OF THE 2006-08 UPWP
Key
Direction
The concept of adopting a two-year UPWP was proposed
for 2006-08 to allow UPWP development and TIP development to occur in
alternating two-year cycles. (UPWP
development this winter, TIP development next winter, etc.). SAFETEA-LU resolved the question of planning
resources by providing CDTC a modest increase in funding. This will allow CDTC to maintain an overall
effort at roughly the same magnitude as in recent years.
There are few downsides to moving to a two-year
UPWP. Many of CDTC’s
activities are ongoing and the UPWP description differs little from year to
year. Some activities, such as the
Linkage program, would remain on an annual cycle and second-year Linkage
programming and other changes would be treated as UPWP amendments when
necessary.
The past year’s work effort (2005-06) has emphasized
the following:
For the coming
two-year period, many efforts will continue and emphasis will shift slightly
to:
Highlights of the draft program are provided
below. The full UPWP agenda continues to
be ambitious and demanding, particularly with the major work on New Visions
2030.
New Visions
CDTC
gained some schedule latitude due to the August 2004 adoption of the New
Visions 2025 amendment. Over the past
year, work by the five working groups has been completed and discussion
documents are on CDTC’s website. Next steps include circulating a summary
document of this material, working through various means to add detail to the
hypothetical big idea / big ticket initiatives from Working Group C, and
updating CDTC’s estimates of resource availability
and unit costs. The detailed assessment
of fiscal impacts of alternative growth scenarios will be conducted on a
parallel track but may be able to dovetail with New Visions 2030 prior to its
completion. A late 2006 adoption of the
New Visions 2030 plan is expected.
While
the New Visions 2035 or 2040 effort will be the first to fully reflect
SAFETEA-LU requirements for early participation of outside resource agencies
(NYSDEC, EPA, SHPO, etc.), CDTC will make efforts to bring the New Visions 2030
work into compliance with SAFETEA-LU to the extent possible.
Linkage
Program Years Six, Seven and Eight
Over 40 Linkage studies have been initiated to date in
26 municipalities, making CDTC’s integrated
transportation – land use / regional – local planning program one of the most
extensive in the nation. The CDTC
Planning Committee selected nine of fifteen submissions for inclusion in the
2006-07 budget.
Including staff administration and technical work and technical
participation by CDRPC staff, the new projects represent a commitment of over
$500,000 in federal funds and over $260,000 in state, regional and local cash
and in-kind services. September 2007 solicitation will identify
additional Linkage studies for the 2008-10 UPWP. As part of the Linkage effort CDTC will
review the progress of completed Linkage studies in terms of implementation and
document any issues, concerns or success stories. Particular attention
will be given to the studies funded in the early days (2000 and 2001).
CDTC will document if a study has not moved forward, why not, and are
there opportunities to get the ideas back on the table.
NYSDOT
Transformation, Master Plan and CDTC’s Prospectus
A year ago, it was expected that NYSDOT Transformation
would necessitate a modification to the CDTC’s
Prospectus. At present, there do not
appear to be any major changes in NYSDOT’s
participation or roles in CDTC’s process on the
horizon. A Prospectus update will finally
take place with the effort more one of documenting all the existing roles,
procedures, policies and practices in one place than one of defining new sets
of responsibilities.
The TIP
CDTC plans to initiate development of the 2007-12 in
September 2006. Under new federal law,
the STIP will cover four (rather than three) years and must be updated at least
every four (rather than two) years. CDTC
has a strong interest in continuing on a two-year TIP cycle to maintain
credibility of the TIP. Agreements with
NYSDOT on a statewide basis are needed for this. A four-year STIP
coverage will also trigger a modification of CDTC’s
existing policies which draw a distinction between the first three and last two
years of the five-year TIP. The new TIP
will need to comply with requirements of SAFETEA-LU.
A fourth round of Spot Improvement Program projects
will be solicited in the spring of 2006.
At some point in 2006, it is expected that NYSDOT will initiate a
statewide solicitation for Transportation Enhancement Program projects –
probably for two or three years’ worth of funds. CDTC expects to do the solicitation locally
and prioritize submissions as in the past.
Safety
Initiative
The schedule for this work remains uncertain, due to
continue difficulties with timely access to crash data. CDTC staff has initiated a pilot effort at
looking at local-system crash data on a systemic basis, beginning with
Operations
Planning
For 2005-06, CDTC and NYSDOT agreed to jointly explore
an ongoing regional operations committee and identify the potential scope of
CMAQ-based regional initiatives to improve the quality of operations and
inter-agency coordination. Early
meetings are expected before April 2006, and the committee will be in full
swing through the two-year UPWP period.
The Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) concept design study is
complete. The follow-up detailed design
study will be initiated shortly. CDTA
has also successfully implemented its simplified fare structure.
