1、American Association of State Highway and Transportation OfficialsTEAChallengeLeading the WayiiiTEAChallengeSponsorsAmerican Association of State Highwayand Transportation OfficialsNational Trust for Historic PreservationRails-to-Trails ConservancyGreat American Station FoundationSurface Transportat
2、ion Policy ProjectScenic AmericaInternational Downtown AssociationLeading the WayOver the past decade more than $3.82 billion has been invested under the transportation enhancementprogram on projects that add quality to our communities and enjoyment to our lives. This report is a celebration of exce
3、llence honoring the best of the best of transportation enhancement projects and programs administered by state departments of transportation (DOTs). The four winning enhancement programs and five winning projects featured here represent the best of a top-flight pool submitted by 30 state DOTs to a T
4、ransportation Enhancement Activity Challenge. Sixinterest groups including the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, GreatAmerican Station Foundation, Surface Transportation Policy Project, Scenic America and the InternationalDowntown Association conceived the compet
5、ition, which was co-sponsored by AASHTO through the auspices of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program. The success of the transportation enhancement program is evident. Between 1992 and 2000, the NationalTransportation Enhancement Clearinghouse reports that $3.82 billion was programmed,
6、out of the $4.52billion authorized. And an additional 1,282 future projects worth more than $394 million were plannedfor FY 2001 and beyond.Clearly, enhancement projects are popular and in high demand. Many states report that applications aremore than double the available funding. States are seeking
7、 ways in which to streamline project reviewsand approvals, and to maximize the benefits of enhancement dollars by seeking strong community support.Nonetheless, in many ways the 10-year old transportation enhancement program is still in the learningcurve. States have a great deal to share with one an
8、other, and with the citizens who want to see projectsrealized in their own communities. That is why AASHTO urged states to participate in the TEA Challenge.We appreciate the advice and support of our many enhancement partners and look forward to continuedcollaboration to achieve even greater success
9、.John HorsleyExecutive DirectorAASHTOForewordIt is with great pride that I introduce to you some of the outstanding transportation enhancement programsand projects that are underway in our state departments of transportation today.While serving as the Executive Director of the Federal Highway Admini
10、stration, I saw first hand the launchof a new and untried idea. Today, as the President of AASHTO, I see a program that has come of agereaching out to new constituencies throughout America and truly enhancing the communities we all seekto serve. And as Secretary of the Kansas Department of Transport
11、ation, I am truly honored that the KansasDOT Transportation Enhancement program has been chosen as one of four exemplary initiatives.As my former boss, Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater often said, transportation is more than concrete, asphalt or steel it is about opportunity. This report re
12、cognizes those states that have made themost of the transportation enhancement opportunity building bike paths, hiking trails, preserving historicbuildings and transportation facilities, landscaping to add beauty to the environment but even moreimportantly, working along side the men and women who s
13、trive to make their communities a better placeto live, work and play. That is the real measure of the Transportation Enhancement Program, even morethan the dollars spent, or the projects completed. Our real measure of success is the inspiring dedicationand commitment unleashed in thousands of volunt
14、eers who have brought this program to life. While theyare too numerous to catalogue in these pages, these are the real winners we salute in this report.E. Dean CarlsonSecretary of the Kansas Department of TransportationPresident, AASHTOContentsExecutive Summary 1Projects 5Alaska 6California 10Georgi
15、a 16Kentucky 20West Virginia 24Programs 29Kansas 30Nebraska 32New Jersey 34Vermont 36Winning Elements 39Appendices 45Appendix A: How Does Your State Enhancement Program Measure Up? 46Appendix B: The 12 Eligible Enhancement Activities 47Appendix C: Transportation Enhancements Glossary 48Appendix D: R
16、esources 50Executive Summary2Creating OpportunitiesThe Transportation Enhancement Activities program was created by Congress to broaden and expand the community benefits of transporta-tion investments. The Intermodal SurfaceTransportation Efficiency Act of 1991 gave statesnew flexibility, setting as
17、ide a percentage of theSurface Transportation Program for ten activities(present law has 12) that relate to transportationprojects or the areas they serve. For a completelist of TEAs, see page 57.Many state transportation agencies saw the opportunities in the enhancements program earlyon and organiz
