Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization’s Post

Feature Presentation at Infraday Midwest - September 10 - Chicago - www.infraday.com/mw - "Evaluating Statewide Road Funding and Pavement Condition" - Many state-level highway policy discussions include comparing states in terms of funding levels and system condition. The Citizens Research Council of Michigan has created a composite Pavement Condition Index combining multiple pavement condition metrics reported by the Federal Highway Administration using the latest available data. They have also created a composite Road Funding Index using highway programs funding data from 2012 to 2021. Evaluation of these Index scores suggests a wide range in the ability of states to best utilize their funding levels to obtain quality road conditions. They have concluded that factors unrelated to funding may be more controlling in achieving a good quality road network. This will be presented by Eric Paul Dennis, Research Associate of Infrastructure Policy, Citizens Research Council of Michigan.

The Rhode Island Division of Statewide Planning (RIDSP) is working on a limited update of our state’s long-range transportation plan (LRTP). An LRTP is a federally-required plan that sets the vision for a multi-modal transportation system – our roads, bridges, public transit, bike paths, sidewalks, ports, and more - over a minimum of 20 years. Your valuable feedback will help identify the state’s needs, challenges, and opportunities, informing the vision, strategies, and projects included in the final plan. https://hubs.ly/Q02KQJlL0

Transportation decision-makers typically use benefit-cost analysis (BCA) to evaluate the tradeoffs of transportation projects. However, it is difficult to produce state-specific measures that are multimodal and can consistently evaluate the full range of public and private benefits and costs for Oregonians. Supported by a $200,000 grant from the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), Jenny Liu of the PSU Nohad A. Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning at Portland State University will lead a research effort to develop an Oregon-specific, multimodal framework for transportation benefit-cost analysis. Having a framework specifically tailored to Oregon can help ODOT make informed decisions on infrastructure, policies and support programs based on information about the economic and societal impacts of each transportation mode. Launched in May 2024, the project, "Mode-Based Benefit-Cost Analysis Calculator" aims to create an easy-to-update Oregon BCA framework to compare transportation benefits and costs for better policy, program, and investment assessments. The research will also develop a methodology that incorporates equity and distributional assessments into the multimodal BCA framework. This will contribute to ODOT’s Strategic Action Plan priority of equity and inclusion. Read more about the project: https://lnkd.in/g3DWWZpz

From the Cab, Carolinas Association for Passenger Trains May 2024 newsletter (shared with permission) Martin Wheeler, President Don Yehle, Editor What If NC Received Additional Funding for Its Corridor Studies? TRAIN INFRASTRUCTURE AND ACCELERATION ACT: S 821 Senate Bill S 821, currently in the NC Senate's Rules Committee, aims to provide additional funding on top of the $500,000 per corridor already allotted through the FRA's Corridor ID Program. No local match is required. This legislation seeks to increase funding for FRA Corridor ID projects on 7 corridors in North Carolina. If passed, each corridor, including Wilmington to Raleigh, would receive an extra one million dollars. Those interested in showing support should reach out to the Governor, State Representatives, and Senators, especially members of Transportation Committees. It would also be appropriate to seek support from City Councils, County Commissions, Metropolitan Planning Organizations, Rural Planning Organizations, and Chambers of Commerce. The seven proposed rail corridors are: - Charlotte to Washington, D.C. - Charlotte to Atlanta, GA - Charlotte to Kings Mountain - Winston Salem to Raleigh - Fayetteville to Raleigh - Wilmington to Raleigh - Asheville to Salisbury https://lnkd.in/gXyk8sQG

Public Rail Now has issued an economic impact report: "From Margins to Growth: The Case for a Public Rail System" showing the benefits of publicy-owned rail infrastructure. Here's the executive summary: https://lnkd.in/gt_r2USf

Our highway system is publicly-owned, as are our aviation and port systems: both allowing private sector operators to use the system. This report poses an interesting question. Why isn't the USA's rail system publicly-owned and (if it were) what mobility benefits would we accrue. Agree or disagree, this is a report worth reading and considering.

