Draft Memorandum for the Record
Boston Region MPO Congestion Management Committee Meeting
December 6, 2012 Meeting
12:20 PM –1:45 PM, Norwood Civic Center, Willett Room (1st Floor), 165 Nahatan Street, Norwood, MA
Lourenço Dantas, Chair, representing the Massachusetts Port Authority
The Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization Congestion Management Committee agreed to the following:
• To approve the minutes of the meeting of September 6, 2012, as corrected
• To discuss and potentially make changes to the CMP Committee’s mission statement at a future meeting
• That the chairman of the Boston Region MPO Congestion Management Committee speak to MassDOT staff to seek input on creating a way to commence the MPO’s low-cost intersection improvement program
There were none.
Steve Olanoff requested that Monica Tibbits, who was listed in the minutes in the “other attendees” section, be moved from that section to reflect that she was the Regional Transportation Advisory Council representative at that meeting. The meeting minutes were approved as corrected.
A memorandum to the chair of the CMP Committee, Lourenço Dantas, that committee members and staff wrote, was discussed. This memorandum outlines the steps for starting a new low-cost intersection improvement program funded by the $350,000 that was awarded to the Congestion Management Committee earlier this year.
First, MPO staff outlined the contents of the memorandum. The CMP monitors transportation facilities in order to identify needs and make recommendations for the implementation of improvements. The intersection improvement program would focus on the implementation of recommendations at signalized intersections. MassDOT districts could implement short-term recommendations for MassDOT-owned roadway locations through “bookjobs” or other implementation avenues When a project is created and funded through a bookjob, the project’s design may be performed by MassDOT Highway Division district staff. Examples of small improvement projects include traffic signal retiming, signage, and striping. For municipally owned signalized intersections, retiming would be done by a contractor though the program, but other short-term recommendations (signing, markings, and other improvements) would be implemented with private, local, or TIP funds.
Examples of intersection improvement programs that have been implemented in other states were mentioned and explained. Brief descriptions of these intersection improvement programs are listed in the “TIP Program for Intersection Improvements” memorandum, which was distributed during the meeting. Listed below are some details that were discussed during the Congestion Management Committee meeting.
Wilmington, DE – The MPO prioritizes the projects for their intersection improvement program. It is currently not known what sources of funding are used for this intersection improvement program. All roads in Delaware are owned by the Delaware Department of Transportation, making it simpler to implement the programs.
Ohio – The Ohio Department of Transportation focuses on signal timing. This program consists of two contracts, in the amount of $750,000 each, through two task order consultants that conduct traffic counts, field work, model creation, and timing optimization. Any municipality is free to apply for this program. The Ohio Department of Transportation designs and constructs the project regardless of who owns the right-of-way.
Orlando, FL – This MPO has a $4 million program, with $2 million dollars dedicated exclusively to signal timing. The local municipalities work with the Florida Department of Transportation.
There were several programs mentioned during the Congestion Management Committee meeting that utilized federal funds for the implementation of projects in the Boston Region MPO area. These programs are described in the “TIP Program for Intersection Improvements” memorandum. A summary of the programs that were at the meeting is below.
The Boston Region MPO’s Clean Air and Mobility Program – This is a federally funded $2 million program that offers support for projects through CMAQ funds. The Newton Signal Retiming Project was funded by the MPO’s Clean Air and Mobility Program and is a program that is similar to the intersection improvement program that is being considered for implementation.
MassDOT’s Stop-Controlled Intersection Program – This is a federally funded program for reducing crash rates at stop-controlled intersections.
MassDOT’s Safe Routes to School Program – This program’s intent is to improve safety for children when they are commuting to school by biking or walking. Consultants hired by MassDOT design and construct these projects.
The MPO staff has already performed numerous intersection studies, funded through the UPWP, in which intersection signal retiming needs were identified. Therefore, it is expected that minimal additional planning and project management work would be required for an intersection improvement program that would focus on the retiming of signals.
According to MassDOT staff, the hardest part of implementing such a program would be its management, including coordination between the municipalities, MassDOT, and the consultant who would perform the retiming. After participating in preliminary meetings with various MassDOT divisions, MassDOT staff has expressed some concerns about the cost-effectiveness of MassDOT-managed small projects or programs as the one proposed. However, they are confident that such a program could be implemented with management assistance from MPO staff.
One proposal about how to manage this program came from the staff of MassDOT Highway Division’s Traffic Engineering Section. According to this proposal, MassDOT’s Traffic Engineering staff would contract with a consultant to produce mini-reports for intersection locations identified by MPO staff. The mini-reports would include traffic counts, signal operation evaluations, retiming in the field, sign, marking, and traffic signal equipment assessments. Of these, only signal retiming recommendations would be implemented through the intersection improvement program. The rest of the recommendations would be implemented by MassDOT districts (via a bookjob or other means, at their discretion and according to their priorities), if the site is MassDOT-owned. If the site is municipally owned, the recommendations may be implemented by the municipality (according to their priorities for design). The consultant would be paid from the program’s funds for producing the mini-reports and performing the traffic signal retiming. MPO staff would assist with the management of the program, including being the liaison between the consultant and the communities that participate in the program.
A copy of the email that MPO staff received from MassDOT’s Traffic Engineering Section on their proposal about how to manage this program was handed out to the committee.
At this point in the meeting, it was recommended that Lourenço Dantas, CMP Committee Chair, discuss this issue with David Mohler, MPO Chair, about how to best manage this program, and taking into account the proposals of the MassDOT Highway Division’s Traffic Engineering staff.
The committee chair will meet with MassDOT staff to ask the questions that were raised at this committee meeting and to help create the low-cost intersection improvement program.
Tom Kadzis suggested that there should be some modification of the phrasing of the Boston Region MPO’s Congestion Management Committee’s mission statement. It was suggested that use of the term “Single-Occupancy Vehicle” in the mission statement implies that this is the main focus of the Congestion Management Process. It was agreed that the mission statement will be revaluated at a future CMP Committee meeting.
The meeting was adjourned.
|
Members |
Representatives
and Alternates |
|
At-Large City (City of Newton) |
David Koses |
|
At-Large Town (Town of Lexington) |
Richard Canale |
|
City of Boston (Boston Redevelopment
Authority) |
Tom Kadzis |
|
Massachusetts Port Authority |
Lourenço Dantas |
|
North Suburban Planning Council (City of Woburn) |
Ed Tarallo |
|
Regional Transportation Advisory Council |
Steve Olanoff |
|
Other
Attendees |
Affiliation |
|
Dennis Crowley |
South West Advisory Planning Committee (Town of Medway) |
|
MPO
Staff/Central Transportation Planning Staff |
|
Ryan Hicks |
|
Anne McGahan |
|
Efi Pagitsas |
|
Scott Peterson |
|
Pam Wolfe |