical of all policy areas. Major Programs Recognized as the largest single construction project ever under- taken, the Interstate Highway System program is easily identified as the main element of the nation's transportation program. With routes in eVery state, the 42,500 miles of freeways interconnects the largest cities at a total cost now estimated to reach $69 billion. Ten percent of this cost is to be paid by the states and the other 90 percent by the federal gov ernment . 27 Initiated with the passage of the Federal Aid Highway Act of I956, a major feature of the program was the creation of the Highway Trust Fund as the repository for user taxes that are reserved for finan- cing highway programs. Before I956, federal funds for highways were appropriated from the general fund of the Treasury, and although federal taxes were imposed on highway users, there was no direct link between such collections and disbursements. Because the Interstate Highway Pro- gram was originally scheduled for completion by I972, the Highway Trust Fund was to terminate that year, but was just extended by Congress to I978.I The Highway Trust Fund provided for a pay-as-you—build program that included financial insurance for a long-range approach to highway construction. Each state was reasonably sure that program schedules would be maintained. The success of this approach cannot be denied, with the completion of lengthy sections in each state, as shown by the following map. Extension of the Highway Trust Fund was a critical deci- sion, because it also is the source of federal funds for other elements of the national highway program, and its extension thus insured continued financing for the non-Interstate highway systems as well. As such, it Twas a reaffirmation of national policy in support of the highway program which has these major features: I. Completion of the Interstate Highway Program by I976, at whatever cost required. lFederal-Aid Highway_Act of B70, U.S. Code, Title 23, Sec. 209 (I970). 28 .1 m>m3:m_: omcumoo 6cm cumumcouc_ +0 Ecum>m .mco_umz _em_ .teeopoo .ee_~emez memos u__n:m unoc30m "N oc:m_u I u. .c’: ;¢I.J.‘a . . . .vszel ‘ 5.1.6»! ril V. .5... .t. 5.51.1..‘5 3‘ g a E .FOZ IO mar—RPM >8<7axall I ZOP—UDFFMZOU “was I i... v. 414:...— 2. c. 23.-st; 8(08 45,—. 80—4! II- s.... . 2.1 T: . .11. .1; f c ._ a. ..:1. 2.2:; ~_.. 310-1- .. 311.. .21.... ... :3 ... 2.3.0:... .. .311.- .. iii. . Uta—(E Oh g g 8>O¢Lv£ “O 328 ' . .t/ai \wnit - -,/ _ o. .In) . “ LT... . 1‘ Geri... .., T on: // x u” m . .v ”“1 N , _ . / J l e. In 1 3310 t. \ on of. ‘ 6 71...: a r z ‘ l ’ N‘O ’1 ’0‘6 . _ ~ , \ . :Ia .. x . 5 \ .. ‘- 0. x ._I ’I'.’ . Flux . / _ .4“ I! 0 .36 I! . .. or: .. . \ a 01.1 \t . .. 03’; 14 .. e :1 I ’!~ \ “W lg a a 8). .\_ 29 2. Continuation of the federal-state partnership for improvement of other federal-aid highway systems: a) Federal-aid Primary b) Federal-aid Secondary c) Federal-aid Primary or Secondary extensions in urban areas. 3. Change in the matching ratio on the ABC Systems from 50% Federal to 70%, beginning July I, I973. 4. Establishment of a new Federal-aid Urban System that differs from Federal-aid Primary or Secondary extension, in urban areas (C above), and authori- zation of expenditure of $lOO million each fiscal year ending June 30, I972, and June 30, I973. These new system routes are to be selected by the appropriate local officials and the State highway departments in cooperation with each other.I The above are the main features of federal highway program policy, including the most recent changes. In addition, there are other features, such as the Traffic Operations Improvements Program (TOPICS) that provides funds to urban areas for minor street improvement projects; a new Demon- stration Project authorization designated as ”Economic Growth Center Dev- elopment Highways, with authorization of $50 million each year for two years; the designated eligibility of Urban Highway Public Transportation, which permits the use of restricted funds for projects that will ”encourage the development, improvement, and use of public mass transportation systems operating motor vehicles on highways, other than on rails, for the trans- portation of passengers”; and reaffirmation of the required cooperative, continuing, and comprehensive urban transportation planning process.2 INational highway policy is reviewed by Congress each two years, culminating in the passage of biennial Federal-Aid Highway Acts, which are codified in the U.S. Code, Title 23. 2Federal-Aid Highway Act of I970. 30 One further feature of highway policy is the currently underway National Transportation Study that was required by Congress, to evaluate transportation needs to I990 on the basis of detailed analysis of pro- jected transportation improvements for all modes. A major feature of this study is to consider the allocation of alternative funding levels to satisfy all needs, with the state governors having the responsibility to recommend alternative distributions for Capital Improvement programs for l974-I990.l The increasing emphasis on providing aid to urban areas is quite evident in the new features of the national highway program, but it is still obvious that, in spite of mounting pressure, highway user taxes are not to be diverted to other modes. This pressure is mounting through- out the nation as more and more cities are expressing concern about fed- eral aid for mass transit. The federal government initiated support for mass transit in l96l, with amendments to federal housing legislation.2 Later, direct Federal-aid for mass transit was initiated with the Urban Mass Trans- portation Act of I964. The purposes of the Act include: I. Coordinated assistance, between the Federal govern- ment and public and private transport companies, to help develop mass transit. 2. Planning and establishment of regional transit systems. lU.S. Department of Transportation, National Transportation Planning Manual; Manual A, General Instructions, (I970), p. IO. 2An extremely good discussion of how this federal program became inaugurated is presented in Urban Mass Transportation In Perspective, Tax Foundation, Inc., 50 Rockefeller Plaza, New York (April, I968). 3l 3. Assistance to States and localities in their support of transit finances and needs.I The federal share of capital grants was limited to a maximum of two-thirds of the cost that could not be readily financed from revenues. Most of the funds authorized under the I964 Act have been directed mainly at the purchase of new equipment. The Urban Mass Transportation Assistance Act of I970 was a major change in urban transportation policy, providing $3.l billion in federal funds for public transportation for a five year period as the first phase of a twelve year, $lO billion program. It is expected that this new pro- gram will provide the long-term guarantees of federal-aid necessary to developing state and local funds for the construction projects.2 Funds are to be distributed in the form of loans or grants to states or local governments on a two-thirds/one-third match basis. Upon passage of the Act, the Department of Transportation immediately indicated initial priorities: I. Some systems that are in danger of failing. 2. Improve existing systems. 3. Extend systems. 4. Develop new systems. These two recent pieces of federal legislation seems to indicate a major urban orientation for future federal policy. There is recognition . IUrban Mass Transportation Act of I964, U.S. Code, Title 49, Sec. l6OI (T964), 2"The Urban Mass Transportation Assistance Act,” Metropolitan Magazine, March-April, I970, p. 23. 32 of the realities of highways'ggd public transit needs for federal aid, instead of highways only; and a long range program for mass transit is now firmly established. Even more recent, the reorganization of the railroad passenger lines into a new operating structure called Amtrak (initially called Railpax) was initiated May I, l97l. Envisioned as a profit-making enter- prise, the federally sponsored National Railroad Passenger Corporation was supported by legislation that provided $340 million for initial operating subsidy, and the authority to select the routes to retain service under the program. However, profits are obviously a secondary consideration, with the major goal being to determine whether or not the decline of rail passenger service can be arrested or reversed. One researcher suggests it can be done, since he finds rail patronage is a function of good service and feels that a radical approach (such as has been initiated) can lead to attractive service.I However, this remains to be demonstrated; but whether or not the major goal of rails success- fully competing with the automobile and airplane is realized, the very fact that a rather radical approach to the problem was initiated is in itself a moderate measure of success. There are many other elements of modern transportation programs, such as the initiation of the Airport Airways Trust Fund at the Federal level, the congressional concern over extending the Great Lakes shipping 1Edward P. Patton, llNational Railroad Passenger Corporation: Requiem or Renaissance?,” High Speed Ground Transportation Journal, Vol. 5, No. l (Winter-Spring, l97l), pp. 83-93. 