| |
Glossary
|
|
| FAMPO STANDING COMMITTEES |
| PC - Policy Committee: A standing committee created for the purpose of serving as spokespersons for the citizens of the metropolitan area and is the designated MPO to prioritize and direct federal transportation funds to local projects. The PC is comprised of elected and non-elected officials from the urbanized areas as well as Caroline and King George Counties, the Commonwealth, transit operators, and the Federal Government . The PC is responsible for creating policies regarding transportation funding and planning issues. The PC meetings are open to the public, and any member of the public can address the MPO on any transportation issue. |
| TAC – Technical Advisory Committee: A standing committee of most metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs); function is to provide advice on plans or actions of the MPO from planners, engineers and other staff members (not general citizens). |
| TAG – Transportation Advisory Group: The TAG Membership is composed of citizens representing the three FAMPO jurisdictions, Caroline and King George Counties, and at-large members representing various groups and/or organizations with an interest in transportation. The purpose of the TAG is to provide comments, advice and recommendations and plays a major role in FAMPO’s public participation for area transportation projects and studies. Each TAG member is responsible for carrying out community outreach activities as needed for specific transportation projects and issues. |
| BPAC – Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee: BPAC is a citizens group whose purpose is to advise the policy committee on bicycle and pedestrian issues within the MPO region. |
| PTAB – Public Transit Advisory Board: The Public Transportation Advisory Board advises the FAMPO Transportation Policy Committee on public transportation issues. |
| GWRC and FAMPO PRODUCTS |
| Air Quality Conformity - The Environmental Protection Agency sets air quality standards or limits for six air pollutants: lead, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter and ozone. In accordance with the Clean Air Act, states must develop State Implementation Plans (SIPs) that explain how each state will do its job to reduce air pollutants and improve air quality. All projects that are determined to add capacity (i.e., adding a travel lane) to the road network must undergo an air quality analysis as part of the long-range planning process. |
| BPP - Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan - FAMPO includes bicycle and pedestrian elements in transportation plans and programs by addressing bicycle and pedestrian issues throughout the transportation planning process and integrating bicycle and pedestrian elements as appropriate in the transportation plan and programs. |
| LRTP – Long Range Transportation Plan: The MPO's adopted Transportation Plan; serves as the initial step and framework in developing a regionally based network of transportation facilities and services that meets travel needs in the most efficient and effective manner possible. |
| Emergency Ride Home - A program offered by GWRC’s RideFinders. Emergency Ride Home provides help for enrolled commuters by paying for them to get home if something unexpected arises while they are at work. This program provides extra security for carpooler's, vanpoolers, bus riders, bike riders or walkers. |
| FAA – Federal Aviation Administration: The agency responsible for the safety of civil aviation. It issues and enforces regulations and minimum standards covering manufacturing, operating, and maintaining aircraft, manages air space and air traffic, builds or installs visual and electronic aids to air navigation, regulates and encourages the U.S. commercial space transportation industry, and does research in order to develop the systems and procedures needed for a safe and efficient system of air navigation and air traffic control. |
| FAMPO – Fredericksburg Area Metropolitan Planning Organization: The forum for cooperative transportation decision-making; required for urbanized areas with populations over 50,000. The Fredericksburg MPO includes the following local governments and agencies: GWRC, VDOT, Ridefinders, FHWA, FTA, and VDA; serves as the forum for cooperative transportation decision making in the Fredericksburg area. |
| Back to top |
| FHWA - Federal Highway Administration: Division of the U.S. Department of Transportation responsible for administrating federal highway transportation programs under title 23 U.S.C.. |
| FRA – Federal Railroad Administration: This federal department was created by the Department of Transportation Act of 1966. The purpose of FRA is to: promulgate and enforce rail safety regulations; administer railroad assistance programs; conduct research and development in support of improved railroad safety and national rail transportation policy; provide for the rehabilitation of Northeast Corridor rail passenger service; and consolidate government support of rail transportation activities. Today, the FRA is one of ten agencies within the U.S. Department of Transportation concerned with intermodal transportation |
