American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) – This is a standards setting organization which publishes specifications, tests protocols and provides guidelines which are used in highway design and construction. http://www.transportation.org
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) – Regulations governing needed improvements to infrastructure to assure access to all. https://www.ada.gov/
Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations (AMPO) – This is a non-profit organization which serves the needs and interests of “metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) nationwide. AMPO offers its members technical assistance and training, conferences and workshops, frequent print and electronic communications, research, as well as a forum for transportation policy development and coalition building. http://www.ampo.org/
Average Daily Traffic – The average number of vehicles passing a specific point in a 24-hour period, often measured throughout a year. It is a standard measurement for vehicle traffic-load on a segment of road and is used when making transportation planning decisions. http://www.rfats.org/rfats-study-area-traffic-volumes/
Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) – A high quality transit-system that delivers fast, comfortable, and cost-effective services. It does this through the provision of dedicated lanes, with busways and stations placed in an exclusive right of way separated from other traffic, with fast and frequent operations.
Capital Improvements Program (CIP) – A short-range plan identifying capital project needs providing a planning schedule and financing options.
Carbon Monoxide (CO) – A colorless, odorless, tasteless gas formed in large part by incomplete combustion of fuel. Human activities such as transportation or industrial processes are largely the source for CO emissions.
Categorical Exlusion (CE) – One of three types of environmental documentation under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-national-environmental-policy-act
Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) – This agency operates the CATS 82 express bus route from downtown Rock Hill to the Charlotte Transportation Center. This service is available Monday through Friday during the morning and evening peak periods. Currently established stops include the White Street parking lot in downtown Rock Hill, Manchester Village, Baxter Village, and Cabela’s Drive (Carowinds). http://charlottenc.gov/cats/Pages/default.aspx
Charlotte Regional Alliance for Transportation (CRAFT) – A working group of the four MPOs and two RPOs in the greater Charlotte region created to enhance communication among planning agencies, promote awareness of regional concerns, and coordinate planning activities to achieve operational outcomes. Members include: Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization, Cabarrus Rowan MPO, Gaston-Cleveland-Lincoln MPO, Rock Hill-Fort Mill Area Transportation Study, and Rocky River RPO.
Citizens Advisory Commitee (CAC) – This committee is one of the three standing committees of RFATS and provides input and review of the transportation planning process and project recommendations. Members include representatives from all jurisdictional members as well as at-large members representing those traditionally underserved by the transportation system. http://www.rfats.org/rfats-committees/
Clean Air Act (CAA) – The law governing the protection and improvement of the nation’s air quality. The last major change in the law occurred with the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. Legislation passed since then has made several minor changes as well. https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-clean-air-act
Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Program (CMAQ) – This grant program provides funding for projects and activities which improve air quality. To be eligible for CMAQ funding, projects cannot add roadway capacity and must favorably impact aggregate emission levels. http://www.rfats.org/rfats-congestion-mitigation-and-air-quality-improvement-program/
Coordination – The comparison of the transportation plans, programs, and schedules among planning agencies within a region to achieve general consistency and effective operational outcomes.
Council of Governments (COG) – Public organizations that provide assistance to local governments, and carry out a number of federal and state programs covering a range of planning activity (i.e., intergovernmental cooperation, grants management, economic development, workforce investment, etc.). The Catawba Regional Council of Governments is an association of South Carolina local governments in Chester, Lancaster, Union, and York Counties. http://catawbacog.org/
Dedicated Funding Sources – A funding source that, by law, is available for use only to support a specific purpose and cannot be diverted to other uses. Examples range from the Highway Trust Fund to local sales taxes.
Discretionary Funds – Any funds whose distribution is not automatic. Decisions on the distribution of discretionary funds are usually made by an agency in accordance with criteria set out by law or regulations.
Department of Transportation (SCDOT) – The South Carolina Department of Transportation is the government agency which oversees the maintenance and construction of roads and bridges as well as provides technical assistance and funding support for public transportation. http://www.dot.state.sc.us/
Emissions Budget – The allowable emissions levels for certain pollutants emitted from mobile, stationary and area sources. The emissions levels are used for meeting emission reduction milestones, as well as attainment or maintenance area demonstration.