33 season, and the Northeast Corridor Demonstration Project to improve high speed ground transportation. These need not be discussed in detail to conclude that modern transportation programs and policies are greatly diversified and have a wide-ranging influence on the entire economic, social and political structure of the nation. As such, transportation programs and policies can be expected to remain the focus of national debate; a central concern of major issues of national development, and a major feature of alternative non-transportation policies. Trends of Transportation Demand Even with the continuation of major programs that emphasize long distance travel, such as the extension of the Interstate highway system, and the attempted revitalization of inter-city rail passenger service, there is ample evidence that the problems of urban mobility are becoming the dominant factors of public policy: - the Federal Highway Act of I962 established a require- ment for comprehensive urban transportation planning, - the I964 Mass Transit Act, as amended, established the principle of federal aid to transit systems, - The Federal Highway Act of I970 explicitly defined urban street systems for financial support, and - the I970 Federal Mass Transportation Act established new support levels for urban mass transit. These and others all indicate increasing Congressional interest in urban transportation policy. Much is being written about the trend toward urbanization in the United States. In summarizing some of its major findings, the Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations stated that future estimates 34 indicate a national population increase of about 73% by the year 2000, practically all of it urban.I This means an expansion in the size and population of existing metropolitan areas and the emergence of new urban centers. Analysts also draw some other conclusions that are highly important to generalizations about future transportation demands: I. There will be an increase in the geographical size of metropolitan areas -- using Bureau of the Census definition of an area that is economically and socially linked with the politically deter- mined central city having a population of at least 50,000. 2. There will be a decline of the relative import- ance of the central city. The trend toward centralization of the metropolitan area will continue. 3. The above decentralization of the metropolitan area will bring dispersal, not recentralization in the outlying areas. Relatively high - density residential and employment nodes may develop, but it is unlikely that these nodes will rival the densities of the central cities.2 Thus, the pattern of the future appears to be that of the dispersed city, with at least a relative decline of the importance of the central city and no real centralization of travel attractors in the suburban fringe. Balanced Transportation As urban areas disperse, and the importance of the central business district declines in relation to the overall community, the lU.S., Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations, Urban and Rural America: Policies for Future Growth, ACIR Report A-32 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, I968), p. l24. 2U.S., Department of Commerce, Prospects for Urban Transit (Prepared by Charles Rivers Associates, Inc., Cambridge, Mass.: I970). Pp. l-2 (Mimeographed). 35 origins and destinations of trips can be expected to become more varied. Urban travel demands can be expected to require increasing flexibility. This seems to indicate that the current trend toward ever-increasing auto trips will continue, and that public mass transportation trips will con- tinue to play a small part in urban mobility. However, the emphasis on public mass transportation in recent legislation and federal funding programs indicates that it is a national goal to achieve I'balanced" trans- portation in urban areas. This goal is implied, but there is no widespread agreement in evidence, although considerable debate has been generated. The problem seems to be that the supporting objectives are not clear, and the main arguments of the debate are often mutually inconsistent. Yet, if even a few basic objectives that are clearly not inconsistent can be presented, then it can be shown that balanced transportation is in the public interest, and can be legitimately supported by top level policy-makers. In a special report published in a national magazine, the Federal Highway Administration presented a survey of influential people in the highway ”community.” Among their responses, there is a statement of objective that seems to have widespread agreement. It is foreseen that the desire for independent mobility provided by the automobile will continue, but that the sheer limitations of space - on the streets and in parking places - will create high levels of congestion. I”The Role Of Highway Transportation In The Seventies,” Nation's Cities Magazine, July, l97l, (Special Reprint). 36 This supports an objective of improving auto-highway mobility in urban areas by diverting,some trips to public mass transportation, which is a narrow view of needed balance, suggesting that balanced transporta- tion requirements are internally important to the transportation system only. A broader view is one that has been well expressed by Webber and Angel: For the poor, the young, the aged, and the infirm, the rise of the auto-driver-highway system has repre- sented a net loss. Wherever these groups have lacked either a vehicle or driver, the system has not worked well for them. Further, where the popularity of the system has spelled the demise of high quality public transit service, or has induced a spatial reorganiza- tion of the metropolitan area, their losses have been compounded. This view of needed balance suggests that there are legitimate balanced transportation requirements that are external to the transporta- tion system, supporting the objective of improving mobility for the disad- advantaged. This appears to be an objective that can receive widespread agreement among policy-makers. Of course there are other objectives, such as those that relate to comfort, convenience and safety; and those that relate to minimization of a wide range of social costs, such as decreased disruption of neighbor- hood structure and the pre-emption of property that might be used for other purposes. However, if the above major objectives are acceptable, it should not be necessary to examine all others in order to accept the need for both highway system programs and improved urban mass transporta- tion in striving for balance. IWebber and Angel, The Social Context For Transport Policy, p. 67. 37 System Integration The solution to national urban transportation problems is such a complex subject area that it is impossible to present a comprehensive discussion of all aspects in any single analysis. Because of the com- plexity, it is likewise unreasonable to expect that any solution will have universal application as the best for all urban areas. Therefore, this discussion will be limited to only some fundamental aspects of urban transportation. Finding that balanced transportation will likely require both continued emphasis on automobile transportation and some form of public mass transportation, the alternatives of how best to provide for system integration must focus upon the service characteristics of various modes. In much of the literature, future possibilities are discussed in theo- retical terms, seemingly limited only by the extent of technical imagina- tion. While the development of totally new technological systems must be pursued, the current problems are pretty much limited to the use of existing systems. These are in three basic categories; the automobile- highway system, bus systems, and fixed rail systems. Within these three categories, there are some basic facts: the auto-highway system exists, not always functioning satisfactorily, but capable of greater use; bus systems are also in operation, but in most instances, usage continues to decline; and rail transit systems, taking years to build, must be started soon if they are to be expected to play a significant role in urban transportation in the near future. 