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TMA Certification Report
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| ADA - | Americans with Disabilities Act |
| BRT - | Bus Rapid Transit |
| CATS - | Charlotte Area Transit System |
| CDOT - | Charlotte Department of Transportation |
| CFR - | Code of Federal Regulations |
| CMP - | Congestion Management Process |
| CMPC - | Charlotte Mecklenburg Planning Commission |
| CMPD - | Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department |
| CMAQ - | Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality |
| CRMPO - | Cabarrus-Rowan Metropolitan Planning Organization |
| CRAFT - | Charlotte Regional Alliance for Transportation |
| CTC - | Charlotte Transit Center |
| CTSP - | Countywide Transit Service Plan |
| DHS - | Department of Homeland Security |
| EJ - | Environmental Justice |
| EPA - | Environmental Protection Agency |
| FHWA - | Federal Highway Administration |
| FTA - | Federal Transit Administration |
| HOV/HOT - | High Occupancy Vehicle/High Occupancy Toll |
| ITS - | Intelligent Transportation System |
| JARC - | Jobs Access and Reverse Commute |
| LPA - | Lead Planning Agency |
| LRT - | Light Rail Transit |
| LRTP - | Long Range Transportation Plan |
| MOE - | Maintenance of Effort |
| MPO - | Metropolitan Planning Organization |
| MTC - | Metropolitan Transit Commission |
| MUMPO - | Mecklenburg-Union Metropolitan Planning Organization |
| NCDAQ - | North Carolina Department of Air Quality |
| NCDENR - | North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources |
| NCDOT - | North Carolina Department of Transportation |
| NCILT - | North Carolina Interagency Leadership Team |
| NCTA - | North Carolina Turnpike Authority |
| NECLRP - | Northeast Corridor Light Rail Project |
| PL - | Planning Funds |
| RFATS - | Rock Hill-Fort Mill Area Transportation System Planning Area |
| RPS - | Rapid Performance System |
| RTDM - | Regional Travel Demand Model |
| SAFETEA-LU - | Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act A Legacy for Users |
| SCDOT - | South Carolina Department of Transportation |
| SCLRP - | South Corridor Light Rail Project |
| SHSP - | Strategic Highway Safety Plan |
| SIP - | State Implementation Plan |
| SPS - | Special Transit Service |
| SRTS - | Safe Routes to School |
| SSP - | System Service Plan |
| SSPP - | System Safety Performance Plan |
| STP-DA - | Surface Transportation Program - Direct Apportionment |
| STS - | Special Transportation Service |
| TCC - | Technical Coordinating Committee |
| TDP - | Transit Development Plan |
| TIP - | Transportation Improvement Program |
| TMA - | Transportation Management Area |
| TOD - | Transit Oriented Development |
| UPWP - | Unified Planning Work Program |
| UZA - | Urbanized Area |
Pursuant to 23 U.S.C. 134(i)(5) and 49 U.S.C. 1607, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) must jointly certify the metropolitan transportation planning process in Transportation Management Areas (TMAs) at least every four years. A TMA is an urbanized area, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, with a population of over 200,000. There are 9 TMAs in North Carolina. In general, certification reviews consist of three primary activities: a review of planning products (in advance of and during the site visit), a site visit, and preparation of a report that summarizes the review and offers findings. The reviews focus on compliance with federal regulations, challenges, successes, and experiences of the cooperative relationship between the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), State Department of Transportation (DOT) and transit operators in the conduct of the metropolitan planning process.
The certification review process is only one of several methods used to assess the quality of a local metropolitan planning process, compliance with applicable statutes and regulations, and the level and type of technical assistance needed to enhance the effectiveness of the planning process. Other activities provide opportunities for this type of assessment, including review and/or approval of the Unified Planning Work Program, the multi-modal long-range transportation plan, the Metropolitan and Statewide Transportation Improvement Programs, air quality conformity determinations (in non-attainment and maintenance areas), as well as a range of other formal and less formal contact provide both FHWA/FTA an opportunity to comment on the planning process. The results of these other activities are considered in the certification review process.
While the Planning Certification Review report itself may not fully document those many intermediate and ongoing checkpoints, the "findings" of certification review, in fact, is based upon the cumulative findings of the entire review effort.
The review process is individually tailored to focus on topics of significance in each metropolitan planning area. Federal reviewers prepare certification reports to document the results of the review process. The reports and final actions are the joint responsibility of the appropriate FHWA and FTA field offices and content will vary to reflect the planning process reviewed, whether or not they relate explicitly to the formal "findings" of the review.
To encourage public understanding and input, FHWA/FTA will continue to improve the clarity of the certification review reports.
For The Certification Review of The Mecklenburg-Union Transportation Management Area
Pursuant to 23 U.S.C. 134(i)(5) and 49 U.S.C. 1607, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) must jointly certify the metropolitan transportation planning process in Transportation Management Areas at least every three years. In general, certification reviews consist of three primary activities: a review of planning products (in advance of and during the site visit), a site visit, and preparation of a report that summarizes the review and offers findings. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA)-Region 4, conducted a joint certification review of the Mecklenburg-Union Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MUMPO) planning process October 16-18, 2007.
The Federal Highway Administration North Carolina Division and the Federal Transit Administration-Region 4 conducted the review. Other participants in the review consisted of representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) - Region 4, Mecklenburg-Union MPO, the Charlotte Department of Transportation (CDOT), the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Commission (CMPC), the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), and Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS).
Observed during the review were several noteworthy practices, recommendations for improving the Mecklenburg-Union Metropolitan Planning Organization planning process, and one corrective action. Noteworthy practices include areas where the MPO is doing well. Recommendations are areas where the review team suggests ways to improve the planning process. Corrective actions are areas where the review team believes the MPO has not done enough to implement a particular planning requirement.
