The Congress’s current debate over infrastructure funding has several communities and their transportation systems excited and a bit anxious. State Departments of Transportation, urban and rural communities, and transit systems are all waiting on the final outcome with hopes that they will be able to make significant investments in their infrastructure.
The potential pool of revenue means projects of all shapes and scale around the country will start to come online once an infrastructure bill is resolved. This is generally a good thing, but TransPro is curious about the decision making process behind those investment decisions.
Are public agencies planning capital investments aligned with a strategic plan? Are they asking questions about the outcomes they truly intend to achieve?
Strategic Planning means an organization has established prioritized outcomes that define success. We think this means capital programming should be aligned around investments in those outcomes. Here are some examples of public agencies that have or are currently leveraging a focus on strategic plan outcomes to drive capital investment decisions:
- KCATA (Kansas City Area Transportation Authority) is developing a plan today with the outcomes of improving access to jobs, housing, education, and healthcare. Based on their strategic plan, the OneRideKC regional transit plan will define an infrastructure program oriented to strategic outcomes.
- CATS (Charlotte Area Transit System) more than a decade ago leveraged its transit capital program to enable the region’s growth and development plan. The community had a vision for growth and development, THEN determined what infrastructure would enable that.
- TARTA (Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority) has defined success and is aligning their budgets and capital planning around improving customer experience and increasing community value. They are now on the verge of an historic investment in their infrastructure.
Outcomes oriented capital investment, based on a strategic plan, provides a foundation for effective communication and enables long-term community support to achieve meaningful transformation with capital investment dollars. This means a better understanding of the value of public investments, and impactful outcomes that produce breakthrough results.
