Memorandum
DATE: October 15, 2015
TO: Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization
FROM: Karl Quackenbush, Executive Director, MPO Staff
RE: Work Plans for: Federal Fiscal Year 2016 Certification Activities
The federal government requires that each Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) conduct a continuing, cooperative, and comprehensive transportation-planning process (3C process) to be eligible for federal funds. To be continuing, the process must be underway all year long, not sporadically. To be comprehensive, it must consider the activities of the many agencies and entities involved in transportation planning in the MPO region, as well as the transportation needs identified by all parties interested in MPO decisions. Finally, to be cooperative, the process must invite public participation, and conduct planning and decision making with an open, collaborative approach.
The purpose of the 3C process is to guide and support MPO information gathering and decision making related to the policies and programming of federal transportation funds. Because the MPOs must conduct 3C work to remain certified to receive these funds, activities conducted by the MPO staff to comply with 3C requirements and guidance are called “certification activities.”
Primary among the 3C requirements is the production of three major certification documents:
In addition, MPO staff complete a number of other activities in the 3C process that support production of the certification documents and the general operation of the MPO, including:
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) completed a certification review of the Boston Region MPO in 2014 to ensure that it meets all of the requirements of the 3C planning process. FHWA and FTA issued a final report in May 2015, which found that the MPO substantially meets federal requirements, and they certified the MPO’s transportation planning process for another four years. Their report also recommended actions that the MPO may take to improve its programs’ effectiveness.
In a continuing effort to improve project management, increase transparency and accountability, and more fully describe work that the MPO will undertake to meet its goals, staff have prepared work plans for all the activities listed above for federal fiscal year 2016.
In developing these work plans, staff have been careful to include tasks that are required in order to comply with the current federal surface transportation funding authorization, MAP-21 (the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act), other federal and state regulations and guidance, and recommendations of the recent certification review. The work plans also include activities that the MPO has directed staff to conduct in the past or that reflect MPO priorities and preferences.
The MPO will review and provide direction to staff throughout the year on many of the elements of the 3C program. Staff will update and report results to the MPO, and will seek its concurrence on these ongoing programs.
This document is a cover memorandum that accompanies a concurrent transmittal to the MPO of work plans for all the above-cited 3C activities, with the exception of the LRTP. Because of the plan’s four-year planning cycle, a separate work program has been prepared for the LRTP that describes the tasks that will be completed during the coming two federal fiscal years, but presents the schedule and cost exhibits only for FFY 2016.
KQ/EMM/emm
Encl.
Memorandum
Date October 15, 2015
TO Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization
FROM Karl H. Quackenbush
CTPS Executive Director
RE Work Plan for: Transportation Improvement Program: FFY 2016
Review
Certification Requirements
10103
Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization
Principal: Elizabeth Moore
Manager: Sean Pfalzer
MPO Planning Contract #89787
MPO §5303 Contract #84080 and Subsequent Contract
This is MPO work and will be carried out in conformance with the priorities established by the MPO.
The 3C process requires many activities that are necessary for the MPO to maintain its certification. Primary among these are the production of the three major certification documents:
This work plan focuses primarily on development of the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) for federal fiscal years (FFYs) 2017–21, but also covers activities associated with ongoing changes to the TIP development process and amendments and administrative modifications of the FFYs 2016–20 TIP, which is the active document during FFY 2016. An integral part of developing the TIP is engaging the public throughout the process. Some of the public participation activities for the TIP are covered in the 3C Planning and MPO Support program.
The MPO staff will conduct a process to develop a TIP document that:
This work plan describes the tasks that will be completed in FFY 2016 to ensure that the TIP process is conducted in compliance with all aspects of the “Continuing, Cooperative, and Comprehensive” (3C) transportation-planning process and meets the objectives stated above.
As part of the FFY 2016 TIP development process, MPO staff will conduct a review of the TIP evaluation criteria in light of public comments received during the development of the FFYs 2016–2020 TIP; the MPO's updated goals and objectives; and changing policy priorities and requirements. Staff will then prepare a memorandum to the MPO that identifies opportunities for improvement and recommends revisions to the TIP’s current evaluation criteria. Staff will review the memorandum with the MPO and will seek members’ concurrence.
Upon MPO concurrence, staff will update the online TIP Project Funding Application Form so it will be consistent with any TIP criteria revisions and will support the TIP project evaluation process. Staff will then revise the project evaluation forms using the updated criteria.
Under the current federal surface-transportation funding authorization, known as MAP-21 (the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act), each MPO must establish performance measures for the achievement of performance goals, and link transportation investment decisions to those goals. The TIP will need to demonstrate that transportation projects funded in the TIP help the MPO make progress toward the achievement of its performance goals, which the MPO updated as part of the new Long-Range Transportation Plan, Charting Progress to 2040, to guide future investment decisions.
In the FFY 2016 TIP document, MPO staff will report on progress toward the desired performance outcomes, and will monitor past trends using performance measures and document which TIP investments have improved performance.
To assess how well TIP projects are achieving the MPO's safety goal, staff will continue to track traffic fatalities and serious injuries in the Boston region to determine whether crash severity is declining for all users of the transportation system. MPO staff will analyze these trends to identify the users, locations, or facility types that require greater consideration by the MPO when making future investment decisions. In addition, staff will continue to track pavement conditions and bridge conditions to assess how well TIP projects are achieving the MPO’s system preservation goal. To gauge progress toward the MPO’s capacity management/mobility goal, staff will also monitor the number of new miles of sidewalks and bicycle infrastructure. Staff may also identify additional performance measures throughout the fiscal year to track progress toward goals. Where progress toward a goal is lagging, staff will identify possible factors and will develop strategies for addressing them.
Each year, the MPO conducts a TIP development process to decide how to spend federal surface-transportation funds for capital projects. The MPO staff coordinates the collection of project requests, evaluates project requests, proposes the programming of current and new projects based on anticipated funding levels, supports the MPO in its decision making about programming and in the development of a draft TIP document, and facilitates a public review of the draft document before the MPO endorses the final TIP document.
During development of the TIP, staff will make frequent presentations to the MPO on the TIP development schedule, subregional outreach, project evaluation results, public comments, and its recommendation of TIP projects.
MPO staff will communicate with the 101 cities and towns in its region to compile a list of priority projects that will be considered for federal funding. Outreach work will consist of conducting TIP-Development Sessions, attending the MAPC subregional monthly meetings, and corresponding with municipal TIP Contacts and chief elected officials. Many of the public participation activities for the TIP are conducted as part of the MPO’s ongoing public participation program, which is funded under the 3C Planning and Support to the MPO program.
MPO staff will compile the project funding requests and relevant information provided by project proponents into a Universe of Projects list for the MPO. The Universe of Projects list consists of all of the projects that are being advanced for possible funding, and includes projects that are in the conceptual stage, as well as those that are fully designed and ready to be advertised for construction.