MUMPO has a transportation planning process that addresses local and regional transportation issues facing the area. The review team identified the following significant positive efforts and make recommendations for improving the transportation planning process:
Noteworthy Practices
| A) | Initiating a regional HOV/HOT lane study to help address congestion from a regional approach. |
| B) | Including truck data; vehicle classification, and volume counts in the modeling process to better integrate freight in the planning process. |
| C) | CATS provides exemplary local, express, and regional transit service and its regional rail and streetcar plan, using Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) for some corridors, is well-supported locally and regionally. |
| D) | CATS, the MUMPO, and the city of Charlotte have developed exemplary local transit oriented development (TOD) land use policies and plans; and CATS reports more than one-half billion dollars in new TOD around South Corridor Light Rail Project transit line (SCLRP) stations (and the system just opened November 24, 2007). |
| E) | The NCDOT has provided considerable State capital support in the range of 20% to 25% of all capital costs for the SCLRP (about $ 120.0 million of the $ 499.0 million total cost for the SCLRP to date) and proposes a similar percentage of capital cost for the proposed NECLRP and the North Corridor commuter line as part of the NCDOT's New Starts support. |
| F) | CATS takes advantage of the highest AAA bond rating of the City of Charlotte to issue debt service to back transit capital improvements (low rates of interest). |
| G) | CATS and MUMPO exhibit a high degree of coordination in their planning and operations efforts |
| H) | The review team continues to be impressed with the level of coordination that occurred for the development of the RTDM and collection of data, maintenance of the model and we hope it will continue. |
| I) | MUMPO is commended for initiating the process to make their website ADA compliant. |
| J) | MUMPO is commended for its effort to continually evaluate its public involvement process. |
Recommendations
Corrective Action
The MUMPO must develop and implement a Congestion Management Process (CMP) that meets the requirements of 23 CFR 450.320 by May 3, 2009.
Certification
The Federal Review Team, consisting of staff from the Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Transit Administration, issues this certification subject to addressing the aforementioned corrective action by May 3, 2009. This certification is valid for four years from the date of this report, pending acceptable completion of the corrective action.
October 16-18, 2007
Introduction
The North Carolina Division Office of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), and the Region 4 Office of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), conducted a joint certification review of the Mecklenburg-Union Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MUMPO) planning process October 16-18, 2007. The review was conducted in accordance with 23 CFR 450 and 49 CFR 613 which requires FHWA and FTA to jointly review and assess the transportation planning process for all transportation management areas (TMAs) at least once every four years. A transportation management area is defined as an urbanized area with a population of more than 200,000 as defined by the latest decennial census. The last certification review sire visit conducted for this area occurred in September 2003.
The purpose of the review is to assess the extent of compliance with the planning requirements, to recognize noteworthy practices, to identify problem areas, and to provide advice and assistance as appropriate. The review consisted of a series of discussions on transportation planning issues with State and local transportation officials directly involved in highway and transit planning activities of the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO). In addition, the MUMPO scheduled a meeting to provide the public an opportunity to offer comments on the MUMPO transportation planning process. This meeting was held from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM on October 17, 2007. Both the review and the public meeting were held at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center located at 600 East Fourth Street. This report contains the findings and recommendations of the review team.
In preparation for the review, the MUMPO staff made available on the MPOs website packets of information which included an agenda, Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP), Prospectus, Public Involvement Plan, Memorandum of Understanding and MPO Bylaws, Transportation Improvement Program, Conformity Analysis and Determination Report, 2030 Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP), and 2030 Integrated Transit Land Use Plan. The agenda is attached as Appendix A.
The Federal Review Team consisted of the following individuals:
Ms. Loretta Barren, Federal Highway Administration, North Carolina Division
Mr. Eddie Dancausse, Federal Highway Administration, North Carolina Division
Ms. Lynise DeVance, Federal Highway Administration, North Carolina Division
Ms. Jill Stark, Federal Highway Administration, North Carolina Division
Mr. Keith Melton, Federal Transit Administration, Region 4
Ms. Lynorae Benjamin, Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4
Other participants in the Review consisted of staff from the Mecklenburg-Union MPO, the Charlotte Department of Transportation (CDOT), the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Commission (CMPC), the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), and Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS), as listed below:
Robert Cook, MUMPO
Stuart Basham, MUMPO
Barry Mosley, MUMPO
Tim Gibbs, CDOT
Anna Gallup, CDOT
Eldewins Haynes, CDOT
Andy Grzymski, CDOT
Vivian Coleman, CDOT/Pedestrian Program
Ken Tippette, CDOT/Bicycle Program
David McDonald, CATS
John Rose CATS
Megan Makoid, CATS
Jonathan Parker, NCDOT-TPB
Jack Flaherty, NCDOT-PTD
The MUMPO includes the following member jurisdictions with the following number of votes (in parentheses): the City of Charlotte (16), Mecklenburg County (2), City of Monroe (2 ), Union County (2), Town of Cornelius (1), Town of Davidson, (1), Town of Huntersville (2), Town of Indian Trail (1), Town of Matthews (2), Town of Mint Hill (2), Town of Pineville (1), Town of Stallings (1), Town of Weddington (1), Town of Waxhaw (1), Village of Wesley Chapel (1), Town of Wingate (1) and a member of the North Carolina Board of Transportation (1), Charlotte Mecklenburg Planning Department (advisory, non-voting), Charlotte Area Transit System (advisory, non-voting), Federal Highway Administration (advisory, non-voting), North Carolina Turnpike Authority (NCTA) (advisory, non-voting).
The City of Charlotte serves as the Lead Planning Agency (LPA). The MUMPO has a Technical Coordinating Committee (TCC) that consists of transportation professionals from the member agencies and the Charlotte-Douglas International Airport, the City of Charlotte Bicycle Coordinator and the Metropolitan Transit Commission. The TCC reviews materials and forwards recommendations to the MUMPO for action.
As a result of the previous Review conducted in September 2003, the review team issued one Corrective Action and ten Recommendations. Each of these is listed below with a finding and discussion of follow-up action.
Corrective Action
MUMPO needs to evaluate the effectiveness of its public involvement plan and it should also address how low-income and minority populations are included in the planning process.
Finding: MUMPO satisfactorily completed the corrective action as required, on April 15, 2005. Many actions in the PIP are being implemented, i.e. website, public involvement e-mail group, EJ techniques.
Recommendations
The MUMPO has made a lot of progress in the last four years. Their web site is fully operational with a separate web address, www.mumpo.org, than the City of Charlotte, The MPO posts meeting agendas and minutes, project level information, public meeting information, TIP, LRTP and conformity reports on the website, as well as other MPO related materials. The MPO believes the web site has been a very useful tool in reaching the public. The MPO has established a speaker's bureau and they are now doing presentation to civic and citizen groups regarding the MPO planning process. The MPO also finds it useful to attend other meetings in the area to get the word out about the MPO and transportation planning. The MPO has worked to make the Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) a more open and understandable process. Based on a recent review, the project ranking process is being updated. The MPO is also very excited about the ongoing High Occupancy Vehicle/High Occupancy Toll (HOV/HOT) study that is underway in the region. The MPO believes that the results from that study will be used to improve congestion and enhance development of the LRTP.
