Step 2: Goals, Objectives & Performance Tracking - The Intent

Why Establish Goals and Objectives 

How a jurisdiction defines and addresses transportation system needs through planning should reflect community priorities. These priorities are typically reflected in transportation goals and objectives. Goals provide direction for where a community would like to go; corresponding objectives provide more detail on how to achieve the goal or desired specific outcomes related to the goal. TSP goals and objectives provide a framework for shaping transportation policies and are the basis for the formulation of performance measures and targets. Using goals and objectives as a framework helps define gaps and deficiencies as well as evaluation criteria to determine which transportation projects, programs, pilot projects, and refinement studies best meet community needs. 

Goals and objectives should:

• Articulate community transportation priorities
• Define how the transportation system should ideally function
• Form the basis for developing criteria to evaluate and select preferred infrastructure improvements
• Be the basis for comprehensive plan transportation policy statements
  
  

Specifically, jurisdictions should consider the following in the new or updated TSP planning goals and objectives:

• Transportation-related objectives and outcomes from past planning studies and adopted plans (e.g., downtown plans, hazard mitigation plans, hospital or health department community health assessments and improvement plans, consolidated housing and community development plans, health impact assessments, Americans with Disabilities Act transition plans, access management plans, corridor studies, special transportation area plans).
  
• Regional priorities, performance measures, and targets (e.g., safety, reduction in household-based VMT per capita, transit service, mobility, level of traffic stress, equity) especially in metropolitan areas as described in the Regional TSP.
• Consistency with the goals, objectives, and operational and service standards of other transportation service providers that manage facilities and provide service to the community (e.g., ODOT, the county, transit providers).
  
• Alignment with federal, state, and metropolitan planning organization policies
• New transportation-related policy objectives, modeling, management, and design techniques and approaches that were not prevalent or known during the last TSP planning process. These policies could reflect current trends (e.g., bicycle tourism, micromobility) and/or current best practices within one or more modes.