SECTION: PERFORMANCE & PROGRESS
PERFORMANCE MEASURES ––
SAFETY
The FHWA final rule for the National Performance Management Measures: Highway Safety Improvement Program (Safety PM) and Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) were published in the Federal Register (81 FR 13881 and 81 FR 13722) on March 15, 2016 and became effective on April 14, 2016.
These final rules are the first in a series of three rulemakings that together establishes a set of performance measures for State Departments of Transportation (State DOTs) and MPOs to use as required by MAP-21 and the FAST Act.
The Safety PM Final Rule, also referred to as PM 1, supports the HSIP, as it establishes safety performance measure requirements for carrying out the HSIP and to assess fatalities and serious injuries on all public roads.
The Safety PM Final Rule establishes five performance measures as the five-year rolling averages to include the following:
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Number of fatalities
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Rate of fatalities per 100 million Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT)
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Number of serious injuries
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Rate of serious injuries per 100 million VMT
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Number of non-motorized fatalities and non-motorized serious injuries
Once notified of the state targets, MPOs and RPOs must either choose to adopt the state’s performance targets and support the state’s efforts in achieving those targets or establish their own quantifiable performance targets. The MPO’s decision will be communicated to PennDOT within 180 days of August 31 each year.
In February 2021, HATS adopted the 2017-2021 PennDOT performance targets for safety improvement, which calls for a 2 percent annual reduction in fatal and major injury crashes based on five-year running average crash rates. With this adoption, HATS agrees to support the targets by working with PennDOT to plan and program projects that contribute to meeting or making significant progress toward the established targets:
Source: PennDOT (2020)
PennDOT and HATS will coordinate annually in tracking this performance measure and ensure the regional TIP, the STIP, and RTP are developed and managed to support progress toward the achievement of these targets. In addition, coordination will continue on an ongoing bases during the development of corridor safety studies and implementation projects described in the plan.
PAVEMENT & BRIDGE
The FHWA final rule for the National Performance Management Measures; Assessing Pavement Condition for the National Highway Performance Program and Bridge was published in the Federal Register (82 FR 5886) on January 18, 2017 and became effective on February 17, 2017.
This final rule establishes a set of performance measures for State Departments of Transportation (State DOTs) and MPOs to use as required by MAP-21 and the FAST Act.
The final rule established performance measures for all State DOTs to use to use to carry out the National Highway Performance Program (NHPP) and to assess the condition of the following: Pavements on the National Highway System (NHS) (excluding the Interstate System), bridges carrying the NHS which includes on- and off-ramps connected to the NHS, and pavements on the Interstate System. The NHPP is a core Federal-aid highway program that provides support for the condition and performance of the NHS and the construction of new facilities on the NHS. The NHPP also ensures that investments of Federal-aid funds in highway construction are directed to support progress toward the achievement of performance targets established in a State's transportation asset management plan (TAMP) for the NHS. This final rule establishes regulations for the new performance aspects of the NHPP that address measures, targets, and reporting.
The pavement and bridge performance measures include:
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% of Interstate pavements in Good condition;
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% of Interstate pavements in Poor condition;
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% of non-Interstate NHS pavements in Good condition;
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% of non-Interstate NHS pavements in Poor condition;
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% of NHS bridges by deck area classified in Good condition;
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% of NHS bridges by deck area classified in Poor condition.
In February 2021, HATS adopted the 2017-2021 PennDOT performance targets for pavement and bridge conditions, which aims to maintain the system in a state of good repair. With this adoption, HATS agrees to support the targets by working with PennDOT to plan and program projects that contribute to meeting or making significant progress toward the established statewide targets:
Source: PennDOT (2020)
As with the safety measures, PennDOT and HATS will coordinate annually in tracking this performance measure and ensure the regional TIP, the STIP, and the RTP are developed and managed to support progress toward achievement of these targets.
