Capitol Region Transportation Plan (2015)
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CAPITOL REGION TRANSPORTATION PLAN A guide for transportation investments through the year 2040 MINOR UPDATE ~ 2015 Adopted by the CRCOG Policy Board on April 22, 2015 Table of Contents 2015 Interim Plan Update page 1 Major Policy Directions page 3 Chapter 1 - A Sustainable Transportation System page 6 Chapter 2 - Transit System page 18 Chapter 3 - Highway System page 29 Chapter 4 - Bicycles & Pedestrians page 49 Chapter 5 - Airport Transport page 55 Chapter 6 - Freight Transport System page 62 Chapter 7 - Special Policies page 69 Transportation Security MPO Coordination Air Quality-Transportation Policy Demand Management Policy Chapter 8 - Financial Plan page 77 Chapter 9 - Environmental Justice page 83 Chapter 10 - Public Involvement page 87 Appendix A: Previous & Related Plans page 96 Transportation 2040 April 2015 2015 INTERIM PLAN UPDATE Why a Minor Update? The Capitol Region Council of Governments (CRCOG) is undertaking this minor update of its 2011 Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) primarily to comply with federal requirements that Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) update their LRTPs at least once every four years. CRCOG has chosen to do a minor update rather than a full update, for two reasons. The first reason is that the latest transportation legislation, Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21), requires MPOs to coordinate with their state’s department of transportation to develop performance measures and performance targets that will be used in future planning efforts. Because CRCOG’s LRTP was due to be updated before those metrics were ready, the decision was made to postpone a major update until the metrics were fully developed. A second reason for doing a minor update is that MPO boundaries in Connecticut are changing. In 2013, the State of Connecticut initiated a process to reorganize its regional planning organizations (RPOs, who have traditionally been the hosts of the state’s MPOs). The result of this process was that the Capitol Region RPO gained eight new municipalities. Four of the municipalities joined the Capitol Region from the Central Connecticut Regional Planning Agency (CCRPA), and four joined from the Windham Council of Governments (WinCOG). Along with this reorganization, the towns clearly indicated their desire to change the MPO boundaries to match the RPO boundaries. While the RPO re-designation process was complete in January 2015, the MPO process is taking longer. The MPO re-designation process requires that municipalities, and the Governor approve of the boundary change. As of this writing, the municipalities belonging to CRCOG, CCRPA, and WinCOG have all officially endorsed the change. In addition, the Town of Stafford joined CRCOG in September 2010 but CRCOG and Stafford did not undertake the MPO re-designation processes. Consequently, Stafford is not yet officially a part of the CRCOG MPO. In February 2015, the CRCOG and Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments (NVCOG), supported by all the requisite municipal and MPO resolutions, sent a letter to the Governor’s office requesting approval of the boundary change. That approval is still pending. CRCOG anticipates that this process will not be complete until at least June 2015. After the process is complete, the Capitol Region MPO will consist of 38 towns. 1 Transportation 2040 April 2015 Next Steps After the boundaries are officially changed, each of the new regions will need to revise their plans to incorporate their new municipalities. The eight new municipalities will not be incorporated during this minor update as they are not officially members of the Capitol Region MPO. The CCRPA towns are developing an interim plan of their own under the auspices of the Central Connecticut MPO (CCMPO). The four WinCOG towns were not previously part of an MPO, and as in the past, they will be included in the statewide LRTP. The Town of Stafford, however, was included in CRCOG’s 2011 Plan, and will for that reason be included in this minor update. Sometime after July 2015, CRCOG will develop a new LRTP. This plan will incorporate the needs, priorities, and projects from the MPO member municipalities at that time. It is expected but not guaranteed that this will include all 38 municipalities, and will be dependent upon whether or not the Governor has approved the re-designation. The new plan will also be developed using the new performance-based planning process. 