Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization

The MPO developed criteria to make the process of evaluating and selecting highway projects for programming in the TIP both more logical and transparent. There are three tiers of criteria:

Threshold criteria that a project must satisfy to be considered for TIP programming
Comparative-evaluation criteria for prioritizing projects
Readiness criteria for determining whether a project is prepared for programming

These three types of criteria are explained below.

Threshold Criteria
Each major regional project must be consistent with the Regional Transportation Plan and other relevant statewide and regional plans (for example, the MBTA Program for Mass Transportation or the Massachusetts Statewide Bicycle Transportation Plan). All projects must also be eligible for federal-aid funds.

Comparative-Evaluation Criteria
Each roadway project in the universe of projects for the TIP is evaluated using criteria that wre developed based on the policies of the MPO. A rating is given to each project in each of the criteria categories shown below. Then an overall rating is assigned to each project. The criteria categories are:

Subcategory		Category

Pavement Condition Bicycle/Pedestrian Condition Other Infrastructure Condition	→	Condition	→

Top 1,000 Crash Locations in Mass. Identified Safety Issues Bicycle/Pedestrian Safety	→	Safety	→

Average Daily Traffic Level of Service Congestion Management System Functional Improvements Truck/Freight Mobility Transit Use Bicycle/Pedestrian Mobility	→	Mobility	→

Environmental Justice Community Character	→	Community	→

Wetlands & Open Space in Project Area Dwelling Units/Acre Commercial Floor Area Ratio/Acre Population/Employment Ratio Mix of Land Uses Parking/Access Transportation Demand Management	→	Land Use	→

Brownfield Development Economic Target Area Central Business District/Town Center Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy	→	Economic Development	→

Air Quality Water Quality Noise	→	Environment	→

The evaluation for each category is based on information from the proponent-provided information form, other resources, and presentations at the TIP input days. Ratings for each category are based on the scores for subcategories of criteria. The possible range of those scores is zero to three in most subcategories; however, a scale of negative three to three is used in the subcategories of community and environment to show negative effects of projects by using negative scores. Where no information is available, the category rating or subcategory score is zero.

Readiness Criteria
The readiness of a given project is important in determining the staging of a project in the TIP program. The readiness is determined by factors including, but not limited to, the status of project design, environmental permits, and right-of-way acquisition.

TIP Process Review
The MPO monitors the effectiveness of the selection criteria for TIP projects and makes improvements as called for during the process. The MPO welcomes observations on the process from the public on this or any other TIP-related issue.

Comparative-Evaluation Results for Projects in the Federal Fiscal Years 2008–2011 TIP
The federal fiscal year (FFY) 2008 project evaluations are outlined in Appendix A of the FFY 2008–2011 TIP. For each project in the universe of projects, it presents, as applicable, the category ratings and overall rating, the MassHighway bridge rating, or the MBTA transit ratings from the Program for Mass Transportation.

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