Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program Greensboro Oak Ridge Pleasant Garden Sedalia Stokesdale Summerfield Guilford County
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2016-2025 Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program Greensboro Oak Ridge Pleasant Garden Sedalia Stokesdale Summerfield Guilford County 2016-2025 MTIP ∙ Greensboro Urban Area Chapter 1 What is the Purpose of the MTIP? 1. Executive Summary The 2016-2025 Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program (MTIP) lists transportation investments within the Greensboro Urban Area scheduled for federal or state funding. The document includes the Highway Program, the Non-Highway Program (transit, rail, bicycle, and pedestrian, and aviation), and the Statewide Program (umbrella projects which may be used to make investments across the entire state as needed). The Greensboro Urban Area includes the City of Greensboro and much of Guilford County with the exception of the Burlington/Gibsonville/ Whitsett area in the east and the High Point/Jamestown area in the southwest. Under federal law and regulations all projects included in the MTIP must be consistent with: • the MPO’s federally required 2040 Metropolitan Transportation Plan for the Greensboro Urban Area; and • the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) which includes all federal and state funded projects for the State of North Carolina. The MTIP is a subset of the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program. The MTIP and STIP can be collectively referred to as the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). The Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) develops the MTIP in cooperation with the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT). The MPO and NCDOT must approve the final MTIP. The STIP and MTIP are generally updated every two years. Updates to the STIP and MTIP may include project delays, project accelerations, addition of new projects, or deletion of old projects. For federal purposes, the first four years are considered committed, while the later years are anticipated. NCDOT policy states that for the projects it selects and directs funding towards through at least the right of way phase during the first five years of the TIP (2016-2020), also known as the Five Year Work Program, is considered committed through construction. NCDOT stated its intent to deliver these projects even if some of them take longer than the first five years of the program to implement. These projects are not subject to future reprioritization. In contrast, the Developmental Plan (years 2021-2025) is subject to reprioritization rather than a commitment to deliver and is primarily illustrative in nature at this time. NCDOT released the Draft 2016-2025 STIP in December 2014 for public review and comments. NCDOT approved the STIP on June 3, 2015. The STIP and Project information can be viewed at the following NCDOT website: https://connect.ncdot.gov/projects/planning/Pages/default.aspx. Readers are encouraged to learn more about the STIP. However, for projects in the Greensboro area, this MTIP is intended as the primary vehicle for public review, comment, and explanation. The MPO is scheduled to adopt the MTIP on September 23. An electronic copy of the MTIP is available at www.guampo.org. Chapter 1 Page 1 August 2015 2016-2025 MTIP ∙ Greensboro Urban Area 2. What is the MPO? The Greensboro Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) administers the transportation planning process as required under Federal Law. The MPO plans for area surface transportation needs including highways, transit, bicycle, and pedestrian facilities. This planning includes the development of many federally mandated and regulated documents including the MTIP, the Metropolitan Transportation Plan, and the air quality conformity process. MPOs are required for all urban areas over 50,000 in population. The Greensboro Urban Area includes the City of Greensboro and much of Guilford County with the exception of the Burlington/Gibsonville/Whitsett area in the east and the High Point/ Jamestown area in the southwest. The MPO area contains over 200,000 people and is therefore classified as a Transportation Management Area. This designation brings additional responsibilities as well as flexibility in developing the MTIP. For example, the designation provides the MPO the authority to direct Surface Transportation Direct Apportionment Program, Transportation Alternatives Program, and Section 5310 Transportation for Elderly and Disabled Persons Program funds to area projects. The Greensboro DOT is the Lead Planning Agency (LPA) of the MPO, meaning the transportation planners at GDOT are also the staff for the MPO. MPO staff performs administrative functions, project planning and programming, and a variety of technical analyses. The MPO has a policy board and a technical committee which provide the MPO direction on executing planning activities and developing project priorities. The MPO’s policy board is the Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC). The board contains elected officials from Greensboro, Guilford County, and one shared member appointed to represent the towns of Pleasant Garden, Oak Ridge, Sedalia, Summerfield, and Stokesdale. A member of NCDOT’s Board of Transportation also serves on the board. The board serves a key role in making decisions about public investment in transportation services, infrastructure, and planning within the region. For example, the TAC board approves MPO area project prioritization decisions, direction of sub-allocated funds to area projects, and the Metropolitan Transportation Plan necessary for MTIP development. Transportation planners join with staff from stakeholder agencies to form the Technical Coordinating Committee (TCC). The committee facilitates transportation planning coordination and provides the Transportation Advisory Committee recommendations on transportation planning decisions. The Technical Coordinating Committee consists of staff from the City of Greensboro DOT, NCDOT Division 7, Greensboro Transit Authority (GTA), NCDOT Transportation Planning Branch, City of Greensboro Planning Department, Guilford County Planning & Development Department, the Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation (PART), and the Towns of Oak Ridge and Summerfield. 3. What is the MTIP? The Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program (MTIP) is a detailed financial program for upcoming transportation projects in the Greensboro Urban Area. The MTIP is considered a subset of the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program. Like the STIP, the MTIP includes the Highway Program, the Non-Highway Program (transit, rail, bicycle, and pedestrian, and aviation), and the Statewide Program (umbrella projects which may be used to make investments across the entire state as needed). Both the MTIP and STIP (collectively referred to as the TIP) are required by Chapter 1 Page 2 September 2015 2016-2025 MTIP ∙ Greensboro Urban Area federal law and must conform to a range of regulatory requirements. The Greensboro Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) generally updates the MTIP every two years. The MTIP provides a ten year listing of project activities, funding sources, and costs by fiscal year. Highway related project activities can include design, right-of-way acquisition, environmental mitigation, and construction. This is true of rail, aviation, and bicycle and pedestrian projects as well. Transit related project activities can include operations, purchase of capital equipment, and in some cases, right of way and construction. Prioritizing and selecting projects and creating the MTIP require coordination between member agencies, especially between the MPO, NCDOT, and GTA. Under state law, NCDOT is responsible for selecting projects and directing a majority of federal highway funds and State Highway Trust Funds, and state matches for various transit grants to projects across the state including in the Greensboro area using a quantitative needs-based prioritization process. For the 2016-2025 TIP, NCDOT relied on a process called Prioritization 3.0 for selecting projects for inclusion. For the 2018-2027 STIP, NCDOT will rely on a revised process called Prioritization 4.0 for selecting projects for inclusion. See What is the STIP? For more information about that process. See How is the MTIP Developed? for more information about the MPO’s involvement in that process. In addition to the process described above, the MPO directs a portion of state and federal highway funds (STP-DA, TAP and CMAQ) to area projects. STP-DA and CMAQ may be used for both highway and transit purposes while TAP are mainly available for pedestrian and bicycle projects. The MPO works with its member agencies to establish and cross-check MPO project priorities, project schedules, and available funds in developing these programs. The MPO then directs the allocation of these funds in the MTIP and STIP. The MPO works with GTA to direct federal transit funds directly apportioned to the area (Section 5307 Urbanized Area Allocation Formula and Section 5339 Bus and Bus Facilities). This is based on ongoing consultation about GTA needs and the system’s changing circumstances through time. The MPO also directs relatively small amounts of funding under the Section 5310 Program as well as the Section 5316 and Section 5317 Program funds as may come available. These funds are directed through a competitive selection process established under the FY 2014-2018 Coordinated Human Services Transportation Plan. The MPO and its member transit agencies also regularly pursue non- formula transit capital funds distributed administratively through competitive processes administered directly by the Federal Transit Administration.