38 In a discussion of these alternatives, the Charles Rivers, Inc., study included the statement: It was concluded that the existing technologies are unlikely to divert many travelers from the automobile and accordingly are unlikely to reduce substantially the demand for urban freeway construction. . . . The facts of the matter are that easy alternative solutions do not exist. The provision of conventional line haul transit service, whether on rails (the alternative usually sug- gested) or somewhat more flexible bus transit, does not provide the kind of travel service necessary to attract the bulk of person trips in our urban areas. While this finding is very pessimistic in regard to the possible effectiveness of multi-modal systems, the study also offered: To the extent that mass transportation investments are to be made in urban areas, there would be great gains from emphasizing the most flexible forms of transportation. Bus operations offer such flexibility in terms of route selection, while in addition performing collection and distribution functions in a superior fashion.2 The above suggests that short range urban transportation problems are going to be extremely difficult to solve, if they are solved at all. It is quite clear that continued urban highway programs are vital, and that the current priority emphasis on improving bus transportation is the proper policy position. In a study of how it might be possible to attract more riders to busses, it was found that even ”free transit” would have little impact upon ridership trends, since ridership is more sensitive to service quality IProspects For Urban Transit, P. 43. 2|bid., p. All. 39 than to price.I This implies that the greatest efforts toward providing integrated transportation service should be directed at improving transportation quality of service, and not be too concerned with the con- cept of overall efficiency. In support of this view the authors of this research quoted from another study: The ultimate test of a transportation system lies not in any techno-economic indices of efficiency, but in the extent to which it finds acceptance within the total value scheme of the community it serves.2 Understanding the total value scheme of the community to be served is the function of the planning process, and it seems clear that the difficult task of providing for the integration of transportation systems will require the very best application of comprehensive planning that can be developed. It must include concern for a wide range of inter-relationships between urban development and transportation facil- ities; the possible effects of new technology, the alternative arrangement of land uses, and the need to adopt transportation systems to serve a vast array of social objectives. 1Thomas A. Domencich and Gerald Kraft, Free Transit (Charles Rivers Associates, Inc., Lexington, Mass.: D.C. Heath and Company, I970), P. 76. 2A. Sheffer Lang and Richard M. Soberman, Urban Rail Transit: Its Economicsfiand Technology (Cambridge, Mass.: M.I.T. Press, I964), p. 90. CHAPTER III TRANSPORTATION PLANNING In a treatise on interorganizational relationships, a prominent social scientist states ”the environmental contexts in which organizations exist are changing, at an increasing rate and toward increasing complex- ity,” and suggests that “the environmental contexts themselves become an important subject for analysis.”] With the demonstrated importance of the transportation function, it seems his statement has particular relev- ance to transportation organizations, and the transportation planning process as the ”environmental context” most warranting analysis. Planning can be defined as a process that leads to identifica- tion of desired direction and the orderly development of programs through systematic consideration of all relevant variables. By definition, then, planning is thus responsive to a wide range of variables that are external to the organization, and should be most sensitive to changing conditions. Because planning is a major support function to administration, it should be a particularly influential force within an organization. Therefore, a IRoland L. Warren, ”The Interorganizational Field As A Focus For Investigation,” Administrative Science Quarterly, (Dec., I967), pp. 396-419. 40 -.nrn . u .4 hale .. ‘ I F‘ N 'I. 1 . hifi‘ “I I . ”I“ :36 lie I 4l thorough analysis of the transportation planning process, its history and evolution, seems warranted. The Transportation Planning Function It is axiomatic that a continual search for the best possible basis for decisions is inherent in the administration of any organization. Providing the support material for management decisions is a primary func- tion of planning, insuring that specific projects are compatible with the organization's mission and that such decisions are based upon the best possible analysis. Transportation Planning, and highway planning in particular, may very well be the strongest application of the planning process among public agencies. It has become a highly integrated part of the decision making process, utilizing an interdisciplinary approach, with well dev- eloped sources of basic data and sophisticated analytical techniques. That transportation planning is so well developed is due to both the lengthy history of the nation's highway program and to its size, as well as to a general understanding of the broad-scale impact that improved highways have upon every aspect of our life. In another direction, it is in no small measure due to the long history of federal participation in state highway programs. As early as I935, with passage of the Hayden- Cartwright Act, Congress made a percentage of federal-aid funds available for gathering needed factual information as a basis for future highway planning. From the beginning, it was made clear that (these studies). . . were to consist of a variety of related investigations. . . so planned as to supply all of the ‘lsl ‘Il ll 5 Fl h. \H‘ sky I. 42 facts needed for intelligent highway planning. They were not to concern themselves solely with the high- way as a problem of construction, or of public administration, or of finance; but with highways as the facilities of highway transportation; and with highway transportation as a department of a larger transportation system. They were not to es- tablish the facts of the present only, though such facts were the first and most urgent need; but were to seek further to trace out the trends that would permit a reasonable estimate to be formed of the ways and degrees in which these facts may be altered by new economic and social forces now at work on them.I These funds lent emphasis to comprehensive highway planning and started the continuing process of fact gathering which supported a long- range approach to highway system development. But with rapid increases in traffic volumes and expanding construction programs, the primary emphasis has shifted over the years more toward project planning, evalua- tion of the highway operation and development of techniques to build better highways. Even so, the important result of this key legislation was to establish independent funding of planning activities as a con- tinuing highway department function, with the level of funding determined by the increasing levels of federal-aid for highway programs. At nearly the same time as the Hayden-Cartwright Act was being implemented in Michigan, a State Planning Commission was created ”to administer available federal funds, to prevent waste and to provide effi- cient use of land and natural resouces."2 After a IO-year experience, in which very little seemed to be accomplished, the Commission was abolished IN.S. Fairbanks, ”Objects and Methods of the Statewide Highway Planning Surveys” (paper presented to the American Association of State Highway OfficialsL Washington, D.C., Dec. 8, I936. (Mimeographed) 2Michigan, Department of State Highways, Engineering Development Committee Progress Report, Nov. 2l, l96l. (Typewritten.) 