Presentation of Comparative Data for Transportation Planning Studies

Clear, yet detailed, presentations of transportation planning data to lay groups as well as to technical groups is becoming more and more of a necessity in the planning process. The transportation professional is faced with the challenge of presenting technical analyses in a manner permitting others to make their own, sound, choices. Increasingly, the choice of a preferred alternative involves both technical aspects and seemingly intangibles or quality aspects. Technical analyses often appear to press in one direction, whereas other considerations give a different perspective on the preferred solution. Peer groups as well as administrators of programs are faced with the need to quickly understand complex planning relationships. Presentation of technical information in understandable terms has become increasingly critical to the decision-making process. Professionals develop significant quantitative data to compare and contrast alternatives under investigation, and there is a need to render the results comprehensible for those making recommendations and those making decisions. The application of simple but effective comparison techniques designed to provide high flexibility to individuals in comparing alternatives is addressed. The screening techniques used in recent studies for ISTEA high-priority corridors and feasibility studies are explored and how a matrix analysis technique has applications in many studies is illustrated.