The MUMPO expressed the following concerns and needs as they plan for the future:
The MUMPO stated that the level of coordination, cooperation and participation on the part of the NCDOT continues to improve. While there is more involvement in the development of the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), there is less money in the program to coordinate over. The development of the Regional Travel Demand Model and transportation planning processes continues to be a cooperative process. The NCDOT provides funding and the assistance of a modeler. The MUMPO continues to support and participate in the Merger 01 process. They believe the merger process is a very effective way of getting early involvement and buy-in from all interested parties.
The NCDOT believes that the most successful coordination effort to date has been development of the RTDM as is evident from the hard work the staffs have done and from the pooling of funds to implement the process thus far.
As the City of Charlotte continues to move forward with the implementation of their urban street design standards the MUMPO, once again, would like to encourage the NCDOT to be more flexible in the design of their urban streets. The City believes that their proposed design standards would make urban streets more accessible for disabled persons, pedestrian and bicyclists, and would calm traffic flow. The City and the MPO encourage the NCDOT to cooperate with them as they move toward implementation of their design standards.
The MUMPO last updated their Prospectus in 2002 and believe it adequately addresses their needs. In 2004, the MPO worked with NCDOT and FHWA to develop a UPWP that was category-based instead of line item based. However, the MPO has decided to move back to the line item based approach. After evaluation of the category-based approach, the MPO found it easier to track expenditures by line item and there was more control over charges. The NCDOT provides the MPOs with their annual Planning (PL) fund total. The MPO solicits projects and studies from its member jurisdictions. The MPO ways requests submitted from member agencies with requirements for the upcoming year, such as, the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) and LRTP development. Tasks in the UPWP are implemented by the staff's of the member agencies, the MPO or consultant. The MPO has worked with the City of Charlotte to improve internal billing and tracking of charges to the PL account, but the MPO has never evaluated the effectiveness of the program. In the past the MPO has relied on the NCDOT to provide program oversight, but this is not enough, the MPO has first responsibility for the accuracy and effectiveness of the program. The Review Team recommends that the MPO evaluate the effectiveness of the UPWP. The evaluation should include how charges are made to line items, how cost are determined, whether funds are spent appropriately, whether projects are completed in a timely manner and within budget.
Recommendations
As mentioned in the previous review, the MPO needs to develop a Congestion Management Process to meet Federal regulations. SAFETEA-LU put more emphasis on congestion planning and the development of the CMP by moving the CMP from the management systems 23 CFR 500.109 to the metropolitan planning section 23 CFR 450.320. Development of the CMP has been discussed with the MPO on many occasions since the previous certification review and little effort was made to comply with the regulation until the spring of 2007. The review team recommends that development of the CMP be a corrective action. The MPO is in contract negotiations with URS to develop a CMP for highways and transit. The contract is expected to be signed later this fall and should be complete by June 2008. The MPO does not believe the CMP will have an impact on any planned major roadway projects, but it could impact smaller minor thoroughfares. The area is experiencing such high growth and commuter traffic continues to increase thereby warranting the need to widening many major facilities.
Even though the MPO is without a CMP the area is not without congestion relief efforts. As noted in the previous review the City of Charlotte uses preemptive signal prioritization for transit service. The machine vision system was installed to replace the current loop system. The MUMPO meets with planners, engineers and other city staffs from within the planning area weekly to discuss upcoming projects and the impacts and/or benefits particular projects might have on the transportation system. The MUMPO regularly makes recommendations to the various planning commissions regarding the approval of land use projects and/or impacts from land use on the transportation system. The MUMPO continues to review land use projects in Mecklenburg and Union Counties and makes changes to its Thoroughfare Plan as appropriate.
The region currently has a consultant studying HOV/HOT managed lanes. The study should provide information on which facilities would benefit from having HOT/HOV lanes and impacts associated with managed lanes. Data from the study will be used for future LRTP updates, and the congestion planning process. The Review Team believes this is a positive step towards managing congestion in the region.
The MPO and the City of Charlotte continue to monitor and make improvements to their identified congested intersections. The City of Charlotte typically funds intersection improvements within the City of Charlotte, while the remainder of the planning area relies on the NCDOT to fund congested related projects in the STIP.
Noteworthy Practice
Corrective Action
The Charlotte-Douglas Airport is a member of the Technical Coordinating Committee (TCC). The TCC discusses matters concerning freight mostly as it relates to the airport. The MUMPO has identified intermodal facilities in the area and the 2030 LRTP recommends improvements to the Norfolk Southern Intermodal facility in the uptown Charlotte area or the replacement of said intermodal facility. All of the MPOs planning efforts have taken place with limited involvement from the freight industry. Including truck data; vehicle classification and volume counts in the modeling process is an admirable way to better integrate freight in the planning process. This will help to better identify and address short and long term freight needs and improvements in the MPO area. The MPO has worked and supported the relocation of freight rail lines out of neighborhoods and to provide better access to I-77 for trucks. There are designated truck routes in the Cities of Charlotte and Monroe. The MUMPO hired URS to develop a freight plan and they are beginning to work from the plan. The MPO should expand its efforts to involve the freight industry in the planning process. The MUMPO has developed a list of companies to begin contacting for the upcoming plan update.
Noteworthy Practice
Recommendation
The MPO includes safety as a criterion in the project ranking process. The high accident location for areas with Mecklenburg and Union Counties, as well as engineering knowledge of geometric design is used to evaluate projects. SAFETEA-LU requires that LRTPs include a section on safety and how the MPOs process can help achieve the goals and objectives of the Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP). The FHWA has shared information with the MPOs on ways to implement this portion of the regulation and will provide assistance in this area for the 2035 LRTP update.
Recommendation
The MPO continues to support Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) planning. The transportation management centers for the NCDOT and the CDOT are linked to enhance sharing of traffic data and video between the two centers. Variable message boards and cameras are being installed along the interstate and other thoroughfares where needed. ITS features are not normally considered in development of a project and its cost. Stand alone ITS projects are not ranked by the MPO.
The City of Charlotte has a bicycle and a pedestrian planner, both of which have a seat on the TCC. They both do planning with surrounding cities and towns regarding border connections and regional projects. They work with advocacy groups to proactively affect bicycle and pedestrian facilities in the area. The MPO will be a stakeholder on the City of Charlotte's upcoming bicycle plan update. The City of Charlotte has a bicycle advisory group, the Town of Davidson has a Greenway Advisory Group and there are many others in the MPO area that feed information and plans into the LRTP process. All areas within the MPO are beginning to plan for projects that meet the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) criteria for funding.
In uptown Charlotte, pedestrians benefit from ITS features. Pedestrian crossing signals include a countdown for the time remaining to cross the street, as well as the loud beep noise. Some intersections are being equipped with a push button, talking pedestrian crossing signal that will identify the street that is being crossed. The system gives priority to the pedestrian and the disabled.