Environmental Assessment (EA) – One of three types of environmental documentation under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) – One of three types of environmental documentation under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). An EIS is an environmental document that serves as an important decision making tool. It provides a full and fair discussion of significant environmental impacts, and outlines the reasonable alternatives which would avoid or minimize adverse impacts or enhance the quality of the environment.
Environmental Justice (EJ) – Assures that services and benefits allow for meaningful participation and are fairly distributed to all within a planning area. A 1994 Presidential Executive Order directed every Federal agency to make environmental justice part of its mission (See Title VI).
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) – The agency of the federal government responsible for protecting human health and the environment. https://www3.epa.gov/
Evaluation Criteria – A process developed as part of the programming process for evaluating the relative merits of projects.
Expenditure – Any allowable expense actually incurred in implementing a particular capital, operating or capital program.
FAST Act – A federal law which provides long-term funding for surface transportation infrastructure planning and investment. The FAST Act is the principal funding authorization for fiscal years 2016 through 2020. For more detailed information, please visit the following website. https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/fastact/
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) – The FAA is primarily responsible for the advancement, safety and regulation of civil aviation. https://www.faa.gov/
Federal-aid Highways – Those highways eligible for assistance under Title 12, U.S.C., except those functionally classified as local or rural minor collector roads.
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) – An agency of the U.S. Department of Transportation with jurisdiction over highways. https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/
Fiscally Constrained – Both the long range transportation plan (LRTP) and the short term transportation improvement program (TIP) are required to be based on financial plans that are fiscally constrained, which means that these documents can only contain projects for which it is determined that funding sources are reasonably available over the life of the plan to pay for both the capital and operating cost of proposed improvements.
Flexible Funds – Money that can be invested in a range of transportation projects that is not limited to one mode or another. Examples include Surface Transportation Program and the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Program.
FONSI – Finding of No Significant Impact, issued by the responsible federal agency at the close of an Environmental Assessment (EA) indicating that a proposed project will not have a significant environmental impact.
Formula Funds – Funds distributed or apportioned to qualifying recipients on the basis of formulas described in law or regulations.
Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) – The Federal Railroad Administration is one of ten agencies within the U.S. Department of Transportation concerned with intermodal transportation. The FRA promulgates and enforces rail safety regulations, administers railroad assistance programs, conducts research and development in support of improved railroad safety and national rail transportation policy, provides for the rehabilitation of rail passenger service, and consolidates government support of rail transportation activities. http://www.fra.dot.gov/Page/P0001
Federal Transit Administration (FTA) – The Federal Transit Administration provides financial and technical assistance to local public transit systems, including buses, subways, light rail, commuter rail, trolleys and ferries. FTA also oversees safety measures and helps develop next-generation technology research. https://cms.fta.dot.gov/
Geographic Information System (GIS) – A computer-based data management tool used for mapping, storing, retrieving, analyzing and displaying geographic data.
Highway Performance Monitoring System (HPMS) – A national level highway information system that includes data on the extent, performance, use and operating characteristics of the nation’s highways. The HPMS contains administrative and extent of system information on all public roads, while information on other characteristics is represented in HPMS as a mix of universe and sample data for arterial and collector functional systems. https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/hpms.cfm
Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) – Advanced applications which, without embodying intelligence as such, aim to provide innovative services relating to different modes of transport and traffic management and enable various users to be better informed and make safer and more coordinated use of transportation networks. Examples of ITS include signal timing, electronic message boards, real-time travel information and automated vehicle locators (used by transit systems). http://www.its.dot.gov/
Least Environmentally Damaging Practicable Alternative (LEDPA) – Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) requires a permit for the discharge of “dredged or fill materials” into “waters of the United States”. To construct any project involving the discharge of dredged or fill material into U.S. waters, one must obtain a 404 permit from the United States Army Corps of Engineers.