43 in I947, and a Department of Economic Development established to carry on some of its functions. The creation of the State Planning Commission was part of a national trend of institution building that accompanied the array of new federal programs to combat the depression. One researcher describes the situational context of the trend this way: Partly as an outgrowth of an increasingly complex social system that had required government intervention for the building of canals and railroads in the nine- teenth century, the provision of highways before World War I, and the attempt to control urban development through the zoning and city planning movement of the late l920's; partly from the disillusionment and rejec- tion of the old social order that had brought such economic ruin to the nation; and partly due to the then recent successes of the First Five Year Plan in Russia, the feeling arose that a new rationality - long range comprehensive planning - could create an orderly world in which the reality of the future could be neatly placed.1 The result was that all states, except Delaware, had state planning boards by I936 so they would be eligible for public works projects.2 These two examples of past efforts to institutionalize planning are important to understanding current planning interests. The first typifies the strengthening planning programs of individual agencies, especially highway planning, that, with federal support, have undergone continual improvement in providing the means to support the agency's func- tions. The latter, the initial attempt to establish a centralized planning function at the state level, which has had little demonstrated success. IDonald N. Rothblatt, Regional Planning; The Appalachian Experi- ence (Lexington, Mass.: D.C. Heath and Co., l97l), p. 28. 2|bid., p. 30. 44 But supporting project decision making is too narrow a concept of agency planning. Since all government planning, by definition, must be responsive to the needs of the people it effects and serves, there is even greater emphasis upon the comprehensive aspects of such functional planning. The needs of the people are extremely complex, with the prob- lems of poverty, discrimination, pollution, urban decay, economic decline of rural areas, needed jobs, housing and more public services beyond the capacity of any single agency or institution to resolve. Perhaps this was part of the reason for the decline of centralized planning attempts such as the State Planning Commission, and the emergence of increasing efforts toward comprehensive planning on the part of individual agencies. And efforts to insure comprehensiveness of agency programs are increasing at a rapid rate, especially those programs utilizing federal-aid. Two bench mark requirements regarding the federal-aid highway program span— ning the past decade illustrate this very well: The Federal-aid Highway Act of I962 which requires a continuing comprehensive transportation planning process for all urbanized areas over 50,000 population; and the National Environmental Policy Act of I969 (NEPA) which is intended to insure that environmental values are given appropriate consideration in the development of federal-aid projects. The I962 legislation was designed to insure that urban interests had a direct participatory role in planning urban transportation systems, with the words: the development of long-range highway plans and programs which are properly coordinated with plans for improvements in other affected forms of transportation R5 and which are formulated with due consideration to the Probable effect on the future development of urban areas . . .I There is substantial evidence that something less than the full potential of these urban desires for a meaningful role have been realized, yet even critics of the way the requirements has been implemented will acknowledge that there was some major change: First, acceptance by highway officials of the prin- ciples of local participation and coordinated land use, highway and transit planning, has led to reformulations of highway program doctrine . . . providing an opening - if only a narrow one - to outside interests urging changes in policies and procedures . . . . Second . . . while local participation has been con- fined to sharing in certain administrative and technical responsibilities - rather than authority for basic pro- gram decisions - a metropolitan areawide base has none- theless been created for a potentially more meaningful local role in the future. Third, transportation planning concepts and techniques stress the relationship between land use and travel demand patterns. This has provided entry into the transportation planning process by local and metropolitan agencies special- izing in land use planning, control, and development. While most of these agencies now function more or less as data collectors for state highway departments, they are also agents of urban planning and community development values.2 These changes indicate a shift from concern for urban highways as ”special problem” extensions of the statewide network to a broader concern for the total urban environment. Its apparent direction, whether or not it was accomplished, was to shift some of the power from state highway lFederal-Aid Highway Act of I962, U.S. Code, Title 23, Sec. I34 (I962). 2Thomas A. Morehouse, ”The I962 Highway Act: A Study In Artful Interpretation,” A,I.P, Journal, (May, I969), pp. l60-l68. 46 agencies to the local communities, and force comprehensive planning, sup- ported in large measure by highway planning funds. Of special signifi- cance is the acceptance of the philosophy that transportation problems warrant a whole new order of intergovernmental cooperation for their most beneficial solution as part of a larger system of urban area problems. The National Environmental Policy Act probably will have its most direct effect upon the highway construction program, both because of the magnitude of the program, and its direct impact upon the natural environment. In support of environmental protection, there are two essen- tial performance requirements: I. Utilization of a systematic, interdisciplinary approach which will insure the integrated use of the natural and social sciences and the envir- onmental design arts in planning and decision making. 2. Include in every recommendation or report, a detailed statement on: a) the reason for the project; b) the probable environmental impact; c) any probable environmental effect that cannot be avoided; and d) a discussion of problems and objec- tions, and the disposition of issues involved.] The specific requirements leave little doubt that it is consist- ent with the trend toward requiring a shift in highway planning from the primary interest in engineering excellence to a more comprehensive investi- gation of a wide range of values, with the burden of compliance placed lNational Environmental Policy Act of I969, U.S. Code, Title 42, Sec. 4332 (I970). 47 squarely upon the highway agency. In between these two pieces of landmark legislation, there have been federal requirements for regional and state project review require- ments, so that all agencies will be able to be knowledgeable of various projects and programs; expansion of required public hearings so that individuals may make significant comments at a meaningful stage of fed- eral-aid projects; and various support requirements for local and regional planning effort and inter-agency cooperation at all levels of government. These are examples of shifting attitudes that are having an important effect upon the direction of future transportation programs. If these reveal a basic trend, it may be concluded that there will be additional shifts in attitudes that may have even more significant influence on future program direction. It may even be concluded that these shifts will occur with increasing frequency. To attempt to gain some insight as to the future direction and emphasis, it is necessary to examine in some depth both the federal and state interests in development of com- prehensive planning. The Federal Role It is quite obvious that the federal government is exerting the basic leadership toward comprehensive planning through increasing require- ments tied to use of federal-aid funds, not only in transportation, but in most other areas as well. The scale of these efforts can be related to the size and diversity of federal-aid programs: Federal aid to state and local governments has grown at a rapid rate in recent years. The largest portion of this aid has been in the form of grants, 48 and statistics measuring the acceleration of their increases are impressive. During the ten-year period l955-l965, federal grants-in-aid to states and their political subdivisions more than tripled, from $3 billion to $lO.9 billion, and in fiscal I967 alone, such grants will total an estimated $l5.4 billion. The estimated total for fiscal I968 is $l7.4 billion, an increase of more than $2 billion over the I967 figure. Over a period of years, federal grants have de- veloped rapidly, until to varying degrees, they now support many governmental services. This develop- ment has occurred in somewhat of a haphazard patch- work fashion with the result that many programs have a different policy and a different administration procedure. However, federal aid will continue to be an important element of state fiscal planning in the future.l By I967, there were over l7O separate federal aid programs, most of which stipulated, as a precondition of receiving funds, that some form of local planning be accomplished.2 This trend, with its problems of priorities and accountability is the fundamental reason why there Is a growing federal interest toward comprehensive intergovernmental program implementation, implying a significant role for state government. Sup- port for this point of view can be found in the administrative procedures that the federal agencies are themselves adopting. A very good example is the formal agreement between the Department of Housing and Urban Devel- opment, The Department of Agriculture, and The Economic Development Admin- istration On ”Planning Assistance to Substate Multi-Jurisdictional Areas,” IMichigan, Executive Office, Bureau of the Budget, Recent Trends In Federal Aid To State Government In Michigan, n.d. 2Gordon C. Cameron, Regional Economic Development: The Federal Role (Resources for the Future, Inc., Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, l97OI, p. II7. 