Protect/Enhance the Environment

Enhance the performance of the transportation system while protecting and enhancing the natural environment

Each of the goals in a metropolitan or statewide transportation plan is supported by one or more 'objectives' that define what needs to occur to accomplish the goal. The objectives define what a region plans to achieve and help to determine the strategies and investments that will be included in the transportation plan. In practice, objectives range from high-level regional statements to specific, measurable, time-bound "SMART" objectives. A range of objectives are included in the Architecture Reference for Cooperative and Intelligent Transportation (ARC-IT), gathered from a variety of references and recent transportation plans, that reflect the spectrum of objectives that are used in current practice. The objectives identified below support the identified goal. Select an objective to identify its source, associated performance measures, and the service packages that support the objective.

Objective Category	Objective
Environment: Clean Air and Climate Change	Reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to X percent below year Y by year Z.
Environment: Clean Air and Climate Change	Reduce emissions of coarse particulates (PM10) by X percent by year Y.
Environment: Clean Air and Climate Change	Reduce emissions of fine particulates (PM2.5) by X percent by year Y.
System Efficiency: Energy Consumption	Reduce excess fuel consumed due to congestion by X percent by year Y.
System Efficiency: Energy Consumption	Reduce total energy consumption per capita for transportation by X percent by year Y.
System Efficiency: Energy Consumption	Reduce total fuel consumption per capita for transportation by X percent by year Y.

Architecture and Standard Use

Like the goals, the transportation objectives of the region should be a driving input for the regional ITS architecture. By connecting the objectives with the architecture, transportation planners can easily identify the portion of the integrated regional transportation system that supports each objective. Conversely, ITS architectures and strategic plans can help planning organizations define operations objectives that reflect data that is available and the expertise of operations staff. The RAD-IT Planning Tab can be used to connect your region's objectives with your regional ITS architecture. If your regional ITS architecture does not include this connection, the links between the objectives and ARC-IT defined in this planning view may be used as a starting point.