State transportation issues and actions

The second Conference on Statewide Transportation Planning and Programming, conducted by the Transportation Research Board at the request of the U.S. Department of Transportation and its modal administrations, sought to do the following: 1. Identify the challenges that will be faced by the states, now and in the next 20 years, particularly in the areas of the economy, energy, urban policy, and changes in transportation systems; 2. Report on the best available planning techniques and on research for new ones; 3. Recommend the optimum role for state departments of transportation in multimodal statewide transportation planning; 4. Identify techniques for optimum programming of scarce state resources, for example, between modes and categorical programs; 5. Discuss the proper content of a state transportation plan; and 6. Discuss ways of increasing the effectiveness of state departments of transportation in implementing state transportation plans.