Based on the list of project-funding requests, MPO staff will compile and update information on each project for the TIP Interactive Database. Data inputs and updates will consist of mapping the project’s boundaries, inventorying pavement conditions, documenting bicycle and pedestrian accommodations, compiling crash information, documenting traffic volumes and congestion, calculating greenhouse gas (GHG) impacts, and compiling other background information. This year, MPO staff will also incorporate additional bus service information to identify the projects that would produce significant transit time savings. The data are derived from state-agency databases; CTPS-managed databases; and functional design reports that have been submitted to MassDOT. These inputs provide key information for TIP evaluations.
Using the TIP evaluation criteria that were updated in Task 1, MPO staff will evaluate projects within the Universe of Projects list for which there is a functional design report. The evaluation results will be posted on the MPO’s website to allow project proponents to review the ratings and provide feedback. MPO staff will consider the feedback and revise the evaluations as needed.
Staff will develop a recommendation that proposes how to prioritize the MPO’s Regional Target funding. MPO staff will first prepare a First-Tier List of Projects using the results of the evaluation ratings and project readiness information. In addition to project ratings and project readiness, MPO staff will also consider projects that are listed in the Long-Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) in order to implement the LRTP, weigh geographic equity to help ensure that the list of projects addresses needs throughout the MPO region, and account for cost to attain fiscal constraint.
In addition to preparing a staff recommendation that proposes how to prioritize the Regional Target funding, MPO staff will also prepare and present to the MPO for its consideration the Statewide Infrastructure Items and Bridge Programs and the capital programs for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), the Cape Ann Transportation Authority (CATA), and the MetroWest Regional Transit Authority (MWRTA). The MPO will review, discuss, and take action on the proposed investments in the draft TIP.
Based on Subtask 3.3, staff will prepare a draft TIP, which will be released for a 30-day public review period, during which members of the public can submit comments on the document. During the public comment period, MPO staff will compile and summarize the comments they have received on the draft TIP and will relay the comments to the MPO for its consideration.
After the 30-day public review period, and after the MPO has considered all of the comments it has received, staff will seek the MPO’s endorsement of the final TIP document, which will include the following elements:
After the final TIP has been endorsed, staff will prepare written responses to the comments that were received during the public comment period.
The TIP is a dynamic document—there are typically many occasions throughout the year when projects experience cost or schedule changes. These changes require an amendment or administrative modification to the TIP. The staff estimates that as many as six amendments and/or administrative modifications to the TIP will be made during FFY 2016.
For proposed TIP amendments, MPO staff will collect information on the projects involved, the changes needed, and the reasons for the changes. Staff will prepare draft TIP tables that reflect the proposed changes and indicate the reasons for the changes. Staff will brief the MPO on the proposed changes to the TIP. The MPO will review and discuss the proposed changes, and will take appropriate action related to a possible public review of the proposed changes.
MPO staff will manage all of the public review processes related to TIP amendments and administrative modifications, including the posting of TIP materials on the website. Proposed amendments are typically released for a 30-day public review and comment period, during which staff will compile and summarize the comments on the proposed amendment. MPO staff will relay public comments to the MPO for its consideration prior to MPO’s vote to endorse the TIP amendment.
Draft and final TIP Amendments
MPO staff always seek to improve the information and analysis provided to the MPO so that the MPO can make well-informed decisions. In FFY 2016, staff will seek opportunities to increase municipal participation in the TIP development process, stay updated on new state policies, and continue to research the best practices of other MPOs. Staff will also follow the implementation guidance of MAP-21 and will modify MPO practices accordingly.
This project is ongoing from year to year. It is estimated that the tasks presented in this work plan will be completed throughout the 12 months of FFY 2016. The proposed schedule, by task, is shown in Exhibit 1.
The total cost of this project is estimated to be $174,200. This includes the cost of 68.8
Task |
Month | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | |
1.
Review and Update the TIP Criteria |
From month 1 to 4.
Deliverable
A
, Memorandum on TIP criteria recommendations delivered by Month 4
|
|||||||||||
2.
Track and Analyze Performance Measures |
From month 3 to 11.
Deliverable
B
, Final Chapter 4 of the TIP document delivered by Month 10.9
|
|||||||||||
3.
Conduct the Development Process of the FFYs 2017–21 TIP |
From month 3 to 11.
Deliverable
C
, MPO-endorsed TIP document delivered by Month 10.9
|
|||||||||||
4.
Modify the FFYs 2016–20 TIP |
From month 1 to 2.5.
Deliverable
D
, MPO-adopted TIP Amendment One delivered by Month 2.5
From month 4.5 to 6.5.
Deliverable
E
, MPO-adopted TIP Amendment Two delivered by Month 6.5
From month 8 to 9.5.
Deliverable
F
, MPO-adopted TIP Amendment Three delivered by Month 9.5
From month 11 to 12.5.
Deliverable
G
, MPO-adopted TIP Amendment Four delivered by Month 12.5
|
|||||||||||
5.
Identify Opportunities to Improve the TIP Document and Process |
From month 1 to 13.
|
|||||||||||
A: Memorandum on TIP criteria recommendations
B: Final Chapter 4 of the TIP document
C: MPO-endorsed TIP document
D: MPO-adopted TIP Amendment One
E: MPO-adopted TIP Amendment Two
F: MPO-adopted TIP Amendment Three
G: MPO-adopted TIP Amendment Four
Task |
Person-Weeks | Direct Salary |
Overhead (98.88%) |
Total Cost |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M-1 | P-5 | P-4 | P-3 | P-2 | Temp | Total | ||||
1.
Review and Update the TIP Criteria
|
1.0 | 2.8 | 4.6 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 10.2 | $14,556 | $14,393 | $28,950 |
2.
Track and Analyze Performance Measures
|
0.6 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 8.2 | $10,669 | $10,549 | $21,218 |
3.
Conduct the Development Process of the FFYs 2017–21 TIP
|
3.4 | 5.6 | 23.2 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 8.0 | 42.4 | $53,206 | $52,610 | $105,816 |
4.
Modify the FFYs 2016–20 TIP
|
0.0 | 0.0 | 4.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 5.8 | $6,899 | $6,821 | $13,720 |
5.
Identify Opportunities to Improve the TIP Document and Process
|
0.0 | 0.0 | 1.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 2.2 | $2,261 | $2,236 | $4,497 |
Total
|
5.0 | 9.4 | 39.0 | 2.8 | 1.2 | 11.4 | 68.8 | $87,591 | $86,610 | $174,200 |
Memorandum
Date October 15, 2015
TO Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization
FROM Karl H. Quackenbush
CTPS Executive Director
RE Work Plan for: Unified Planning Work Program: FFY 2016
Review
Certification Requirements
10104
Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization
Principal: Karl Quackenbush
Manager: Elizabeth M. Moore
MPO Planning Contract #89787
MPO §5303 Contract #84080 and Subsequent Contract
This is MPO work and will be carried out in conformance with the priorities established by the MPO.
The 3C (continuing, cooperative, and comprehensive) transportation-planning process requires that MPOs produce three certification documents: the Long-Range Transportation Plan (LRTP), the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), and the Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP). The UPWP has two main purposes:
The UPWP document includes descriptions and budgets for work that MPO staff will conduct during the upcoming federal fiscal year, including both 3C-funded work for the MPO and work that is funded by state agencies or other entities. The UPWP also provides supplementary information about other transportation-planning activities in the region that are not funded by the MPO or conducted by MPO staff. The federal government requires that the UPWP comply with federal regulations and address the focus areas recommended by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA).
