Background

The primary objective of this document is to provide a user-friendly toolbox of available technical methods that can be used by planning practitioners to better understand the regional-level impacts of alternative policies and investments affecting transportation system performance and land use patterns. The methods in the toolbox can be used to assess the impacts of transportation policies such as:

• Road and highway infrastructure investment;

• Fixed-guideway transit investment;

• Operational infrastructure (ITS, traffic flow improvements, etc.);

• Demand management, including road pricing, parking pricing, TDM strategies, etc.; and

• Freight-related investment strategies.

The methods can also be used to assess the impacts of land use policies such as:

• Land use policies, such as zoning regulations, tax policies, or growth management strategies;

• Regional development patterns, including location, density, etc., by type of development; and

• "Micro-scale" design characteristics, such as pedestrian-oriented site design, mix of uses, or access management.

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