SYSTEM PERFORMANCE, FREIGHT, CMAQ
The FHWA final rule for the National Performance Management Measures; Assessing Performance of the National Highway System, Freight Movement on the Interstate System, and Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program was published in the Federal Register (82 FR 5970) on January 18, 2017 and became effective on May 20, 2017.
The final rule is the third in a series of three related rulemakings that together establishes a set of performance measures for State DOTs and MPOs to use as required by MAP-21 and the FAST Act.
The measures in this final rule will be used by State DOTs and MPOs to assess the performance of the Interstate and non-Interstate National Highway System (NHS) for the purpose of carrying out the National Highway Performance Program (NHPP); to assess freight movement on the Interstate System; and to asses traffic congestion and on-road mobile source emissions for the purpose of carrying out the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) Improvement Program.
These measures include:
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Percent of Person-miles Traveled on the Interstate System that are Reliable;
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Percent of Person-miles Traveled on the Non-Interstate NHS that are Reliable;
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Interstate System Truck Travel Time Reliability Index;
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Annual Hours of Peak-Hour Excessive Delay (PHED) per Capita;
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Percent Non-Single Occupant Vehicle (SOV) Travel;
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On-Road Mobile Source Emissions Reduction for CMAQ-funded Projects.
For the three reliability measures, PennDOT has set statewide targets and MPO baseline reliability measures have been provided for informational purposes. While the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh areas are required to have annual peak hour excessive delay and non-SOV travel measures in the first performance cycle, HATS will move forward with the expectation of being added in the future for these measures.
The mobile source emission reduction measures are produced for each MPO that is in a non-attainment or maintenance area in accordance with the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. HATS is a non-attainment area for PM 2.5 and has targets set for this.
In February 2021, HATS agreed to support the 2017 – 2021 state performance targets. With this adoption, HATS agrees to work with PennDOT to plan and program projects that contribute to meeting or making significant progress toward the established targets:
Source: PennDOT (2020)
Below is a summary of the PM-3 Reliability Performance report from PennDOT for the 2017-2021 statewide system reliability targets. Statewide targets and baselines are provided as well regional performance total. Note the 2- and 4-year reliability targets are only applicable statewide. The MPO value is only provided for informational purposes.
Source: PennDOT (2020)
As with the other defined measures, PennDOT and HATS will coordinate regularly in tracking this performance measure and ensure the regional TIP, the STIP, and the RTP are developed and managed to support progress toward achievement of these targets.
TRANSIT SAFETY
Based on a 2018 Federal Transit Administration final rule, MPOs are required to establish Transit Safety performance targets.
In 2020, the Cumberland-Dauphin-Harrisburg Transit Authority adopted a Public Transit Agency Safety Plan that establishes targets for fatalities, injuries, safety events, and system reliability. At their June 25 meeting, the Harrisburg Area Transportation Study passed a resolution adopting the performance targets of the Cumberland-Dauphin-Harrisburg Transit Authority Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan and agreeing to plan and program projects that contribute to meeting the safety targets. Unless approved differently in the future, the HATS MPO safety targets will coincide with whatever is in the most current Cumberland-Dauphin-Harrisburg Transit Authority Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan.
TRANSIT ASSET MANAGEMENT
Based on a 2016 Federal Transit Administration final rule on planning, MPOs are required to establish Transit Asset Management performance targets, incorporate those targets into long-range plan updates, and coordinate to the maximum extent practicable with the state DOT and transit providers on their development.
Capital Area Transit participates in the PennDOT Transit Asset Management Group Plan, which establishes performance targets for rolling stock, equipment, and facilities. At their June 25 meeting, the Harrisburg Area Transportation Study passed a resolution adopting the performance targets of the Pennsylvania Transit Asset Management Group Plan and agreeing to plan and program projects that contribute to meeting the TAM targets. Unless approved differently in the future, the HATS MPO TAM targets will coincide with whatever is included in the most recent Pennsylvania TAM Group Plan.