Work on the UPWP is ongoing and is under way year-round. This work plan focuses on two major activities:
An integral part of developing the UPWP is engaging the public throughout the process. Some of the public outreach process for the UPWP is covered as part of the 3C Planning and MPO Support program.
The Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) also provides content for the UPWP, which details MAPC’s 3C-funded projects. MAPC’s participation is funded through its allocation of federal transportation-planning funding.
Two objectives direct the UPWP development and monitoring activities.
Work related to developing the upcoming UPWP and supporting implementation of the current UPWP is conducted on an ongoing basis and in compliance with all aspects of the 3C transportation-planning process.
MPO staff will review available federal guidance on the UPWP and on the planning factors defined by federal agencies. Staff will also coordinate with each other to identify any key themes or needs—such as data or analysis products—that should be addressed in the FFY 2017 UPWP to support MPO priorities. Staff will be attentive to the vision, goals and objectives established in Charting Progress to 2040, the MPO’s new Long-Range Transportation Plan, as well as to developments in the MPO’s performance-based planning practice and its information needs.
MPO staff will review and update, as necessary, the UPWP focus areas that support the MPO’s process for evaluating and selecting new transportation-planning projects. Updates will be based on the MPO’s new vision, goals, and objectives; federal focus areas; and other state and regional planning priorities.
Documentation of updates to UPWP focus areas
MPO staff will gather ideas for UPWP project proposals from both internal and external sources, including public input received during the FFY 2016 UPWP development process. MPO staff will also develop project proposals based on priority topics, the content of major planning documents, and other staff-identified needs. To support this activity, the UPWP manager will produce one or more internal memoranda to guide the development of project proposals.
MPO staff will also request suggestions for project proposals: 1) at meetings of MAPC subregional groups, 2) at MPO TIP- and UPWP-Development Sessions, and 3) through consultations with Boston-area transportation agencies. These outreach activities will be funded as part of the 3C Planning and MPO Support program. The UPWP budget will support the development of informational materials for outreach activities.
The UPWP’s Universe of Proposed New Projects is a document that lists the proposed new transportation-planning projects for MPO consideration. It includes project descriptions, estimated costs, and notes and comments. Over time, staff will add proposed projects to this document, along with additional research findings and content reflecting comments from members of the MPO, members of the Regional Transportation Advisory Council, and members of the general public.
MPO staff will conduct qualitative reviews of the proposals for transportation-planning projects using the UPWP’s focus areas, which will be updated under Subtask 1.2. Project ratings determined through these reviews will be incorporated into the UPWP Universe of Proposed New Projects document. Additional refinements to project descriptions may be made as part of this rating process.
The UPWP funds ongoing programs and discrete projects that will continue from FFY 2016 into FFY 2017.1 MPO staff will carry out several activities to collect information on the status of these projects:
MPO staff will receive information from the FHWA and FTA, via the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), which will detail the levels of 3C metropolitan planning funding that the MPO will receive for work in FFY 2017. Staff also will receive budget information for projects that are funded by other entities, such as MassDOT and the MBTA. Using this financial information and the information on the needs of the ongoing programs and discrete projects that will continue into FFY 2017, staff will develop a proposed budget for the FFY 2017 UPWP. Through this process, MPO staff will identify the 3C funds available for new discrete planning projects.
Staff will produce a draft of the UPWP project description chapters.
MPO staff will develop a staff recommendation for new FFY 2017 transportation-planning projects. This recommendation will be based on several factors, which include but are not limited to:
MPO staff will then produce documents for, and give presentations to, the UPWP Committee that describe the staff recommendation for new transportation-planning projects and the proposed FFY 2017 UPWP budget. The UPWP Committee will consider the staff recommendation and, based on it, will develop the UPWP Committee’s recommendation to the MPO. Staff will then document the recommendation, including updated project descriptions and costs, as directed by the Committee, and will present it to the MPO for consideration. After the MPO has discussed it, MPO staff will complete drafts of the FFY 2017 UPWP chapters that contain project descriptions.
MPO staff will create drafts of all of the UPWP chapters that were not completed in Task 3, along with the UPWP appendices. This activity may include developing materials that respond to specific federal guidance. Drafts of these materials will be submitted to the MPO for approval for public circulation.
Upon MPO approval, staff will summarize the FFY 2017 UPWP budget in text and in tabular formats and will incorporate these and all other draft UPWP materials into the draft FFY 2017 UPWP.
After receiving MPO approval, MPO staff will post the draft FFY 2017 UPWP on the MPO’s website for public review, and will conduct public outreach (funded in part via the 3C Planning and MPO Support program). During the public review period, staff will develop materials and give presentations at MPO workshops and other events in order to discuss the draft document and gather input.
Throughout this outreach period, MPO staff will provide updates to the UPWP Committee and the MPO on the public feedback received. After the close of the comment period, MPO staff will summarize the written and verbal comments and will propose MPO responses, which the UPWP Committee and MPO will review. After the public feedback has been considered, the UPWP document will be modified as necessary, and MPO responses will be sent to the commenters.
MPO staff will incorporate the public comments and the MPO’s responses to the comments into the UPWP prior to the MPO’s vote to endorse the document. MPO staff may make additional formatting and editing adjustments prior to distributing the endorsed document. MPO staff will transmit the MPO-endorsed FFY 2017 UPWP to the FHWA and FTA and make it available to the public on the MPO’s website.
The MPO may need to make changes to the FFY 2016 UPWP in response to federal guidance or requirements or other factors. For minor changes or budget adjustments, MPO staff will produce a memorandum and supporting documentation on the proposed changes to the UPWP, and will submit these items to the UPWP Committee for approval. For amendments, MPO staff will submit documentation to both the UPWP Committee and MPO for approval.
Staff will coordinate all of the meetings that are related to the UPWP and will develop materials, as needed, to support UPWP Committee and MPO discussions on changes to the UPWP. In the case of UPWP amendments, staff will support the public review process and summarize public comments for the MPO, and will submit the MPO-endorsed amendments to the FHWA and FTA for final approval.
Presentation materials and documentation of proposed changes to the UPWP
The MPO’s UPWP Committee provides guidance to MPO staff in the development and implementation of the UPWP and either takes action or makes recommendations to MPO members on UPWP-related decisions.
In addition to coordinating with the UPWP Committee, staff will keep the MPO briefed on UPWP development and implementation.
For each of the above-mentioned meetings, staff will schedule meeting times and locations and develop agendas and meeting summaries. Staff will also develop presentation and meeting materials, as needed, to support discussions and decision making. Staff will work closely with the UPWP Committee chairperson on all of the UPWP development, monitoring, and staff activities that support the UPWP Committee.
MPO staff will research opportunities to improve the UPWP document and process. Examples of these research activities include: 1) reviewing the UPWPs produced by other MPOs, which could inform improvements to the Boston Region MPO’s UPWP process, 2) tracking planning trends that may inform future UPWP planning projects, 3) responding to new practices in LRTP, TIP, and Congestion Management Process (CMP) development and in the MPO’s performance-based planning activities, and 4) investigating new planning tools and data.