| FTA - Federal Transit Administration: Federal entity responsible for transit planning and programs under title 49 U.S.C. |
| GWRC – George Washington Regional Commission: Formerly, the Rappahannock Area Development Commission (RADCO), GWRC cooperatively determines and establishes guidelines for land use in the following areas: Stafford, King George, Spotsylvania, and Caroline counties, along with the city of Fredericksburg and towns of Bowling Green and Port Royal. |
| VDA – Virginia Department of Aviation: A state transportation agency whose mission is to cultivate an advanced, market-driven aviation system that is safe, secure, and provides for economic development; promotes aviation awareness and education; and provides executive flight services for the Commonwealth leadership. |
| VDEQ - Virginia Department of Environmental Quality: VDEQ works to protect and enhance the environment of Virginia in order to promote the health and well being of citizens of the Commonwealth. VDEQ administers state and federal laws and regulations for air quality, water quality, water supply and waste management, issues environmental permits to businesses, local governments, and state and federal facilities and inspects and monitors these permitted facilities. |
| VDOT – Virginia Department of Transportation: The agency responsible for building, maintaining and operating the state's roads, bridges and tunnels. It also provides funding for airports, seaports, rail and public transportation through the Commonwealth Transportation Board. |
| VTDP - Virginia Transportation Development Plan: The Plan was approved June 15, 2006 by the CTB (previously the 6-Year Improvement Program) and is based on realistic revenue estimates and responsible business practices. It was developed by Virginia DOT, after consultation with citizens across the State. VTDP allocates funds for transportation projects proposed for construction, development or study in the next six fiscal years. It will be updated annually. |
| VTRC - Virginia Transportation Research Council: A VDOT division in the Technology, Research & Innovation directorate. Its research center is headquartered in Charlottesville, Virginia. The Council specializes in basic and applied transportation research and providing technical consulting, technology transfer, and technical education and training. It also promotes advances in environmental issues, business practices, materials, pavements, planning, safety, structures, systems operations and traffic engineering. |
| USDOT - United States Department of Transportation: A cabinet-level executive department of the United States government, whose mission is to develop and coordinate policies that will provide an efficient and economical national transportation system, with due regard for need, the environment, and the national defense. It is the primary agency in the federal government with the responsibility for shaping and administering policies and programs to protect and enhance the safety, adequacy, and efficiency of the transportation system and services. |
| Back to top |
| FUNDING PROGRAMS |
| SPR - State Planning and Research: Funds allocated by VDOT in support of MPO program activities. |
| Local Match: Funds required by recipients of SPR/PL and Section 5303 funds for matching federal and state grant funds. Section 5303 and PL funds require a 10% match, with VDOT/VDRPT providing 10% and the remaining 80% provided by the federal source. SPR funds require a 20% local match. |
| PL - Planning Funds: Available from FHWA for MPO program activities. |
| CMAQ - Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program: A categorical funding program created under ISTEA, which directs funding to projects that contribute to meeting national air quality standards in non-attainment areas for ozone and carbon monoxide. FAMPO reviews these funds annually based on a formula which includes population and air quality. |
| Section 5303: Planning funds available from the FTA for MPO program activities. |
| MG - Minimum Guarantee: A funding category created in TEA-21 that guarantees a 90% return of contributions on formula funds to every state. |
| RSTP – Regional Surface Transportation Program from FHWA: FAMPO receives these funds annually, based on population. |
| Back to top |
| FEDERAL LEGISLATION |
| ADA - Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990: Federal law that requires public facilities (including transportation services) to be accessible to persons with disabilities, including those with mental disabilities, temporary disabilities, and the conditions related to substance abuse. |
| CAAA - Clean Air Act Amendments: 1990 amendments to the federal Clean Air Act that classify non-attainment areas and provide for rules dealing with air pollution in such areas; specifically brought transportation decisions into the context of air quality control. |