Level of Service (LOS) – A qualitative assessment of a road’s operating condition, generally described using a scale of A (Free Flow Traffic); B (Steady Traffic); C (Steady Traffic but Limited); D (Steady Traffic at High Density); E (Traffic at Saturation); and F (Congestion).
Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) – A 20 year forecast plan required at both the metropolitan and state level, which must consider a wide range of social, environmental, energy and economic factors in determining overall regional goals and how transportation can best meet these goals.
MAP-21 – A federal law which created a streamlined and performance-based surface transportation program and built on many of the highway, transit, bike, and pedestrian programs and policies established in 1991 with SAFETEA-LU. MAP-21 funded surface transportation programs at over $105 billion for fiscal years 2013 through 2014. To allow more time for development and consideration of a long-term reauthorization of surface transportation programs, Congress enacted short term extensions of the expiring law until 2016 when the FAST Act was passed. https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/map21/
Maintenance Area (MA) – Any geographic region of the United States designated non-attainment pursuant to the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, and subsequently redesignated to attainment subject to requirements of an approved maintenance plan under section 175A of the Clean Air Act as amended. https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-clean-air-act
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) – A formal agreement between two or more parties that expresses a convergence of will between the parties, indicating an intended common line of action.
Metropolitan Planning Area (MPA) – The geographic area in which the metropolitan transportation planning process, as required by 23 U.S.C. 134 and Section 8 of the Federal Transit Act must be carried out.
MOVES – EPA’s Emission Factor Model that calculates in-use fleet emission factors for three criteria pollutants including hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and oxides of nitrogen. The model calculates emission factors under a wide variety of conditions affecting in-use emission levels, e.g., ambient temperatures, average traffic speeds, etc.
Multi-Modal – Refers to the availability of multiple transportation options, especially within a system. A multi-modal approach to transportation planning focuses on the most efficient way of getting people or goods from place to place by truck, train, bicycle, automobile, airplane, bus, boat, foot or even a computer modem.
National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) – The standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency, which a metropolitan area must meet for various pollutants in order to be considered an attainment area.
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) – This act was signed into law and established a national environmental policy intentionally focused on Federal activities and the desire for a sustainable environment balanced with other essential needs of present and future generations of in mind.
National Highway System (NHS) – Approximately 160,000 mile network consisting of 42,500 miles of the Interstate system, plus other key roads and arterials throughout the United States. Designated by Congress in 1995 pursuant to a requirement of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act, the NHS is designed to provide an interconnected system of principal routes to serve major travel destinations and population centers.
Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) – An irritant gas that is created during the combustion of fuel when nitrogen combines with oxygen atoms, which then further combines with oxygen to create NO2. NOx is typically not considered to be hazardous to health at typical ambient concentrations, but NO2 can be. NOx gases react to form smog and acid rain as well as being central to the formation of fine particles and ground level ozone, both of which are associated with adverse health effects.
Nonattainment Area (NAA) – Any geographic region of the United States that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has designated as a nonattainment area for a transportation-related pollutant for which a National Ambient Air Quality Standard exists.
Ozone (O3) – A colorless gas, it is a secondary pollutant formed when VOCs and NOx combine in the presence of sunlight. It is associated with smog or haze conditions.
Particulate Matter (PM) – The mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets found in the air that come in many sizes and shapes and can be made up of hundreds of different chemicals. Some particles are emitted directly from a source such as construction sites or fires, while some form in the atmosphere as a result of complex reactions of chemicals such as nitrogen oxides that are released as pollutants from industries and automobiles. PM10 are inhalable particles, with diameters that are generally 10 micrometers and smaller. PM2.5 are fine inhalable particles, with diameters that are generally 2.5 micrometers and smaller.
Policy Committee – The RFATS planning process is guided by a Policy Committee designated as the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) by the Governor of South Carolina. The RFATS Policy Committee is made up of twelve (12) voting members. http://www.rfats.org/rfats-committees/
Public Participation Plan – The PPP is designed to provide direction for public participation activities to be conducted throughout the MPO boundary area and contains the vision, objectives and techniques used by RFATS for public participation. http://www.rfats.org/public-participation-plan/
Programming – A process required under Federal stature and regulations (23 CFR Part 450) for developing a staged, prioritized, fiscally constrained, multi-year, intermodal program of projects for funding, consistent with the long range transportation plan. States and local laws may also impose programming requirements that have to be coordinated with the Federal effort.