The overall Transit Development Program (TDP) is well
underway with coordinated work by CDTA, CDTC, CDRPC and consultants. CDTA adopted TDP principles in 2005 and is
working on defining future fleet needs.
Service concepts and fleet requirements should be completed in 2006
SAFETEA-LU also revises responsibilities for CDTC in
the areas of Jobs Access / Reverse Commuting and similar services. NYSDOT has the lead in a second phase of
United We Ride efforts in
STEP Model
Upgrade
The conversion from TMODEL2 to VISUM continues
successfully. Highway networks for a new
900-zone system established for the 2000 Census has been coded into VISUM. 2001 NHTS and 2000 Census data are being
examined to confirm trip rates and trip lengths; indications are that
underlying travel behavior (adjusted by socio-economic characteristics) has not
changed substantially since CDTC’s 1983 home
interview survey, lessening the urgency of conversion. Conversion to VISUM will continue in two
tracks – one as a continued refinement of the peak-hour based STEP model and
one as an exploration of a multi-hour, trip chain model. The latter will not replace the peak-hour
model until all calibration and validation is completed – during the coming
two-year period.
CDTC continues to gain experience with the
micro-simulation tool, VISSIM. The East
Greenbush US 4 Linkage study was the first Linkage study to use the products of
VISSIM modeling. Recent consultant work
for NYSDOT demonstrating a high-end visualization application of VISSIM will be
pursued for CDTC use in helping meet SAFETEA-LU requirements for visualization
tools.
Bike and
Pedestrian Planning
CDTC will publish an updated regional trails map in
2006. A major survey effort of users and
property owners will be an effort in 2006, as well. The survey will cover the Mohawk-Hudson trail
and others as a repeat and expansion of the earlier survey. An effort to capture trip purpose for users
will be made for use in future market assessment.
Goods
Movement
CDTC has maintained a Goods Movement Task Force for a
decade, meeting quarterly in recent years.
In the coming year, CDTC will explore moving to an annual event – a
conference or workshop on emerging issues.
Other
Contractual Elements
In 2005-06, CDTC will continue to host the statewide
MPO association staff contract at approximately $120,000. CDTC
will hold the $100,000 contract for the second phase of a statewide effort to
seek to educate stakeholders and demonstrate methods of integrating community
design and transportation system design.
Additionally, CDTC will hold the contract for a statewide study of
analytical methods for bicycle and pedestrian treatments, with the goal of
establishing statewide practice.
TDM, Access Transit Support: CDTC staff
will continue to assist CDTA in both expanding the regional TDM / transit pass
program and in developing the Access Transit system. In the new UPWP, CDTC will explore formal
matching software for the Commuter Register and seek greater awareness of the
program as part of an energy contingency planning process.
Pavement Inventory: The 2006 survey will include
the 100% sample of
Traffic Volume Report: A thorough
update of the web-based traffic information is planned.
Clean Communities Program: CDTC is the
only MPO in
I-87, Thruway Capacity, High Speed Rail Studies: Further work
on these subjects will be dovetailed into CDTC’s
policies and plans. Particular areas
that need careful treatment relative to existing CDTC policy are concepts for
widening the Thruway mainline between Exit 24 and 25 and any commuter rail
concepts emerging from the High Speed Rail study.
Other: Major effort will continue to be devoted to
data collection, contractual support to
SUMMARY OF
RESOURCE AVAILABILITY
The 2006-08 UPWP involves a significant commitment of financial
resources for activities by NYSDOT, CDRPC, CDTA, and the CDTC Staff.
Fund Source | Federal | State | Local | Total |
FHWA % Metropolitan Planning (PL) | $3,589,696 | 365,771 | 31,666 | 2,238,217 |
STP Project Development tasks in UPWP | 130,000 | 32,500 | 0- | 162,500 |
CMAQ | 932,000 | 46,500 | 116,500 | 1,095,000 |
2005-06 FTA Section 5303 | 50,000 | 9,375 | 3,125 | 62,500 |
2006-08 FTA Section 5303 | 284,515 | 53,347 | 17,782 | 355,644 |
New FTA Section 5307 | 240,000 | 30,000 | 30,000 | 300,000 |
Albany County & Town of Colonie | 60,000 | 60,000 | ||
Municipal Linkage Funding | 268,250 | 268,250 | ||
Federal Aviation Administration | 5,000 | 1,667 | 6,667 | |
Total | $3,482,295 | $537,493 | $528,993 | $4,548,778 |
Notes
Table
represents actual effort. Financial
tables (see Appendix A) use some
The
nearly $400,000 in local cash participation in CDTC’s
activities demonstrates the local value of the work effort. This level of local cash participation in MPO
planning activities is unparalleled in