| Environmental Justice: Describes the impact of transportation plans or projects, either positive or negative, on a particular community or population. Derived from Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Environmental Justice strives to ensure public involvement of low income and minority groups in decision making, to prevent disproportionately high and adverse impacts on low income and minority groups, and to assure that these groups receive equal benefits from transportation improvements. |
| ISTEA - Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991: Federal law which restructured transportation planning and funding by requiring consideration of multimodal solutions, emphasis on the movement of people and goods as opposed to traditional highway investments, flexibility in the use of transportation funds, a greater role of MPOs, and a greater emphasis on public participation. |
| SAFETEA-LU - Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users - legislation enacted August 10, 2005, as Public Law 109-59. SAFETEA-LU authorizes the Federal surface transportation programs for highways, highway safety, and transit for the 5-year period 2005-2009. |
| TEA-21 - Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century: Federal Legislation authorizing funds for all modes of transportation and guidelines on the use of those funds. Successor to ISTEA, the landmark legislation that clarified the role of the MPOs in the local priority setting process. TEA-21 emphasizes increased public involvement, simplicity, flexibility, fairness, and higher funding levels for transportation. |
| Title VI Civil Rights Act 1964: Ensures that no person shall, on the grounds of race, color, sex, national origin, or physical handicap, be excluded from participation in, be denied benefits of, or be otherwise subjected to discrimination under any program receiving Federal assistance from the United States Department of Transportation. |
| Back to top |
| OTHER GENERAL TERMS |
| "3‑C" Process: ("Continuing, Cooperative and Comprehensive") Language from federal legislation establishing MPOs and used in reference to the regional transportation planning and programming process. |
| CIA - Community Impact Assessment: Community impact assessment is “a process to evaluate the effects of a transportation action on a community and its quality of life.” It is a way to incorporate community considerations into the planning and development of major transportation projects. From a policy perspective, it is a process for assessing the social and economic impacts of transportation projects as required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The assessment may address a variety of important community issues such as land development, aesthetics, mobility, neighborhood cohesion, safety, relocation, and economic impacts. |
| CMP - Congestion Management Process: A systematic process required under SAFETEA-LU for all TMAs that shall address congestion management through the metropolitan planning process that provides for effective management and operation, based on a cooperatively developed and implemented metropolitan-wide strategy of new and existing transportation facilities eligible for funding under title 23 and chapter 53 of title 49 through the use of travel demand reduction and operational management strategies. The CMP is required under 23 CFR 500.109 and shall include methods to monitor and evaluate the performance of the multi-modal transportation system, identify causes of congestion, identify and evaluate alternative actions, provide information supporting the implementation of actions, and evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of implementation actions. The CMP is periodically reviewed for efficiency and effectiveness of the implemented strategies, the results of this evaluation shall be provided to decision-makers to provide guidance on selection of effective strategies for future implementation purposes. |
| EIS - Environmental Impact Statement: A National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) document that explains the purpose and need for a project, presents project alternatives, analyzes the likely impact of each, explains the choice of a preferred alternative, and finally details measures to be taken in order to mitigate the impacts of the preferred alternative. |
| Fiscal Constraint: A requirement, originally of ISTEA, that all plans be financially – constrained, balanced expenditures to reasonably expected sources of funding over the period of the TIP or Long-Range Transportation Plan. |
| HOT Lanes: HOT lanes are limited-access, normally barrier-separated highway lanes that provide free or reduced cost access to qualifying HOVs, and also provide access to other paying vehicles not meeting passenger occupancy requirements. |
| HOV - High Occupancy Vehicle: Vehicles carrying 2 - 3 or more people receive this designation and may travel on freeways/interstates, expressways and other large volume roads in lanes designated for high occupancy vehicles. |
| IMS - Incident Management System: A systematic process required under SAFETE-LU to provide information on accidents and identify causes and improvements to the transportation system to increase safety of all users.
