Integrating Information Technology in Efficient Transportation Decision Making

Abstract

Florida's Efficient Transportation Decision Making (ETDM) process, developed in response to the U.S. Congress Environmental Streamlining initiative, is a new way of accomplishing transportation planning to achieve early agency participation, efficient environmental review, and meaningful dispute resolution. ETDM is accomplished through the environmental screening tool (EST), a technological solution to integrate resource and project information from multiple sources, to provide quick and standardized analysis of environmental and sociocultural effects of proposed projects, and to support effective communication of results to all stakeholders, including the public. EST was developed through a methodology of rapid software prototyping, frequent user feedback, and flexible architecture designed to adapt to the ETDM evolution process. This development resulted in an Internet-accessible interactive database and mapping application that integrates a georelational database of ETDM projects, more than 200 environmental resource geographical information system data layers, automated and standardized GIS-based environmental screening analysis, and numerous data entry, review, and reporting tools. For more than 2 years of operation with a user community from seven Florida Department of Transportation districts, 26 metropolitan planning organizations, 24 resource agencies, and the public, EST has proved successful in supporting the ETDM process. More than 600 projects are in the EST database, and more than 160 of them have completed the environmental review process. Examples of many benefits of the EST in the ETDM process include early identification of avoidance or minimization options, improved interagency communication and coordination, and the use of EST for applications beyond the ETDM purview.