Acronyms / Glossary of Terms
AADT Average Annual Daily Traffic
AAWT Average Annual Weekday Traffic
ACOE Army Corps of Engineers (also USACOE)
ADA Americans with Disabilities Act: A federal civil rights law enacted in 1990 that mandates the provision of access to public facilities for persons with disabilities. Title 2 applies to transportation facilities and transit vehicles.
ADT Average Daily Traffic: The total volume of traffic during a given time period divided by the number of days in that time period, representative of average traffic in a 24-hour period of time.
AMSL Above Mean Sea Level
APE Area of Potential Effect: The geographic area or areas within which an undertaking may directly or indirectly cause alterations in the character or use of historic properties, if any such properties exist. The area of potential effect is influenced by the scale and nature of an undertaking and may be different for different kinds of effects caused by the undertaking.
AVO Average Vehicle Occupancy
Ambient air quality A physical and chemical measure of the concentration of various chemicals in
the outside air, usually determined over a specific time period.
Authority New York State Thruway Authority (also NYSTA)
CAA Clean Air Act
CAAA Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990
CBD Central Business District: The primary downtown area of a city or an area of concentrated retail activity.
CEQ Council on Environmental Quality: Coordinates federal environmental efforts and works closely with agencies and other ferderal offices in the development of environmental policies and initiatives. National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) assigns CEQ the task of ensuring that federal agencies meet their obligations under the Act.
CFR Code of Federal Regulations
CMS Congestion Management System
Capacity Deficiency A transportation facility's ability to accommodate a moving stream of people or vehicles in a given time period. Capacity occurs when the number of vehicles on a roadway exceeds the desired level of service threshold volumes.
Capital costs The cost of designing, acquiring rights-of-way, constructing, purchasing equipment (e.g., vehicles), and implementing a transit or highway project or system.
CDRPC Capital District Regional Planning Commission
CDTA Capital District Transportation Authority
CDTC Capital District Transportation Committee
Corridor The portion of Thruway between Interchanges 21A and 25A, for this study's purpose.
dBA Decibel (An "A" weighted measurement for sound)
DEIS Draft Environmental Impact Statement
DOT United States Department of Transportation (also USDOT)
DPM New York State Department of Transportation Design Procedure Manual
Design Life The projected life (in years) of a new structure or structural component under normal loading and environmental conditions before replacement or major rehabilitation is expected.
EA Environmental Assessment
EIS Environmental Impact Statement
EPA United States Environmental Protection Agency (also USEPA)
EPM New York State Department of Transportation Environmental Procedures Manual
EPP Expanded Project Proposal
ESA Endangered Species Act
Enhancements Set-aside funds for bike facilities, historic preservation, pedestrian projects, etc. from the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) Surface Transportation Program.
E-ZPasssm The electronic toll collection system used by New York State toll authorities and other states in the Intragency Group.
FAA Federal Aviation Administration
FEIS Final Environmental Impact Statement
FHWA Federal Highway Administration
FRA Federal Railroad Administration
FTA Federal Transit Administration
GIS Geographic Information System
HOV High Occupancy Vehicle
HPR Highway, Planning and Research Studies
ISTEA Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act: A highway, safety, and mass transit act. The purpose of which is to develop an economically and environmentally efficient transportation system. However, this is superceded by TEA-21 (below).
ITS Intelligent Transportation Systems
IVHS Intelligent Vehicle Highway System
Infrastructure The physical support network such as roads, railroads, and utilities of a given geographical area.
Interchange The system of interconnecting ramps between two or more grade-separated intersecting roadways or guideways.
Intermodal A transportation system connecting or including different modes of transportation.
LOS Level of Service: A set of descriptive characteristics used to indicate the quality of transportation service provided, including characteristics that are quantifiable (e.g., frequency, travel time, travel cost, number of transfers, safety, and/or amount of delay) and sometimes those that are difficult to quantify (e.g., availability, comfort, convenience, modal image).
LRP Long Range Plan
LWRP Local Waterfront Revitalization Program
MOA Memorandum of Agreement
MOU Memorandum of Understanding
MPO Metropolitan Planning Organization: Regional planning entity responsible for transportation
planning and approval of federal transportation funding for the region.
NAAQS National Ambient Air Quality Standards: Federal standards developed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that set allowable concentration for various pollutants including carbon monoxide, transportation hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter.
NEPA National Environmental Policy Act
NHS National Highway System being developed under ISTEA and formally adopted under the National Highway System Act of 1995.
NMFS National Marine Fisheries Service
NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
NOI Notice of Intent
NYSDEC New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
NYSDOT New York State Department of Transportation
NYSHPO New York State Historic Preservation Office(also SHPO)
O/D Origin/Destination
Park-and-ride A parking area provided for commuters who park their automobile and continue their commute via public transit or carpool.
Peak Period The time during which the maximum amount of travel occurs. It may be specified as the morning (a.m.) or evening (p.m.) peak.
Project The New York State Thruway Authority (NYSTA) is undertaking a comprehensive study of transportation needs and mobility within the Thruway's Albany Corridor in order to develop alternatives to address the future structural and other identified needs of the Corridor.
ROD Record of Decision: A formal decision granted by the federal lead agency that provides a written record of the agency's decision on a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS). The ROD documents any conditions or mitigation measures committed to in the FEIS.
ROW Right-of-Way: land corridors used for the construction of highway, transit facility and railroad purposes.
SEQRA State Environmental Quality Review Act (New York State)
SIP State Implementation Plan
SOS Scope of Services
SOV Single Occupancy Vehicle
Scoping The process of defining and refining the scope of a DEIS and the alternatives to be investigated. The scoping process provides opportunities for input from the public.
Service Life The projected remaining life (in years) of an existing structure or structural component under normal loading and environmental conditions before replacement or major rehabilitation is expected.
Study Area The geographic area addressed by the analysis in a plan or study.
Tandem Lots Parking areas along the Thruway, where tractors and trailers combine into double units or breakdown into single units.
TCM Transportation Control Measure: Methods for controlling auto-induced emissions through travel modifications.
TDM Transportation Demand Management: Programs and policies to reduce peak demand for transportation and to maximize efficient use of the transportation system. Such strategies may include encouraging employers to offer their workers flexible work schedules, ride-sharing and vanpooling, and congestion pricing.
TEA-21 Transportation Efficiency Act for the 21st Century: The federal law that governs the planning and implementation of surface transportation investment by the federal government.
TIP Transportation Improvement Plan
TSM Transportation System Management: Improvements designed to improve traffic flow that are low cost and can be implemented quickly. Such strategies may include variable message signs (VMS), highway advisory radio (HAR), ramp metering and re-striping roadways.
UPWP Unified Planning Work Program: A description of the transportation planning work tasks for an MPO and their funding sources for a period that usually covers a 12 month time span.
USACOE United States Army Corps of Engineers (also ACOE)
USCG United States Coast Guard
USDOI United States Department of the Interior
USDOT United States Department of Transportation (also DOT)
USEPA United States Environmental Protection Agency (also EPA)
USFWS United States Fish and Wildlife Service
VHD Vehicle Hours of Delay: A measure of delay that indicates the number of hours the traffic stream is delayed, measured in vehicle-hours.
VHT Vehicle Hours of Travel: The total number of hours of vehicle travel on the designated set of roadways.
VMT Vehicle Miles Traveled: The amount of vehicle travel on a designated set of roadways, multiplied by the total mileage of those roadways.
Wetlands Wet areas, such as tidal areas or swamps, with soil characteristics and vegetation that meet certain criteria defined by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACOE) on which filling and development are federally and/or state-regulated.
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