Technical Memorandum
DATE: July 30, 2015
TO: Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization
FROM: Michelle Scott, UPWP Manager
RE: Proposed FFY 2015 UPWP Amendment One
The MPO’s Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) Committee recommends an amendment to the federal fiscal year (FFY) 2015 UPWP that reflects the removal of a Central Transportation Planning Staff (CTPS) project and a Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) task, and the transfer of their budgets to other projects or tasks.
The MPO’s UPWP Committee recommends that the Safety Analysis of Intersections near MAGIC Schools project (ID 13269) be removed from the FFY 2015 UPWP. As part of this project, MPO staff would have mapped crashes and other traffic data at intersections in the vicinity of schools in Minuteman Advisory Group on Interlocal Coordination (MAGIC) municipalities. At the March 5, 2015, MPO meeting, the MPO discussed the project’s work scope, but did not approve it because of concerns about the applicability of the project results. At the June 11 and July 23, 2015, UPWP Committee meetings, the Committee discussed the existing work scope, project ideas related to school transportation, and the potential for revising the scope during FFY 2015.
After these discussions, which included feedback from MAGIC area representatives, the UPWP Committee recommended removing the project from the FFY 2015 UPWP.
During the FFY 2017 UPWP development cycle, which begins in October 2015, MPO staff will propose a new project(s) that would capture member and stakeholder feedback on issues related to school transportation. This proposed project(s) would be a candidate(s) for inclusion in the FFY 2017 UPWP.
The Safety Analysis of Intersections near MAGIC Schools project had a FFY 2015 budget of $22,250. On July 23, the MPO’s UPWP Committee approved a FFY 2015 UPWP budget adjustment that reallocated $10,000 of the project budget to other MPO-funded projects in the FFY 2015 UPWP. As part of UPWP Amendment One, the UPWP Committee recommends that the remaining $12,250 in the project budget be transferred to the Fairmount Line Station Access Analysis project (ID 11249) in the FFY 2015 UPWP, increasing the project budget from $40,000 to $52,250. MPO staff will use these additional funds to analyze safety problems and other possible impediments to bicyclist and pedestrian access to an additional station on the Fairmount Line, increasing the number of stations that may be studied from four to five.
MAPC no longer plans to conduct the Land Use Baseline for Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) task described in its list of Corridor/Subarea Planning Studies (ID MAPC4) in the FFY 2015 UPWP. As part of this task, MAPC would have performed a land-use baseline analysis for a priority BRT corridor identified by the Barr-Foundation-funded Greater Boston BRT Study Group, which works in partnership with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), the MBTA, and the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP). The Greater Boston BRT Study Group identified several priority BRT corridors, but has not narrowed the selection to one corridor for study.
The UPWP Committee recommends removing the Land Use Baseline for BRT task from the FFY 2015 UPWP, and transferring the $11,180 budget to the Opportunities for and Impediments to Creating Transit-Oriented-Development (TOD) task, increasing its budget from $70,000 to $81,180. Using these additional funds, MAPC would continue to analyze the potential for TOD in the area near Braintree station during FFY 2015.
With MPO approval, Draft FFY 2015 UPWP Amendment One will be released for a 30-day public review and comment period. The MPO is scheduled to take action on this amendment at its meeting on September 3, 2015. Members of the public are invited to attend. Comments on the proposed amendment will be accepted in writing before the close of the public comment period, and in writing or orally at the meeting.
The attached documents reflect the UPWP components that are affected by FFY 2015 UPWP Proposed Amendment One. They include:
MS/ms
Encl.