49 which was signed on July IO, I970.I This Memorandum was prepared and implemented in accordance with the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act of I968, which specified that federal agencies administering development assistance programs will consult with other affected agencies in an effort to assure fully coordinated programs. It made reference to multi-jurisdictional cooperation requirements ordered by the President, outlined in Bureau of the Budget Circular A-BO, dated January, I967, and its implementation device outlined in Bureau of the Budget Circular A-95 which ordered Hclearinghouse procedures” for federal-aid project review. The clearinghouse procedures were established by the Bureau of the Budget, providing that after September 30, I969, any applicant for federal aid under some fifty specified programs must participate in a ”Project Notification and Review System” which allows agencies that might be affected to review the project before it is considered by the federal agency. A major provision provides that the Governor establish a state clearinghouse to be responsible for statewide relationships and plans where coordination is necessary.2 Thus, there is a definite trend toward greater state level effort in comprehensive planning and program development emerging from a defin- able federal posture of requiring such involvement as part of the federal aid process. It suggests a key role of state government in our federal lThe general purpose of this ”Memorandum of Agreement” was to establish a continuing working relationship in support of comprehensive planning at the multi-county level. 2U.S., Executive Office of the President, Bureau of the Budget, Bureau of the Budget Circular A-95, What It Is, How It Works, Circular Memorandum Seriesfi(l969), 50 structure of government; a role that the states will have to respond to with new institutional programs, procedures and, most of all, a new sense of cooperation with all levels of government. The State Role Regardless of the increasing importance of federal aid in trans- portation programs, it is a fact that the states control the program and the expenditure of those funds. Even though the federal government can, and does, place strict requirements upon eligible projects, it is the state that develops a plan and initiates a project. This is the basic difference between ”formula” grants-in-aid and ”project” grants, the two major sources of federal revenue. The former provides the states with funds based upon formulas that are written into law, and the latter are distributed to the states (and local governments) on the basis of some consideration of need and priority evaluation conducted by the federal government. The other important source of state transportation funds is the traditional user tax, generally restricted to a specific use (highway pro- jects). Together, these provide a dependable support base for long-range program expenditures. Programs several years in advance of actual improve- ment can be planned, publicly identified, and constructed on schedule. Thus, important support can be generated from local governments and influential private interests. The state's role in transportation varies greatly between modes. Except for highways and air, the state's responsibility has primarily been in the areas of registration, licensing and regulation. In Michigan, SI the Aeronautics Commission has long been involved in assisting local governments develop airports, yet airports are locally controlled and operated, and the major impetus must come from the local units of gov- ernment. Unquestionably, the major involvement of state government is in the highway mode. In addition to direct control over some 9,200 miles of roads and streets making up the State Trunk Line Highway System, this involvement includes the collection and redistribution of hundreds of millions of tax dollars to local governments to be used on the roads and streets under their jurisdiction. From the above facts, several important conclusions can be drawn: I. There is a strong historical posture of state highway departments being relatively autonomous agencies of state government, supported by restricted funds and general public acceptance. 2. The long-range nature of transportation programs are such that little project interest can be generated by political forces primarily inter- ested in short-range (crisis) situations. 3. Transportation programs are an important, even critical, element of any long-range comprehen- sive plan, and thus can be used to generate substantial constituent support from both local governments and Influential private interests. Other forms of state planning seem to suffer from deficiencies in direct contrast to the strength of the transportation planning process. A recent introspective examination of state planning capabilities indi- cates these deficiencies do exist: I do not want to belittle the statistics which are often quoted to illustrate the growth of state planning during the past IO years. As a program, state planning has shown impressive virility; but as an institution, particularly as a staff function 52 of the Governor, is still unusual, however, and where it does exist it probably possesses far more in terms of potential than in terms of actual influence. The basic problem with non-transportation state level planning seems to be with the short range nature of programs developed in response to legis- lated funds and the crisis political orientation of officials that are elected for short terms. Added to this can be the understandable desire of agencies depending upon legislated funds to defer from controversial issues in which no broadly based constituent support can be generated. The contrast between state level transportation planning and gen- eral state level planning seems to indicate that the former, if properly organized, could have beneficial implications for reinforcing other state planning; even to the point of achieving a comprehensive state planning process. It seems that transportation planning could become the central focus around which an effective state planning process could be organized, Ideally, in planning a transportation system, its functional characteris- tics should be specified on the basis of the tasks it is to perform. The determination of these tasks should be the central feature of a comprehen- sive state planning process. The future growth of urban centers should be specified in order to develop transportation plans to encourage that growth. Land use guidelines should be specified, so that the transporta- tion systems can be developed within the concepts of protecting irreplace- able values. Growth centers should be identified so that transportation improvements can be planned to support those centers and encourage growth. ICharles T. Lanigan, ”Trends In State Planning In Relation To The Governor and State Agencies,” Planning I968, Selected Papers from the American Society of Planning Officials National Planning Conference (Chicago: American Society of Planning Officials, I968), pp. 248-253. 