DEPARTMENT: Transportation & Capital Improvements Department
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Mike Frisbie, PE, Director/City Engineer
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: Citywide
SUBJECT:
Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization scoring criteria for the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) projects
SUMMARY:
The Transportation & Capital Improvements Department (TCI) will provide a briefing to the City Council Transportation Committee on the Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) call for projects and scoring criteria for the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP).
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The MPO includes all of Bexar, Comal, and Guadalupe Counties, and a portion of Kendall County. As part of the MPO's planning process, the TIP is developed cooperatively among the partner agencies to determine the allocation of federal transportation funds for major roadway, highway, bicycle, pedestrian, public transportation, and other projects.
The TIP is a four-year financially constrained list of transportation projects that is approved for federal and state funding by the MPO Transportation Policy Board. The TIP is updated every two years and amended quarterly. The current TIP covers FY 2017-2020 and includes roadway, transit, bicycle, pedestrian, and other projects. On June 1, 2017, the MPO issued a call for projects for the FY 2019-2022 TIP and is anticipated to be approved by the MPO Transportation Policy Board by May 2018.
Projects submitted for funding consideration will be grouped into the following five categories for evaluation purposes:
• Added Capacity Projects - Roadway projects which add through travel lanes for vehicles; these projects are to also include new or replacement bicycle and pedestrian facilities. Roadway projects must be on federally functionally classified roadways and not local streets.
• Operational Improvement Projects - Projects which improve the operational function of a facility without adding through travel lanes. Examples include, but are not limited to, improving intersections to add right or left turn lanes; adding a center turn lane; adding acceleration or deceleration lanes; constructing a roundabout; adding or improving intersection signalization; reconfiguring travel lanes for a multi-modal shift; constructing new or reversing highway entrance and exit ramps; converting frontage road from two way to one way; implementing Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) projects; or constructing interchanges.
• Stand-alone Bicycle Projects - Projects which construct, reconstruct, or upgrade public bicycle facilities.
• Stand-alone Pedestrian Projects - Projects which construct, reconstruct, or upgrade public pedestrian facilities.
• Other Projects - Projects that do not fall into the categories listed above; examples include public transit projects and major planning studies.
Projects submitted for funding consideration must have a minimum construction cost of $1,000,000. Other key requirements are as follows:
• Only eligible items related to construction will be reimbursable. All project development costs such as design, utility relocation, and right-of-way acquisition are the responsibility of the implementing agency.
• A minimum 20% match on the project construction cost is required. An in-kind match is not allowed.
• The implementing agency must commit to developing and letting selected projects within one year of the year in which the projects are initially placed in the TIP.
ISSUE:
The MPO utilizes many federal and state funding sources. The funding source for this call for projects is Category 7 funds, Surface Transportation Program - Metropolitan Mobility (STP-MM). STP-MM funding is a federal funding source allocated to MPO’s with a population greater than 200,000. Contingent upon the availability of federal funding, the total amount of STP-MM funds available for the current call for projects is estimated up to $170,000,000.
Typically there are more projects submitted than available funding. As such, a scoring system has been established to select projects. The scoring procedure consists of the following steps:
• Projects submitted will be evaluated and technically scored by work groups of the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), the Bicycle Mobility Advisory Committee (BMAC) and the Pedestrian Mobility Advisory Committee (PMAC).
• The scoring system is based on a 1,000 point system with additional points being awarded for providing additional local contribution (beyond the required 20% local match) towards the construction cost of a project.
• Other Projects are not technically scored due to the nature of the projects in this category.
• The scoring system is shown below. Projects may score an additional 50 points for providing additional local contribution of 5% to 10% beyond the required 20% local match, or 100 points for providing additional local contribution of more than 10% beyond the required 20% local match.
40% Congestion (volume/capacity ratio)
20% Cost of the project per year 2040 vehicle miles of travel
10% Considers safety
10% Supports the MPO’s adopted long range plan growth scenario
10% Project includes safe pedestrian facilities
10% Project includes safe bicycle facilities
Operational Improvement Projects
45% Operational/Multimodal improvement
15% Cost of the project per year 2040 vehicle miles of travel
25% Considers safety
10% Supports the MPO’s adopted long range plan growth scenario
5% Project includes safe pedestrian and bicycle facilities
Stand-alone Bicycle Projects
40% Considers safety
60% Improves accessibility and mobility
Stand-alone Pedestrian Projects
30% Considers safety
30% Serves high demand pedestrian generators
20% Completes a sidewalk gap
10% Project is support by a Walkable Community Workshop, existing adopted
plan, or uses strategies outline in the Pedestrian Safety Action Plan
10% Incorporates pedestrian design enhancements
Project submittals are due to the MPO December 4, 2017. The TIP development schedule is as follows:
• January 2018 - Projects scored by MPO Committees
• February 2018 - MPO hosts public meetings/workshops
• March 2018 - MPO Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) and Transportation Policy Board review the draft TIP and the TAC makes a recommendation to the MPO’s Executive Committee on projects recommended for STP-MM funding
• April 2018 - MPO Technical Advisory Committee and Transportation Policy Board take action on the TIP
• May 2018 - Approved TIP is due to the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) since TxDOT serves as the federally designated pass-through agency
TCI will provide a subsequent briefing to the City Council Transportation Committee in October 2017 on the proposed City of San Antonio list of TIP projects. The list of projects will need to be approved by City Council in November 2017 prior to the December 4, 2017 project submittal deadline.
ALTERNATIVES:
This is a briefing only.
FISCAL IMPACT:
This is a briefing only.
RECOMMENDATION:
This is a briefing only.