| Project Name | General Project Name | UPWP Chapter/Project Group | Project ID | Staff | Client | Status (Percent Complete ad of 10/1/14) | Total Project Budget | General Project Description | Project Description | General Project FFY 2015 Activities and Expected Work Products | FFY 2015 Activities and Expected Work Products | Relationship to Other UPWP Projects | General Project FHWA/FTA Grant Application Task and Element | Project FHWA/FTA Grant Application Task and Element | FFY 2015 Project Budget | FFY 2015 Budget: Funding Received by CTPS | FFY 2015 Budget: Funding Received by MAPC | FFY 2015 Budget: Funding Received by MassDOT | FFY 2015 Budget: PL Funding for Project | FFY 2015 Budget: MPO Section 5303 Funding for Project | FFY 2015 Budget: SPR Funding for Project | FFY 2015 Budget: MassDOT Funding for Project | FFY 2015 Budget: MassDOT Section 5303 Funding for Project | FFY 2015 Budget: MBTA Funding for Project | FFY 2015 Budget: Other Funding for Project | Amendment Notes |
| Opportunities for and Impediments to Creating Transit-Oriented Development | Corridor/Subarea Planning Studies | Chapter 6, Planning Studies | MAPC4 | Metropolitan Area Planning Council | Boston Region MPO | Ongoing | Not applicable to ongoing projects | This UPWP task includes funding to support MAPC’s work on several corridor and subarea studies in the region. Some of these projects will be funded jointly through the UPWP and the Commonwealth's District Local Technical Assistance program. |
Funding amount: $81,180. MAPC will continue to plan work that can support transit-oriented development (TOD). MAPC will use demographic data to identify two or three existing transit stations (subway or commuter rail) or high-volume bus corridors that have the potential to support TOD. MAPC will analyze these sites and identify their development potential, along with impediments to development, such as existing zoning, inadequate pedestrian connections, outdated parking requirements, existing levels of travel demand management (TDM) implementation, and infrastructure elements. MAPC then will offer recommendations about how to improve the sites’ potential for TOD. Where applicable, MAPC will conduct a market analysis to determine whether the market can support additional development at the chosen station areas or in the chosen corridors. MAPC will work closely with the MBTA, CTPS, MassDOT, land owners, and the municipalities in which the stations or corridors are located. |
Not Applicable | Analysis to identify transit stations or bus corridors with the potential to support TOD, market analysis, mapping and visualization products, demographic and vehicle-miles-traveled data for chosen station areas or corridors, community engagement, recommendations to overcome impediments to TOD, technical support to municipalities. |
Not Applicable | 44.23.01 | Not Applicable | This project is part of the "Corridor/Subarea Planning Studies" general project. The "Corridor/Subarea Planning Studies" FFY 2015 Total Budget is $167,480. | $0 | This project is part of the "Corridor/Subarea Planning Studies" general project . The amount of funds received by MAPC for the "Corridor/Subarea Planning Studies" general project is $167,480. | $0 | This project is part of the "Corridor/Subarea Planning Studies" general project. The total PL funding for the "Corridor/Subarea Planning Studies" " general project is $112,180. | This project is part of the "Corridor/Subarea Planning Studies" general project. The total MPO Section 5303 funding for the "Corridor/Subarea Planning Studies" general project is $55,300. | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | Under Proposed FFY 2015 UPWP Amendment 1, the Land Use Baseline for Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) task would be removed from MAPC's list of Corridor/Subarea Planning Studies. The $11,180 previously allocated to the Land Use Baseline for BRT task would be transferred to the Opportunities and Impediments to Creating Transit-Oriented Development task, and would raise that task's budget from $70,000 to $81,180. Under Proposed FFY 2015 UPWP Amendment 1, the net budget change for MAPC's Corridor/Subarea Planning Tasks would be $0. |
| Right Size Parking Tool | Corridor/Subarea Planning Studies | Chapter 6, Planning Studies | MAPC4 | Metropolitan Area Planning Council | Boston Region MPO | Ongoing | Not applicable to ongoing projects | This UPWP task includes funding to support MAPC’s work on several corridor and subarea studies in the region. Some of these projects will be funded jointly through the UPWP and the Commonwealth's District Local Technical Assistance program. |
Funding amount: $70,000 MAPC will create an online parking tool that will provide MassDOT, the MBTA, municipalities, developers, non-profits, and the general public with information to better understand the parking supply and demand of multi-family housing developments in their communities. This project could benefit local air quality and reduce congestion by providing information that municipalities and developers can use when deciding whether to reduce the total number of parking spaces required as a component of a new development. In locations where parking requirements are reduced, the number of households with one or more vehicles could decline, resulting in higher levels of walking, biking, and transit ridership. A better understanding of parking supply and demand could help communities achieve a parking balance and “right-size” requirements for providing parking, and thereby reduce constraints on multi-family housing development. To carry out this project, MAPC, in partnership with three to four municipalities, will identify a statistically significant number of multi-family housing developments to survey. Parking-related data from these surveys will be incorporated into the parking tool, which will be a fully interactive online resource accessible to the public and municipal planners. A parking calculator included in the tool will allow users to input information about a particular development project to determine the estimated parking ratio for the project, the estimated costs of constructing the parking, estimated annual greenhouse gas emissions, estimated annual vehicle miles traveled associated with the parking ratio, and other data. Users could use this data to compare the parking and parking-related measures associated with a proposed development project to existing similar projects within their communities or around the region. When developing this parking tool, MAPC also will research how traffic circulation may be affected because of changes in parking availability across various community types. This research may involve coordination with CTPS. As part of this project, MAPC will educate municipal decision makers, developers, and the public about the impact of parking locally and regionally. |