As part of the MUMPO certification review, the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) representatives provided an overview of the transit system. CATS' reports moving over 65,000 riders each day (2007), with more than 1,757,737 trips made by CATS in FY2007. According to CATS, ridership is up 67% since 1998 and up 21% over the last 3 years, resulting in a growth rate of about 6% per annum. CATS has an extensive network of transit routes in the core of the Charlotte Region and rapidly growing express and regional express routes that reach into the surrounding counties. CATS has also constructed a new 9.5 mile light rail line from I-485 on the south to Uptown Charlotte (with NCDOT and FTA as funding partners) and is planning another 11 mile extension to the northeast. CATS' regional transit plan also includes street car, bus rapid transit and commuter rail lines as modes of choice to be added. CATS has established policies to prioritize service, continuously monitor and improve existing routes and has a regular fare adjustment policy that keeps fare box recovery in line with local inflation. On November 6, 2007, the citizens of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Co. approved a continuation of its one-half of one cent regional sales tax that funds CATS operations in a "landslide" of 70% in favor of retaining the transit sales tax. This is a strong vote of confidence in CATS and their regional rail and bus system.
Noteworthy Practices of Planning, Operations and Cooperation
Types of Local and State Funding for Transit and Likelihood of Continued Support
Local funding is made up of the following sources: (1/2 cent sales tax, fair box recovery, maintenance of effort payments which requires that after the ½ cent sales tax in 1998 is maintained and other capitol income which is other source agreements with other municipalities). CATS maintains a $100 million minimum balance in reserve and a high commitment with local funding. CATS' also may provide the FY2007 Annual Management Report. The top four sources of local funds are:
These sources of revenue justify a "high" rating for local funding support.
Planning and Operational Improvements
With regards to operations, CATS has dramatically improved the operating frequencies on local routes and developed a 5-year transit services plan (updated regularly) to guide the development of new bus service. Additionally, CATS is working closely with the Planning Departments in each of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) member towns to develop a coordinated Transportation and Land Use strategy in support of the 2025 Integrated Transit/Land Use Plan and the updated and recently adopted 2030 Transit Corridor System Plan. This plan and these strategies define the local vision of Rapid Transit prioritization over the next 30 years and are incorporated into the MPO adopted Long Range Transportation Plan and TIP. CATS continues to work with the City of Charlotte Planning Department to encourage and strengthen transit oriented development.
Planning & Transit Systems
The Metropolitan Transit Commission (MTC) is the policy body for the Charlotte Area Transit System. The MTC sets the priorities for short and long term investment in the Transit System through the adoption of short and long range plans such as the 2030 Transit Corridor System Plan and the Countywide Transit Services Plan. They have also adopted service policies for the continued monitoring and improvement of individual routes. CATS utilizes these priorities and policies to evaluate transit system needs and to prepare the transit portion of the Long Range Transportation Plan and the Local Transportation Improvement Program for adoption by the MPO. The MTC adopted CATS Financial Policies govern the development of the transit portion of the financially constrained LRTP and TIP. These policies require the establishment of a balanced budget that anticipates future revenues and estimates year of expenditure costs for capital and operating costs. CATS utilizes a financial model to test various implementation scenarios for financial capacity and feasibility prior to submission to the MTC and MPO for adoption.
Division of Federal and State funds for Transit
The Transit Plan is adopted by the MTC and then the MPO for setting priorities then assigning funding categories. CATS is a direct recipient of FTA formula funds and budgets these federal funds and state matching funds annually toward the MTC approved long and short term transit programs. These funds are applied first to eligible debt service payments and second to the purchase and maintenance of infrastructure and related assets and then for additional service. CATS applies for project specific grants for numerous projects and applies the awarded grants and any state matching funds that are approved. Grants for specific projects are also pursued directly by CATS. Flexible funding is used for CMAQ funds which are transferred from highway to transit uses.
New Starts Process for Fixed Guideway Transit Projects
Federal and State New Starts funds are an integral part of the budget and the future funding of rapid transit, including Light Rail Transit (LRT) in the region. CATS utilizes the priorities established by the MTC to guide development of financial plans and applications for Federal and State New Starts grants for the 2030 Transit Corridor System Plan. Finally, State Operating Assistance is applied to eligible transit system operating costs. CATS reports this process is working well per its Adopted Financial Policies.
Other Capital Improvements
The Countywide Transit Services Plan (CTSP) is a five year planning document which identifies and prioritizes specific transit service enhancements, on a year-by-year basis, for implementation in Mecklenburg County and the region. The document makes recommendations for transit capital facilities such as community transit centers, park and rides, as well as for transit amenities such as shelters, benches and waiting pads. The CTSP is updated every five-years and was recently adopted by the MTC. Comprehensive Operational & Route Analysis CATS currently provides Express Bus Service and Midday Service. However, the Countywide Transit Services Plan (CTSP) and public involvement identified a continued need to make improvements to these areas. CATS' fastest growing market segment is the Express Bus Service. Specifically one area of deficiency relating to Regional Express Routes which originate in other counties is the leverage for financial participation. The participation from the local governments outside of the county is necessary in order to increase service and provide permanent park and ride facilities to meet the growing customer demand. CATS has a system wide Transit Services Plan updated every 5 years as well as several operating policies updated routinely and revisited annually done in house. Rapid Performance System reporting (RPS). CATS' Countywide Transit Services Plan (CTSP) includes an operational analysis of its routes every five years. In addition to the CTSP, CATS conducts quarterly and annual performance reviews of all routes. CATS uses Parsons Brinkerhoff (PB) consultants to assist in the development of the comprehensive operational analysis which includes the Transit Development Plan (TDP).