Documentation of research activities or proposals for improving the UPWP process or document
This project is ongoing from year to year. It is estimated that the tasks presented in this work plan will be completed throughout the 12 months of FFY 2016. The proposed schedule, by task, is shown in Exhibit 1.
The total cost of this project is estimated to be $98,000. This includes the cost of 34.6 person-weeks of staff time and overhead at the rate of 98.88 percent. A detailed breakdown of estimated costs is presented in Exhibit 2.
KQ/MS/ms
1 The term “ongoing programs” refers to transportation-planning activities that support and continue the transportation-planning process from year to year. The term “discrete projects” refers to transportation-planning activities that have a specific, limited duration (typically one year).
2 In this context, MPO members and staff consider geographic equity by taking into account whether transportation-planning studies as a whole will address planning needs throughout the MPO region.
Task |
Month | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | |
1.
Establish the FFY 2017 UPWP Development Framework |
From month 1 to 5.
Deliverable
A
, Documentation of updates to UPWP focus areas delivered by Month 5
|
|||||||||||
2.
Develop the FFY 2017 Universe of Proposed New Projects |
From month 2 to 9.
|
|||||||||||
3.
Develop FFY 2017 UPWP Project and Program Updates, Budgets, and Recommendations |
From month 6 to 9.
Deliverable
B
, Documents and presentations of budgets and projects recommended by MPO staff and the UPWP Committee delivered by Month 9
|
|||||||||||
4.
Develop the FFY 2017 UPWP Document |
From month 2 to 9.5.
Deliverable
C
, Draft FFY 2017 UPWP delivered by Month 8
Deliverable
D
, Final FFY 2017 UPWP delivered by Month 9.5
|
|||||||||||
5.
Manage FFY 2016 UPWP Changes |
From month 1 to 13.
|
|||||||||||
6.
Support Ongoing Coordination between MPO staff, the UPWP Committee, and the MPO |
From month 1 to 13.
|
|||||||||||
7.
Identify Opportunities to Improve the UPWP Document and Process |
From month 1 to 13.
|
|||||||||||
Task |
Person-Weeks | Direct Salary |
Overhead (98.88%) |
Total Cost |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M-1 | P-5 | P-4 | P-3 | P-2 | Temp | Total | ||||
1.
Establish the FFY 2017 UPWP Development Framework
|
0.2 | 0.0 | 0.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.1 | $1,508 | $1,491 | $2,999 |
2.
Develop the FFY 2017 Universe of Proposed New Projects
|
2.1 | 0.2 | 5.6 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 8.2 | $11,745 | $11,613 | $23,358 |
3.
Develop FFY 2017 UPWP Project and Program Updates, Budgets, and Recommendations
|
3.1 | 0.2 | 5.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 8.5 | $12,584 | $12,443 | $25,027 |
4.
Develop the FFY 2017 UPWP Document
|
1.9 | 0.2 | 6.6 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 8.8 | $12,374 | $12,236 | $24,610 |
5.
Manage FFY 2016 UPWP Changes
|
0.4 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.9 | $1,377 | $1,362 | $2,739 |
6.
Support Ongoing Coordination between MPO staff, the UPWP Committee, and the MPO
|
0.5 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 5.5 | $7,470 | $7,387 | $14,857 |
7.
Identify Opportunities to Improve the UPWP Document and Process
|
0.2 | 0.0 | 1.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.6 | $2,218 | $2,193 | $4,410 |
Total
|
8.3 | 0.5 | 25.2 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 34.6 | $49,276 | $48,724 | $98,000 |
Memorandum
Date October 15, 2015
TO Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization
FROM Karl H. Quackenbush
CTPS Executive Director
RE Work Plan for: 3C Planning and MPO Support: FFY 2016
Review
Certification Requirements
90011 – 90090
Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization]
Principal: Elizabeth M. Moore
Manager: Elizabeth M. Moore
MPO Planning Contract #89787
MPO §5303 Contract #84080 and Subsequent Contract
This is MPO work and will be carried out in conformance with the priorities established by the MPO.
This work plan encompasses the following 3C activities, which support the federally mandated “continuing,” “cooperative,” and “comprehensive” transportation-planning process:
There are four primary objectives of the 3C Planning and MPO Support program:
Although there is much overlap among the various activities conducted by the MPO, the work described here supports the program management, planning, coordination, and general administration of the 3C process.
This work is conducted on an ongoing basis, in compliance with the continuing portion of the 3C process. In order to be fully inclusive, the work is performed in close communication and consultation with the MPO’s municipalities and with a broad base of agencies, organizations, interest groups, and individuals. The MPO posts and distributes extensive information related to transportation in the region and to the matters before the MPO for decision making. Being inclusive and open in this way, the MPO takes a fully cooperative stance, fulfilling the second precept of the 3C process. Finally, to be consistent with the comprehensive principle of the 3C process, this work covers all transportation modes, populations, and areas of the region and addresses their needs.
This task is focused on the day-to-day operations of the MPO. In addition to the specific tasks described below, MPO staff will keep informed on federal requirements and national best practices for this work, incorporate them as appropriate, and prepare memoranda to brief the MPO on developments, if needed.
MPO staff will undertake numerous activities in this subtask:
The MPO meets twice a month. MPO staff will plan, attend, and provide support for these meetings by carrying out the following tasks:
In addition, MPO staff will ensure that: all MPO meetings are held on or near public transportation routes; the venues are physically accessible to persons with disabilities; adequate amplification and assistive-listening devices are present for all meeting proceedings; MPO meeting materials are posted on its website in a screen-readable format; and meeting materials are provided in other accessible formats and in languages other than English, upon request. Staff will also ensure that these accommodations are made for all of the MPO-related meetings discussed in Tasks 1, 4, and 6 of this work plan.
The MPO currently has three committees: Administration and Finance, Congestion Management Process, and Unified Planning Work Program. The MPO may form additional committees to focus on other issues that the MPO believes are important. MPO staff will support the work of these committees by:
Preparing meeting materials for committee meetings and coordinating and preparing for the meetings are tasks coved by other work scopes.
This task allows MPO staff to study and keep current on planning topics that call for staff expertise or that may be highlighted or referenced in federal guidance but do not necessarily apply to an existing MPO project. Some past and current examples of these types of topics are health impacts, economic effects of transportation projects, and environmental issues.
As topics arise, staff will conduct research, often through contact with state agencies and municipalities, and will attend professional seminars and conferences. Documentation for each topic may take the form of a memorandum, white paper, report, and/or map.
Memoranda, white papers, maps, and reports, as needed
The Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) subregional groups bring together planners and other interested municipal officials and members of the public to discuss and make recommendations that are relevant to land use, transportation, and planning issues.
MPO staff will attend relevant MAPC subregional group meetings, where they will provide updates on MPO activities and conduct targeted discussions to gather input on the development of certification documents and other MPO initiatives. Local officials attending these meetings are typically well informed and are good sources of information and input for MPO planning and certification-document development.
