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MAP-21 Beyond Funding: MPOs and Public Transit

One of MAP-21's key provisions is its emphasis on strengthening public transportation agencies' direct participation in metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), specifically linking public transportation investments with key national goals and requiring performance measurement programs to be set up accordingly.

Passenger Transport asked several industry experts for their thoughts regarding priorities, initiatives and goals related to the increasingly important relationship between MPOs and public transportation. Their comments follow.

From FTA
Transit's Integral Role
Therese W. McMillan
Acting Administrator
FTA

In the last several years, we have seen a significant rise in the demand and presence of transit in the U.S., demonstrating its critical role in an effective, multimodal transportation network. We find this increased demand especially true in large urbanized regions, but also in our smaller suburban and rural communities. It is particularly important that transit issues be an integral part of the regional transportation planning responsibilities led by the MPOs, reflected in the performance planning and representation provisions in MAP-21.

Our two agencies [FTA and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)] collaborated to issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and policy guidance in June 2014. Public comments are being considered at this time and a final rule is expected to be published in the Federal Register later this year.

The policy guidance, effective as of June 2, 2014, serves as best practice recommendations. FTA and FHWA have undertaken a variety of outreach activities such as webinars, peer exchanges and performance-based planning online dialogues with APTA, AASHTO, AMPO [Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations], NARC [National Association of Regional Councils] and other interested stakeholders. The stakeholder input from this outreach will provide transit agencies, MPOs and state departments of transportation with important information as they move to implement requirements of MAP-21.

Transit providers need to ensure that they are interested as well as represented before MPO policy boards in order to enable the MPOs to be more strategic in the use of all available funds from all sources (federal, state, local and system-generated) to make sound transportation investments.

At the end of the day, real system integration can only happen if all players are at the table, and transit must be one of those players.

From Public Transportation Organizations
A Regional Vision
Michael A. Allegra
President/Chief Executive Officer
Utah Transit Authority, Salt Lake City

Successful collaboration defines the Utah Transit Authority's relationship with the metropolitan planning organizations in our service district. We work with our local MPOs and the Utah Department of Transportation to create a regional vision and incorporate it into a mutually agreed-upon, statewide, long-range transportation plan.

Officially titled Utah's Unified Transportation Plan: 2011-2040, the plan clearly defines transportation needs for the next several decades. Having a unified approach allows us to prioritize and assist one another in meeting our transportation needs.

The process requires a high level of engagement. To make certain our efforts are in concert, we meet individually and attend combined meetings with our stakeholders. In addition, UTA has a seat on the boards of each of the MPOs in our service area. Additionally, a joint policy advisory committee comprised of local mayors and leadership from UTA, MPOs and Utah DOT meets on a monthly basis.

Our partnering approach is pervasive. We team up to produce multimodal environmental impact statements and join forces to address funding concerns, and we work jointly with stakeholders and business leaders at the policy and planning levels to advance our transportation agenda. The goal is to make collective transportation gains that will improve mobility, increase commerce and enhance the quality of life in our communities.

Forging and maintaining partnerships creates a win for everyone, especially the residents of Utah. By taking a collaborative approach, we have been able to meet our objectives while saving taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.

Seamless Integration
Lee G. Gibson
Executive Director
Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County, Reno, NV
Chair, APTA Metropolitan Planning Subcommittee

The Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County, Nevada (RTC) is both the MPO and the public transit authority for the Reno-Sparks metropolitan area. The RTC is also responsible for building regional roads and coordinating intelligent transportation system (ITS) resources. The RTC governing board comprises elected officials from the cities of Reno and Sparks and Washoe County.

This unique governing structure allows RTC to seamlessly integrate multimodal transportation planning and project delivery. Public transportation has a key role in supporting each of the four RTC guiding principles, which are to promote safe and healthy communities, economic development and sustainability and increase travel choices.

In close partnership with the community, which is integral to the advocacy of transportation infrastructure, the RTC develops a performance-based planning prioritization framework that is linked to MAP-21 national goals. The region is thereby able to allocate state, local and federal resources to effectively deliver multimodal transportation projects that improve support and the quality of life in the Truckee Meadows.

Shared Priorities
Gary C. Thomas
President/Executive Director
Dallas Area Rapid Transit

The Regional Transportation Council, the MPO's policy board, provides a place on the council for Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) and the two other public transit authorities in the region.

This representation also extends to the technical staff resource committee and as a result there has been an increased awareness and recognition of the benefits of transit and our successful integration of services among the three transit providers. Our shared vision of providing transportation alternatives for the region has been successful as a result of our active participation in the regional planning efforts of the MPO.

One of the real success stories in North Texas is the cooperative efforts used to develop public transit ridership forecasts leading to the implementation and expansion of the light rail system introduced in 1996. Over the years, ridership forecasts have been accurate, helping DART to identify the best locations to expand and to provide better overall service, making the most of limited financial resources.

Joint transit priorities include ongoing data collection efforts highlighted by the on-board survey initiated in 2014 and concluded this year, planning for the development of the Cotton Belt Corridor, coordinating at a regional level transit services inside and outside the service area and joint funding and participation in the development of transit projects.