Fare Structure
The fare structure is determined by the Metropolitan Transit Commission (MTC). The MTC has adopted a fare policy which establishes the fare structure and scheduled fare increases. The adopted MTC policy recommends a modest increase in fare levels every two years to ensure that fare revenues keep pace with inflation and reflect a fair-share contribution by riders to the costs of operating a transit system. The base fare increase is $0.10 or the percentage increase in CPI whichever is greater, every two years. The last fare increase went into effect on July 2, 2007.
| SERVICE TYPE | FARE |
|---|---|
| Local | $1.30 |
| Express routes within Mecklenburg County | $1.75 |
| Express Plus routes to neighboring Counties | $2.60 |
| STS (ADA Service) | $2.00 |
| STS yellow tickets (Book of 10) | $20.00 |
| ADA pink tickets (Book of 10) | $6.50 |
| Reverse Commute Express | $1.30 |
| Activity Center Services: Gold Rush | FREE |
| Village Riders, Beatties Ford, Eastland, Hidden Valley Arrowood and other neighborhood services | 60¢ |
| Charlotte Trolley | $1.30 |
| People 62 years and up, people with disabilities, w/ Transit ID or Medicare card & Children 12 and under with Transit ID accompanied by an adult (Local/Express/Express Plus) | 65¢/85¢/$1.30 |
| Children 46 inches tall or less accompanied by an adult | FREE |
| Students through high school with Transit ID (Weekdays 6:00am - 4:30 pm) (Local service only) | 65¢ |
| Adopted MTC CATS Fare Structure, Effective: July 2, 2007. |
Public Involvement & Environmental Justice (EJ) and Other Communities
CATS identifies "Review Routes" that are primarily serving EJ communities. These routes are monitored and routinely evaluated versus the system to identify any discrepancies in service between these communities and the system as a whole (see CATS Equitable Service Delivery Policy: CATS OPS 101 and Title VI 2005-Program Update. CATS core services are well aligned with the EJ communities and provide mobility and accessibility to these populations, many of which have no other means of private transportation. Additionally, CATS Travel Markets Policy prioritizes CATS investment and expansion of service within our Primary and Secondary Markets.
Continuing, Cooperative and Comprehensive Planning Process
CATS is an integral part of the MUMPO LRTP and TIP development process and is an active member of the Transportation Coordinating Committee (TCC). CATS plans are integrated with the member jurisdictions of the MPO and are continuing, cooperative and comprehensive. CATS is an active member of the TCC and continuously updates and includes the MPO and member jurisdictions in the development and implementation of the Transit portion of the LRTP and TIP. CATS works closely with NCDOT in the development of the LRTP and TIP and is proactive in our efforts to coordinate transit and roadway improvements.
Modeling and Air Quality Conformity and LRTP Update
The regional travel demand model is maintained by the Charlotte Department of Transportation (CDOT) for the MPO. CDOT utilizes this model and consultant services provided by CATS to develop project level forecasts and ridership to address regional service issues. The air quality conformity work is handled by CDOT and includes the transit elements of the LRTP. The next update of the LRTP is due by May 2009. In addition, CATS has hired a consultant, AECOM, to work with the Charlotte Department of Transportation on the improvement of the Mode Choice portion of the Travel Demand Model and to assist in the forecasting and documentation of transit system ridership. CATS works cooperatively with CDOT to collect data and evaluate model enhancements to improve the quality of transit ridership projections. CATS is currently conducting a system-wide origin-destination survey that will be utilized in future models.
Linking Planning, Land Use and the Environmental Process
CATS has a strong commitment to the integration of land use and rapid transit planning. The 2030 Transit Corridor System Plan is a product of the adopted Center and Corridors Plan and the Integrated Transit/Land Use Plan developed in 1998. CATS has worked closely with the MPO member jurisdictions in our core service area to develop Joint Development Principals and Policies that have been adopted by Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, Huntersville, Cornelius, Davidson and Matthews. An attachment called Joint Development Principals and Polices is available from CATS. Additionally, CATS actively considers potential environmental impacts/benefits in planning future corridors and facilities.
Public involvement (PI) for Transit
CATS conducts over 70 transportation fairs each year at area businesses, organizations and community events. These events and other outreach opportunities engage citizens in a one-on-one manner to inform them of services and gain valuable feedback to improve the system. In addition to the transportation fairs and participation in other public forums, CATS conducts an annual market research study. This past year over 1,800 customers were surveyed on issues relating to on-time performance, safety at bus stops and quality of service. CATS utilizes this information along with feedback from requests, inquiries and complaints made to our website and "336-RIDE" information line to actively manage and improve our services.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Paratransit & Targeted Populations
CATS provides ADA complementary paratransit service through Special Transportation Service (STS). STS provides door-to-door transit services within Charlotte city limits, including the towns of Pineville and Matthews. Individuals must undergo a functional assessment and certification process to be eligible for STS services. STS operates Monday through Friday 4:45 am to 2:00 am, Saturday from 5:00 am to 2:00 am and Sundays from 5:15 am to 2:00 am. The one-way fare is $2.00. CATS also provides STS II, an extended paratransit service to certified individuals in the remainder of Mecklenburg County. The fare for STS II is mileage based (Monday through Friday 7:00 am to 6:00 pm). CATS participates with a number of advocacy agencies to educate the elderly, disabled and special populations on transit services. "Seniors in Motion" is a nationally recognized educational program that seeks out and encourages seniors to use public transportation. Travel training programs have been established to assist people with disabilities and seniors learn how to navigate fixed route services. Also, bus schedules are available in alternate formats.
Coordinated Mobility
CATS staff initiated the coordinated human services transportation planning effort by tasking Simon and Simon Resources to convene a project planning team, identify stakeholders, inventory existing services, identify gaps, and work with stakeholders and the planning team to collectively prioritize needs. CATS is the designated recipient of Federal transit funds within MUMPO. CATS is pursuing a locally coordinated plan for New Freedom, United We Ride, and Jobs Access and Reverse Commute (JARC) programs and funding with Mecklenburg Co. Dept. of Social Services and other interested stakeholders. CATS has utilized JARC funding in the past and anticipates the future use of these funds upon the completion of the Coordinated Mobility Plan.
Security
CATS has a System Safety Program Plan (SSPP), System Security Plan (SSP), and Emergency Action Plan. CATS follows the FTA's "See Something, Say Something" campaign for any suspicious packages. However, CATS is currently developing a formal CATS policy for handling suspicious packages, including explosive devices. CATS has a Transit Security budget, with funding for security training and was recently awarded U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) grants to expand this program. All CATS Bus and Rail Operators (approximately 900 employees) have attended the National Transit Institute (NTI) Security Awareness Program. This program will be expanded utilizing the DHS Grant Award. All CATS fixed-route buses and light rail trains are equipped with camera systems. All major transit centers, rapid transit stations, transit centers, park and ride lots all CATS major facilities are equipped with cameras.
Use of Local Police and Private Security
CATS does not have its own "transit police force", but does have twelve full-time Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) Officers assigned to the "Transit Unit" at this time. CATS has also entered into a contract with a private company for "Company Police Officers," which are armed and sworn officers. This CATS Company Police Unit will have thirty-two fulltime assigned sworn police officers, for a total of forty-four sworn police officers. All transit assigned police officers, CMPD and Company Police, are based at CATS facilities. They will be dispatched (beginning around November 15, 2007) from the CATS Police Communications Center. All officers are part of the CATS Office of Safety & Security and receive their assignments from the CATS General Manager of Safety & Security, while complying with the police department policies, rules and regulations. These 44 officers are deployed by CATS for CATS related activities.