MPO staff will continue to provide ongoing support to the Regional Transportation Advisory Council (Advisory Council), the MPO’s citizen advisory committee, which comprises approximately 65 entities. The Advisory Council’s role is to provide a broad-based forum for discussing regional transportation issues and MPO certification documents, reports, studies, policies, and decisions. The Advisory Council also provides feedback to the MPO that it elicits from municipalities, transportation-related interest groups, public entities from around the region that have an interest in transportation, and non-transportation agencies.
MPO staff will continue to provide coordination, planning, and comprehensive administrative support to the Advisory Council, and will facilitate its monthly meetings. Support activities include:
In FFY 2016, MPO staff may plan and execute all actions necessary to conduct a field trip for Advisory Council members to highlight issues related to a transportation project or problem of interest.
The Advisory Council has several standing committees, and forms other committees as needed. The standing committees are: Program, Nominating, and Membership.
MPO staff will continue to provide ongoing support to these committees and will be responsible for committee notifications and communications, meeting planning, meeting materials, meeting minutes, correspondence, updating and maintaining an Advisory Council contact list and database, and implementation of the decisions and guidance that stem from the meetings.
In addition to the tasks noted above, staff support may involve:
The MPO produces a bimonthly newsletter, TRANSreport, which is an important part of the MPO’s public involvement and communication program. TRANSreport conveys information about MPO activities and decisions, important regional transportation news, and work undertaken by MPO staff. In addition, the newsletter is used to solicit information and ideas from members of the public on MPO planning initiatives and documents.
TRANSreport is primarily distributed in electronic-transfer format and is posted on the MPO’s website. Staff produce hard copies and copies in accessible formats upon request.
Staff will be responsible for all tasks associated with the production and circulation of the newsletter, including:
Six editions of TRANSreport in electronic and print formats
Public participation is at the core of the metropolitan planning process and relates to all of the elements of the 3C process—continuing, cooperative, and comprehensive. The goal of the Public Participation Program (the activities of which are documented in the Public Participation Plan) is to maintain a mutual flow of information among the MPO and state, regional, and local officials, transportation advocacy and interest groups, environmental interest groups, operators of transportation services, freight operators, members of the disability community, low-income and minority populations, persons with limited English-language proficiency, the elderly, and other members of the public.
MPO staff will implement the Public Participation Program through various outreach strategies and media that are used to provide and gather information, as discussed below (and described in more detail in the Public Participation Plan). In addition, staff will continue to explore other ways to effectively engage the public by identifying and adopting state-of-the-practice techniques and technologies as they become available.
MPO staff are currently seeking a new public participation specialist to be dedicated exclusively to this work. Previously, the person performing this function also had job responsibilities that were not related to public participation. Having a staff person dedicated full time to the MPO’s public participation program will facilitate better coordination of public outreach activities across program areas within the Certification Activities group. In addition, the new staff member will be the point person for coordinating the efforts of other staff throughout CTPS who are engaged in public participation activities, which will improve efficiency and consistency in the deployment of public participation resources and expertise.
MPO staff will continue to maintain their technical expertise and pursue professional development opportunities, in part, by participating in courses, programs, and workshops offered by the Federal Highway Administration, Federal Transit Administration, Transportation Research Board, Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations, Institute of Transportation Engineers, and other public and private organizations.
Under this task, MPO staff will develop graphics to support the work of the MPO by designing and producing maps, charts, illustrations, report covers, brochures, photographs, PowerPoint presentations, and other products to enhance understanding through the use of clear and engaging visual communications.
It is estimated that the tasks presented in this work plan will be completed throughout the 12 months of FFY 2016. The proposed schedule, by task, is shown in Exhibit 1.
The total cost of this project is estimated to be $578,401. This includes the cost of 205 person-weeks of staff time and overhead at the rate of 98.88 percent. A detailed breakdown of estimated costs is presented in Exhibit 2.
KQ/EM/em
Task |
Month | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | |
1.
Provide Support to MPO and Its Committees |
Deliverable
, delivered by Month 1
From month 1 to 13.
|
|||||||||||
2.
Conduct Research on Planning Topics |
From month 1 to 13.
|
|||||||||||
3.
Conduct Subregional Outreach |
From month 1 to 13.
|
|||||||||||
4.
Support Regional Transportation Advisory Council |
From month 1 to 13.
|
|||||||||||
5.
Produce "TRANSREPORT" |
From month 2 to 3.
From month 4 to 5.
From month 6 to 7.
From month 8 to 9.
From month 10 to 11.
From month 12 to 13.
|
|||||||||||
6.
Conduct Public Participation Program |
From month 1 to 13.
|
|||||||||||
7.
Provide Professional Development Opportunities |
From month 1 to 13.
|
|||||||||||
8.
Provide General Graphics Support |
From month 1 to 13.
|
|||||||||||
Task |
Person-Weeks | Direct Salary |
Overhead (98.88%) |
Total Cost |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M-1 | P-5 | P-4 | P-3 | P-2 | P-1 | Total | ||||
1.
Provide Support to MPO and Its Committees
|
36.4 | 5.0 | 44.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 87.4 | $131,888 | $130,411 | $262,300 |
2.
Conduct Research on Planning Topics
|
0.0 | 0.2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.2 | $1,609 | $1,591 | $3,200 |
3.
Conduct Subregional Outreach
|
0.2 | 0.4 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.6 | $2,413 | $2,386 | $4,800 |
4.
Support Regional Transportation Advisory Council
|
1.3 | 1.1 | 25.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 27.6 | $37,611 | $37,189 | $74,800 |
5.
Produce "TRANSREPORT"
|
1.1 | 0.4 | 9.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 11.4 | $15,789 | $15,612 | $31,400 |
6.
Conduct Public Participation Program
|
6.0 | 2.0 | 26.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 34.0 | $48,421 | $47,879 | $96,300 |
7.
Provide Professional Development Opportunities
|
0.5 | 0.8 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 6.1 | $7,542 | $7,458 | $15,000 |
8.
Provide General Graphics Support
|
5.0 | 0.0 | 20.0 | 0.0 | 10.7 | 0.0 | 35.7 | $45,555 | $45,045 | $90,600 |
Total
|
50.5 | 9.9 | 128.2 | 1.3 | 14.0 | 1.1 | 205.0 | $290,829 | $287,572 | $578,401 |
Memorandum
Date October 15, 2015
TO Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization
FROM Karl H. Quackenbush,
CTPS Executive Director
RE Work Plan for: Air Quality Conformity and Support Activities: FFY 2016
Review
Certification Requirements
10112
Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization
Principal: Elizabeth M. Moore
Manager: Anne McGahan
MPO Planning Contract #89787
MPO §5303 Contracts #84080 and Subsequent Contract
This is MPO work and will be carried out in conformance with the priorities established by the MPO.
Under the Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) of 1990, states must monitor emissions from transportation and other sources to determine whether ambient emissions levels exceed health-based allowable levels of air pollutants. The areas in which the emissions exceed the allowable levels are designated as nonattainment areas, and the state must develop a State Implementation Plan (SIP) that establishes emissions budgets that show how the area would reduce emissions sufficiently to comply with the CAAA air quality standards. MPOs with nonattainment areas must complete air quality conformity determinations to demonstrate the conformity of transportation plans, programs, and projects with the CAAA. Typically, a conformity determination is performed annually for the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) and every four years for a new Long-Range Transportation Plan (LRTP). However, an additional conformity determination may be required if an LRTP amendment is undertaken between annual determinations.
