Sonja Meintsma’s Post

Transportation impacts every one of us. Our public participation plans reflect our commitment to providing opportunities for meaningful engagement with the communities we serve. Two draft plans are currently available for public review and comment. We’re looking for your comments on either or both plans by May 10, 2024. Our 2024 Public Participation Plan will guide public involvement for the next five years. A second participation plan specifically outlines engagement that will take place around the 2050 Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP) update. The MTP helps us plan for our region’s growth and plan for tomorrow’s transportation needs. Public input is a critical part of the planning process, and we want to hear from you. Click below to read about both plans and make your public comment. https://lnkd.in/djd3T-pn

Transportation impacts every one of us. Our public participation plans reflect our commitment to providing opportunities for meaningful engagement with the communities we serve. Two draft plans are currently available for public review and comment. We’re looking for your comments on either or both plans by May 10, 2024. Our 2024 Public Participation Plan will guide public involvement for the next five years. A second participation plan specifically outlines engagement that will take place around the 2050 Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP) update. The MTP helps us plan for our region’s growth and plan for tomorrow’s transportation needs. Public input is a critical part of the planning process, and we want to hear from you. Click below to read about both plans and make your public comment. https://lnkd.in/djd3T-pn

Attention Intelligent Transportation Society of America members- 3rd round of funding opportunities for SMART grants announced! Start preparing your innovative projects to show how #technology is enabling safer, greener, smarter mobility in your community. Applications due July 12th. Let the alphabet soup reign: ITS, V2X, AV, AI, AAM, EV- you know the drill. Let’s show how technology enabled innovative mobility makes a difference for people. #THISisITS

This week, MPO Executive Director Tegin Teich appeared on a panel of policy experts at a Boston City Council hearing on the possibility of instituting congestion pricing in the Boston area. Tegin discussed research by MPO staff examining the benefits, opportunities, and challenges public agencies faced in implementing roadway pricing programs in urban areas across the U.S. MPO staff highlighted four key considerations for the successful implementation of roadway pricing programs: ‣ Building buy-in for policies throughout the planning and design of programs ‣ Setting prices strategically to change travel behavior and reduce congestion ‣ Designing strategies to mitigate burdens on low-income communities ‣ Continuous evaluation and data collection to improve policies Read the MPO’s report, Learning From Roadway Pricing Experiences, at bostonmpo.org/trending. Through further policy research and analysis, the MPO will continue contributing to the knowledge base around congestion pricing so that policymakers have the necessary data and information as they consider these strategies and what could work for the Boston area.

It’s been a couple of weeks since we attended Highways UK at the NEC, and it gave us a fantastic opportunity to connect and showcase our intelligent design and asset strategy software. 💻 Just as importantly, it allowed us to learn, engage, and discuss the future of infrastructure, diving deep into the sector’s challenges and opportunities. Here are our key takeaways from the two days we spent exhibiting👇 What are your thoughts? Which of these takeaways resonates most with you and what do you think is key to the future of infrastructure? #HighwaysUK #TTROManagement #HighwaysTechnology #InnovationInInfrastructure #AssetManagement #MaintenanceManagemet

Excited to get the word out more broadly about our report on critical infrastructure policy from the W&M Public Policy Program. The report synthesizes ideas from our symposium from last semester entitled "Critical Infrastructure that Inspires Confidence and Delivers Results." You can read a quick summary and download the full report here: https://lnkd.in/g84FRhyi

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]. 

”Connecting Texas 2050” establishes the vision, goals, objectives, performance measures and strategic recommendations for the state’s multimodal transportation system through 2050. It identifies three key performance goals--safety, preservation and mobility--along with three strategic goals--connectivity, economic vitality and stewardship. https://lnkd.in/gj-4uTKq

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.

#ICYMI: We published the Blueprint for Regional Mobility: 5-Year Refresh, an update of the region’s first employer-led transportation agenda from Baltimore to Richmond for an equitable, innovative and seamless superregional transportation network that enhances economic competitiveness and quality of life. Recognizing major shifts since the original publication in 2018, we’ve identified priorities that reflect today’s regional landscape and ongoing discussions with cross-sector stakeholders:    1️⃣ Implement sustainable funding for regional transit agencies, including Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) and Maryland Department of Transportation MTA;   2️⃣ Advance the Red Line light rail project in Baltimore;   3️⃣ Restore Washington, D.C. as a world-class passenger rail hub through the Washington Union Station Expansion Project and the new Long Bridge;   4️⃣ Restore Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge;   5️⃣ Support transit-oriented development and economically competitive land uses; and  6️⃣ Facilitate employer signaling on infrastructure investments. Read the report for the full list of Refreshed Next Moves for the region, its residents and its business community: https://bit.ly/3SuFZTm