Buffalo Corridor Study
Glossary/Acronyms
A | B | C | D | E | F| G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
A
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(s) within which an undertaking may directly or indirectly cause alterations in the character or use of historic properties (such as an historic home), if any such properties exist. The area of potential effect is influenced by the scale and nature of an undertaking and may differ, depending on the 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)
C
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
CFR - Code of Federal Regulations
CMS - Congestion Management System: Process that identifies congestion and mobility problems in targeted transportation areas/systems.
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 costs of designing, acquiring rights-of-way, constructing, purchasing equipment (e.g., vehicles), and implementing a transit or highway project or system, etc.
Corridor - The portion of Thruway between Interchanges 49 and 53, the Youngmann Expressway (I-290), between I-90 and Interchange 7 (Main Street) for this study's purpose.
D
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.
E
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 - Funds that are set aside for bike facilities, historic preservation, pedestrian projects, etc. from the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) Surface Transportation Program.
E-ZPass - The electronic toll collection system used by New York State toll authorities and other states in the Intragency Group.
F
FAA - Federal Aviation Administration
FEIS - Final Environmental Impact Statement
FHWA - Federal Highway Administration
FRA - Federal Railroad Administration
FTA - Federal Transit Administration
G
GIS - Geographic Information System
GBIA - Greater Buffalo International Airport
GBNRTC - Greater Buffalo-Niagara Regional Transportation Council (GBNRTC). The GBNRTC is the MPO for the Niagara and Buffalo regions (see MPO below).
GPS - Global Positioning System
H
HOV - High Occupancy Vehicle
HPR - Highway, Planning and Research Studies
I
ISTEA - Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act: A highway, safety, and mass transit act. The purpose of the legislation was to develop an economically and environmentally efficient transportation system. This act 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.
L
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 of trips, 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
M
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.
N
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 was developed under ISTEA and formally adopted under the National Highway System Act of 1995.
NFTA - Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority
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
O/D - Origin/Destination
P
Park-and-ride A parking area provided for commuters who park their automobiles 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.
R
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.
S
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 - NYSTA's comprehensive study of transportation needs and mobility within the Thruway's Buffalo Corridor. This study is being undertaken in order to develop alternatives to address the future structural and other identified needs of the Corridor.
Study Area - The geographic area addressed by the analysis in a plan or study.
T
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.
U
UB - State University of New York at Buffalo
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
V
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.
W
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.