Not Applicable | Development of online parking tool. Surveys to collect parking data for identified developments. Parking-related educational activities for municipal decision makers, developers, and the public. Research related to the relationship between parking availability and impacts on traffic circulation. |
Not Applicable | 44.23.01 | Not Applicable | This project is part of the "Corridor/Subarea Planning Studies" general project. The "Corridor/Subarea Planning Studies" FFY 2015 Total Budget is $167,480. | $0 | This project is part of the "Corridor/Subarea Planning Studies" general project . The amount of funds received by MAPC for the "Corridor/Subarea Planning Studies" general project is $167,480. | $0 | This project is part of the "Corridor/Subarea Planning Studies" general project. The total PL funding for the "Corridor/Subarea Planning Studies" " general project is $112,180. | This project is part of the "Corridor/Subarea Planning Studies" general project. The total MPO Section 5303 funding for the "Corridor/Subarea Planning Studies" general project is $55,300. | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | No changes have been made to this Corridor/Subarea Planning Studies task. |
| Stream Crossing Inventory for Local Roads | Corridor/Subarea Planning Studies | Chapter 6, Planning Studies | MAPC4 | Metropolitan Area Planning Council | Boston Region MPO | Ongoing | Not applicable to ongoing projects | This UPWP task includes funding to support MAPC’s work on several corridor and subarea studies in the region. Some of these projects will be funded jointly through the UPWP and the Commonwealth's District Local Technical Assistance program. |
Funding amount: $16,300. This program involves mapping critical roadway segments that are eligible for federal funding in a pilot watershed in the region, along with information on where environmentally sensitive resources are located. Examples of these resources include cold-water fisheries, wetlands, and fish runs. MAPC will identify which roadway segments or locations may be adversely affected by undersized culverts or other roadway elements. This information could be used to support municipal efforts to identify transportation infrastructure likely in need of improvement; such improvements could be incorporated into roadway projects, which could include climate-adaption projects. |
Not Applicable | Data collection of both roadway infrastructure and environmental data, such as layers utilized within the Conservation Assessment and Prioritization System (CAPS) program at the University of Massachusetts, and other data sources. MAPC’s Development Database and Priority Preservation and Priority Development Areas analyses, if available for the pilot watershed, could be used to identify proposed development that could either contribute to degradation and/or bear the brunt of flooding and roadway damage from undersized drainage systems. GIS-based analysis to determine the most critical intersections where roadways and hardened trails, cross rivers, streams, freshwater, and coastal wetlands. Preparation of a report summarizing results of the analysis and offering recommendations for next steps. | Not applicable | 44.23.01 | Not Applicable | This project is part of the "Corridor/Subarea Planning Studies" general project. The "Corridor/Subarea Planning Studies" FFY 2015 Total Budget is $167,480. | $0 | This project is part of the "Corridor/Subarea Planning Studies" general project . The amount of funds received by MAPC for the "Corridor/Subarea Planning Studies" general project is $167,480. | $0 | This project is part of the "Corridor/Subarea Planning Studies" general project. The total PL funding for the "Corridor/Subarea Planning Studies" " general project is $112,180. | This project is part of the "Corridor/Subarea Planning Studies" general project. The total MPO Section 5303 funding for the "Corridor/Subarea Planning Studies" general project is $55,300. | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | No changes have been made to this Corridor/Subarea Planning Studies task. |
| Land Use Baseline for Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) | Corridor/Subarea Planning Studies | Chapter 6, Planning Studies | MAPC4 | Metropolitan Area Planning Council | Boston Region MPO | Ongoing | Not applicable to ongoing projects | This UPWP task includes funding to support MAPC’s work on several corridor and subarea studies in the region. Some of these projects will be funded jointly through the UPWP and the Commonwealth's District Local Technical Assistance program. |
Funding amount: $0. MassDOT and the MBTA are working with the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) to identify major bus corridors in Greater Boston that have the potential to be upgraded to high-quality bus rapid transit (dedicated lanes, pre-pay, consolidated stops). After MassDOT, MBTA and ITDP identify the corridors, MAPC will perform a land-use baseline analysis to document the existing housing units, households, population, number of jobs, types of jobs, square footage of development, and other information that can be used in the future to determine if an implemented BRT upgrade has supported additional growth in its corridor. |