DEI survey alert for past/current public agency employees and transportation professionals! Two research projects are seeking your feedback to help understand how to better achieve equity, diversity, and inclusion in transportation planning. Please consider taking these two surveys. 1. NCHRP 08-152: Strategies for Improving Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Transportation Planning Profession - This 7-10-min survey seeks input about meaningful and effective strategies for public agencies to increase and sustain diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in their transportation planning staff. The survey is for all transportation planning professionals over 18 years old who currently work or previously worked for a public agency within the last 5 years. The survey can be found here: https://lnkd.in/ggymCn3b. You can read more about the project at https://lnkd.in/ga4E_Ayt. For questions, contact Isabel Canete-Medina, [email protected] 2. NCHRP 20-123(19): A Research Roadmap for Institutionalizing Transportation Equity - This survey seeks input from transportation professionals to help develop a roadmap of high priority research needs related to transportation equity. The roadmap will be used by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials members and partner agencies interested in institutionalizing equity into transportation practice, focused on the project delivery process. The survey may take up to 30 minutes to complete and can be accessed here: https://lnkd.in/gFqCckym. You can read more about the project here: https://lnkd.in/gFhrBZp9. For questions, contact Aaron Golub, [email protected]. 

The York County Planning Commission (YCPC) and York Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (YAMPO) are currently updating Go York, York County’s long-range transportation plan.   In June, the YCPC Transportation Planning division held the “Go York 2050 Futures Forum,” an explorative workshop considering different possibilities about the long-term (10-25 year) future of transportation in York County.   The YCPC Transportation team combined the collaborative work from that forum into several possible scenarios. A summary of that process is available on the YCPC website, https://lnkd.in/dwFG7kgP   These were just the initial steps in the process of updating Go York. The next step is gathering feedback from the broader community for public input on possible scenarios related to the future of transportation. The survey link provided seeks your input on these scenarios to understand community priorities and help guide future decisions. The survey provides basic information on eight scenarios and takes approximately 15-20 minutes to complete. Submitted responses are anonymous.   Please take an opportunity to review and provide your feedback by completing the survey at this link, https://lnkd.in/dJwhWMaw   We appreciate input from anyone interested in York County’s future. For additional information, visit www.goyork2050.com or email [email protected]. 

Hi there. If you live, work, or visit York County, we want to hear from you. We know that the only constant is change, and trying to predict the future is a fool’s errand. But. We’ve worked to understand the forces and factors that contribute to what our community and its transportation network look like. We’ve boiled them down to three keys: the way people choose to get around, the density of land development, and the funding that decisionmakers have to work with. Based on that, we’ve developed eight visions of the future. We know none of these are perfect. In a decade, our community will probably be some combination of these scenarios. But we want to know how each of them make you feel, whether you want to live, work, and play in these scenarios, and why. Equipped with this feedback, we’ll do a few things in Go York 2050, our Long Range Transportation Plan. 1. We’ll identify guideposts to tell us in one, five, or ten years whether we’re moving in a direction people support. 2. We’ll develop projects and strategies that will help shape a future more of our residents and visitors want. 3. We’ll identify methods to mitigate and avoid the scenarios people want least. This survey isn’t easy. It can be challenging to use your imagination. It can be tough to consider past and future decisions and their tangible impacts on our county. We hope this is one step in a larger conversation about how we might influence and build a community and transportation network that reflects our shared goals.

At the same time, many automakers are pulling back on the number of EVs they are producing because of a lack of infrastructure to support these cars. What are your thoughts? "MORPC has been awarded a $15-million grant from the Federal Highway Administration to expand #EVinfrastructure across central Ohio. The federal grant...will facilitate the expansion of #EVChargingStations at 62 locations across 13 counties with a focus on underserved urban and rural areas. The overall goal is to increase accessibility to charging stations, reduce carbon emissions, and support central Ohio's transition to #sustainabletransportation." #federalgrants #electricvehicles