Future priorities include the establishment of a transit agency subcommittee to the policy board that would allow for expanded discussion of transit priorities in the region, including performance measures for asset management and securing additional funding opportunities.

Principles for Sustainability
RoseMary Covington
Assistant General Manager, Planning and Transit System Development
Sacramento Regional Transit District

Around 2002 the Sacramento area was experiencing record growth in a manner consistent with suburban expansion. Analysis of growth patterns determined that continued suburban growth would foster increases in vehicle miles traveled and declines in air quality. The MPO for Sacramento, the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG), took the initiative to begin a community discussion to highlight the issues associated with continued traditional suburban style growth.

In meetings convened by SACOG, information on the impacts of such growth were presented for community response. Elected officials, developers, environmental groups, social service providers and individual citizens all participated in the process. The Sacramento Regional Transit District (RT) served as a partner in the process.

The result was a series of principles directed toward moving the area toward a more sustainable future. Those principles addressed housing options, transportation choices, mixing land uses, planning compact development, conserving natural resources, using existing assets and ensuring quality design.

The principles were vetted with the broad community and adopted by several governmental jurisdictions and the SACOG Board of Directors. The board also adopted a land-use strategy, called the Blueprint, which serves as a measure to help allocate transportation funding.

Today, local land use planning documents are developed with the Blueprint principles as a guide, incorporating strategies such as more compact development, infill housing along heavily populated corridors and bicycle and pedestrian amenities. Transit service is the key to the success of the Blueprint. RT's planning initiatives have been adopted as part of the metropolitan transportation planning documents to direct future funding.

By incorporating Blueprint principles as the guide for land use planning, providing more cost-effective, convenient and customer-friendly transit service becomes a possibility. Only by having strictly monitored performance measures will plans like the Blueprint be effective.

The California State Legislature has acknowledged the important relationship of land use, transportation and housing by developing a sustainable communities strategy and providing measures for evaluating the effectiveness of local communities in meeting targets for success.


From MPOs
Transit's Seat at the Table
Todd Lang
Director of Transportation Planning
Baltimore Metropolitan Council

The Baltimore Regional Transportation Board (BRTB), the metropolitan planning organization for the Baltimore region, has recently taken steps to better integrate public transit planning and programming into its process.

In response to the FTA June 2, 2014, Policy Guidance on Metropolitan Planning Organization Representation, the BRTB added voting membership for a "representative of public transportation." According to the updated MPO bylaws, this new representative will be selected by a majority vote of the public fixed route transit systems in the region and will serve for a two-year term after which there will be a new election to fill the role.

The Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) was subsequently elected to serve the first two-year term. In its role of considering "the needs of all eligible public transportation providers" in the metropolitan planning area, MTA conducts regular meetings with regional transit providers to brief them on issues and agenda items occurring at MPO board meetings, and MTA also acts as the voice of providers at board meetings by addressing questions and comments received from regional providers.

Pat Keller, MTA's deputy chief administrative officer of statewide service development, indicates that "the MTA and the locally operated transit systems profit greatly from the strong relationships we enjoy through the BRTB and this will only enhance transit's stature in the process."

The BRTB has also shown its commitment to furthering public transit planning by funding local and regional planning studies, including BRT and light rail corridor planning, multimodal center siting studies, TOD studies and transit development plans. Further, the MPO staff at the Baltimore Metropolitan Council assist MTA and locally operated transit systems in route planning, analysis and financial projections.

Optimized Systems
Grace Gallucci
Executive Director
Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA), Cleveland

NOACA is the MPO for Greater Cleveland. To get a sense of the relationship between MPOs and public transit, look no farther than the agency's vision statement: NOACA will strengthen regional cohesion, preserve existing infrastructure and build a multimodal sustainable transportation system to support economic development and enhance the quality of life in Northeast Ohio.

A careful reading demonstrates that every aspect of the statement highlights this relationship. In particular though, the importance of public transit and the responsibility of the MPO for it is explained with the idea of multimodalism. One of NOACA's priorities relative to transportation is freedom of choice, and within that right is the notion of ensuring that transit is a viable option for meeting the mobility needs of our communities.

MPOs plan for the development of an optimized transportation system, which includes roads, transit, bicycle facilities and sidewalks. The goal is the creation of a strategy to integrate all of these modes into a comprehensive transportation network. To that end, NOACA did not need to wait for MAP-21 to bring transit to the table. The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority, the largest transit provider in NOACA's five-county jurisdiction, already had a seat and a vote on the MPO board, and NOACA has a transit council to encourage collaboration among the various transit providers and to give them a stronger voice on its transportation subcommittee.

NOACA's legislative priorities highlight the role of public transit and champions its advancement. As we look toward reauthorization at the federal level and the passage of the transportation budget at the state level, NOACA encourages direct and indirect support for transit. NOACA's priorities promote the inclusion of planning for multimodal transportation at the local level and advocates for additional funding and funding flexibility. NOACA seeks to position public transit as an integral part of the overall transportation system rather than a separate mode that competes for funds.

For details about MAP-21's MPOs provisions, click here and search on MPO fact sheet.
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