The Innovative DOT

Image Courtesy of Smart Growth America

Transportation is of major importance to our economy, with everything from products to food to people relying upon a vast, often complicated network of transit systems. Much of our personal income, time, and frustrations are attached to our means of travel. In fact, Americans spend almost 20% of their personal income every year on transportation. States also allocate a large percentage of their budgets towards installing, repairing, or replacing pieces of their mobile systems. However, many state DOT’s have been facing financial constraints, encouraging and even forcing them to improve the way they do business.

Smart Growth America and the State Smart Transportation Initiative together created a handbook to provide state transportation leaders with the necessary tools to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of their mobile systems. Through useful examples along with eight focus areas; including revenue allocation and project selection, pricing, integrating transportation and land-use decision-making, and improving options for mobility and access; the handbook encourages DOT’s to reevaluate their approaches towards making smarter investments, extracting more and better performance out of their existing systems, and re-examining the full range of possible future investments. The organizations hope to foster a collaborative atmosphere and culture within DOT’s but also across agencies and into the public stakeholders and communities.