Integrated State and Local Government Policy Approaches to Transportation and Climate Change: Summary of the Executive Peer Exchange

The American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO), the Center for Clean Air Policy (CCAP), and the Rockefeller Foundation organized an executive level peer exchange meeting where representatives from five states (California, Florida, Maryland, Missouri and Washington) could compare notes and discuss how states can better implement Green House Gas (GHG)-reducing transportation projects and policies. Each participating state was invited to assemble a team of partners and stakeholders to bring to the meeting; teams consisted of executive level officials from state departments of transportation (DOTs), executives from state environmental agencies, metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), local government and other stakeholders that work with DOTs on climate issues. It was hoped that gathering this diverse group of thinkers in an informal peer exchange setting would generate answers to some of the tricky problems that states are facing. Ultimately, the goal was to discuss these answers and convert them into transferable lessons that could be used across the country by state, regional and local transportation officials. The emphasis of this workshop was limited to strategies for slowing growth of vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and improving system efficiency. Within this scope, the workshop set out to examine GHG reduction strategies for state, regional and local transportation agencies, as well as determine the need for funding and technical assistance at all levels. Team members had two days (September 9-10, 2009) to concentrate on climate change issues and bounce ideas off practitioners from their own and other states. This report documents the findings that arose from the many discussions and collaborations in the workshop.