Public Land Management

Improving Transportation in and to Public Lands

Sabino Canyon road — Sabino Canyon State Park, Tucson, Arizona (Adobe Stock)

The U.S. DOT Volpe Center helps public land management agencies resolve complex transportation challenges at both the program and project levels.

America's national parks, forests, wildlife refuges, and other federally managed public lands support more than one billion visits each year, all of them made possible by transportation systems. These extraordinary places, which comprise about one-third of the U.S. landmass, offer natural, scenic, cultural, recreational, and educational opportunities to be found nowhere else—and they face unique transportation challenges, different from the issues typically experienced by cities and states.

We work with a wide range of federal agencies, including National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Federal Highway Administration Office of Federal Lands Highway, as well as state, county, and local agencies that manage public lands in their jurisdictions. We work with these federal agencies at all levels within their organizations from national programs to multi-state regional offices, and on the ground at the individual unit level.

We leverage a broad team of transportation planners, engineers, economists, data analysts, and environmental specialists for any project need, and we have the flexibility and experience to adapt to new needs as projects evolve.

Our Approach

The staff who carry out our public land work have deep expertise in transportation planning, data analysis, engineering, economics, and environmental sciences. They deliver tailored solutions to meet the unique transportation needs of public land management agencies and associated partners.

Transportation Planning

Multimodal Visitor Transportation and Access: We design and implement transportation solutions that support motorized and nonmotorized trail and roadway connections, vehicular signage and wayfinding, parking management, pedestrian access, and shuttle feasibility to balance resource protection with visitor access.
Ferry Boat and Water-based Infrastructure Assessments: We evaluate waterborne transportation infrastructure to enhance ferry and boat services in public lands.
Congestion Assessments: We identify traffic congestion hotspots and develop strategies to alleviate overcrowding to improve visitor experience and safety and reduce natural resource impacts.
Vehicle Suitability Evaluation: We identify and evaluate suitable vehicles for a variety of settings based on capacity, topography/turning radius, fuel type, and desired budget.
Long-term, Performance-based Transportation Plans: We help public land agencies create fiscally constrained and sustainable long-range transportation plans that meet federal requirements and local needs.

Transportation Safety Analysis

Transportation Safety Program Development: We support agencies in establishing programs focused on reducing serious injuries and fatalities on public lands roads.
Site-specific Safety Studies: We conduct detailed safety analyses and provide recommendations encompassing engineering, education, enforcement, and emergency response.
Stakeholder Coordination for Safety: We facilitate collaboration among federal, state, and local safety stakeholders to implement comprehensive safety solutions.
GIS-based Safety Analysis and Data Integration: We apply GIS mapping and advanced data analysis to identify high-risk corridors and locations, visualize crash and incident patterns, prioritize safety interventions, and support data-driven decision making.

Data and Technology Analysis and Evaluation

Visitor Data Collection and Analysis: We install and analyze vehicle, pedestrian, and bicycle counters to provide data-driven insights into transportation system usage.
General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) Development: We create transit data feeds for shuttle systems to integrate schedules into public websites and third-party apps.
Road Closure and Traveler Information Data Feeds: We develop real-time alert systems that inform visitors of road closures and other transportation updates.
Automated Vehicle Pilots: We plan and assess pilot programs to test automated transit technologies suitable for remote public lands environments.
Alternative Transit Fleet Fuel Analysis: We conduct technical evaluations of alternative fuels and related infrastructure to evaluate various transit options.

Project, Program, and Policy Development

Transportation Needs Assessment and Priority Setting: We work with agencies at various levels to understand transportation challenges and develop actionable priorities.
Legislative Support and Program Assessment: We provide expertise on how transportation regulations apply to public lands and assist in program evaluation.
Project Scope Evaluation and Prioritization: We develop and analyze project proposals to aid in prioritizing near- and medium-term transportation initiatives.
Guidebook and Toolkit Development: We produce practical resources that share best practices and lessons learned to support transportation planning and implementation.

Environmental Analysis and Modeling

Environmental Data Collection and Modeling: We gather and model environmental data to support compliance and protection efforts.
Transportation Preparedness, Recovery, and Resilience Planning: We integrate best practices related to planning, mitigation, and recovery associated with extreme weather and other emergency events into transportation and land-use planning.
Sustainable Multimodal Transportation Deployment: We perform lifecycle emissions and energy analyses and cost benefit and resiliency assessments to reduce environmental impacts and deliver durable, visitor friendly access solutions in sensitive public land settings.
Cultural Resource Compliance Support: We provide expertise to meet NEPA and other environmental and cultural resource regulations.

Metrics and Measurement for Performance Management

Visitor Use and Asset Management Data Collection: We collect and analyze data to inform resource management and transportation performance.
Crowdsourced Data Experimentation: We utilize location-based service data to enhance understanding of visitor travel behaviors.
Transportation Performance Measurement and Reporting: We apply systematic metrics and tracking to support data-driven decision-making in transportation planning.

Stakeholder Engagement and Partnerships

Meeting Facilitation and Communication Campaigns: We lead internal and public engagement efforts to foster collaboration among stakeholders.
Partnership Development and Sustainability: We assist in building and maintaining innovative partnerships across public and private sectors for joint transportation projects.
Stakeholder Outreach for Project Support: We coordinate outreach activities to involve communities and partners in transportation planning and project implementation.

Conceptual Design and Pre-Project Engineering

Site Suitability: We compile and analyze GIS and other data to identify suitable and sustainable areas for future development.
Conceptual Design: We develop site-appropriate, scalable conceptual designs that translate planning goals into buildable alternatives, illustrate potential right-of-way and constructability considerations, and guide stakeholder decision-making.
Traffic Operations and Modeling: We analyze existing and projected traffic conditions to evaluate operational performance, assess impacts of design alternatives, and identify mitigation strategies.
Cost Estimating: We prepare planning-level cost estimates that capture capital, lifecycle, and contingency costs to support budgeting, funding strategies, and project prioritization.