Transportation

These regional transportation projects and programs point toward the benefits for rural communities, with emphasis on pedestrian safety, increased community input in planning, better-quality road conditions, growth in intermodal air, water, and inland ports, economic development opportunities and real-time, accurate data.

West Alabama Regional Commission held its second annual MPO Training Session for MPO committee members and interested individuals. Two hour-long sessions were conducted. Trainers representing the Alabama Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration and the commission/MPO reviewed project funding, financial responsibilities, federal regulations, committee structure, MPO functions, and the life of a federally funded transportation project. Twenty-three people participated in the sessions including ten committee members.

More than 600 Tuscaloosa County elementary schoolchildren participated in West Alabama Regional Commission and local partners’ Walk Our Children to School Day project to make communities more “walkable.”

More than 600 Tuscaloosa County elementary schoolchildren participated in West Alabama Regional Commission and local partners’ Walk Our Children to School Day project to make communities more “walkable.” The project identified areas needing sidewalks, traffic signals, crossing guards and other safety measures. Two schools have already received new or repainted crosswalks and flashing pedestrian signs. Local organizations involved included law enforcement, health and fire departments, Tuscaloosa Safe Kids, YMCA, housing authority, ambulance services, hospitals and schools.

A partnership of 63 rural cities/towns and 13 counties and the Northern Arizona Council of Governments are responsible for developing and funding a new Rural Transportation Liaison position. The liaison monitors transportation activities and matters at the Arizona State Legislature and the Arizona State Transportation Board. The determined need came from on-going discussions that began at Arizona’s 2001 Rural Transportation Summit.

Champaign County Regional Planning Commission, in Illinois, via its Champaign-Urbana Urbanized Area Transportation Study and accessible pedestrian signal subcommittee, developed the Guidelines for Selection and Installation of Accessible Pedestrian Signals. The project began in response to improvement requests from local blind and visually impaired persons. Installation standards were created and 30 intersections were evaluated for pilot installations, which are now underway. Illinois Department of Transportation worked with the subcommittee to develop the standards for statewide adoption.

Growth in the mega-dairy industry in Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission’s rural region has furthered the planning of a New Rural Interchange in Indiana. Daily mega-dairy truck traffic averages over 1,000 incoming/outgoing trucks with up to 80,000 pounds of load capacity. The interchange will bring highway access five to nine miles closer to improve road safety. The project has support from the Indiana Department of Transportation, some dairies have committed land donations and visitor center planning is underway.

Aimed at injecting $2.3 million into infrastructure improvements and diversifying industrial growth, the Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission’s Rail Spur to County-Based Industrial Park project has brought city and county leaders together to provide leverage funding. The 4,890 foot rail spur will provide a local industrial park with rail access to compliment existing rail, water, sewer, electricity and facility improvements. The project was awarded $1,285,600 from the U.S. Economic Development Administration and $700,000 in private investment commitments.

The Region XII Council of Governments and partners used smart growth planning techniques when they created the Iowa Highway 44 Coordinated Transportation and Land Use Plan. The 12 co-sponsoring organizations developed the plan to be used as a corridor preservation and transportation planning guidance tool for two regional planning organizations, the Des Moines metropolitan transportation planning organizations (MPOs) and the Iowa Department of Transportation. Total project funding was $93,300.

The 15 existing Kentucky Area Development Districts, in cooperation with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and the Federal Highway Administration, are performing the tasks needed to complete the Kentucky GPS Roadway Centerline Data Collection Program. The program goal is to generate a complete, two-meter accuracy, roadway centerline map, which will be used as the state’s transportation base map. All 120 counties of the Commonwealth are scheduled for completion by December 2003.

Arrowhead Regional Development Commission, in Minnesota, with funding from the Federal Highway Administration, the Minnesota Department of Transportation and Duluth Airport Authority, wrote and distributed the Duluth Airport Land Use Plan. The plan provides the airport authority and adjacent jurisdictions with a guide for determining developable lands, compatible land use strategies and future airport roadway needs. The airport is estimated to indirectly contribute over $100 million annually to the city’s economy and provides 2,900 jobs.

Making Mississippi’s Port of Greenville All-Weather Intermodal Transfer Facility a year round productive port, required the South Delta Planning and Development District, Inc. and local partners to obtain $4,500,000 in grants and loans to fund the construction of a fourth barge-berth and a covered bridge crane. The additions allow the port to provide services regardless of weather conditions, giving the region’s port-dependent businesses expansion opportunities and to indirectly foster regional economic growth.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation established a network for North Carolina Rural Planning Organizations, under state legislative authority and with $1,500,000 in matched funding. Complementing the pre-existing MPO network, this creates a unified voice for rural communities on transportation issues and demonstrates a true statewide transportation planning system. The department is providing a two-year training and technical assistance program and adding community planners to its statewide planning engineering staff support initiative.

The First District Association of Local Governments in South Dakota used Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to assist with the completion of the City of Watertown Master Trail Plan project. The city pursued the plan to promote healthier living, improve pedestrian and bicycle safety, promote tourism, enhance scenic views and provide convenient trail access. The maps outline existing trails, attributes and trail options appear with cost projections.

Finding the cause of traffic congestion is the focus of the Lower Rio Grande Valley Council MPO’s Improved 2001 Congestion Management System in Texas. The system, using Global Positioning Systems (GPS), documents travel times along various routes into a congestion index. The index is done seasonally and chronicles, every two seconds, vehicle positions and speeds coupled with 24,000 roadway pictures. The system is part of a federally mandated study to help the region prioritize congestion mitigation recommendations.

West Alabama Regional Commission, Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Training Sessions. Contact: David Norris, 4200 Highway 69 North, Suite 1, Northport, AL 35473-2048; 205/333-2990; fax 205/333-2713; email dnorris@adss.state.al.us;
web www.wapdc.org