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Systematic web-based resource that supports collaborative decision making to deliver projects that meet environmental, community, and mobility needs.

PlanWorks: Better planning. Better projects. (C01)

Plan Works
PlanWorks (C01) has been developed into a web-based resource to improve decision making throughout their transportation planning and project development processes. Visit the PlanWorks site for the latest tools and resources.

Challenge

Transportation agencies should be stewards of environmental and community concerns while delivering transportation projects in ways that support a community’s vision. Integrating economic, environmental, and community needs can be time-consuming, and requires effective and collaborative decision making in order to keep projects on schedule. Transportation planners could use a systematic decision support tool that integrates the community’s needs into the analysis, planning, and design of transportation improvement projects.

Solution

PlanWorks is a Web resource that supports collaborative decision making in transportation planning and project development. PlanWorks is built around key decision points in long-range planning, programming, corridor planning, and environmental review. PlanWorks suggests when and how to engage cross-disciplinary partners and stakeholder groups. This system can help build consensus throughout these processes.

PlanWorks has four major components:

  • Decision Guide - A troubleshooting guide describing the common decision points and opportunities for cooperation in the transportation planning and environmental review process. For each of the key decision points, PlanWorks provides policy and stakeholder questions, data needs, case studies and examples, and links to tools that can help support the decision.
  • Assessments - Interactive assessment tools that enable project stakeholders to identify opportunities to work together, improve interagency cooperation, and expedite project delivery. Assessments can be taken online or downloaded and used offline collaboratively.
  • Applications – A series of special topics that provide specific information and approaches for how these topics can be considered in the collaborative decision-making framework. Applications include performance measures, visioning, freight, and many other emerging and complex topics.
  • Library - A resource library containing relevant case studies and reports of successful interagency cooperation in the transportation planning and environmental review process.

PlanWorks is available online at https://fhwaapps.fhwa.dot.gov/planworks/.

Benefits

PlanWorks can help you:

  • Identify and overcome barriers when plans and projects of all scales hit roadblocks.
  • Access detailed information about decisions made in long range planning, corridor planning, programming, or environmental review.
  • Diagnose specific barriers and strategies to address those through improved collaboration.
  • Integrate new and emerging topics into the decision-making process.
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