18、ed quickly to solicit proposals froma broad range of applicants, develop mechanismsfor review and selection, and find new sources ofmatching funds. Some shared selection responsi-bilities with broad based committees composed ofother state or local planning organizations, as wellas enhancement advoca
19、tes.The flexibility of the program empowered theagencies to support projects with greater community benefits and encouraged them to reach out to a new set of partners. In many cases,these experiences improved the agencys imageand spurred public interest in the work of the departments of transportati
20、on (DOTs). However,other agencies experienced difficulty involvingnon-traditional partners in project developmentand have found that enhancement projects take along time to plan, design and construct.Honoring Excellence: the TEA ChallengeThe self-interest in seeing all states embrace thisnon-traditi
21、onal program led enhancement stake-holder groups to ask the American Association ofState Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), to participate in a contest to honorstate transportation agency excellence in imple-menting enhancements. These groups, the GreatAmerican Station Foundation, Intern
22、ationalDowntown Association, National Trust for HistoricPreservation, Rails-to-Trails Conservation, ScenicAmerica, and Surface Transportation Policy Project,believed that by honoring the best state programsthey could encourage adoption of innovative practices by all states. A key concern among thegr
23、oups was the low rate of enhancement fundsbeing spent nationwide, even though a number ofstates were obligating all of their TE funds.AASHTO asked its members to participate in theTEA Challenge to demonstrate the high quality ofmany state programs, and thirty states respondedby nominating their prog
24、rams for the excellenceawards. Additionally, states were encouraged topropose their best enhancement projects for recog-nition, and eighteen responded. A review panelcomposed of representatives of the six interestgroups and four state transportation agencies evaluated the applications and selected t
25、he winners from a distinguished applicant pool.Awards were presented at AASHTOs annual meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana in December2000.Awards of excellence were recommended for andfor five projects submitted by Alaska, California,Georgia, Kentucky, and West Virginia and theenhancement programs in K
26、ansas, Nebraska, New Jersey, and Vermont. Detailed descriptions of the programs and projects areincluded in this report. Executive Summary3Making a Visible DifferenceThe competition confirmed anecdotal evidencethat the program produces a wide range of positivepublic benefits. Not the least of the be
27、neficiaries is the transportation system. Enhancement invest-ments have created capacity for many modes oftransport, increased services and improved safetyand aesthetics. A few examples: In West Virginia, the Mon River Trail System provides an alternate cross town route for local residents going to
28、work, school and shopping. In Alaska, the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve andWayside Trail provides visitors with a safe place to pull off the road to view the rare birds, whileminimizing the potential for accidents with through traffic and logging trucks. In California, the complexity of landscaping an
29、d artwork at the Union Station GatewayTransit Center has been used to alter the pedestrians perception of time and distanceeasing the transition from one mode of transportation to another. Across the country, Amtrak and Greyhoundhave found that renovated stations many ofwhich were funded with enhanc
30、ement dollars increase ridership and related revenue. Enhancement projects also serve to increase liv-ability for residents and enjoyable destinations fortourists. The TEA Challenge competition includesprojects that have recreated links with the past,built community identity, promoted communityrevit
31、alization, attracted tourism dollars and provid-ed healthy recreation venues. In Georgia, the restoration of the Sapelo IslandLighthouse has supported efforts to retain the heritage of the island, while at the same time, promoting the island for tourism. In Sacketsville Harbor, New York, the renova-
32、tion of the historic Union Hotel has served as acatalyst for revitalization of the towns commer-cial area. In North Carolina, stations renovated by thestate program “reconnect communities to eachother and are the source of intense communitypride” believes Deputy Secretary, David King. In Kentucky, h
33、istoric streetscape improvementsare being made in small and mid-sized commu-nities to spur downtown revitalization. In Florida, the Tallahassee St. Marks Trailattracts more than 170,000 users annuallyExamples also abound of the enhancement pro-gram leading to improvements in state programsand polici