ITS Strategy & WiFi
CATS has an ITS strategy which encompasses Transit Security, but is overseen by the CATS Technology Section. The CATS ITS strategy is to enhance the business process in a manner which allows CATS to operate more efficiently, as a comprehensive and unified entity, with no isolated pockets of performance within the Metrolina Region. To achieve the ITS strategy, all systems should be integrated as completely as possible to allow the free flow of data/information between systems. Ideally data needs are available for all users and should only need to be entered once, reducing the chance of error (in process of implementing this strategy). The strategy will be considered successfully implemented when the business units within the Metrolina Region promote the concepts of data integrity, information consistency, application/system/data security and accessibility. CATS does not have WiFi on its' buses at this time.
Summary
When asked, CATS provided the following suggested areas for improving the transit "partnership" in the next 24 to 36 months:
Areas for Possible Improvement
CATS reports the following challenges and areas needing improvement: its radio system, neighborhood transit services and connections; primarily radial route and service network (operating from the Uptown Charlotte Transportation Center, CTC). CATS has experienced an increase in demand for cross-town services and has responded to customer demand by opening three Community Transit Centers to serve as transfer centers outside of Uptown and has introduced several new cross-town and community circulators. These services create more direct travel patterns, allowing customers to complete their transit trip without traveling to Uptown. In addition, CATS is revising existing fixed-route bus service along the South Corridor with the opening of the LYNX Blue Line. These revisions will coordinate transit service to connect to the rapid transit stations. CATS does not have Smart Card technology at the present time.
The 2030 LRTP adopted May 3, 2005 is the currently adopted plan for the MPO. The development of the 2030 plan was a regional effort led by the City of Charlotte under contract with adjoining MPOs and RPOs. It was decided early in the LRTP update process that it would be a regional effort among all the MPOs in the Charlotte non-attainment area. It has not been decided whether the next update to the LRTPs in the region will be a coordinated effort among the MPOs in the non-attainment area, but a decision should be made soon, since the next plan update for MUMPO and the adjoining MPOs is May 3, 2009. The MPOs in the region have decided to extend the horizon year for the next plan update to 2035. When the 2030 plan was adopted and the travel demand model was being developed, an economist was hired to develop regional county level population and employment projections from 2002 to 2035. The MPO is planning to use the economists' 2035 population and employment projections, the NC Demographers Office, local building permit data and NC employment data for verification as they begin the 2035 LRTP update. The transportation and planning staffs from the member agencies are responsible for verifying, and allocating land use data based on locally adopted plans to traffic analysis zones.
For the 2030 LRTP, air quality, water quality and impacts on the natural environment were considered, as well as other types of impacts through the project prioritization process. There is no official documentation of the ranking process it is primarily done subjectively and the scores indicate whether there are negative impacts or benefits. Unless there is documentation with each project you would not know what caused a project to receive a low score. No projects would be eliminated because of environmental concerns. Some projects scored so low that they did not make it into the financially constrained portion of the LRTP. Projects would be pushed to a later horizon year or beyond more due to financial reasons, than environmental reasons. The MPOs adopted project ranking methodology used to rank projects in the plan was reevaluated in October 2007. The changes to the ranking process were designed to make the process clearer to understand and to ensure that decisions being made could be supported. The MUMPO plans to better document why projects with lower scores received those scores for the next LRTP update. The Review Team recommends that the MPO document the project ranking outcomes for each project being evaluated and include that documentation in the plan. Documenting the ranking process will allow citizens the opportunity to review the justification for each project and comment appropriately during the review of the LRTP.
Mitigation costs to address environmental impacts were not included into the 2030 Plan, but some cost factors will likely be included in the 2035 Plan. The MUMPO relies on NCDOTs project costs in the STIP/TIP, but often times the NCDOT incorporates environmental cost after projects are under construction. The MUMPO does not have a good indication of how to calculate environmental mitigation costs, but hope the process will be improved as they involve the resource agencies in the transportation planning process. SAFETEA-LU requires that environmental agencies be consulted with during the LRTP development process. The MPO stated that, in the past, environmental agencies have not been involved with non-active projects or in the planning process. FHWA has been meeting with environmental agencies to explain the planning process, Federal requirements and to solicit agency support. In March 2007, the FHWA and the NCDOT sponsored and participated in a meeting with resource agencies and MPOs. The meeting provided a forum for resource agencies to share plans that the MPOs should consider in the long range planning process, as well as, to discuss how the resource agencies would like to participate in the transportation planning process. A list of environmental agency contacts for participation in the long range planning process has been compiled and is located on the following website: www.ncilt.org. In addition, on May 15, 2007, the FHWA developed and provided guidance to the NCDOT and the MPOs to use for future plan updates. The Review Team recommends that the resource agencies be contacted and that a consultation process be developed cooperatively with the appropriate environmental resource agencies prior to starting the plan update process.
The development of the 2030 LRTP led to a regional examination of the areas financial position. The MPO ranked 260 projects to include in the 2030 LRTP, but based on the revenue that was projected and the projected cost of projects, the MPO was only able to financially constrain 221 projects. The City of Charlotte developed a Transportation Action Plan to provide a comprehensive policy and strategy to achieve the City's transportation goals, and from that, the City and the MUMPO have combined to study funding opportunities to advance their transportation goals. This funding document will be a tool the MPO can use to help project revenue for the 2035 plan update. Given that SAFETEA-LU now requires that plans and TIPs reflect Year-of-Expenditure dollars for all projects in the plan, the MPO is concerned that even fewer projects will be included in the financially constrained plan. The NCDOT has a project cost estimating tool and a revenue forecasting process/formula that they can share with the MPOs. The MPO did not consult with the NCDOT for the 2030 update, but hired a consultant to develop their process. Project cost estimating included cost of right-of-way, materials and construction. The MPO will consult with the Cabarrus Rowan and Gaston MPOs to determine, if the financial plan will be done as a regional effort for the 2035 plan update.
The Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) process has not changed since the last review. The NCDOT develops a draft State TIP and submits it to the MPOs for review. The MPOs notify the public that the draft TIP is available for review and comment. The MPO schedules a one-on-one meeting with the NCDOT Program Development Unit, Division Engineer and the Board of Transportation Member to discuss the draft TIP. Since funding has been a major issue for the State over the past several years there is very little new money in the TIP to discuss. If the MPO wants a project added to the TIP, then an existing project in the TIP would need to be removed. Now that the STIP and TIP must include year-of-expenditure dollars the MPO wonders, if that will lead to having fewer projects in the STIP and TIP. The FHWA indicated that for highway projects the current draft STIP has taken into account inflation for the year monies are to be expended. The review team recommends that NCDOT share the revenue forecasting, project cost estimating, rate of inflation and year-of-expenditure processes with the MPOs.
