Before leaving his post as Secretary of Transportation, Anthony Foxx issued a regulation that could, if implemented, profoundly affect surface transportation: The National Performance Management Measures; Assessing Performance of the National Highway System, Freight Movement on the Interstate System, and Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program. The regulation made several changes that help broaden the types of travel that states have to consider. First, both the National Highway Performance Program (NHPP) and the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) rule now include consideration of reduction in CO2 emissions caused by the highway system. Second, the NHPP measure now considers “person-miles” traveled, rather than just vehicle miles traveled. Third, the CMAQ performance rule includes a measure of how many people travel by modes other than a single-occupancy vehicle.
With the new rule, FHWA is looking to transportation planners on the state level and in major metropolitan areas to consider all types of travel as they attempt to relieve traffic congestion and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. See: https://bit.ly/2qcKHHp
