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Alaska

The Rural Context For Transportation Consultations

Alaska is the largest state in the U.S. in land area, 3rd smallest in population, and the least densely populated. Approximately 67 percent of Alaska's population and jobs, and almost 100 percent of the land, is non-urban. About 92 percent of Alaska's roads are rural. Federally owned lands amount to 66 percent of the state's land area.

Alaska is a moderately growing state, as measured by population, with a slowly to moderately growing rate of employment. The proportion of the state's jobs that are in the uniquely rural agriculture and mining sectors is small (5 and 3 percent, respectively). Most jobs in Alaska's rural areas are in sectors also common in urban areas: construction, transportation & utilities (18 percent); manufacturing (7 percent); business & trade (21 percent); and services & government (46 percent).

Demographically, Alaska's non-urban population is predominately white and Native American (74 and 20 percent, respectively). The proportion of Alaska's non-urban adults who did not graduate from high school is the lowest of all states, and the proportion who did graduate from college ranks in the middle. The 9 percent of Alaska's non-urban people who are poor is less than in most other states. About 38 percent of the state's non-urban population is in non-working age groups (34 percent 18 years or younger, and 4 percent 65 years or older).

Governmentally, Alaska has 12 counties, a fairly manageable number compared to many other states. The state also has 149 municipalities, but no towns or townships. It has the 10th lowest number of sub-county governments. However, Alaska has 231 federally recognized Native American villages. Alaska is one of six states that do not have special-purpose districts with transportation responsibilities. However, Alaska has one public transit providers serving rural areas and an additional 18 organizations that provide specialized transit services to elderly and disabled populations in those same areas.

Alaska has 12 regional councils that cover approximately 65 percent of the state, and one MPO. These regional units help to coordinate the other local governments and play a role in rural transportation programs as described below.

Of Alaska's 13,634 miles of roads, approximately 43 percent are state-controlled, while 19 percent are federal. Of the total miles of non-federal rural roads, about 55 percent are state, 22 percent are county, none are township, and 23 percent are municipal and other.

Processes For Consultation And Cooperation With Local Officials In Non-Metropolitan Areas

The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOT&PF) is responsible for transportation planning in the state. DOT&PF has three regional offices for general planning and STIP development; statewide and regional staff do area planning, regional staff assist with local plans and solicit and screen project nominations.

Alaska's long-range transportation plan provides policies that guides project selection and STIP development. A 24-member Policy Advisory Committee (including local elected officials) guided policy development for the plan update. Also, a 500-member self-appointed Public Review Group of citizens provided input throughout the update process. Statewide radio and television call-in programs were also hosted to reach residents in the more remote parts of the state. The draft is being distributed for formal public review and comment.

As a policy plan, the statewide long-range plan is designed to be supplemented with more detailed, long-range area plans. These area plans are developed for five specific regions with the most complex transportation investment challenges. DOT&PF develops them through a process that intensively involves the stakeholders in each region, and builds firm community support and commitment. An advisory committee selected for each plan guides the DOT&PF staff in plan preparation. The committee usually is comprised of a number of local government and Tribal leaders from the region, as well as the leaders of the appropriate Alaska regional Native corporation(s) and development organization. In developing area plans, consideration is given to the inventory of current transportation facilities linking communities, as well as issues such as population, employment, and the effectiveness of existing modes of transportation. The area plans examine a set of alternative improvements, each of which includes a set of road, ferry and or aviation improvements. Once a preferred alternative is developed, it is presented at a series of community presentations, adjusted as necessary, and then made available for formal review and comment. Changes are made as necessary and the plan is finalized. The final area plan is approved by the DOT&PF Commissioner and announced by the Governor. One of these area plans has been completed, one will be completed in 2000, two in 2001 and one in 2002. Projects that are included in an area plan are given priority in the STIP.

Prior to development of each new STIP, DOT&PF conducts a public review of the project selection criteria used to prioritize projects. Following that review, DOT&PF prepares a Transportation Needs and Priorities in Alaska document, commonly known as the "Needs List," that lists all transportation and facilities needs in the state, including highways, ferries, trails, transit, airports, harbors, and buildings. The Needs List inventory is the foundation of the STIP, the Aviation Improvement Program (AIP), the Harbors Improvement Program (HIP), and the state capital budget. The Needs List is prepared by soliciting project nominations from local governments, village traditional councils, federal and state agencies, and citizens. This list contains all the transportation projects in Alaska that the residents, elected officials, organizations, and transportation professionals have formally proposed. From the nominated projects, DOT&PF prioritizes the projects according to established scoring criteria.

