The
Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) is traveling around the state seeking
input from Ohioans on what kind of transportation system they would like to see
by 2045.
ODOT
is working on the state’s long-range plan as required by federal law, to help
guide the state’s transportation policies and investment strategies for the
next 20 years. The agency updates the plan every five years, and ODOT is
currently seeking input on the Access Ohio 2045 plan by holding meetings around
the state. It held the fifth of 10 meetings in Columbus on Tuesday in
conjunction with the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission.
In
an environment where the transportation world is rapidly changing, long-range
planning can be challenging for transportation officials. Scott Phinney, the
administrator of ODOT’s Office of Planning and Research, told the audience at
Tuesday’s meeting that the long-range plan has a big impact, and influences the
agency’s other plans for areas such as transit, rail, highways and other modes.
He said Access Ohio sets the direction for the other plans.
He
told the audience that ODOT is trying to get as much input from the public it
can.
“This
plan is going to impact all of us, not just ODOT,” he said.
For
the first time, the plan isn’t just making one prediction for the future based
on the advances of Ohio’s transportation system in the last 20 years. Phinney
said that is because technology is changing so quickly.
“If
we each took a pen and paper and were asked what the transportation system would
look like in 20 years, we would all be wrong,” he said.
Instead,
ODOT researchers are developing four different plausible scenarios, with each
one imagining an extreme. One assumes the transportation system will continue
on the current trends. Another imagines an innovation scenario where every
possible invention ever heard of has arrived, from autonomous vehicles to
flying cars. A third assumes globalization and supply chains have ramped up and
that Ohio continues to be at a crossroads of global markets, increasing the
amount of freight traffic moving through the state. The fourth, called the
“Ohio Renaissance,” wraps up the other scenarios into one and imagines Ohio
sees a large influx of population, which he called the most challenging
scenario because it would tax the state’s transportation system the most.
Phinney
said ODOT isn’t picking one plan, but is working to develop each one equally.
He also said they are looking at the whole system, not just highways.
At
each of the stops, public members attending were given stickers to use to
endorse different ideas they would like to see in a transportation system in
five categories: one that is safe, smart, connected, community-oriented, and
collaborative. Attendees were also encouraged to write their own ideas on
post-it notes, and other attendees could endorse those ideas with their
stickers as well.
ODOT
is also asking the public to weigh in on the plan through an online survey
located at https://tinyurl.com/yxsxmx9q. The survey will be
open until the end of November. ODOT will then make adjustments to its
strategies and actions in the plan based on that feedback and then seek public input
on it again.
Asked
whether ODOT has considered less optimistic scenarios, Phinney said they tried
to narrow down to those four that they believe will encompass most any
potential scenario. “We thought it was a nice balance.” If there is a huge increase
in energy prices, for example, then one of the scenarios that imagines
advancing accommodations for people to walk and bike more would be used. He
said they are also looking at strategies to put together more funding for
transit.
He
said he believes ODOT is trying to become more multimodal in its planning and
the way it funds transportation. Lawmakers have assisted with that, including
passing a capital infrastructure bill for ports. But the state will also
continue to be limited by restrictions on the state and federal gas tax,
requiring the state to look at new streams of revenue for other forms of
transportation.
After
Tuesday’s public hearing, Phinney told Hannah News that because
transportation is changing so rapidly, looking back is no longer a good
predictor of what the future’s going to hold.
“We’ve
given up on trying to predict what the future’s going to be like, and that’s
why we’ve developed this scenario strategy approach,” he said. “This is a
planning approach that’s really become the state of practice across the
country. When you are trying to plan for a really unknown future, you do these
different scenarios, each kind of going to a different extreme, and you hope
whatever the future holds, it will be somewhere in the middle, and if you are
ready for all four scenarios, you are ready for whatever the future holds.”