Not Applicable | Baseline data collection and mapping. | Not applicable | 44.23.01 | Not Applicable | This project is part of the "Corridor/Subarea Planning Studies" general project. The "Corridor/Subarea Planning Studies" FFY 2015 Total Budget is $167,480. | $0 | This project is part of the "Corridor/Subarea Planning Studies" general project . The amount of funds received by MAPC for the "Corridor/Subarea Planning Studies" general project is $167,480. | $0 | This project is part of the "Corridor/Subarea Planning Studies" general project. The total PL funding for the "Corridor/Subarea Planning Studies" " general project is $112,180. | This project is part of the "Corridor/Subarea Planning Studies" general project. The total MPO Section 5303 funding for the "Corridor/Subarea Planning Studies" general project is $55,300. | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | Under Proposed FFY 2015 UPWP Amendment 1, the Land Use Baseline for Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) task would be removed from MAPC's list of Corridor/Subarea Planning Studies. The $11,180 previously allocated to the Land Use Baseline for BRT task would be transferred to the Opportunities and Impediments to Creating Transit-Oriented Development task, and would raise that task's budget from $70,000 to $81,180. Under Proposed FFY 2015 UPWP Amendment 1, the net budget change for MAPC's Corridor/Subarea Planning Tasks would be $0. |
| Fairmount Line Station Access Analysis | Not Applicable | Chapter 6, Planning Studies | 11249 | Central Transportation Planning Staff | Boston Region MPO | 0% | $52,250 | Not applicable | The 9.2-mile Fairmount Line is an MBTA commuter rail service running from SouthStation in Boston’s central business district (CBD) to Readville, passing through thefollowing neighborhoods: Downtown Boston, South Boston, Roxbury, Dorchester,Mattapan, and Hyde Park. Until 2012, there were only four stations outside of Boston’s CBD: Uphams Corner, Morton Street, Fairmount, and Readville. As part of theFairmount Line Improvements Program, the MBTA has opened three new stations:Talbot Avenue, Newmarket, and Four Corners/Geneva. A fourth station, at Blue HillAvenue, is currently under construction. The Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA)and other entities are currently engaged in various planning activities for the FairmountLine Corridor. These activities include a corridorwide study and plans to improveconnections between stations—particularly Uphams Corner, Four Corners/Geneva,and Blue Hill Avenue—and their surrounding neighborhoods. In this study, MPO staff will build upon this planning work by analyzing safety problemsand other possible impediments to bicycle and pedestrian access to as many as five Fairmount Line stations. Using this analysis, MPO staff will generate recommendations for improving bicycle and pedestrian connections to these stations. This study will also build on a previous MPO study of bicycle and pedestrian access for the Morton Street station. These results could provide valuable information for the City of Boston and others in theirongoing efforts to support the success of the Fairmount Line and the surrounding corridor. This work could also enhance transportation access for neighboring communities, includingfor low-income and minority populations and for those with limited English proficiency,in the vicinity of the Fairmount Line. |
Not Applicable | Analysis of bicycle andpedestrian impediments to accessing Fairmount Line stations, development ofrecommendations for improving network connections, and creation of presentationsand memoranda. | Not Applicable | Not Applicable | 44.24.01 | $52,250 | $52,250 | $0 | $0 | $39,400 | $12,850 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | Under Proposed FFY 2015 UPWP Amendment 1, the Safety Analysis at Intersections near MAGIC Schools project would be removed. $12,250 in MPO funds previously allocated to the Safety Analysis at Intersections near MAGIC Schools project would be transferred to this project, raising the budget from $40,000 to $52,250. The number of stations that may be studied as part of this project would increase from four to five. |
| Safety Analysis for Intersections near MAGIC Schools | Not Applicable | Chapter 7, Technical Support/Operations Analysis Projects | 13269 | Central Transportation Planning Staff | Boston Region MPO | 0% | $0 | Not applicable | This mapping project aims to provide information to target the MPO and other entities’ attention—and potentially local, state, or federal funding—to those intersections which have safety problems and in the vicinity of schools in the Minuteman Advisory Group on Interlocal Coordination (MAGIC) subregion. This mapping activity includes the following anticipated steps: • Identifying and mapping signalized intersections within a 2-mile radius of each school in the MAGIC subregion, using existing data. • Identifying and mapping major, federal-aid-eligible arterial routes with intersections within this 2 mile radius. • Identifying and mapping the top three high crash locations within this 2-mile buffer of each school. Depending on budget and data availability, MPO staff will also incorporate information regarding traffic volumes around MAGIC-area schools. |
Not Applicable | Data gathering, mapping, and development of supporting documentation. |
Not applicable | Not applicable | 44.24.01 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | Under Proposed FFY 2015 UPWP Amendment 1, this project would be removed from the FFY 2015 UPWP. The budget of this project is $12,250 per a budget adjustment approved by the MPO's Unified Planning Work Program Committee on July 23, 2015. Under Proposed FFY 2015 Amendment 1, this remaining $12,250 would be transferred to the Fairmount Line Station Access Analysis project. |