53 Such concepts have been utilized as the basis for some inter- organizational planning efforts that have taken place in Michigan in recent years. These were significant efforts to develop better institu- tional approaches to comprehensive planning. These might be thought of as the preliminary stage of possible ultimate reorganization, with some progress and some failures; but providing the base of experience necessary for future success. Attempts To Integrate State Planning In Michigan While there are numerous examples of federal pressure for greater intergovernmental cooperation over the past decade, none were as effective in creating a formal state planning posture in Michigan as the liberal- ized interpretation of Section 70l, Federal Housing Act of I954, which made funds available to state government for comprehensive planning. Through cooperative effort of ”about twenty state agencies” an applica- tion for a federal grant from the Housing and Home Finance Administration was initiated in I962.I The application specified how the state agencies expected to become eligible for the grant, and described how any funds contained in the agencies budgets that were designated for planning (and were not part of a federal program requirement) could be used as the state matching funds to obtain a 2/3 federal - l/3 state program grant. Thus $375,000 of wages in the various departments were utilized to obtain a $750,000 grant of federal funds, for a $l,l25,000 State Resource IMichigan, Department of Administration, A State Resource Devel- opment PlanninggProgram For Michigan (An Abstract of the Grant Application to the U.S. Housing and Home Finance Agency, Sept. I962). 54 Development Planning Program.l The organizational arrangement for managing this program pro- vided for an ”Inter-Departmental Resource Development Committee” made up of participating agencies, with single agencies selected to be directly responsible for five major plan elements: ECONOMIC BASE AND POPULATION - Department of Economic Expansion TRANSPORTATION - Highway Department RECREATION - Conservation Department LAND USE - Department of Economic Expansion PUBLIC FACILITIES - Department of Administration Through additional grants being obtained in the same way, the State Resource Planning Program extended through I967, but with continual modification and revision.2 Part of these revisions resulted in a shift of direct management into the Executive Office of the Governor, where a continuing state planning program now is part of the Budget Office. Although there was no published evaluation of the State Resource Planning Program, a review of official reports reveals that the program was highly project oriented, designed either to provide analyses of subject areas of special concern to specific agencies, or to develop working models of segments of the study elements through highly technical research. Some results of the State Resource Planning Program were docu- mented in a series of Technical Reports produced as a requirement of the lMichigan Department of State Highways, State Resource Planning ,flgggggm, File Memoranda, I967 (Typewritten). 2lbid. 55 federal grant. These reports for the Transportation Element reveal that the research primarily produced mathematical models for: - predicting the amount of general aviation; - estimating future traffic on the rural links of the highway system; and - examination of predictions of boat populations and boatlng needs of I980, and the development of statistical data to establish trends in the shipping mode and to establish a basis for pre- dictive procedures. Further, it was specifically acknowledged that an ”ultimate state- wide transportation plan'I was not developed, but that a major result was to reinforce the widely-held belief that a single transportation agency should be created. It thus appears that most of the effort was used to supplement existing agency planning by expanding it into new areas. Although this kind of effort cannot be classified as ”comprehensive state planning,” it is certain to have influenced state agencies to expand their own planning capabilities and provided a climate of greater cooperative efforts. The lack of success in developing a state-level comprehensive transportation planning process is certain to have had an organizational influence on the later creation of the Michigan Interagency Transportation Council (I.T.C.), created by Executive Order of the Governor. Extracts from the Executive Order reveal that the Council concept was a direct effort to establish a stronger organization and a more specific approach to comprehensive transportation planning at the state level: IMichigan, Department of Commerce, Transportation Predictive Procedures - Summary Rgport, Technical Report No. 9, State Resource Plan- ning Program (Dec., I966). 56 WHEREAS, solutions to our problems can be reached only through efficient and comprehensive planning, coordinating the efforts of the respec- tive agencies responsible for the regulation of the various transportation functions affecting the state; . . . THEREFORE, I, William G. Milliken, Governor of the State of Michigan, pursuant to Act I95 of the Public Acts of l93l, do hereby ordain and establish the Interagency Transportation Council to be situated within the Executive Office of the Governor. The Council's standing membership shall be as follows: Director, Department of State Highways, Chairman Director, Department of Commerce Director, Department of Natural Resources Director, Michigan Aeronautics Commission Chairman, Michigan Public Service Commission Director, Bureau of the Budget - ex officio Executive Assistant, Bureau of Policy and Programs - ex officio The Council shall have and maintain its own permanent staff, whose efforts may be supplemented by personnel assigned to the Council from its con- stituent agencies as well as by the services of private consultants retained by the Council. An Executive Director of the Council shall be appointed by the Governor from recommendations made to him by the Council . , , . The Council's general but not delimited author- ity and function is as follows: It is established to provide a single central body at the state level for the purpose of achieving comprehensive transportation planning , , , ,' IMichigan, Executive Order I969-2, I969. 57 The requirement that the state's transportation agency heads serve collectively as the program managers, and the establishment of a single position of Executive Director seems to be two important means of insuring that a truely comprehensive approach to the state's trans- portation problems was undertaken. Further, the $250,000 annual budget established to support the Council's program was made up of a transfer of funds from constituent agencies, with some from the State's general fund representing a contribution from the member agencies who did not have a restricted fund base.I Like the State Resource Planning Program, the Interagency Trans- portation Council engaged the services of a consultant at an early date. The first Annual Report of the Council's activities states: In addition to establishing the Council membership, the Executive Order specified the tasks to be undertaken. These tasks were categorized into five major activities . . . . ACTIVITY A - DEVELOP THE CAPABILITIES NECESSARY TO ACHIEVE COMPREHENSIVE COORDINATED TRANS- PORTATION PLANNING IN THE STATE OF MICHIGAN. It was recognized at the outset of this activity that the major effort would consist of the development of a modeling system to use in the evaluation of alter- native transportation programs; . . . urban passenger travel, intercity passenger travel, and freight and energy transmission . . . . ACTIVITY B - IDENTIFY POLICY ISSUES OF IMPORTANCE TO THE STATE OF MICHIGAN. The system of models being developed in Activity 8 are designed to evaluate policy questions involving (I) state development goals, (2) proposed changes in the physical system used to provide transportation services and (3) regulation of fares charged for trans- porting commodities . . . . IMichigan, Executive Budget Bill, HB 2045, Introduced Jan., I969. 58 Possible sources of important policy issues were explored, including pending Federal legislation,proposed activities of the private transportation sector in Michigan, and plans of the member departments. Six major policy areas were identified which will have a significant impact on the future of transporta- tion in Michigan: . . . Utility Corridors New Towns High Speed Corridor Transportation Regional Airport Development The Highway Trust Fund State Department of Transportation ACTIVITY C - PREPARE SPECIAL STUDY REPORTS FOR THE GOVERNOR. Governor Milliken requested the Council to prepare a position paper on the state's role in public mass transportation . . . . ACTIVITY 0 - REVIEW PROPOSED STATE AND FEDERAL LEGISLA- TION TO DETERMINE ITS IMPACT ON TRANSPORTA- TION IN MICHIGAN. A procedure for the review of all legislation introduced in the State Senate and House of Representa- tives was established . . . . ACTIVITY E - REVIEW PROGRAMS OF MEMBER AGENCIES AND DEPARTMENTS. This activity is predicated on the operation of l the model system being developed in Activity A . . . . In comparison, the Interagency Transportation Council outlined a much more ambitious program than the preceding State Resource Planning Program. The only real similarities were in the involvement of more than one state transportation agency in cooperative projects, and in the basic characteristics of the technical modeling processes. However, the models developed within ”Activity A” of the I.T.C. program were designed to IMichigan,Executive Office of the Governor, Interagency Trans- portation Council, Annual Repprt, June 30, I969. 