Section 8: Plan Technical Analysis and Performance (PDF, 1.73 MB)

The 2035 Plan makes substantial contributions toward greater mobility and reduced delay for people and goods traveling in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Improved access to regional activity centers facilitates economic growth and development. In this section are measures that dimension the Plan’s performance and its impact on the region.

SPC’s long-range planning activity includes determining regional population, employment, and travel forecasts. These projections offer the best available portrayal of what Southwestern Pennsylvania will look like over the next few decades. As such, they are widely used by local governments, transit authorities, and state agencies in their own planning.

Air Quality Conformity

The federal Clean Air Act specifies the analysis that must be conducted to show progress in achieving or maintaining the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS).  MPOs are responsible for making conformity determinations for both their long range transportation plan and for their short range Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). 

To demonstrate that the Plan conforms with the requirements of the Clean Air Act, the analysis must show that emissions from transportation sources do not exceed established emission “caps” (budgets). The companion document “Air Quality Conformity Determination for the Pittsburgh Transportation Management Area” describes SPC’s transportation modeling process, the methods used to develop emission estimates and the results of the conformity analysis.

Next > Section 9: Consideration of Environmental Mitigation

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