Recommendations
In 2004, the MPO completed the development of their regional travel demand model (RTDM). The model covers 11 counties, two of which are in South Carolina. The model has been successfully used for transportation conformity. Along with the official model, a working model is maintained to accept updates for land use, and network changes. This allows the area to use the best available data because it is being collected and maintained throughout. The model Executive Committee must approve changes and the use of the most recent version of the model/data. When the model was being developed the only agreement signed by the partners was for maintenance of the model. There are no agreements to cover use of the model for TIP and LRTP updates. Additional agreements will be needed especially with the North Carolinaw Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NCDENR) Division of Air Quality (DAQ) recommending that the State Implementation Plan (SIP) use county level budgets. County level budgets provide the MPOs with the ability to update their plans as needed, meaning that in the future the MPOs would not have to be on the same update schedule and the model could be used more frequently. The review team recommends that additional model agreements be developed to cover the LRTP, TIP and amendments of both and the conformity processes. The NCDOT provides model support with the use of a consultant on the model team to provide assistance to the Cabarrus Rowan and Gaston Urban Area MPOs and the Lake Norman and Rocky River Rural Planning Organizations (RPO). The MPO has been working with the NC Turnpike Authority and other consultants as they use the regional model to assist with possible tolling facilities in the Metrolina region. Any recommended changes from those studies would come back to the regional partners, model team and the Executive Committee for consideration and action. The TransCad model separation diversion for managed lanes is being used in the model as the MPO looks at possible toll faclities. To improve this aspect of the model, a consultant has been hired to develop a more general toll curve for the model. The region has also hired a consultant to develop a managed lane plan for HOV and HOT lanes for the region. Data from these studies will be considered for inclusion in future model updates.
Noteworthy Practices
Recommendations
Air Quality Planning
The MUMPO currently has a conforming 2030 LRTP (The USDOT LRTP approval date is May 3, 2005) and a Fiscal Year (FY) 2007-2013 TIP. The USDOT transportation conformity determinations were made on both the MUMPO amended 2030 LRTP and the FY 2007-2013 TIP on June 29, 2007. The transportation conformity determination on the FY 2009-2015 TIP is due by October 1, 2008, and on the 2035 LRTP update by May 3, 2009.
MUMPO is currently working on their SAFETEA-LU compliant 2035 LRTP update. The kick-off transportation conformity interagency consultation meeting for the conformity work on the 2035 LRTP update will take place in May, 2008. Work has begun on the FY 2009-2015 TIP conformity process and the interagency consultation meeting for the FY 2009-2015 TIP conformity process was held November 29, 2007.
The NCDAQ submitted an attainment demonstration State Implementation Plan (SIP) for the 8-hour ozone standard to EPA on June 15, 2007. Since that SIP submittal there have been significant improvements to the Metrolina Regional Model and its associated model inputs. The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) requested that NCDAQ consider revised data to be included in the Metrolina 8-hour ozone SIP. NCDAQ has agreed to consider the revised data and if the submitted information is acceptable they would work on submitting a SIP revision to EPA.
The Metrolina Area is currently working on updating new socioeconomic data for use in the model by June, 2008. The new socioeconomic data will be approved in early 2009 when the MUMPO Board adopts the 2035 LRTP and the transportation conformity determination.
The certification review team emphasized to MUMPO the importance of regional coordination not only for the modeling work, but also for the transportation conformity process. Communication is vital not only with the Federal and State interagency consultation partners, but also with the transportation partners with in the Metrolina Area.
Recommendations
Demographic Profile
Although MUMPO's staff indicated that the MPO maintains a demographic profile, they did not provide any documentation in support of the profile at the certification review. Instead, MUMPO staff verbally described the profile and indicated that the MPO has maps that were created in 2004 that identify minority and low-income areas by census tracts. Additionally, staff stated that the MPO has overlaid its projects onto the maps in an attempt to address potential project impacts on minority and low-income populations. Staff also indicated that their demographic data is definitely cross-checked with personal knowledge. A couple of days after the review, staff did provide two maps - one identifying minority areas and one identifying low-income areas. Each map also depicted all planned projects based on horizon years 2010, 2020, and 2030. It is recommended that the MUMPO update its demographic profile and consider more sources in addition to Census data.
MUMPO does not have a prescribed process for analyzing potential transportation system impacts on minority and low-income areas. No particular measures have been developed and no quantitative analyses have been conducted. The primary method used for identifying potential project impacts is that of consensus based on the personal knowledge of staff. This method is evident during their project selection process in which each project is ranked based on a set of 10 criteria. One of the criteria used is entitled "Supports minority and low-income communities" which is roughly defined as either positive connectivity/accessibility benefits or negative disruption impacts. For each project, MUMPO staff discusses this criterion (along with the others) and then identifies a score for the criterion based on group consensus.
Planning Process
With regard to MUMPO's planning process, they have adopted formal goals or policies concerning Title VI. The long range plan contains the following goal: Provide equitable transportation options for low income and minority neighborhoods. Additionally, MUMPO's Public Involvement Plan includes a strategy to "Develop and Implement a Plan to Reach Non-Participating Minority and Low-Income Populations". It was also noted that MUMPO stated that in the next LRTP update and Public Involvement Plan update, it will more specifically address Title VI. It was also learned, however, that little has been done regarding a needs analyses of minority and low-income populations. It is recommended that a needs analysis or some type of method for understanding the transportation options needed/wanted by those traditionally underserved should be done. This will help the MPO achieve its EJ goal as expressed in the LRTP.
When asked how MUMPO addresses low-income and minority populations in its modeling and LRTP/TIP development, staff indicated that the State DOT primarily controls those processes and that the MPO only has a limited amount of influence on things such as the scheduling of projects. The MPO tends to focus on avoiding project delays versus telling the State DOT what projects are to be advanced and when. Therefore, little analysis has been done on determining if projects with impacts to low-income and minority populations are programmed in an equitable manner.
Public Involvement
MUMPO has developed a fairly comprehensive Public Involvement Plan. This plan targets the general public overall, but also contains specific strategies to engage minority and low-income populations. MUMPO makes extensive use of minority media outlets including radio stations, newspapers, and television. In an effort to ensure opportunity for the Hispanic community to become educated about and involved in the transportation planning process, MUMPO has translated several of its brochures into Spanish. Additionally, one strategy that MUMPO used that was found to be effective was the use of a Latino church for a focus group meeting. Because the meeting was held following mass, attendance was higher than usual for this type of meeting - approximately 30 people signed in. MUMPO has successfully used this technique in the African American community as well.