The city of Boston, the surrounding cities and towns, and the city of Waltham are classified as maintenance areas for carbon monoxide (CO). A maintenance area is an area that had been in nonattainment but was reclassified as being in attainment and for which a maintenance plan has been approved as part of the Massachusetts SIP. Since the Boston area is classified as a maintenance area, the region must show that, overall, its federally funded transportation programs maintain air quality in a manner consistent with the Massachusetts SIP.
The Boston Region MPO area had also previously been classified as a nonattainment area for ozone, but was reclassified as an attainment area under the new, 2008 ozone standard. Because this was a new standard, a maintenance plan was not required, and the area was not classified as a maintenance area. Because the Boston Region MPO area is an attainment area, the MPO is not required to demonstrate that the LRTP and TIP are in conformity with the two pollutants that form ozone: volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides (NOx). However, in response to comments received about the MPO’s current LRTP, Charting Progress to 2040, which was adopted in July 2015, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) worked with the MPO to conduct a “conformity-related” emissions analysis for ozone precursors, consistent with the 1997 NAAQS standards (currently superseded by the 2008 NAAQS) for informational purposes only, and reported the results in a separate air quality document. The results showed that the 13 Massachusetts LRTPs, combined, were consistent with the air quality goals in Massachusetts. This report was made available to all interested parties.
In addition to conformity work, air quality support work is funded in this work plan. The support work includes research and analysis for air quality and climate-change issues in the MPO area. It allows for additional support in implementing air-quality-related transportation programs and projects and includes consultation, research, and coordination between MPO staff and federal, state, local, and private agencies. Much of the research, analysis, and coordination with federal and state agencies lead to products used by the MPO, including the mobile source emission factors used in all of the MPO’s regional and project-level air quality analyses and analyses of conformity with the Massachusetts SIP.
This work plan covers the tasks needed to demonstrate that the MPO’s federally funded transportation programs meet conformity requirements. It also covers work completed through the air quality support program, which is critical to the MPO’s ability to conduct transportation planning in the current regulatory and policy framework.
This program has two primary objectives:
This work is conducted on an ongoing basis. It consists of the following tasks:
The Boston Region MPO’s regional travel demand model and the emissions model, Motor Vehicle Emission Simulator (MOVES), are used to analyze various pollutant emissions for the entire Boston Region MPO area. The analysis provides collective emissions data from all regionally significant transportation projects included in the LRTP and the TIP. For air quality conformity analysis purposes, a regionally significant project is a project that adds capacity to the system.
A systemwide conformity determination for carbon monoxide (CO) will be prepared for any potential amendments to the LRTP and the TIP if regionally significant projects are proposed. Although not part of the federal conformity determination, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions will also be calculated, in order to provide information for implementation of MassDOT’s GreenDOT policy.
A conformity determination will also be done for the TIP to show that the SIP projects are being funded and are advancing in a timely manner.
A detailed analysis of potential VOC and NOx (the two precursors of ozone), CO, and CO2 impacts of each project that will receive Congestion Mitigation/Air Quality (CMAQ) Program funding in the TIP and each project that would help the MPO meet the requirements of the GreenDOT policy will be conducted in accordance with US Department of Transportation and US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidelines. Although the two ozone precursors are not required to have a conformity analysis, an analysis is performed at the project level to ensure that the identified projects have a positive impact on air quality. The specifics of the analysis are determined through consultation between the state’s transportation and environmental agencies. In addition, the CO2 analysis is used as input into the project selection process. CO2 emissions for projects that are funded in the TIP are provided to MassDOT for GreenDOT monitoring.
This task will include an analysis of transportation control measures (TCMs), park-and-ride facilities, and proposed high-occupancy-vehicle (HOV) projects throughout the Boston Region MPO area, as requested by MassDOT (including the Highway Division and the Office of Transportation Planning), the MBTA, and Massport, and an evaluation of emerging and innovative highway and transit clean-air activities.
Air quality analyses and evaluations, requested by MassDOT, the MBTA and Massport, of projects for various pollutants
Staff will integrate climate-change concerns and emission-reduction opportunities into the MPO’s planning processes and will assist with integrating them into state agencies’ planning processes. Activities in this task include:
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is required to submit a SIP to the US EPA that documents the strategies and actions designed to bring Massachusetts into compliance with air quality standards, as needed. Under this task, staff will complete the following activities:
Air quality analyses of specific projects and programs
This work includes continued support and coordination for the following activities:
Using the MOVES emission model to develop air toxic emission factors for use in studies done by the Boston Region MPO staff to determine the health-related impacts of transportation projects
New MOVES emission factors
It is estimated that the tasks presented in this work plan will be completed throughout the 12 months of federal fiscal year 2016. The proposed schedule, by task, is shown in Exhibit 1.
The total cost of this project is estimated to be $24,500. This includes the cost of 8.0 person-weeks of staff time and overhead at the rate of 98.88 percent. A detailed breakdown of estimated costs is presented in Exhibit 2.
KQ/AM/am
Task |
Month | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | |
1.
Perform System-Level Air Quality Analysis |
From month 1 to 13.
|
|||||||||||
2.
Perform Project-Level Air Quality Analysis |
From month 1 to 13.
|
|||||||||||
3.
Provide Support to MassDOT, the MBTA, and Massport |
From month 1 to 13.
|
|||||||||||
4.
Provide Support on Climate Change Initiatives |
From month 1 to 13.
|
|||||||||||
5.
Provide Support for the Mobile-Source Element of the SIP |
From month 1 to 13.
|
|||||||||||
6.
Provide Ongoing Technical Support to Agencies |
From month 1 to 13.
|
|||||||||||
Task |
Person-Weeks | Direct Salary |
Overhead (98.88%) |
Total Cost |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M-1 | P-5 | P-2 | Temp | Total | ||||
1.
Perform System-Level Air Quality Analysis
|
0.2 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.6 | $1,073 | $1,061 | $2,135 |
2.
Perform Project-Level Air Quality Analysis
|
0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.9 | 1.9 | $2,281 | $2,255 | $4,536 |
3.
Provide Support to MassDOT, the MBTA, and Massport
|
0.0 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 1.0 | $1,319 | $1,304 | $2,624 |
4.
Provide Support on Climate Change Initiatives
|
0.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 2.3 | $3,830 | $3,787 | $7,617 |
5.
Provide Support for the Mobile-Source Element of the SIP
|
0.2 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | $891 | $881 | $1,772 |
6.
Provide Ongoing Technical Support to Agencies
|
0.1 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 1.7 | $2,925 | $2,892 | $5,818 |
Total
|
0.5 | 5.5 | 0.8 | 1.2 | 8.0 | $12,319 | $12,181 | $24,500 |
Memorandum
Date October 15, 2015
TO Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization
FROM Karl H. Quackenbush
CTPS Executive Director
RE Work Plan for: Boston Region MPO Title VI Reporting: FFY 2016
Review
Certification Requirements
11355
Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization
Principal: Elizabeth Moore
Manager: Alicia Wilson
MPO Planning Contract #89787
MPO §5303 Contracts #84080 and Subsequent Contract
Part of the Boston Region MPO’s 3C1 work is the development and implementation of a program that demonstrates that the MPO does not discriminate against protected populations in its programs, services, and activities.