59 utilize much less precise data inputs, oriented more toward IIsensitivity analysis,” enabling later effort to be directed at refining only those data that are found to be critical to policy development. On the other hand, the models pioneered within the State Resource Planning Program were designed to provide much greater detail as to actual projections of transportation facility use. These are thus complementary efforts, representing both ”coarse-grained” and l'fine-grained" projection tech- niques, with the characteristics of ”granularity” determining the preci- sion of the projections as well as the degree of difficulty in operating the models. The other I.T.C. ”Activity” categories have a much shorter time horizon, with a more direct relationship to current policy issues. The result has been to make the overall program extremely relevant to each of the participating agencies, thus gaining their direct involvement throughout the program. Then, too, there is the difference between the basic organiza- tional structure devised for the two programs. The I.T.C. structure directly involved the administrative heads of the participating agencies, provided for direct accountability on the part of the Executive Director and his staff, and gained the operational interest of the Governor by having the Executive Director assigned directly to the Executive Office. This empirical review of two major efforts to organize a com- prehensive planning process at the state level reveals the extent to which the need for improved coordination has been recognized by both the operating agencies and the Governor. In particular, it has also shown that transportation planning is highly amenable to such coordinated effort. 60 At the Federal level, the need for a greater degree of coordina- tion has also received specific attention by the structure of the current ”National Transportation Planning Study.” Three basic purposes have been established for the conduct of this national study: I. Encourage cooperative comprehensive and continuing planning by each state and by each metropolitan area covering the provision of publicly used trans- portation facilities and services. 2. Help develop a recommended program of federal transportation expenditures up to I990 which is coordinated with state and local plans and pro- grams. 3. Collect information to increase the effectiveness of the allocation of federal resouces. The objective of the Study is to determine the financial needs for all modes, and the procedure is designed to directly involve the state governors in the formulation of priorities for the capital improvement programs to be submitted by each state. This is a great change from past federal ”needs” studies, which have been structured to reflect only high- way needs, and involve only the highway departments of each state. In fact, the change can be traced directly to a shift in transportatiOn emphasis within the Federal Department of Transportation. The authoriza- tion for the National Study is derived from a congressional mandate to study the national highway needs, and has been interpreted by DOT officials to require a comprehensive study of all modes requiring the involvement of S tate governors .2 lU.S., Department of Transportation, National Transportation Planning Manual, Manual A, I970. 2Senate Joint Resolution 8l, approved August, I965, simply calls for reports on the ”estimates of the future highway needs of the nation.” 6] This shift in emphasis from state highway departments to the governors is also in evidence in the more recent I970 Federal-Aid Highway Act, which included an ”Economic Growth Center Development Highway Pro- gram”, which placed the responsibility for selecting growth centers to be benefited directly with the Governor, ”with the advice of Highway Departments.”] This program also specifies that proper channels of coordination among appropriate federal, state and local agencies must be established. Thus, it can be shown that there are both overt and subtle pres- sures for change from both state and federal sources, leading slowly (but inexorably) toward integration of transportation planning with other state planning functions under the executive leadership of the Governor. These pressures logically lead to questions of reorganization of governmental structures, which are resulting in the creation of state Departments of Transportation in many states. State Departments of Transportation_LDOTsl Growing concern for finding ways to solve complex and perplexing problems is the primary force underlying the pressures for changes in basic institutions. These pressures are especially strong in the area of transportation because it is generally recognized as a critical ele- ment in the problem areas of urban sprawl and central city deterioration, the untimely shifting of land uses, highway safety, and a whole range of ‘U.S., Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administra- tion, Instructional Memorandum 50-6-7l, July l2, I97]. 62 environmental concerns. The role of transportation systems is being critically examined with a view to both the direct and indirect effects of various programs, identifying a wide range of consequences of not having some overall policy direction that can deal with such broadly based concerns. Attitudes are changing, new issues are being debated, and it is increasingly becoming apparent that a parochial approach to transportation is no longer acceptable. In most expressions of concern, the emphasis is on better coor- 4 dination of transportation modes. Among the various levels of government having varying degrees of responsibility for transportation, the special link“); A n powers of state level government are especially amenable to centralizing coordination. State government historically has exercised the major func- tional responsibilities for highway systems, have been given legislated responsibility for other modes utilizing federal-aid, and, significantly, have broadly based taxing and bonding powers. Some six years before the federal Department of Transportation was organized, the state of Hawaii institutionalized coordinated trans- portation programs by creating a state Department of Transportation (DOT). Within ten years, a total of twelve state DOTs had been created, with a number of others being considered.l Each state DOT has individual characteristics in its organiza- tional structure, stemming from varying mandates for program authority and functional responsibility. However, there are some areas of ICouncil of State Governments, State Departments of Transporta- tion and Other Coordinating Mechanisms(Lexington, Ky.: I970). consistency. 63 A recent study of the structure and operation of state DOTs concluded: Transportation functions include highways, public mass transportation, harbors and ports, aeronautics, motor vehicle registration and driver licensing, and state highway patrols; but no one state DOT in- cludes them all. The greatest consistency among state DOTs is the inclusion of the state highway function as a major element of organization. All exercise responsi- bility for administration, development, mainten- ance and operation of a system of state highways. A notable consistency is the assignment of re- sponsibility to the departments for comprehensive transportation planning. Each DOT is headed by a single executive, reporting directly to the state governor. Only in Maryland has the creation of a state DOT involved a revolutionary departure in finance. The enabling legislation there provides for a single Transportation Trust Fund. In summary, the highway function in the state DOTS continues to receive predominant emphasis and attention, as the largest member of the transpor- tation modes. Progress is being made in integra- tion of inter-modal transportation, basically along lines previously initiated by former highway depart- ments. There appears to be closer control of trans- portation programs by governors, with legislatures continuing to establish broad policies and financing. From the amount of interest among the states over the past ten years, it is logical to conclude that other states will have DOTs in the near future. A leading authority on transportation programs suggests: State transportation departments, reflecting the integrated form of organization attempted by the crea- tion of the Federal Department of Transportation, will l Highway Users Federation For Safety and Mobility, A Status Report of State Departments of Transportation (Washington, D.C.: I970). 