Integrating Transportation and
Land Use Planning

By Kelly Novak, Research Manager, NADO Research Foundation

It is not unusual for smaller, rural communities to find themselves struggling during times of growth because they are not included in the planning process. In an effort to involve smaller communities, many regional development organizations, states and federal government are working together to integrate transportation planning with land use planning. As a result, regions are producing more smart growth tools and plans, and are educating community leaders about the connection between land use and transportation planning. They are also involving smaller, rural communities in the process.

Managing Growth in South Carolina

Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments’ (BCD COG), an EDA-funded district in South Carolina, developed the “Growth Options” program, as a smart growth tool for the three-county region. The program ultimately creates models, for actual use, that link land use with transportation planning and policymaking. The program’s vision is to encourage growth as a sustainable region that is environmentally responsible and proactive towards growth.

The BCD COG, Charleston Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) and a broad array of community partners are sharing information and collectively analyzing regional growth patterns and trends, evaluating fiscal and environmental costs and benefits and investigating regional smart growth strategies. Ron Mitchum, BCD COG’s Executive Director commented, “Our stakeholder meetings have been useful for gathering input, as well as an educational opportunity for local leaders to learn more about the intrinsic bond between transportation and land use.”

Funding for the Growth Options program came from the Transportation and Community and System Preservation (TCSP) program under the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The region also completed an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) pilot to develop a Smart Growth Index.

Washington’s Integration Success

Combining transportation and land use planning with community involvement has been beneficial for communities in Washington state’s central Puget Sound region. In fact, the region’s I-405 Corridor Program, a community-based partnership sponsored by Washington Department of Transportation, received a 2002 award from “Smart Moves: Transportation Strategies for Smart Growth, ” which is a partnership program of FHWA, EPA and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO).

The I-405 Corridor Program extends over 30 miles and affects 15 cities. Community representatives met over the course of two years and formulated a $7.5 billion, 20-year transportation strategy with smart growth principles as the core. The involved community-partners, like the Puget Sound Regional Council which is also a metropolitan planning organization (MPO), contributed by supplying data and offering model analysis.

An important outcome, according to Pete Beaulieu, Senior Planner for the Council’s MPO, has been that resource agencies are now involved before the permitting process begins, preempting many potential land use/transportation mobility conflicts. Mike Cummings, Washington Department of Transportation’s I-405 Corridor Program Manager commented, “The process was extremely valuable in that the plan’s vision for the corridor came about by common consensus.”

For more information contact: Dan Hatley or Ronald Mitchum at Berkley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments, phone 843/529-0400 or email danh@bcdcog.com; Pete Beaulieu, Puget Sound Regional Council, 206/464-7532; Mike Cummings, Washington DOT, 206/464-1223 or visit www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/I-405/; Sunny Mays Schust, AASHTO-Smart Moves Program, 202/624-5800.

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