What Studies Do You Want to See in This Year’s Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP)?

Dear Valued Municipal Representative and Community Member:

We, at the Central Transportation Planning Staff (CTPS) of the Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) are excited to start planning the next UPWP; and we need your input!

You may be thinking—What is the UPWP?

Good question! It is a document that we produce annually, which explains how the Boston region’s federal transportation-planning funds will be spent in a given federal fiscal year (FFY). There are four main categories of work funded through the UPWP:

1. Ongoing technical assistance programs (for example, Complete Streets corridor planning)
   
   
2. New transportation studies (for example, research on what the MPO can do to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the region)
   
   
3. Studies and technical analyses for agency-sponsored work (for example, fare increase analyses and rider surveys)
   
   
4. Certification requirements and administrative activities (for example, the Long-Range Transportation Plan, Transportation Improvement Program, Unified Planning Work Program, and transportation equity program)

So, how can you help?

As we start to think about what work the MPO might undertake in FFY 2018, your ideas will help us choose locations for our technical assistance work (number 1 above) and develop concepts for new transportation studies (number 2 above) that the MPO could fund.

Specifically, we want to know:

• What are your main transportation needs?
• What are your priorities in terms of transportation?
• Are there any specific locations (intersections, corridors, streets) that concern you because of safety, congestion, or multi-modal transportation issues?

Please take some time to think about the questions below and note your responses in the allotted spaces, or attach extra sheets.

A)        Some principal themes in the UPWP over the past few years include:

• Complete Streets roadway improvements
• Multi-modal corridor planning
• Expansion of bicycle and pedestrian networks
• Suburban mobility
• Greenhouse gas reduction strategies
• Safety issues for bicycles, pedestrians, and vulnerable populations (for example, children and the elderly)

A1)      What additional themes, topics, or transportation issues—either in your community or in our region—would you like to see the MPO investigate?

A2)      Do you have any ideas for specific projects within these themes?

B)        Below are some issues, concerns, and new developments in the forefront of transportation planning today:

• Performance measures for public health and equity
• Need for better data to support a variety of projects
• Climate change adaptation and resilience
• New approaches to public outreach that would help you feel more involved
• Innovations in transportation (automated vehicles, electric vehicles, ride-sharing services, bike-share, alternative-road materials/design)

B1)      As you consider these topics, do you have thoughts about other emerging issues and opportunities that you want the MPO to consider?

B2)      Do you also have ideas for specific projects within these topical areas?

C)        Below are a number of planning programs that address particular issues. MPO staff examine these matters in a variety of communities and recommend improvements.

• Addressing Safety, Mobility, and Access on Subregional Priority Roadways
• Addressing Priority Corridors from the Long-Range Transportation Plan Needs Assessment
• Community Transportation Technical Assistance
• Transit Planning Technical Assistance and First- and Mile Last-Mile Transit Connection Studies

C1)     As you consider the list above, what neighborhoods, or specific locations come to mind as good candidates for us to study?

C2)     Do you know of schools in your community that have been recipients of Safe Routes to School programs, where we could study the before-and-after impacts of these improvements?

C3)     Are there any streets or roadways in your neighborhood that concern you? If so, why?

C4)     Can you think of any other transportation-planning studies or programs that you would like to see in your community?

Thanks for your feedback! What’s next?

Your response to the questions above will help facilitate a conversation between us. We look forward to talking with you in person about these issues in the coming months!

In addition, your ideas and suggestions will become part of the universe of studies and programs that the MPO will consider funding in FFY 2018 through the UPWP.

For more information, please contact Ali Kleyman, MPO Staff, at akleyman@ctps.org or 857-702-3709.