Title VI of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance either directly or via contract. As a part of the national origin protections, Executive Order 13166 (signed on August 11, 2000) provides for equal access to services and benefits for individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP). Additional executive orders and federal statutes extend protection from discrimination to low-income populations, people with disabilities, women, and elders. The Federal Transit Administration’s Title VI Circular 4702.1B and the Federal Highway Administration’s Title VI/Nondiscrimination Program require direct recipients of federal aid to submit, every three years, a comprehensive report that documents compliance with Title VI and other nondiscrimination mandates. As a subrecipient of federal aid through the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), the Boston Region MPO is required to report its activities to MassDOT through a comprehensive report every three years and to submit annual updates that address any changes that have occurred since the previous triennial report and/or issues that MassDOT wants MPOs to address. This program is ongoing and is under way year-round.
Based on the federal fiscal year (FFY) 2014 Title VI Triennial Reports, the MassDOT Office of Diversity and Civil Rights (ODCR) developed Work Plans for each of the Massachusetts MPOs, and required each MPO to address and report on specific ODCR recommendations during FFY 2015. These recommendations, which were the same for all of the MPOs in the state, were intended to ensure consistency among MPOs statewide in the adoption of state-of-the-practice Title VI program elements related to carrying out a public participation program, adopting and translating a standard Notice to Beneficiaries, updating and sharing outreach contact lists, and ensuring accessibility of MPO documents. It is ODCR’s intention that additional elements of the Work Plan be addressed and reported on by MPOs in their FFY 2016 annual reports.
The primary focus of this work plan is the development of the MPO’s FFY 2016 annual Title VI update, but it also covers the development of demographic profiles (in conjunction with the Transportation Equity Program) to support the MPO’s Title VI Program, ongoing collaboration with MassDOT, and research to stay current with federal requirements and new planning practices.
The objective of the MPO’s Title VI Reporting program is to compile an update of Title VI-related activities undertaken by the MPO during the previous year to show that the MPO is fully compliant with the requirements of both the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Title VI Circular 4702.1B and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Title VI/Nondiscrimination Program.
As indicated above, ODCR requires all Massachusetts MPOs to address additional elements of the MassDOT Title VI Work Plan in their FFY 2016 annual updates, listed below.
In October, 2015, Boston Region MPO staff will attend a MassDOT Title VI Capacity Building Workshop, at which ODCR will provide more specific guidance on these reporting requirements.
The Boston Region MPO’s FFY 2016 annual update will also report on the ongoing activities begun for the FFY 2015 update, such as reporting on the contacts that were added to the database during that time, and implementing staff training activities.
In addition to MassDOT’s Title VI reporting requirements, the FHWA and FTA, based on their certification review of the Boston Region MPO that was completed during FFY 2015, recommended a number of ways in which the MPO can improve its Title VI/Nondiscrimination programs and activities. MPO staff are currently in the process of working with the FHWA and FTA to define an action plan for addressing those recommendations. Activities in the action plan will be reported in the FFY 2016 annual Title VI update.
MPO staff will coordinate with both ODCR and the federal agencies throughout FFY 2016 to determine which specific program improvements will be implemented, monitored, and reported on in FFY 2016. Staff will assemble all of the required documentation and produce a final update for submittal to ODCR.
Annual MPO Title VI Program update
Under this task, MPO staff will prepare materials about the MPO’s Title VI update and will present them to the MPO.
Presentation to the MPO
MPO staff may update additional elements in the MPO’s Title VI Program or respond to questions about the program, as needed. Staff will also coordinate activities with MassDOT’s Office of Civil Rights to ensure that the MPO is compliant with Title VI requirements. Throughout this process, staff will keep up-to-date on changing federal regulations and guidance and evolving Title VI best practices and will conduct analyses and research to incorporate them into the MPO’s Title VI Program.
This project is ongoing from year to year. It is estimated that the tasks presented in this work plan will be completed throughout the 12 months of FFY 2016. The proposed schedule, by task, is shown in Exhibit 1.
The total cost of this project is estimated to be $32,000. This includes the cost of 9.3 person-weeks of staff time and overhead at the rate of 98.88 percent. A detailed breakdown of estimated costs is presented in Exhibit 2.
KQ/AW/aw
1 The federally mandated process that MPOs are required to follow is called the “3C” process: “continuing,” “cooperative,” and “comprehensive” transportation-planning process:
Task |
Month | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | |
1.
Prepare an Annual MPO Title VI Program Update |
From month 6 to 9.
Deliverable
A
, Annual MPO Title VI Program update delivered by Month 9
|
|||||||||||
2.
Present Title VI Materials to the MPO |
From month 8 to 8.5.
Deliverable
B
, Presentation to the MPO delivered by Month 8.5
|
|||||||||||
3.
Provide Ongoing Title VI Program Support |
From month 1 to 13.
|
|||||||||||
Task |
Person-Weeks | Direct Salary |
Overhead (98.88%) |
Total Cost |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M-1 | P-5 | P-4 | Temp | Total | ||||
1.
Prepare an Annual MPO Title VI Program Update
|
0.8 | 3.1 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 4.3 | $7,524 | $7,439 | $14,963 |
2.
Present Title VI Materials to the MPO
|
0.2 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.8 | $1,342 | $1,327 | $2,669 |
3.
Provide Ongoing Title VI Program Support
|
0.9 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 4.3 | $7,225 | $7,144 | $14,368 |
Total
|
1.9 | 6.6 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 9.3 | $16,090 | $15,910 | $32,000 |
Memorandum
Date October 15, 2015
TO Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization
FROM Karl H. Quackenbush
CTPS Executive Director
RE Work Plan for: Transportation Equity/Environmental Justice Support: FFY 2016
Review
Certification Requirements
11132
Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization
Principal: Elizabeth Moore
Manager: Alicia Wilson
MPO Planning Contract #89787
MPO §5303 Contracts #84080 and Subsequent Contract
The Environmental Justice Executive Order 12898, signed by the president on February 11, 1994, requires each federal agency to achieve environmental justice by identifying and addressing any disproportionately high adverse human health or environmental effects, including interrelated social and economic effects, of its programs, policies, and activities on minority and low-income populations. This executive order and other regulations and guidance provide direction for MPOs. For the Boston Region MPO, these requirements mean that the MPO needs to understand the needs of these populations and of people with disabilities, people with limited English proficiency (LEP), and elders, related to mobility and access to transportation, and has to consider these needs in MPO planning and decision making.
The MPO embraces the letter and spirit of these requirements and demonstrates its full commitment to meeting these needs through its Transportation Equity/Environmental Justice Support program. The MPO’s policy is to treat all people equitably, including those who identify as minority, and those with low incomes, disabilities, and/or limited English proficiency, in the provision of transportation services and projects, and to provide for the full participation of these populations in the MPO’s planning and decision-making processes.
