General FAQs
For more detailed information, please see FAQs for PennDOT Employees and FAQs for Local Municipalities.
What is Smart Transportation?
Why are we doing this?
How is Smart Transportation different from what PennDOT is already doing?
Will Smart Transportation address safety?
Will Smart Transportation address traffic congestion?
Will Smart Transportation cost more than what we do today?
Has PennDOT already accomplished any Smart Transportation projects?
How can I get involved?
Is Pennsylvania the only state doing Smart Transportation?
Where can I find more information?
What is Smart Transportation?
Smart Transportation is partnering to build great communities for future generations of Pennsylvanians by linking transportation investments and land use planning and decision-making.
The ultimate goal of Smart Transportation is to create transportation facilities that are safe and affordable, responsive to the needs of all users, and support community planning goals.
Why are we doing this?
Our historic pattern of land development and transportation investments is no longer sustainable for a variety of financial, environmental, and social reasons. In Pennsylvania, as in other states, public funding is very limited for all transportation improvements. Costs are soaring, as global demand for raw materials has made new infrastructure exorbitantly expensive. Gas prices are higher than ever before, and concerns about global warming are at the forefront of the political agenda. Public funding for transportation projects is also very limited, and we need to use our limited resources more efficiently than before. We must rethink how we plan, build, and manage our transportation systems if we are going to maintain Pennsylvania’s economy and improve our quality of life.
How is Smart Transportation different from what PennDOT is already doing?
Smart Transportation is not a totally new concept. Various projects that the Department is working on or has done in the past already exemplify principles of Smart Transportation. What PennDOT’s Smart Transportation effort aims to accomplish is to ensure that these principles are consistently and consciously applied to ALL projects and that Smart Transportation become the standard approach for PennDOT’s day-to-day operations.
Will Smart Transportation address safety?
Yes. Safety must not be compromised in any project, and “safety first” is a key Smart Transportation theme. Some of the major ideas in the Smart Transportation Guidebook are intended to enhance safety. For example, the concept of “desired operating speed” encourages motorists to travel at a speed compatible with the surrounding community.
Will Smart Transportation address traffic congestion?
Yes. Smart Transportation’s goal is to address our transportation system’s ability to meet regional and local mobility needs, and balance these needs with other project and community objectives. Transportation projects will continue to address congestion, and project teams are encouraged to consider creative means of doing so. Rather than focus solely on intersection or mainline widening, projects should also consider strengthening the overall roadway network. Bicycling, walking, and transit should be feasible options for more residents in a community. Techniques such as access management and signal coordination could be widely used.
Will Smart Transportation cost more than what we do today?
When Smart Transportation strategies are done early and consistently throughout the planning, design, and implementation stages of a project, Smart Transportation will cost less than most conventional transportation solutions. The key is to identify opportunities for cost savings by making sure that existing infrastructure investments are taken care of, that project needs are clearly understood and defined, that we use flexible design, that high-value/low-cost projects are prioritized, and that opportunities for sharing resources (across jurisdictions and across agencies) are used.
In some select instances, the upfront costs of Smart Transportation projects might seem to be slightly more expensive than short-term quick fixes, but the longer term cost savings and quality of life returns of a comprehensively thought-out Smart Transportation solution will be far more substantial.
Has PennDOT already accomplished any Smart Transportation projects?
Yes. PennDOT has accomplished projects that illustrate key Smart Transportation principles. In the future, it is expected that these principles will be applied on all projects.
To view some examples of Smart Transportation projects, click here.
How can I get involved?
There are various ways that you can get involved with advancing Smart Transportation. Click here for a list of ideas on how to participate in ongoing activities and how incorporate Smart Transportation in your day-to-day activities.
Is Pennsylvania the only state doing Smart Transportation?
No. Together with Pennsylvania, many states (more than 25%) are already making significant strides by following a Smart Transportation model to how they plan and design their infrastructure. Among the states leading this effort are Massachusetts, Washington, Missouri, and Vermont. In fact, New Jersey DOT jointly developed the Smart Transportation Guidebook with PennDOT and the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission.
Where can I find more information?
The Smart Transportation Guidebook provides technical guidance for standards and approaches related to traffic engineering and design. This website touches on the various aspects of Smart Transportation, provides information on where to access technical planning and design information related to it, and includes project examples illustrating how Smart Transportation can be applied.
Each PennDOT office has a contact person for Smart Transportation issues and questions. In Central Office, the main point of contact is Brian Hare, Division Chief of the Design Services Division. He can be reached at 717.783.6418, bhare@state.pa.us. Within each of the district offices, the contact person is the ADE for Design. Click here for your District’s ADE for Design.