Transportation Planning Excellence Awards

The Transportation Planning Excellence Awards (TPEA) Program recognizes outstanding initiatives across the country to develop, plan, and implement innovative transportation planning practices. Winners represent a variety of planning organizations from across the county, and will be published in an Excellence in Transportation Planning resource report for their peers.

This biennial awards program is sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), in partnership with the Transportation Research Board (TRB).

A 2010 Award Winner, the City of Salem, Oregon Union Street Railroad Bridge

Click here for descriptions of past winners

Who is Eligible?

• Anyone may nominate an individual or organization that used Federal FHWA/FTA funding to develop a plan, project, or planning process that demonstrates excellence in planning.
• You may nominate yourself or another individual or organization.
• The plan, project, or planning process must have been completed within the past three years, as evidenced by actions such as formal adoption by a government agency, completion of a built project, incorporation into a TIP, STIP, or City Plan, or other similar action.
• Plans, projects or planning processes can be in one or more of these categories.

How are submissions judged?

The TPEA team of judges from a diverse set of planning backgrounds will judge the nominations on the following criteria:

1. Community and Public Involvement: How did this project successfully engage the community in the planning process?
2. Context Sensitive Solutions: How does the effort demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of contexts (local, regional, etc.)? How does the project or process create effective transportation solutions, while preserving and enhancing community and natural environments?
3. Demonstrated Results/Effectiveness/Replication: What has been the result of these efforts? How are results being measured? To what extent can these efforts be replicated by other organizations around the country?
4. Equity: What initiatives have been undertaken to ensure that these efforts of this project are implemented in an equitable manner and impacts to individual communities are minimized?
5. Implementation/Implementation Strategy: Has any part of the planned transportation-related project, plan, idea, model, design, or policy been executed to its final stages?
6. Innovation: What innovative approaches were used?
7. Multimodalism: To what extent do these efforts efficiently address multimodal transportation options, including bicycle, pedestrian, transit, and automobile?
8. Partnerships and Collaboration: Was this program created as a collaborative effort? Are public and private partners still at the table?
9. Potential for Long-Term Benefits: What provisions have been used to ensure the long-term viability of this effort?

For more information about the TPEA 2012, please email tpea2012@dot.gov or call Rae Keasler at FHWA (202-366-0329) or John Sprowls at FTA (202-366-5362).