Record of Decision (ROD) – The final step in the EIS process; identifying the selected alternative and presents the basis for the decision. This action also identifies all the alternatives considered, specifies the “environmentally preferred alternative” and provides information on the adopted means to avoid, minimize and compensate for any environmental impacts.
Regionally Significant – A project that is on a facility which serves regional transportation needs (such as access to and from the area outside of the region, major activity centers, major planned developments such as new retail malls, sports complexes, etc., or transportation terminals) and would normally be included in the modeling of a metropolitan area’s transportation network, including as a minimum, all principal arterial highways and all fixed guideway transit facilities that offer a significant alternative to regional highway travel.
Rural Planning Organization (RPO) – An RPO works cooperatively with the Department of Transportation and local officials to enhance transportation planning opportunities for rural areas in the region. RPOs are responsible for developing comprehensive transportation plans, providing transportation data to local governments, developing and prioritizing transportation projects, and providing a forum for public involvement.
Safe Accountable Flexible and Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) – A federal law that built upon the firm foundation of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA) and the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) which provided funding and refined the programmatic framework for investments needed to maintain and grow the vital transportation infrastructure of the United States. SAFETEA-LU guaranteed funding for highways, highway safety, and public transportation totaling $244.1 billion for fiscal years 2005 through 2009. To allow more time for development and consideration of a long-term reauthorization of surface transportation programs, Congress enacted short term extensions of the expiring law until 2012. https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/safetealu/summary.htm
Section 5307 Funding – Urbanized Area Formula Funding provided by the Federal Transit Administration to urbanized areas supporting transit capital and operating assistance project planning. For more detailed information, please visit the FTA website. https://www.transit.dot.gov/funding/grants/urbanized-area-formula-grants-5307
Single Occupancy Vehicle (SOV) – A vehicle designed to accommodate more than one person, but often utilized for transporting a single person. A single occupancy vehicle commute is a trip to or from a daily destination by an individual alone in a vehicle. When compared to ride sharing, car-pooling, or transit, single occupancy vehicle commutes contribute more greenhouse gas emissions and lessen the efficiency of the transportation system.
South Carolina State Infrastructure Bank (SIB) – The South Carolina Transportation Infrastructure Bank was created with the purpose of focusing greater attention on large transportation projects. The purpose of the Bank is to select and assist in financing major qualified projects by providing loans and other financial assistance for constructing and improving highway and transportation facilities necessary for public purposes including economic development. https://sctib.sc.gov/
Sulfur Oxide(s) (Sox) – Compounds of sulfur and oxygen molecules that are produced by burning fuels containing sulfur or by roasting metal sulfide ores. Thermal power plants burning high-sulfur coal or heating oil are generally the main sources of anthropogenic sulfur oxides emissions worldwide, followed by industrial boilers and nonferrous metal smelters. Emissions from domestic coal burning and from vehicles can also contribute to high local ambient concentrations of sulfur oxides.
Stakeholders – Any group of individuals or organizations who are involved in the programming process whether that involvement is required by statute or regulation or simply because that individual has an interest in the outcome of the process.
Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) – A staged, multiyear, statewide intermodal program of transportation projects which is consistent with the statewide transportation plan and planning processes as well as metropolitan plans and TIPs. http://www.dot.state.sc.us/inside/stip.aspx
Surface Transportation Program (STP) – A funding program which provides flexible funds for highway and transit modes as well as for transportation enhancements.