34、es, which include increasing the stateand local tax base. Vermonts bicycle- pedestrian program wasstarted with enhancement funds but became sopopular that it now has separate funding. Thesuccess of the program inspired a new agencypolicy to consider bicycle and pedestrian useon all new transportatio
35、n investments. In Nebraska, innovations in meeting projectreview and approval requirements reducedproject processing time by months and are now being tried with other road type projects. In Michigan, the State TransportationCommission responded to the positive results of the enhancements program by
36、asking theDOT to draft an aesthetics policy for theagency. In Kansas, designs for road improvement proj-ects that connect to the growing state trail net-work are now including wider shoulders to helpcyclists safely reach the trails. On Pennsylvanias Heritage Rail Trail 65 per-cent of the users surve
37、yed reported makingmajor investments in bicycles and parts averag-ing over $300 each, as well as a range of otherretail sales, due to the availability of the trail. Aseparate assessment found many new businessstart ups resulting from the trail: two bicycleshops, a delicatessen, a gift shop, and two
38、Bedand Breakfasts.In Maryland, the North Central Rail Trail generatedover $300,000 in state revenue in the same yearthat $192,000 was spent to build the trail.4Benefits, which are difficult to measure, includethe breadth of new partnerships and the improvedpublic image of the agencies. As Jim Pearso
39、n,Enhancements Coordinator in Nebraska, told theaudience at the 2000 AASHTO Annual Meeting:“Make sure and celebrate these projects. There ismore turnout at events for enhancement projectsthan anything else.”Challenges AheadDespite all the success, there are challenges ahead:too many projects are tie
40、d up in layered projectdevelopment processes, which in turn causes obligation rates to lag behind other highway programs in some states. The secret to resolvingthese problems lies in the experience of the winning states. The winning programs presented in this publica-tion have addressed all of the p
41、roblems that can be imagined in a start-up operation with a diverseconstituency. Theyve streamlined design andenvironmental processes, found ways to ensure fair and equitable distribution of funds even whenapplications exceed dollars available many timesover, and they have learned the value of worki
42、ngwith local governments and non-profits to achievemutual goals. They have faced and won over skeptical legislatures and fought for projects withfederal officials, who sometimes think the stateshave gotten too creative. In doing so they havemade the enhancements program a success in theirstate and b
43、uilt a new and supportive constituency.In all cases, winners have substantially differentprograms today than they started with in 1992. No one “got it right” from the beginning. Somemade small improvements regularly to establishtheir award winning programs, while others completely revamped programs
44、after five or sixyears of operation. The best of the best programs emerged from thewillingness to be open to new ideas, to evaluatethe process, and to champion the product insideand outside the agency. Suggestions for assessingyour enhancements program are included atAppendix ? as “How Does Your Sta
45、teEnhancements Program Measure Up.”The real challenge ahead is following the exampleof these excellent programs and the projects theyhave supported.Projects6Chilkat Bald Eagle PreserveWayside and TrailIn Alaska, the State DOT has used TransportationEnhancement funds to both preserve a sensitivehabit
46、at and to provide tourist access to this unique area.TE activities: Scenic or Historic HighwayProgramsProject Awarded: FY 1994Completed: 1999Total Project Cost: $2.5 millionContact: Ms. Judy ChapmanTrails and Recreational Accessfor Alaska (TRAAK)CoordinatorAlaska Department ofTransportation and Publ
47、icFacilities3132 Channel DriveJuneau, AK 99801-7898(907) 465-8769Judy_Chapmandot.state.ak.usProject HighlightsThe Alaska DOT addressed environmental andsafety problems in developing the project.Facilities were “tucked into” the landscape causingminimal disruption to the environment.Project benefits
48、include community recreation aswell as tourist facilities.AlaskaProject DescriptionThe Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve Wayside and Trailproject is located in the panhandle of southeasternAlaska near the city of Haines, along the ChilkatRiver north of Juneau. The Haines Highway windsalong the Chilkat Riv
49、er Valley, wedged betweenthe steep Coast Mountains separating the US andCanada on the east, and the St. Elias Mountainsand Muir Glacier to the west. Over 3,000 baldeagles are attracted to the area by a late run ofchum salmon and open waters in the late fall and123458winter. It is an area of dramatic scenery and strik-ing natural beauty that is visited by cruise ships, as well as schoolchildren and elder hostel visitors.The State of Alaska created the Chilkat Bald EaglePreserve in June 1982. The preserve was estab-lished to protect and perpetuate the wor
