Indiana Trails Behind in Measuring Performance of Transportation Dollars

WASHINGTON, May 11, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Indiana spent $2.82 billion
on transportation in fiscal year 2010, yet the state cannot answer critical
questions about what returns this investment is generating in the areas of jobs
and commerce, access, environmental stewardship and infrastructure preservation,
according to a report by the Pew Center on the States and the Rockefeller
Foundation. The state leads the way in measuring transportation’s impact on the
key goals of safety and mobility.But overall, it trails behind other states in
having the essential tools–goals, performance measures and data–needed to help
decision makers choose more cost-effective transportation funding and policy
options.

Most states are entering their fourth year of the ongoing budget crisis, having
closed more than $400 billion in budget gaps since 2008. Indiana, for example,
faced a $1.3 billion gap in fiscal year 2011. At the same time, policy and
business leaders across the country are acknowledging that states’
transportation systems are essential to helping advance short- and long-term
economic growth. Additionally, some members of Congress are proposing that the
next surface transportation authorization act, the law that governs the largest
federal funding streams for states’ transportation systems, more closely tie
dollars to performance.

The report, Measuring Transportation Investments: The Road to Results, found
considerable differences among the 50 states and the District of Columbia in
linking transportation systems to six key goals particularly important to
states’ economic well-being and taxpayers’ quality of life: safety, jobs and
commerce, mobility, access, environmental stewardship and infrastructure
preservation.

Indiana presents goals, performance measures and useful, timely data in tracking
transportation’s progress in the areas of safety and mobility, but it lacks this
detailed information for other critical goals. In infrastructure preservation,
for example, the state reports data on road and bridge conditions, but it does
not provide targets for benchmarking its progress. When it comes to jobs and
commerce, the state’s 10-year Major Moves program prioritizes projects based on
the goals of efficiency, safety, economic development and customer input, and
performance measures include congestion relief and jobs created. But although
the program is described in the state’s long-range plan and it maintains a Web
site showing progress, it does not provide examples of how the data affect
project prioritization.

Just 13 states–California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Minnesota,
Missouri, Montana, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Washington–have goals,
performance measures and data for their transportation systems that policy
makers can use to advance economic competitiveness, improve access to jobs, help
residents and tourists move about more efficiently and mitigate the effects
transportation has on the environment. Indiana and 18 other states trail behind,
lacking a full array of tools needed to account for the return on investment in
their roads, highways, bridges and bus and rail systems. The remaining 18 states
and Washington, DC, fall someplace in between, with mixed results.

“Indiana lawmakers should make transportation policy and spending choices based
on evidence about what works and what does not,” said Robert Zahradnik, director
of research, Pew Center on the States. “Unless states have clear goals,
performance measures and data to generate that information, it is very difficult
for policy makers to prioritize transportation investments effectively, target
scare resources and help foster economic growth.”

“The American public expects leaders to manage our transportation investment
with an eye toward performance and results. In fact, in our recent Rockefeller
Foundation Infrastructure Survey, 90 percent favored strengthening policies that
hold government accountable for collecting data and ensuring that investments
fit into an overall plan that is on time and on budget,” said Nicholas Turner,
Rockefeller Foundation managing director. “This report, which comes at a time
when performance and outcomes are such critical pieces of the transportation
policy debate, provides both examples of how a handful of states do this well
and how many others still have a long road ahead of them.”

States were assessed based on a review of more than 800 performance, planning
and budget documents. They were rated on one of three levels–leading the way,
having mixed results or trailing behind–for each of the six key goals. Each
state also was given an overall rating.

The six key goals are:

— Safety: This is the area in which states are doing the best job of
measuring performance and responding to results. Every state, including
Indiana, and Washington, DC, has goals and compiles data on indicators
such as fatalities and crashes.
— Jobs and commerce: Conversely, only 16 states earn top marks for
progress in measuring their transportation systems’ impact on jobs and
commerce. Some have begun to develop methods to connect transportation
dollars more closely to this important goal. Indiana shows mixed results
in this area.
— Mobility:Twenty-eight states–including Indiana–and Washington, DC, are
leading the way in measuring how well they connect people to their
destinations–using the information to combat congestion and manage
accidents and other incidents that affect traffic flow.
— Access: Half the states and Washington, DC, are leading the way in
collecting and tracking information about the availability and use of
transportation options such as public transit, including those that link
workers and employers. Indiana shows mixed results.
— Environmental stewardship:Indiana, 33 other states and Washington, DC,
show mixed results or are trailing behind in having the goals,
performance measures or data in place to assess how their transportation
systems affect the environment.
— Infrastructure preservation: More than three-quarters of states earn top
marks for having needed information to assess their progress and make
smart decisions in this area. Indiana shows mixed results in this area.

The report describes policies and practices lawmakers can adopt to collect and
use information that can improve taxpayers’ return on investment in states’
transportation systems, even in difficult fiscal times. Among them:

— Enact or improve performance measurement legislation.At both the federal
and state levels, legislation can seek to mandate or incentivize states
to go beyond simply collecting information and actually use it to make
important transportation policy and funding choices. For instance, in
some cases, budget requests are tied to submission of performance data.
— Develop an appropriations process that makes better use of data.States
need to develop more comprehensive systems to ensure that policy makers
are asking for and using solid information in their deliberations about
transportation spending. Some Connecticut legislators, for example, use
data from agencies’ past performance, including demonstrated
accomplishments, before they make new funding choices.
— Increase the use of cost-benefit and other types of economic analysis in
making transportation decisions. Economic analysis can be valuable in
assessing the cost effectiveness or economic impact of a proposed
transportation project. Missouri, for example, estimates the number of
jobs that may be created by proposed transportation projects. The state
also estimates job creation by specific industry. This method can help
inform decisions about transportation investments.

The full report and fact sheets for each state are available at:
www.pewcenteronthestates.org/transportation.

Video Footage Available
Sound bites from Pew spokespeople and b-roll footage are available from these
sources:

— Pathfire VNF Provider A Slug: PEW REPORT ON STATE TRANSPORTATION
o Satellite – Wednesday, May 11th:
o KU Digital: Galaxy 19 Transponder 13 Channel C D/L: 11969 Vertical
FEC: 3/4
o Symbol Rate: 6.113 Data Rate: 8.448 Audio: 6.2/6.8
o C Band Analog: Galaxy 19 Transponder 13 D/L: 3960 Vertical Audio:
6.2/6.8

1:00 – 1:15 p.m. ET, Sound Bites for: CT, DE, FL, MA, MD, NC, NJ, NY, PA, RI
2:00 – 2:15 p.m. ET, Sound Bites for: IN, MI, TN, WV, IL, MN
4:00 – 4:15 p.m. ET, Sound Bites for: AZ, CA, CO, OR, WA

Pew Center on the States
The Pew Center on the States is a division of The Pew Charitable Trusts that
identifies and advances effective solutions to critical issues facing states.
Pew is a nonprofit organization that applies a rigorous, analytical approach to
improve public policy, inform the public and stimulate civic
life.www.pewcenteronthestates.org.

The Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation fosters innovative solutions to many of the world’s
most pressing challenges, affirming its mission, since 1913, to “promote the
well-being” of humanity. Today, the Foundation works to ensure that more people
can tap into the benefits of globalization while strengthening resilience to its
risks.www.rockefellerfoundation.org.

SOURCE Pew Center on the States