17-229-103 Me. Code R. § I-3
The following definitions will apply to the terms used in this rule:
Abbreviations. The following abbreviations are used in the text of this rule:
FHWA Federal Highway Administration
MaineDOT Maine Department of Transportation
MPO Metropolitan Planning Organization
MRSA Maine Revised Statutes Annotated
MTA Maine Turnpike Authority
NEPA National Environmental Policy Act
RC(s) Regional Council(s) per MRSA Title 30-A § 2302
TIP Transportation Improvement Program
USC United States Code
Alternatives. See Strategies
Auxiliary Lane. The portion of the roadway adjoining the traveled way for parking, speed change, turning, storage for turning, passing, truck climbing, and other purposes supplementary to through-traffic movement.
Capacity. The maximum sustainable flow rate at which persons or vehicles can reasonably be expected to traverse a point or uniform segment of a lane or roadway during a specified time period under given roadway, geometric, traffic, location and control conditions; usually expressed as vehicles per hour, passenger cars per hour, or persons per hour.
Capital Improvement Project. A project which requires expenditure to provide new facilities or to increase the value of an existing fixed asset by increasing its capacity, efficiency or extending its original useful life.
Community Enhancements. Enhancements that improve environmental quality above and beyond any project mitigation requirements. They ensure the project is designed and built with minimal disruption to the community, incorporating safe and technically sound solutions that add value for both the user and the community.
Comprehensive or Long Range Land Use Plan. A Comprehensive or Long Range Land Use Plan is one that has been adopted by a municipality or a multimunicipal region within the past five years and that has been found by the State Planning Office to be consistent with the Comprehensive Planning and Land Use Regulation Act and by the MaineDOT to be consistent with the applicable sections of the Sensible Transportation Policy Act and their respective rules.
Context Sensitive Solutions (CSS). Solutions that result from a collaborative, interdisciplinary approach involving all stakeholders in developing a transportation facility that compliments its physical, cultural and social setting and preserves scenic, aesthetic, and natural resources while maintaining safety and mobility.
Efficient or Efficiently: For purposes of this rule, theses terms relate to public or private actions that avoid or minimize negative effects on the transportation system, the state economy or the state's natural and cultural resources. In addition, these terms relate to actions that prolong the life of existing transportation infrastructure.
Environmental Quality. For purposes of transportation and land use planning, environmental quality means avoiding, minimizing or mitigating impacts to the physical, cultural, social, scenic, aesthetic, and natural environment.
Interchange. A system of interconnecting roadways with one or more grade separations that provide for the movement of traffic between roadways on different levels. Interchanges include related bridges, overpasses, underpasses, ramps, and associated controlled access roads to the nearest state highway as defined by 23 M.R.S.A. §53.
Life Cycle Costs. The expected costs of building and maintaining a facility over the design life of that facility. These traditionally include:
Long-Range Transportation Plans. These plans include the long-range multimodal statewide transportation plan and its mid-range transportation improvement plan. The long-range plan may be one document or may consist of individual planning documents included by reference.
Maintenance. The preservation and repair of vehicles, machinery, equipment, and transportation facilities to their designed or accepted standards. It may be scheduled, planned, progressive, or periodic (preventive maintenance), or it may be unscheduled or corrective.
Major distribution areas. Major distribution areas are highway interchanges, major routes and arterials. The criteria used to determine whether a highway is a major route or arterial will include land use, relative annual daily traffic, trip length, network configuration and continuity, and route spacing.
Minor addition of a Through Travel Lane. A non incremental, localized project which does not connect major distribution areas and which does not require an Environmental Impact Statement or Environmental Assessment pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. §4321et seq.
Multimunicipal Region. Two or more adjoining municipalities that have formally joined together for transportation and land use planning purposes.
Preference. To choose to fund and implement Reasonable Transportation Strategies before physically increasing the capacity of a transportation facility. Preference requires MaineDOT to give weighted consideration to those strategies that are cost-effective and that adequately respond to the purpose and need for the transportation project. For the purposes of Chapter III, preference means to choose to fund and implement transportation strategies in communities where the land use management system complements the functions of the affected transportation system.
Reasonable Transportation Strategies. Strategies that adequately respond to the identified deficiency or need in the transportation network, are cost effective, and are capable of being implemented within a reasonable time period necessary to meet the transportation deficiency or need are considered reasonable. Reasonable transportation strategies must be easily accessible, affordable to the general public, available during high use hours and serve to reduce congestion on the highways. Reasonable Transportation Strategies may also include land use management tools adopted, implemented and enforced at the local level.
Regional Councils (RCs) include Regional Planning Commissions and Councils of Governments and Economic Development Districts.
Significant Transportation Projects. Maine Turnpike Authority, State or Federally Funded projects that increase carrying capacity by constructing:
(A minor addition of a through travel lane is not a significant transportation project.)
(Minor relocation of highway is not new location.)
(Minor relocation of a bridge is not new location.)
For purposes of this rule, Significant Transportation Projects only include projects that increase carrying capacity that rely fully or partially on Maine Turnpike Authority, state or federal funds.
Strategies. For the purposes of this rule, strategies are transportation and land use solutions used on their own or in combination to achieve a desired and agreed upon outcome.
Substantial Public Interest Projects. Projects where one or more affected communities through their municipal officials formally request MaineDOT to deem the project a Substantial Public Interest Project. Such formal requests must outline specific public interest considerations.
System Preservation. Capital project actions intended to retain the existing value of an asset and its ability to perform in its current configuration or as constructed.
Through Travel Lanes. Portions of a roadway designated for the movement of vehicles traveling through an area, exclusive of shoulders and auxiliary lanes.
Transportation Corridor. Transportation system elements that interconnect communities; a corridor includes highways, rail lines, bicycle or pedestrian trails and/or any ancillary support facilities (park and ride lots, rail stations, etc.), or any combination of these facilities.
Transportation Demand Management. The use of techniques designed to change travel behavior in order to improve performance of transportation facilities and to reduce need for providing additional highway capacity. Methods may include, but are not limited to, ride-sharing and vanpool programs, trip-reduction incentives and congestion mitigation pricing. These methods will generally be evaluated on a regional basis rather than a project by project basis. Transportation Demand Management methods may also include local and or regional land use planning and regulatory activities that promote compact mixed patterns of development that reduce the need for additional highway capacity.
Transportation Mode. A particular form of travel such as traveling by foot, bicycle, automobile, bus, passenger and freight intercity rail, urban light rail, waterborne passenger and freight vessels, and air transport.
Transportation System Management Options. Techniques for increasing the efficiency, safety, capacity or level of service of a transportation facility. Examples include, but are not limited to, traffic signal improvements, traffic control devices including installing medians, parking removal, channelization, limiting the number and location of access points, ramp metering and restriping for high occupancy vehicle lanes.
17-229 C.M.R. ch. 103, § I-3