Transportation and Transit Planning

These projects demonstrate how crucial regional transportation is to economic development. The benefits include cleaner air, improved services and traffic flow and a safe avenue for human and commodity transport.

Lee-Russell Council of Governments’ (COG) project entitled Marketing and Promoting Public Transit in Lee and Russell implemented a campaign to educate public transit riders about transit availability, accessibility, energy savings and impact on the region’s environment. The COG’s campaign promoted public awareness about the link between public transit usage and energy conservation by actively organizing and hosting events such as the “Ride the Bus With the Mayor” day, elementary school workshops for public transit awareness and transit fairs for public education. The campaign was funded by the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs’ Science, Technology and Energy Division.

The Voucher Transit System of Yavapai County, Arizona, a pilot project, pools state and local dollars to purchase taxi rides or vanpool rides for working youth, elderly and disabled adults. Developed by the Northern Arizona Council Of Governments’ transportation planning and workforce development staff and local partners, the project has pooled nearly $100,000 from four participating local governments to serve approximately 7,000 clients annually. After only three months, nearly 3,000 vouchers have been distributed. The voucher pool currently serves three local communities and is working to establish a transit system for a fourth community.

Taxpayers in one community in Iowa’s MIDAS Council of Governments’ (COG) region no longer pay duplicative costs for public school transit, as a result of the COG’s Region V Transit System and Manson North-West Webster School District Transportation Coordination Program. In 1999, the school district solicited the COG, the regional transportation planning organization and rural transit administrator, to take over management of their school bus system. The COG accepted and, through cost sharing, has successfully managed all aspects at a reduced cost, while also improving transportation safety and quality for the school district’s students.

Ensuring safe, effective and efficient movement of good and services was the purpose of Arrowhead Regional Development Commission’s Duluth - Superior Area Truck Route Study in Minnesota. Funded by the Wisconsin and Minnesota Departments of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration, the study formed an advisory committee, surveyed local trucking firms and analyzed areawide truck accident reports and the turning movement at truck route intersections. A review of truck route signage, regional policies and the accommodation of oversized loads originating from the region’s inland port were undertaken. The study’s recommendations consider economic, community perspective and land use issues.

The Meramec Regional Planning Commission’s transportation advisory committee is promoting Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Bridge Replacement Technology. The project’s lead partners and technical experts have developed a technology using fiberglass sheets and plastic rebar that has the capability of providing longer lasting, less time-consuming and less costly bridge repair and replacement. The planning commission is working with the project’s partners and experts to promote the innovative bridge replacement and repair technology to the state for its incorporation of composite materials into the construction of highways and bridges. This technology has the potential to reduce state transportation costs and ensure public safety.

The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT), in cooperation with the state’s regional planning organizations, developed the Missouri Department of Transportation and Regional Planning Guidelines. The guidelines provide a consistent process in which the department and regional planning organizations work together on transportation planning activities. MoDOT’s planning management staff appointed a committee composed of regional planning organization directors, MoDOT district planning staff and other MoDOT staff members to develop the guidelines. The committee developed guidelines to serve as the framework for consistency throughout the state in the cooperative planning activities between MoDOT and Missouri’s regional planning agencies.

Missouri’s Long-Range Transportation Plan developed by the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) provides a framework for addressing Missouri’s transportation needs. MoDOT conducted extensive public outreach to Missourians and the state’s regional planning commissions, allowing them to discuss their transportation system and be actively involved in the plan’s development. The plan examines aviation, rail, waterway, bicycle, pedestrian accommodations, public transportation, highways and bridges and provides direction to identify, prioritize and schedule future projects. It establishes a direction for investing, presents a comprehensive assessment of the existing system/needs, develops standards to judge the system’s condition and anticipates needs over the next 20 years.

The Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Council, also a Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) in south Texas, is leading the Implementation of the Metropolitan Bicycle Plan project to fulfill the region’s need for a comprehensive bike plan. The plan’s funding approach is unique in that standard transportation funding is used, rather than relying on enhancement or random federal funding. By incorporating bicycle features into routine roadway widening projects, the MPO can efficiently and responsibly create bicycle paths that respect the different skill levels of bikers. The “Trucks and Children on Bicycles Don’t Mix” policy is also being used to ensure safe planning.

Award Winners Marketing and Promoting Public Transit in Lee and Russell, Lee-Russell COG. Contact: Lisa Mecsko-Sandt or Barbara Yarbrough, 2207 Gateway Dr., Opelika, AL 36801; (334) 749-5264 ext. 205; fax (334) 749-6582; email lsandt@coa.state.al.us or byarbourgh@coa.state.al.us The Voucher Transit System of Yavapai County, Arizona, Northern Arizona COG. Contact: Teri Drew, PO Box 2451, Prescott, AZ 86302; (520) 778-1422; fax (520) 443-9036; email tdrew@ncog.org; web www.nacog.org Region V Transit System and Manson North-West Webster School District Transportation Coordination Program, MIDAS COG. Contact: Cliff Weldon, 602 1st Ave. South, Fort Dodge, IA 50501; (515) 573-8145; fax (515) 576-7184; email cweldon-midas@dodgenet.com Duluth - Superior Area Truck Route Study, Arrowhead RDC. Contact: Andy McDonald, 221 West 1st St., Duluth, MN 55802; (218) 529-7514; fax (218) 529-7592; email amcdonald@ardc.org; web www.ardc.org Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Bridge Replacement Technology,

Meramec RPC. Contact: Connie Willman, #4 Industrial Dr., St. James, MO 65559; (573) 265-2993; fax (573) 265-3550; email cwillman@meramecregion.org; web www.missourimeramecregion.org Missouri Department of Transportation (DOT) and Regional Planning Guidelines, Missouri DOT. Contact: Kent Van Landuyt, 2217 St. Marys Blvd., Jefferson City, MO 65102; (573) 751-6775; fax (573) 526-8052; email vanlak@mail.modot.state.mo.us; web www.modot.state.mo.us Missouri’s Long Range Transportation Plan, Missouri DOT. Contact: Jan Skouby or Kent Van Landuyt, 2217 St. Marys Blvd., Jefferson City, MO 65102; (573) 751-6775; fax (573) 526-8052; email vanlak@mail.modot.state.mo.us or skoubj@mail.modot.state.mo.us; web www.modot.state.mo.us Implementation of the Metropolitan Bicycle Plan, Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Council. Contact: Kenneth N. Jones, 311 N. 15th St., McAllen, TX 78501-4705; (956) 682-3481; fax (956) 631-4670; email knjones@lrgvdc.org; web www.lrgvdc.org

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