This program provides for a systematic method of considering environmental justice in all of the MPO’s transportation-planning work. The findings from this program are incorporated into the development of MPO plans and studies. In addition, the program seeks to support activities that advance the provision of transportation services to elders, those who identify as minority, and those with low-incomes, disabilities, and/or limited English proficiency.
This work plan focuses on the MPO activities that are related to the Transportation Equity/Environmental Justice Support program.
The main objectives of the Transportation Equity/Environmental Justice Support program are to:
This work is conducted on an ongoing basis through the following tasks:
Staff will continue to collect and analyze demographic data from a variety of sources, including the US Census and various surveys, such as the Massachusetts Household Survey. In the past, the demographic analyses have focused on minority and low-income populations, as well as those with limited English proficiency (LEP). However, in accordance with recommendations received during the MPO’s recertification process, staff will expand these analyses to include the elderly and people with disabilities, and will establish thresholds for each and redefine the geographic areas with higher than average percentages of the protected populations
As budget allows, staff will review and inventory current community planning initiatives for vulnerable populations’ transportation needs. This process will help staff understand which agencies or organizations are addressing this topic. Staff will summarize plans that are in place or under development, and identify geographic or programmatic planning gaps.
The analytical work in this task includes mapping the various types of demographic data and the transportation characteristics associated with different populations, such as the locations of zero-vehicle households.
These analyses form the basis of the MPO’s Transportation Equity Program because they give information on the size and location of various populations and help to identify and address their transportation issues. Data from some of the analyses will also support the MPO’s Title VI activities.
Staff will produce memoranda summarizing the results of the various analyses and will present them to the MPO.
Staff will continue to conduct a public-involvement program targeted specifically to the groups identified in the demographic analyses, since they traditionally have not routinely participated in the transportation-planning process (low-income, minority, and LEP populations, as well as people with disabilities and elders), and will produce outreach materials for this program. The goal of this task is to reach out to organizations that serve these populations to improve their awareness of the MPO and the transportation services and facilities available those populations and to convey information about their transportation needs to the MPO.
Staff will seek to increase the effectiveness of MPO outreach by translating MPO meeting notices into additional languages, with the hope of bringing more LEP people into the planning process. (The identification of additional languages for outreach will occur under the work outlined in the MPO’s Title VI work plan.) In addition, the database of transportation equity organizations and contacts will be updated quarterly to facilitate broader outreach.
Staff also will gather information on the transportation needs of these populations through other means, such as meetings, online surveys, and forums and/or focus groups with organizations and/or with members of the public to provide opportunities for them to share their views on transportation issues. Staff will continue to work with various Regional Coordinating Councils (voluntary advisory bodies that provide forums for local stakeholders on paratransit and community-transportation service gaps) to gather information on the transportation needs of various populations by participating in their monthly meetings. Staff will also provide the RCCs with information and other technical support upon request. Because the Metropolitan Area Planning Council conducts outreach efforts with many of the same communities as does the MPO, several joint activities may be planned.
The results of the outreach activities will be summarized in one or more memoranda to the MPO. The effectiveness of the program will be measured by the increase in participation in the Transportation Equity Program. This will include an increase in the number of surveys returned, attendance at meetings and forums, and comments submitted on MPO documents and planning issues.
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s Rail and Transit Division solicits projects for several state and federal programs. As in the previous federal fiscal year, it is anticipated that the Rail and Transit Division will request that MPOs inform agencies and organizations in their transportation-equity databases of when these solicitations will occur, and will arrange and host a preproposal meeting. In the past, the Boston Region MPO also has been asked by MassDOT to participate in scoring project proposals for federal Section 5310 funding. (Section 5310 of the Transportation Equity Act is a federal program of capital and operating assistance to address the mobility needs of elders and people with disabilities.)
Staff will keep the MPO informed about Transportation Equity Program activities and information gathered through briefings and formal presentations at MPO meetings. These discussions typically are scheduled when the Transportation Equity Program is about to launch new outreach programs or when there are results to discuss with the MPO.
PowerPoint presentations and other meeting materials to support discussions with the MPO
Periodically, MassDOT requests that the MPO analyze data and provide information to them in various formats so that MassDOT and the MPO remain compliant with federal regulations. An example of this type of request is for the MPO to analyze a database of nonprofit contacts, add relevant entities to the MPO database; and report the results to MassDOT. Staff will respond to these requests.
Guidance and practices are changing in the field of transportation equity. Staff will keep up-to-date on changing federal regulations and guidance and best practices. Staff will track developments in federal regulations and guidance and integrate the required changes into the MPO’s Transportation Equity Program. In addition, staff will explore best practices and conduct analyses and research to enhance the Transportation Equity Program.
This project is ongoing from year to year. It is estimated that the tasks presented in this work plan will be completed throughout the 12 months of FFY 2016. The proposed schedule, by task, is shown in Exhibit 1.
The total cost of this project is estimated to be $100,900. This includes the cost of 31.7 person-weeks of staff time and overhead at the rate of 98.88 percent. A detailed breakdown of estimated costs is presented in Exhibit 2.
KQ/AW/aw
Task |
Month | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | |
1.
Analyze Demographic and Survey Data and Produce a Memorandum |
From month 1 to 13.
Deliverable
A
, Memoranda, including maps delivered by Month 3
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2.
Conduct Outreach |
From month 1 to 13.
Deliverable
B
, Outreach materials, one or more forums or focus groups, online surveys, and one or more memoranda delivered by Month 6
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3.
Participate in MassDOT's Grant Solicitation Process |
From month 4.5 to 7.5.
Deliverable
C
, Materials for grant solicitations and participation in project proposal scoring delivered by Month 5
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4.
Report to the MPO |
Deliverable
, delivered by Month 1
From month 3.5 to 4.5.
From month 7.5 to 8.5.
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5.
Provide Ongoing Technical Support to MassDOT |
From month 1 to 13.
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6.
Track Changes in Federal Regulations and Guidance and Integrate Them into Tranpsortation Equity Program |
From month 1 to 13.
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Task |
Person-Weeks | Direct Salary |
Overhead (98.88%) |
Total Cost |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M-1 | P-5 | P-4 | P-3 | Temp | Total | ||||
1.
Analyze Demographic and Survey Data and Produce a Memorandum
|
0.8 | 7.8 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.9 | 9.9 | $16,615 | $16,429 | $33,045 |
2.
Conduct Outreach
|
1.2 | 5.2 | 3.0 | 0.2 | 1.5 | 11.1 | $16,518 | $16,333 | $32,852 |
3.
Participate in MassDOT's Grant Solicitation Process
|
0.0 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.6 | $1,096 | $1,084 | $2,180 |
4.
Report to the MPO
|
0.9 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.9 | $5,196 | $5,138 | $10,334 |
5.
Provide Ongoing Technical Support to MassDOT
|
0.2 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 5.2 | $7,655 | $7,569 | $15,223 |
6.
Track Changes in Federal Regulations and Guidance and Integrate Them into Tranpsortation Equity Program
|
0.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | $3,654 | $3,613 | $7,267 |
Total
|
3.1 | 20.6 | 4.4 | 0.2 | 3.4 | 31.7 | $50,734 | $50,166 | $100,900 |