Technical Team – The Technical Team includes staff from each of the municipalities within the RFATS Study Area; specifically, York County, the Town of Fort Mill, the Catawba Indian Nation, the City of Tega Cay, and the panhandle of Lancaster County. Additionally, there are representatives from the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT), the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the Federal Transit Administration and the Catawba Regional Council of Governments (CRCOG). http://www.rfats.org/rfats-committees/
Travel Demand Management (TDM) – The application of strategies and policies to reduce travel demand, or to redistribute this demand in space or in time. Managing both the growth of and periodic shifts in traffic demand are necessary elements of managing traffic congestion. If traffic demand is not managed, the performance of the transportation system will be adversely affected. http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/tdm/
Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 1998 (TIFIA) – A program established which authorizes the USDOT to provide secured (direct) loans, lines of credit and loan guarantees to public and private sponsors of eligible surface transportation projects.
Title VI – RFATS assures that no person shall, on the grounds of race, color, or national origin, as provided by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be otherwise subjected to discrimination under any program or activity. RFATS further assures that every effort will be made to ensure nondiscrimination in all of its programs and activities, whether those programs and activities are federally funded or not. In the event the MPO distributes federal aid funds to another governmental entity, RFATS will include Title VI language in all written agreements and will monitor for compliance. http://www.rfats.org/civil-rightstitle-vi/
Transportation Enhancement Activities (TEA) – A funding category for transportation projects that enhance the compatibility of transportation facilities with their surroundings. Examples of TEA projects include bicycle and pedestrian paths.
Transit Feasibility Study – A study undertaken to assess whether local transit services are appropriate local operating conditions.
Transportation Control Measures (TCM) – Actions that may be taken by state or local units of government related to the transportation system and compliance with the National Ambient Air Quality Standards.
Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) – A staged, prioritized, multi-year intermodal program of transportation projects, prepared in each metropolitan area, which is consistent with that area’s metropolitan transportation plan. Each metropolitan TIP is incorporated in its entirety into the STIP. http://www.rfats.org/wp-content/uploads/FY-2017-2022-TIP-Formal-Document.pdf
Transportation Management Area (TMA) – An urbanized area with a population over 200,000 (as determined by the latest decennial census) or other area when TMA designation is requested by the Governor and the MPO (or affected local officials), and officially designated by FHWA and FTA. The TMA designation applies to the entire metropolitan planning area or metropolitan planning areas.
Transportation Performance Management (TPM) – FHWA defines Transportation Performance Management as a strategic approach that uses system information to make investment and policy decisions to achieve national and performance goals. Transportation Performance Management is systematically applied, is a regular ongoing process, provides key information to help decision makers allowing them to understand the consequences of investment decisions across transportation assets or modes, improving communications between decision makers and stakeholders and the traveling public, and ensures targets and measures are developed in cooperative partnerships and based on data and objective information. https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/tpm/
Transportation System Management (TSM) – A planning tool that increases efficiency of the transportation system by using technology to minimize the effects of vehicle congestion.
Trust Funds – Accounts established by law to hold receipts that are collected by the Federal Government and earmarked for specific purposes and programs. These receipts are not available for the general purposes of the Federal Government. The Highway Trust Fund is comprised of receipts from certain highway taxes (e.g., excise taxes on motor fuel, rubber, and heavy vehicles) and reserved for use for highway construction, mass transportation, and related purposes.
Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) – A document produced biennially by the MPO to describe all transportation related planning activities that will be carried out during this planning period.
United States Code (USC) – 23 USC 134 is the part of the USC that governs the metropolitan transportation planning process.
Urbanized Area (UZA) – A census classification for areas having a population of 50,000 or more which meets certain population density requirements.
Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) – The total number of miles driven by all vehicles within a given time period and geographic area. It is used by regional transportation and environmental agencies for planning purposes.
Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) – Emitted as gasses from certain solids or liquids, VOCs include a variety of chemicals, some of which may have short- and long-term adverse health effects.
Volume to Capacity Ratio (V / C) – A ratio of volume to capacity; a ratio >1 indicates the facility is carrying more traffic than it can handle and improvements may be needed.
York County Access – Demand Response transportation service which provides a flexible transit alternative for localized trips. For more detailed information, please click on the following link. http://www.rfats.org/wp-content/uploads/ycabrochure_rev.pdf
Zero Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) – A vehicle that emits no tailpipe pollutants from the onboard source of power.