There are two formal public reviews during development of the STIP. First, the draft Needs List is made available for comment during a 45-day public review period. Among other feedback mechanisms, meetings are held in many communities (20 in 1998). Based on information gathered during this review, the Project Evaluation Board (PEB) scores the projects not previously on the Needs List and re-scores projects which have new information. The draft STIP is then developed and circulated for a 30-day public review period. Following this second public review period, and approval by federal transportation agencies, the final STIP is released. During the public review process, individuals or communities may bring forward information not previously considered in the ranking process. The PEB is the decision-making body for the project selection process and consists of six senior members of the Alaska DOT&PF.

The ongoing public involvement process for transportation in Alaska, including the formal review periods, uses a variety of practices to communicate with citizens, Native groups, local governments, and other interest groups. Among these are: mailing lists, newspaper advertising, radio announcements, internet access, radio and television call-in programs, citizen advisory boards, regional transportation planning processes, workshops, open houses, public meetings, and toll-free phone and fax numbers. In addition, the Alaska DOT&PF, as part of the Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP), funds transportation planning work conducted by local communities. This work helps communities plan for their transportation needs, rather than resort to the common, but less effective, approach of developing a list of popular local projects.

Much of the Municipality of Anchorage, the only metropolitan area in Alaska, is within the Anchorage Metropolitan Area Transportation Study (AMATS). AMATS is a Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), and it prepares a Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) based on funding sources available to the area. Alaska DOT&PF requires that AMATS projects compete with other projects in the state. In order to determine the funding allocation, AMATS projects are scored along with projects from other communities, and the level of AMATS funding is based on how well its projects score on a statewide basis. The final TIP does not necessarily include projects as prioritized by the scoring criteria.

In Alaska, surface transportation investments are directed toward four broad categories of spending:

Bringing the main surface transportation links (the National Highway System (NHS) and mainline Marine Highway routes) up to standard.
Upgrading the state's secondary highways and local Marine Highway connections in the State Highway System (SHS) improvement program.
Developing a Community Transportation Program (CTP) that creates partnerships with local governments to construct projects that serve local transportation needs.
Implementing the Trails and Recreational Access for Alaska (TRAAK) program to improve recreational access and opportunities for both Alaskan residents and visitors. The TRAAK has been popular with the public and is resulting in the construction of much needed transportation trails, roadside turnouts and other transportation-related amenities.
Because of its small population, vast geographic area, and difficult terrain and environment, Alaska requires high dollar investments for basic transportation needs. The state is largely dependent on federal transportation funds; limited state funding to meet matching requirements, and local funds are also used. The selection process for projects is very competitive. The extent to which each area plan is implemented is largely dependent upon the political support for doing so within the State Legislature. One element of this support is built upon solidarity within the regional leadership (the area plan advisory committee) and the other element is built upon the perceived benefits of the plan to the region and the state. The highest priority is given to highways and major arterial roads, ferry and transit improvements, and projects that serve the entire state or a region. It is the policy of the DOF&PF that local roads be primarily the responsibility of local governments.

Other Parts of Our Planning Process Not Covered in This Report that may be Pertinent to Consultation & Cooperation with Local Officials in Non-Metropolitan Areas:

Coordinated Transportation Planning for New Community Transit Systems. There's a lot of consultation with local governments in these planning processes. Does this report only cover FHWA funds?
Providing Funds to Local Governments for Planning
Airport Master Plans for state-operated airports done by Regional DOT&PF Staff in consultation with appropriate local officials.

Alaska uses the following practices:

State Processes to Compile Transportation Needs: Alaska DOT&PF compiles the Needs List, with proposals from the residents, local government elected officials, transportation professionals, private organizations, Native organizations, and public agencies.
State Hearings: There is a formal, 45-day public review of the Needs List and a formal, 30-day public review of the STIP.
State Processes for Interactive Exchange of Views with Local Officials: Consultation efforts include outreach to citizens, Native groups, local governments and other interest groups through workshops and public meetings. The regional planning processes led by DOT&PF rely on intensive interaction with public officials and other stakeholders in each region.
Policy-Making and Advisory Bodies: The Policy Advisory Group guided LRP update; Public Review Group; various advisory boards.
Other Practices: Outreach activities include mailing lists, newspaper advertising, radio announcements, Internet access, radio and television call-in programs, and toll-free phone and fax numbers; development of area plans with local advisory committees.

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