2 Transportation 2040 April 2015 MAJOR POLICY DIRECTIONS The Capitol Region Transportation Plan outlines a comprehensive program for improving our transportation system to meet travel needs through the year 2040. For the most part, it is a systems level plan that provides general policy guidance. It defines the Region's greatest needs, identifies which problems are the Region’s highest priority, and outlines how the Region should spend its limited capital funds. The Plan is also the sum of many specific and detailed studies. The recommendations of those studies, such as the Regional Transit Strategy, the bicycle and pedestrian plan, and several corridor studies, are summarized in this Plan. For details concerning existing and future conditions, alternatives analyzed and recommendation specifics, the actual study documents should be consulted. A list of all the studies that contributed to this Plan is found in Appendix A. The documents themselves can be accessed on the Publications page of the CRCOG website: www.crcog.org/publications/transportaton. Policies Reaffirmed. This Transportation Plan reaffirms the Council’s commitment to policies set in Policies Reaffirmed previous editions. It reaffirms the Council’s commitment to More Travel Choices developing a transportation system that offers more and Sustainable Transportation better travel choices, and continues its emphasis on Environmental Justice developing a good regional transit system as an alternative to the automobile. It also reaffirms and strengthens our Transit Emphasis commitment to developing a bicycle and pedestrian system. Better Bike & Walk Options This Plan also includes a strong commitment to linking land Better Systems Operations and use and transportation planning, aimed at creating a Management sustainable transportation system. Continued support for Bradley International Airport, the beginning of a freight planning program, and a commitment to environmental justice are also included. More Travel Choices. The 2015 Regional Transportation Plan continues to emphasize the desire to provide our Region’s residents with more travel options, and to reduce their need to rely exclusively on the private automobile. While the automobile will continue to dominate most travel in the Region, we need to provide more opportunities for people to use alternate means of transportation. With the earlier adoptions of the Regional Transit Strategy, the Regional Bike and Pedestrian Plan, and the opening of CTfastrak, we have taken major steps toward achieving that goal. The Transportation Plan continues to be a true multi- modal plan. Sustainable Transportation System. The Plan continues to emphasize the coordination of transportation policies with the Regional Plan of Conservation and Development, or more generally, linking land use planning with transportation planning. The Plan continues to recognize that a common goal of both disciplines needs to be promoting sustainable communities in the Capitol Region. CRCOG’s transportation program supports livable community goals and the Regional Plan of Conservation and Development. This Plan also includes a commitment to coordination with State land use plans and policies and green infrastructure treatments. Continued Emphasis on Environmental Justice. The Region reaffirms its commitment to address the transportation needs of all its residents including members of minority groups, low-income residents, and transit-dependent residents. This Plan continues to build on the many years of progress since our initial commitment. It continues to include the environmental justice policies and procedures adopted previously and identifies a list of environmental justice issues of special interest. Continued Emphasis on Transit. This Plan reaffirms the Council’s commitment to the Regional Transit Strategy, reflects progress made over the last several years, and includes the results of major transit studies and initiatives. The Plan also supports CTfastrak and the Hartford Line transit corridors and looks to strengthen bus rapid transit by extending CTfastrak to east of the Connecticut River. 3 Transportation 2040 April 2015 Continued Emphasis on Pedestrian & Bicycle Travel. This Plan continues our efforts to promote non-motorized travel modes, focusing on the 5 “E’s”: Engineering, Education, Encouragement, Enforcement, and Evaluation to achieve our vision. Better Systems Operation & Management. This policy continues the emphasis on transportation solutions that are based on improving the efficiency of the existing infrastructure rather than building new infrastructure. As a result of this policy, the Plan includes a financial commitment to system management methods such as freeway incident management, coordinated traffic signal systems, Intelligent Transportation Systems, and access management on arterial roads. New Recommendations. New to this Plan are references required under Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21); and those recommendations from several studies completed since the 2011 Plan, identified below: Route 3 Corridor Study Route 6 Corridor