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21st Century Operations Using 21st Century Technologies
Table of Contents

Approaches to Target Setting for PM3 Measures

Chapter 1. Introduction

Transportation performance management (TPM) is a strategic approach that uses system performance information to make investment and policy decisions to achieve transportation system performance goals.2 As defined in the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) and the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, TPM emphasizes performance measures and targets to achieve these system performance goals. Performance management represents a broad, high-level perspective of system-level outcomes for transportation. TPM is systematically applied so it is a regular, ongoing process that provides key information to assist decision-makers in understanding the consequences of investment decisions and policy actions across multiple performance areas on the transportation system.

Targets and measures are key components of performance management and are critical to communicating information about the transportation system to decision-makers, stakeholders, and the traveling public. In transitioning to a performance management-based approach for making transportation investment and policy decisions, target setting has emerged as a challenge to State and regional agencies from multiple perspectives, especially for travel time-based targets. The purpose of this technical report is to provide examples of different options available to State DOTs and Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO) for setting roadway performance targets.

Background

MAP-21 began and the FAST Act continued a performance-based Federal-Aid Highway Program. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) conducted rulemaking to address the MAP-21 and FAST Act performance management provisions across seven performance areas shown in figure 1: Safety, Infrastructure Condition, Congestion Reduction, System Reliability, Freight Movement and Economic Vitality, and Environmental Sustainability. Each performance area was addressed in a Final Rule, which was codified in title 23 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 490. The goals associated with each performance area are:3

  • Safety—To significantly reduce traffic fatalities and serious injuries on all public roads.
  • Infrastructure Condition—To maintain the highway infrastructure asset system in a state of good repair.
  • Congestion Reduction—To significantly reduce congestion on the National Highway System (NHS).
  • System Reliability—To improve the efficiency of the surface transportation system.
  • Freight Movement and Economic Vitality—To improve the National freight network, strengthen the ability of rural communities to access National and international trade markets, and support regional economic development.
  • Environmental Sustainability—To enhance the performance of the transportation system while protecting and enhancing the natural environment.

Infographic showing the three primary Federal rulemaking regarding performance measures and their statutes: 1) Safety; 2) pavement and bridge; and 3) System Performance, Freight, Congestion Mitigations and Air Quality (CMAQ) Improvement Program Measures.

Figure 1. Infographic. Federal Highway Administration performance management rulemaking.4
(Source: Federal Highway Administration.)

Each performance area is supported by a set of metrics and/or performance measures. While the metrics represent quantifiable indicators of condition or performance, measures are expressions based on metrics that are used to establish targets and assess progress towards meeting targets. The latter is the focus of this report, as 23 CFR Part 490 directs State DOTs and to establish performance targets for all National performance measures and report progress towards targets to FHWA on a regular basis.5 Specifically, this report focuses on target setting for the travel time-based performance measures, including the challenges of setting travel time-based targets, resources that agencies may use to aid them in setting these targets, and potential approaches State DOTs and may take.

Purpose of the Report

The purpose of this report is to provide approaches available to State DOTs and for setting roadway performance targets, specifically for travel time-based performance measures. It reviews the concept of TPM (which is the impetus for target setting) and Performance-Based Planning and Programming (which is a key part of implementing TPM), provides an overview of Federal target-setting requirements, and identifies challenges and noteworthy practices from around the country. The report is based on a review of Federal regulations pertaining to target setting, past FHWA technical reports and presentations on performance management and the National performance measures, and case studies from transportation agencies that have been engaged in performance management and target setting.

Organization of the Report

The remainder of the report is organized as follows:

  • Chapter 2 discusses target setting within the context of TPM and performance-based planning and programming (PBPP), as well as discusses the Federal requirements for target setting.
  • Chapter 3 presents some of the challenges that agencies often face when attempting to set targets.
  • Chapter 4 discusses various approaches for setting targets while providing examples from State DOTs and local agencies.
  • Chapter 5 illustrates the various resources that State DOTs and local agencies may utilize to aid them in target setting.

2 Federal Highway Administration, TPM Guidebook. [Return to note 2]

3 23 U.S.C.150(b). [Return to note 3]

4 81 FR 13913, Mar. 15, 2016. [Return to note 4]

5 23 U.S.C. 150 [Return to note 5]