|
| Intermodal Transportation: Refers to transport by two or more modes of transportation. For example, passenger stations which provide transfers between buses and trains are described as intermodal. |
| Back to top |
| ITS - Intelligent Transportation System: Use of computer and communications technology to facilitate the flow of information between travelers and system operators to improve mobility and transportation productivity, enhance safety, maximize the use of existing transportation facilities, conserve energy resources and reduce adverse environmental effects; includes concepts such as “freeway management systems,” “automated fare collection” and “transit information kiosks.” |
| Intergovernmental Agreement: Legal instrument describing tasks to be accomplished and/or funds to be paid between government agencies. |
| Low-Income Populations: Those groups whose household income is at or below the Department of Health and Human Services poverty guidelines and who will be affected by a proposed FAMPO program, policy, or activity. (Ref: DOT Order on Environmental Justice). |
| Minority Groups: Those persons who are Black, Hispanic, Asian American, American Indian or Alaskan Native. These minority populations are those that are readily identifiable groups who live in geographic proximities who will be affected by a proposed FAMPO program, policy, or activity. |
| MIS – Major Investment Study: The major investment study (MIS) is a subset of the more comprehensive metropolitan transportation system planning process. Metropolitan planning regulations require major investment studies to support decisions on significant transportation investments. While federally funded major transportation investments are being contemplated, the MIS identifies all reasonable alternative strategies for addressing the transportation demands and other problems at a corridor or subarea level of the metropolitan area. The MIS provides information to elected officials, technical staff, the business community, and the general public on the costs, benefits, and impacts of these alternatives so that an informed choice can be made. |
| MSA - Metropolitan Statistical Area: An urban area that meets specified size criteria: either it has a core city of at least 50,000 inhabitants within its corporate limits, or it contains an urbanized area of at least 50,000 inhabitants and has a total population of at least 100,000. Virginia has eight MSAs. Fredericksburg is a part of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.,Va.,Md.,W.Va Statistical Area. |
| NAAQS - National Ambient Air Quality Standards: The primary NAAQS are defined as the levels of air quality that the EPA judges necessary to protect the public health. EPA also establishes secondary NAAQS that protect the public welfare from any known or anticipated adverse effects. . |
| ROW - Right-of-Way: Real property that is used for transportation purposes; defines the extent of the corridor that can be used for the road and associated drainage. |
| RTDM - Regional Travel Demand Model: This is a tool for forecasting impacts of urban developments on travel patterns as well as testing various transportation alternative solutions to traffic patterns. The travel patterns are determined from US census results and in simple terms tell where residents live and where they go to work or school on a regional wide basis. |
| SIP – State Implementation Plan: State Implementation Plan (for attainment and maintenance of air quality standards) |
| Back to top |
| Smart Growth: An effort to resolve growing concern that current development patterns -- dominated by what some call "sprawl" -- are no longer in the long-term interest of our cities, existing suburbs, small towns, rural communities, or wilderness areas. In general, smart growth invests time, attention, and resources in restoring community and vitality to center cities and older suburbs. New smart growth is more town-centered, is transit and pedestrian oriented, and has a greater mix of housing, commercial and retail uses. It also preserves open space and many other environmental amenities. |
| SMP - Statewide Mobility Plan: VDOT’s 10 year plan for adding capacity to the transportation system using the Mobility Category Funds of Federal and State Transportation funding. |
| STIP – State Transportation and Improvement Program: The STIP is a multi-year capital improvement program of transportation projects on and off the State Highway System, funded with revenues from the State Highway Account and other funding sources. |
| TAZ - Transportation or Traffic Analysis Zone: Generally defined as areas of homogeneous activity served by one or two major highways. TAZs serve as the base unit for socioeconomic data characteristics used in various plans and studies. |
| TDM - Traffic Demand Management: Various traffic control strategies and measures used in managing highway demand. |
| TEIF - Transportation Efficiency Improvement Fund: The purpose of the program is to reduce traffic congestion by supporting transportation demand management programs designed to reduce use of single occupant vehicles and increase use of high occupancy vehicle modes; operated by the Commonwealth Transportation Board. |
| Transportation Disadvantaged: People who are unable to transport themselves or to purchase transportation due to disability, income status or age. |
| Transportation Enhancements: Specific activities which can be funded with Surface Transportation Program (STP) funds; activities include pedestrian/bicycle facilities, acquisition of scenic easements and scenic historic sites, scenic or historic highway programs, scenic beautification, historic preservation, rehabilitation/operation of historic transportation structures, railway corridor preservation, control/removal of outdoor advertising, archeological planning/research and mitigation of highway runoff water pollution. |
| The Public: Includes citizens, public agencies, advocacy groups and the private sectors that have an interest in or may be affected by MPO activities. |
| TMA - Transportation Management Area: An area designated by the U.S. Department of Transportation given to all urbanized areas with a population over 200,000 (or other area when requested by the Governor and MPO); these areas must comply with special transportation planning requirements regarding congestion management systems, project selection and certification; requirements identified in 23 CFR - 450.300-33.6. |
| TSM - Transportation Systems Management: Strategies to improve the efficiency of the transportation system through operational improvements such as the use of bus priority or reserved lanes, signalization, access management, turn restrictions, etc. |
| Urbanized Area: Term used by the U.S. Census Bureau to designate urban areas. These areas generally contain population densities of at least 1,000 persons per square mile in a continuously built‑up area of at least 50,000 persons. Factors such as commercial and industrial development, and other types and forms of urban activity centers are also considered. |
| Back to top |
| |
| |
Documents