Memorandum
Date April 4, 2013
To Boston Region MPO
From Michelle Scott, MPO Staff
Re Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) Committee Recommendation of New Projects for the FFY 2014 UPWP
The Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) is a transportation planning tool that describes the ongoing planning activities, planning studies, and technical support projects that are being conducted on behalf of the Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), transportation agencies, and municipalities that are in the MPO region. MPO staff are in the process of developing the federal fiscal year (FFY) 2014 UPWP, which will cover the time period of October 1, 2013, through September 30, 2014. The purpose of this memorandum is to introduce the recommendation of the MPO’s UPWP Committee of a set of new studies for inclusion in the FFY 2014 UPWP that will be considered by the MPO.
The projects that have been included in the UPWP Committee’s recommendations for the FFY 2014 UPWP have been drawn from the draft FFY 2014 Universe of Proposed New Projects. This document (enclosed), was posted on the MPO’s website for the March 28 UPWP Committee meeting and has been reposted for the April 4 MPO meeting. It lists proposed projects gleaned through a solicitation program that began in November 2012. MPO staff conducted outreach on the UPWP development process and requested project suggestions at Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) subregional group meetings, at two Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) and UPWP–Building Workshops, at a Regional Transportation Advisory Council (RTAC) meeting, and at MPO “Be Informed, Be Involved” information sessions. MPO staff also identified project concepts through consultations with transportation agencies, reviews of past UPWP project proposals and comments, and Central Transportation Planning Staff (CTPS)–wide discussions.
For each project, the Universe document provides a project proposal name, description, and estimated cost, along with explanatory comments where necessary. The document also includes the MPO staff’s priority rankings and a staff assessment of each project that took into consideration a set of focus areas. These focus areas are based on the MPO’s visions and policies, national goals and planning factors, federal guidance, and other state and regional priorities, including those outlined in other regional planning documents (such as the documents for MetroFuture, a comprehensive 30-year plan, for this region, and GreenDOT, an environmental and sustainability initiative of MassDOT). These focus area assessments are meant to illustrate which visions, policies, goals, factors, and priorities the proposed project is likely to advance.
The UPWP Committee met in early February to discuss the draft Universe and provide feedback and guidance on committee members’ views and priorities. Committee members were asked to provide additional input by identifying their individual top five priority projects and the five projects at the bottom of their list.
Next, staff developed an estimate of the funding that is available for new, discrete studies. This estimate was developed with the assumption that FFY 2014 Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration funds (PL and Section 5303 funds, respectively), which comprise all 3C funding, would be level with previous years’ funding. After accounting for the FFY 2014 funding needs for the MPO’s ongoing projects and programs and for FFY 2013 projects that will continue into FFY 2014, the 3C funding available for new projects is estimated to be approximately $470,000.
MPO staff met in late February to select a set of new projects from the Universe to recommend to the UPWP Committee. Staff developed a recommendation of a set of projects that was fiscally constrained to the estimated budget. When selecting projects, staff considered several factors, including:
The UPWP Committee met on March 28, 2013, to consider the staff recommendation and to vote on the UPWP Committee recommendation to be presented to the MPO.
The accompanying table lists the proposed new projects that are included in the UPWP Committee’s recommendation. The UPWP Committee selected a program of projects based on the availability of funding; MPO visions, policies, and priorities; and other factors, including those listed above. The selected projects include:
The projects titled “Priority Corridors for Long-Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) Needs Assessment,” “Addressing Safety, Mobility, and Access on Subregional Priority Roadways,” and “TIP Project Impacts Before-After Evaluation” would be FFY 2014 iterations of projects that were undertaken in previous UPWPs. The project titled “Identification of Areas with Mode Shift Opportunities” would include participation by both the Central Transportation Planning Staff and the Metropolitan Area Planning Council.
The MPO is scheduled to vote on May 2, 2013, on a set of new projects to include in the public review draft FFY 2014 UPWP.
MAPC has also developed a series of project concepts that they plan to implement using MAPC’s allocation of 3C funding. A list of these concepts (enclosed) was posted on the MPO’s website for the March 28 UPWP Committee meeting and were reposted for the April 4 MPO meeting. The UPWP Committee considered these project concepts during their March 28 meeting and voted to advance them to the MPO for consideration by all MPO members. If approved, these MAPC concepts would be incorporated into the draft FFY 2014 UPWP document that will be circulated for public review.
MS/ms
Encl.