6h find themselves in a better position to deal with the complex problems of our urbanized society . . . . While the redirection of federal tax money to pro- mote more state participation and program direction (toward urban needs) is admirable in concept, the funds are likely to be dissipated in a maze of bureaucracy unless state reorganization replaces the present fragmentation of responsibility. Included in the material presenting the above conclusion was the following chart showing a typical layout of improved state planning functions as related to reorganized transportation responsibilities. One of the major problems or reorganization is determining just 3 which organizations should be included, and how to fit the personnel of (SW-“i: _ _ the various agencies into a proper framework. In a recent conference on this topic, one state DOT chief executive stated that a major obstacle they still had to overcome was the resistance to change among employees.2 This implies that resistance to change, especially among key agency per- sonnel, can be a serious obstacle to the reorganization itself, being able to insist on so many compromises that some of the potential benefits of reorganization can be lost or significantly delayed. Another problem is quite obviously that of reallocating funds that might be restricted by either federal or state ”earmarking” to necessary support services (such as administration). In spite of the difficulties of reorganization, there does not seem to be any large body of detractors, and it does seem that state DOTs lNorman Ashford, ”The Developing Role of State Government In Trans- portation,” Traffic Quarterly, (October, I968), pp. ASS-#67. 2George Conkling, Commissioner, Connecticut Department of Trans- portation; comment made during a general discussion at the Florida State University Conference ”The States Role In Transportation,” Tallahassee, Fla., September 2h, l970. ‘ 65 .002 £04200 £13330 050.; ...co:otoanco.._. :— EoEEo>oo 22m .0 0.0”. 0:30.330 2:... .3023‘ c2502 "oucaom mam—m ucoan_o>oo oumum ouc_ mmoUOLm ucueucmamn :o_umucoamcmch mo co_ommeuc_ co; uzo>m4 .mo_a>h ”m oc:m_u EoEtoaoo 9:800: Cato—aug— Hlbowom Echo—goo d £8033. _ Ezotoanco; 30$; x0333: 22m co:o_>< o_u_.._o> .222 .otBU coEEoU H H H A a L I EEOEYIIIIIIIIIIIIII 725.3383; cozotoencofi. 22m .r n .— L 4.4 I I I I «co—n. cozotoancofi " \ u z/ / 3:053. d .03.. _ \ I - _ x u ”:03 u _ .2025 303 :o co 33>»: cototano: _ . x x ” go’shogo. 33.2! n x . /L ..r _ x _ xocomd. I _I IIIIIIII IIIIIIJ. a :29» Boom mEccoE 0.2m a. “co? :0 .0 2630. . _ _ _ . _co:otoamco¢ 22m _ u _ _ _ _ _ _ _ . _ — . I nor—€05.36. . _ T3135 _o_ooam _ oxmaccah d xoZSoaxu _ 35.0534. ton. _ 10:19:36. .055 _ 330733 55030 I a EoEEo>oO 9.0.5 2223. m 66 are to be desired. In fact, at the Conference referred to above, the discussion consensus was that the fact of reorganization should be con- sidered more important than the kind of operating structure that is devised. This can be interpreted: work for reorganization, then worry about how it will function, eventually everything will work out. CHAPTER IV IMPORTANT ELEMENTS IN THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION FOR MICHIGAN In a recent message to the Legislature, the Governor of Michigan indicated he would ”expand the authority of the Highway Commission to include the functions of urban public transportation, waterborne freight, and inter-city rail passenger service.”l However, he specified that this creation of a Michigan Department of Transportation by Executive Order would be dependent upon legislative passage of a series of measures out- lining several basic changes in financing transportation improvements. These include a l.3 cent motor fuel tax increase, an accelerated freeway construction program, and a new ”Discretionary Fund'l to help finance urban public transportation. This announcement indicates that a state DOT for Michigan is a distinct possibility in the near future. But the requirement for legis- lative action is an important qualification. Had the Governor deemed that such reorganization was of critical importance in and of itself, it seems that it could have been accomplished directly by Executive Order, speci- fying that the new organization wrestle with the other issues. That a 'Michigan, Executive Office of the Governor, Special Message To The Legislature On Transportation, March ll, l97l. (Mimeographed) 67 68 different, and more indirect political course was chosen implies that the overall process is extremely complex. The key areas of concern seem to be in the structure of the new organization and how it would function, the future allocation of tax revenue, and in the political aspects of bringing about the change. Analysis of these concerns should provide some insight as to the extent of the change that has been advocated and how such change will effect the future of Michigan. Opganizational Concepts The brief reference to ”expanding the authority of the Highway Commission” to include the responsibility for other modes of transporta- tion incorporated in the Governor's Special Message on Transportation provided only a rough outline of the organization that might be created. Further detail was apparently left to others. Most appropriately, it would seem that such detail would be left to those gaining the enlarged responsibility, but this would be a very naive assumption considering the multiplicity of interests involved. The Governor did mention some specifics, however, and these should be incorporated into any review of the organizational concepts which might be devised: This new department will have responsibilities for development and implementation of our state highways program, a state mass transit program, a state air trans- portation program, our state intercity rail system, and our port and waterborne commerce program. At a later point in the Message, the Governor mentioned a single director in charge, with deputy directors for Highways, Aeronautics, and Urban and Public Transit. Although no organization chart was provided, Ibid. 69 the above specifics seem clear enough to indicate the organization shown by Figure 4. However, the lack of mention of how important functions of | D o . < "1 W Z O 23 HIGHWAY AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION DIRECTOR PUBLIC AERONA TI U CS ”'GHWAYS TRANSPORTATION I I I I I I ADVISORY I ADVISORY I ADVISORY I ' GROUP I GROUP I GROUP I I I I I Figure A: Basic Organization of Proposed Michigan DOT 7O administration and project planning are to be organized are a deficiency of this chart. Also no organizational reference is made to the organi- zational status of intercity rail systems and port and waterborne commerce responsibilities. These significant omissions seem to indicate that some alternative organizations need to be considered. Therefore, some analyt- ical discussion of alternative concepts is warranted. Integration of Modes Aggregating the responsibility for all transportation modes implies a belief that improved administration can improve transportation decision-making. A review of existing state DOTS reveals two basic ways this is being attempted, with New York being different from all the others. The difference is in the degree of assimilation of the modes within the organizational frameworkJ The New York DOT does not have any reference to separate modes in its structural organization, as shown by Figure 5. An organizational concept that stresses complete integration of modes can be termed low-modal. The advantage of this concept seems to be that a balanced consideration of the true effectiveness of each mode is more assured. There may also be certain economies through elimination of overlapping functions, At the other extreme of the range of alternatives is the concept that would be termed high-modal, having specific parts of the organization lHighway Users Federation For Safety and Mobility, Status Report on State Departments of Transportation. ERIC) 322 In! I‘h..<.hw,.v 7I co_»mucoamcmLk mo ucmeucmaoo xeo> 302 .m Ocam_u =o_m_>zo somemm a mc_Looc_mcm u_$mmch c0_m_>_o CO_m_>_o c0_m_>mo co_uUSLuchu oucchHcmmz >ucoaoc¢ .mom can cm_mue F mt_mcc< u__n=a co ou_cco rI _ , _ _ F mco_umcoao mo oowmmo 63— .3393. .2:oEEe>oO 22m .0 :ucaoU {52:23.5 actofmzoou .350 ten :33. £2.25; .0 2:25..er 22m "0050m :o_me>_o ucoan_o>oo r co_m_>_o m:_ccm_m IH ucoan_o>oo 6cm mc_ccm;m mo oo_mmo _I I .IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIL .0mcaoo _mLocoo mco_um_om oo>o_QEm new mo oo_mmo Lozoacmz wo ou_mmo co_m_>_o oocmc_u HI co_m_>_c co_umCum_c_Ev< — ' — _ _ a F coco_mm~EEOU wo ou_mmo _ zo_h 3wz no mk