Strategic Plan (PDF format)

Strategic Plan (Word format)

The following is a excerpt from the Strategic Plan. Please select from one of the links above to view the complete text.

The theme of this Center is Decision-Making and Management of Transportation Systems. It reflects the commitment to provide local, state, and federal transportation providers with increased capability to produce improved transportation decisions and with the information and research resources to better manage transportation systems (including public transit) and transportation investments. The theme is consistent with DOT's Research and Development Plan and with strategic research goals articulated by TRB and Caltrans, as well as DOT's "Framework for a National Freight Policy." All of these documents call for greater research emphasis on system performance, operational efficiencies, analysis of costs and benefits, use of information systems, institutional and governance issues

TRB's 'Critical Issues in Transportation, 2005" highlights the need to expedite "a decision-making process that has become slow and cumbersome" and goes on to state, "fragmented authorities and structures for decision-making and regulation inhibit the ability to address problems in highways, waterways, public transit, railroads, air transportation, and pipelines from a systems perspective."

The Inland Empire area of Region 9 is one of the fastest growing areas of the country, consisting primarily of Riverside and San Bernardino Counties, the two largest counties in the country. With a combined population of 4 million people, the area is experiencing severe transportation challenges.

In addition to dealing with rapid population and job growth, Southern California and in particular the Inland Empire also must deal with the rapidly expanding growth of port related cargo crossing through the area. Over two thirds of the total volume of containers imported through the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach (40% of all container movements in the United States are transported though these ports) leave Southern California to be consumed in other states. The air pollution, congestion, maintenance, and capacity impacts on the area's transportation system are profound. On the positive side, the logistics industry is providing many new jobs in the Inland Empire and Southern California.

Considerable transportation infrastructure is under construction with project management provided by a combination of agencies, most particularly Caltrans and Regional Transportation Agencies (such as SANBAG and RCTC in the Inland Empire). Funding for such projects comes from both state allocations of the portions of the state and federal gas tax) and increasingly from a local county ½ cent sales tax imposed by the voters in both counties. There are seven bus transit operating agencies in the Inland Empire and a commuter rail system (Metrolink) which is operated by a five county joint powers agency.

In this context the Inland Empire is an ideal laboratory for a UTC to build transportation educational resources and to study and analyze the processes of decision-making and management of transportation systems.

Decision-making: The transportation decision-making process in Southern California is undoubtedly one of the most complex in the nation. The present mix of decision-making authority among the key institutions (Caltrans, California Transportation Commission, Southern California Association of Government (the MPO for all of Southern California), the Regional Authorities (such RCTC, SANBAG, Orange County Transportation Commission, and the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Commission) and the public transit agencies is not always clear. Projects of system-wide impact and need (meaning all of Southern California) do not necessarily receive the same level of support (or any support at all) in one county vs. another with the result often being no decision at all. Resolution of the goods movement issues is also evasive because decisions made by the private sector users (such as the shippers and railroads) have a critical impact on efficiency of the public transportation system. Such decisions are normally made independently without consultation or collaboration with other users. There is not an adequate institution encompassing all relevant public and private interests which is a focal point for negotiation and decision-making. In addition various state and federal planning, funding and operational regulations and legislation add complexity and often confusion.

For all of these reasons a focus on transportation decision-making with emphasis on documenting present shortcomings and making suggestion for changes is a priority, not only for the Inland Empire but in all likelihood for most other urban and urbanizing areas throughout the country.

Management: With declining transportation resources the efficient management of the transportation system and transportation construction projects becomes even more critical. New wireless information sensors and systems such as GIS (Geographic Information Systems) and GPS (Global Positioning Systems) could be used to a greater extent to manage transportation facilities and operations. Though there is much discussion about use of performance measures implementation has been sporadic. Accelerated design and construction concepts, such as design-sequencing and design-build, have often met resistance. Operational issues, such as security, routing, congestion, air pollution concerning the flow of goods after leaving the air and sea ports are becoming more critical. The role and impact of public transit, though small now, merits attention as a possible way to reduce congestion. Time-of-day priced toll lanes have shown promise to increase traffic through-put and other market-based management tools may be appropriate.

Management issues affecting project delivery are becoming more convoluted. Though the regulations affecting project funding, development, and construction were created with good intent, the maze of federal and state regulations often create expensive and unnecessary barriers to the construction of transportation facilities. There are gaps in transportation information available to inform decision makers. It is envisioned that the theme Decision-Making and Management of Transportation Systems will facilitate a disciplined focus on an array of local and national issues, many of which have not received much attention from the academic community. With transportation employment increasing in Southern California, developing more undergraduate and graduate educational opportunities is imperative. Research in various aspects of transportation decision-making and management is clearly needed, and equally an aggressive program to increase the ability of the stakeholder agencies and companies to make use of this information is essential.

Though the Inland Empire is our natural laboratory the issues we will address affect many other parts of the State and Nation. The San Bernardino Center will address our theme from a local, regional, state, and national perspective.

Director's vision is that the Center will become the regional resource for preparing new professionals in transportation careers and to provide information and assistance to transportation participants and stakeholders to meet regional, state, and national transportation needs. We intend to achieve this by:

• Increasing the number of transportation related courses and developing a transportation curriculum.
• Recruiting new students to CSUSB who have an interest in transportation and transportation related curriculum.
• Implementing a research identification and information process to disseminate and transfer data on transportation system enhancements that is driven by the needs of practicing professionals including: regional and state transportation agencies (both highway and transit), private stakeholders in the transportation community and the DOT research priorities.
• Becoming known as a "neutral" table around which diverse viewpoints can be reconciled to better deal with the increasing complexity and challenges of providing mobility.
• Educating the public at all levels about transportation issues and solutions; and provide resources and support in developing greater collaboration on transportation issues facing Southern California and the Inland Empire.

It is the Director's observation, after completing a career in public management, that most transportation agencies and many in the transportation private sector have a great deal to contribute to the process of building a research agenda which reflect real needs and have reasonable possibilities of being implemented. However, the process of obtaining such research ideas from operating agencies is usually cursory and does not go deep enough for research problem statements to reflect the specific needs of such agencies. It is the intent of this Center to develop a research agenda which aligns as closely as possible with the most serious research needs of transportation agencies and organizations, both public and private.

An Advisory Board representing a cross section of federal, state, regional, and private participants will be established. In addition great emphasis will be placed on maintaining contact with public and private stakeholders both in the development of our research agenda and with the implementation and transfer of research results. The UTC will become "facilitative" in emphasis in order to directly assist decision-making and management of transportation systems.

In the longer term it is envisioned that additional private and university resources will be made available. The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) will provide the required matching funds. A substantial trust gift to the Center has already been received, though these resources are not yet available.