The Environmental Costs of Automobile-Centric Transportation Planning

Since the passage of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, the automobile has become the primary form of transportation on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. As the rate of motor vehicle use continues to rise faster than population growth, the benefits of the current transportation system are coming at a price that rivals annual household expenditures for housing. Furthermore, the automobile-centric transportation system incurs environmental costs. Carbon dioxide emissions, motor fuel use, health care costs for chronic illness, and the loss and impairment of natural resources due to sprawling development, continue to escalate. This project analyzes the environmental costs associated with automobile-centric planning for the urbanized area of the Mississippi Gulf Coast and compares these costs to those of alternative transportation modes.

A Proposed Environmental Policy for the Evaluation of State Funded Projects for use by the Utah Department of Transportation

Utah lacks a NEPA-equivalent environmental law for state funded projects. UDOT policies provide guidance on complying with NEPA but not on environmental reviews of state funded transportation projects. These projects are either not evaluated for impacts or are evaluated without a formal process, resulting in inconsistent and inadequate consideration of resources and project alternatives, with limited public involvement. This capstone provides a standard policy for UDOT. The policy incorporates elements from other state DOT polices and is based on federal NEPA, CEQ regulations, FHWA technical guidance, and existing UDOT procedures. Implementation will ensure consideration of project impacts to resources, analysis of project alternatives, encourage meaningful public involvement, and improve interagency coordination.

The Role of Citizen Participation in Wildlife-Sensitive Transportation Projects

An extensive and growing road system in the United States bisects vital wildlife habitat and is causing deleterious ecological effects on many wildlife species. The primary impacts include collisions between wildlife and vehicles, altered movement patterns within habitat, and/or the complete blockage of movements between vital habitats. The increasing size of the road network and number of vehicles will only intensify the problem unless proactive wildlife mitigation measures are developed to minimize these adverse effects. Therefore, this capstone project examines the role of citizen advocacy for promoting wildlife protection in the planning and development of wildlife-sensitive transportation projects in the United States. Based upon a data analysis of 21 questionnaires from qualified participants, it was determined that citizen participation is an important component associated with the development of wildlife-sensitive transportation projects. However, four major barriers to facilitating effective citizen participation processes were identified. 1) A lack of awareness. Citizens are only minimally aware of wildlife and transportation issues, including: a) the ecological impacts of roads, b) the solutions available to mitigate these impacts, and c) the opportunities to advocate for the protection of wildlife during transportation planning processes; 2) Public apathy or a lack of citizen interest in wildlife and transportation issues; 3) Ineffective citizen participation techniques and processes; and 4) Poor communication with citizens. Four recommendations were provided to assist in overcoming these barriers and to help define a better role for citizen advocacy in protecting wildlife from the growing road network.