MUMPO also maintains a huge overall mailing list that consists of approximately 7000 people. However, the MPO does not maintain a list that specifically targets minority and low-income populations and does not know how many of the 7000 on the overall mailing list are considered minority and/or low-income. The review team recommends that the MPO ensure that its mailing list specifically includes minority and low-income citizens. As a starting point, it is suggested that the MPO identify minority and low-income organizations to be added to the mailing list.
When asked about perceived barriers to the participation of minority and low-income citizens, the MPO indicated that the barriers were different for different groups. For the African American community, the primary barriers appear to be historical distrust and animosity. For the Hispanic community, barriers include the newness of the process as well as the relatively high rate of illiteracy among Hispanics. For low-income citizens, the primary barrier appears to be job schedules particularly regarding third shift workers. MUMPO's insightful observations are quite noteworthy. These observations will assist the MPO in its mitigation efforts which will be addressed as part of the next plan update.
One of the most effective strategies that the MPO has used is that of "piggybacking", that is taking advantage of opportunities to address transportation at other public events and meetings such as using churches as discussed above. The MPO has also found that the website has been quite effective. Staff additionally indicated that they are working on making the website ADA compliant within the next one to two years and the review team believes this to be commendable. It was noted however that there are currently no Spanish translations on the website, and, as a suggestion, the MPO may want to consider this.
Overall the MPO does a good job regarding its efforts to engage minority and low-income populations. One factor that may contribute to this is that the MPO conducts regular evaluations of their public meetings. All meeting attendees are provided with a comment sheet that also includes questions that allows them to evaluate things such as meeting time, location, publicity, etc. The MPO is encouraged to continue this practice and to continue exploring ways to improve and expand upon current efforts to engage minority and low-income populations.
Noteworthy Practices
Recommendations
The MPO adopted a new public involvement plan in 2005 as a result of a corrective action issued with the 2003 Certification Review. The MPO has implemented many of the strategies in the plan. MUMPO is very responsive to the public's request for information and frequently makes presentations to a variety of civic and neighborhood groups. MUMPO also attends land use planning meetings to answer transportation related questions for the planning commission. As stated earlier in the report, the MUMPO believes that their process for involving the public in transportation planning efforts is by and large effective. The MUMPO continues to stress that citizens are more vocal and more apt to attend public meetings, if there is some direct impact from a specific project, than they are for meetings regarding the development of general plans, and therefore, attendance at general transportation planning meetings is low.
The MUMPO has developed an MPO web site to give the public more frequent access to planning information. The web site is being used to display the MUMPO and Technical Coordinating Committee meeting agendas and minutes, the Long-Range Transportation Plan, Transportation Improvement Program, Unified Planning Work Program, Conformity Analysis Report and other related information. While the MPO has not tracked hits to the website they agreed to investigate the possibility with their web designer.
The MUMPO publishes an annual Performance and Evaluation Report on it public involvement efforts. The most recent evaluation was for fiscal year 2006. While the evaluation addresses a variety of new techniques implemented by the MPO, it does not include any documentation to support the effectiveness of the different techniques or reasons to continue or discontinue techniques. The Review Team recommends that a more in-depth evaluation of the public involvement plan be done.
Recommendation
A public comment period (for the review process) was advertised from October 7, 2007 through November 12, 2007. The public was invited to a special public meeting on Wednesday, October 17, 2007, for the purpose of fulfilling the public involvement portion of the Certification Review. While there were zero attendees at the public meeting, one citizen, Mrs. Gore, submitted a comment via e-mail to the FHWA during the public comment period. The citizen was concerned that funds were being spent in the southern portion of Mecklenburg County without regard to the congestion problems citizens in northern Mecklenburg County are facing. A response to Mrs. Gore's e-mail is attached to the report. The MUMPO Board was invited to meet with the review team one-on-one, but due to scheduling conflicts none were able to attend. The public notification and comment public comments are attached as Appendix B
Noteworthy Practices
Recommendations
Corrective Action
The MUMPO must develop and implement a Congestion Management Process that meets the requirements of 23 CFR 450.320 by May 3, 2009.
The Federal Review Team, consisting of staff from the Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Transit Administration, issues this certification subject to addressing the aforementioned corrective action(s) by May 3, 2009. This certification is valid for four years from the date of this report, pending acceptable completion of the corrective action.
| Tuesday, October 16, 2007 | |
| 8:30 am to 9:00 am | Introduction and Overview |
| 9:00 am to 10:00 am | MPO Overview/Update - Process Accomplishments/concerns/assistance |
| 10:00 am to 10:15 am | Follow-up from previous certification |
| 10:15 am to 10:30 am | Break |
| 10:30 am to 11:30 am | EJ/Title VI |
| 11:30 am to 12:45 pm | Lunch (on your own) |
| 12:45 pm to 1:30 pm | Agreements/Contracts/Mou/By-laws |
| 1:30 pm to 2:15 pm | UPWP |
| 2:15 pm to 3:00 pm | Congestion Management Process (CMP) |
| 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm | Freight/ITS/Safety/Bike/Pedestrian Integration |
| 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm | MUMPO Board one-on-one meeting |
| Wednesday, October 17, 2007 | |
| 8:15 am to 9:00 am | LRTP/Financial Planning |
| 9:00 am to 9:45 am | Environmental integration |
| 9:45 am to 10:30 am | Public Involvement Planning |
| 10:30 am to 10:45 am | Break |
| 10:45 am to 11:30 am | Modeling Process |
| 11:30 am to 12:15 am | Coordination: NCDOT/Regionally |
| 12:15 am to 1:30 pm | Lunch - On Your Own |
| 1:30 pm to 2:15 pm | Air Quality Planning |
| 2:15 pm to 3:00 pm | TIP/STIP |
| 3:00 pm to 3:15 pm | Break |
| 3:15 pm to 5:00 pm | Transit Planning |
| 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm | Public Involvement Meeting |
| Thursday, October 18, 2007 | |
| 8:30 am to 9:00 am | Planning Factors/Self-Certification |
| 9:00 am to 10:00 | Remaining issues/Questions and Review Closeout |
| 10:00 am to 11:30 | Federal review team meeting/Break |
| 11:30 am | Preliminary results presentation |
Mecklenburg-Union Metropolitan Planning Organization
Certification Review Public Meeting Notice
Mecklenburg-Union Metropolitan Planning Organization
Certification Review Materials
From: Audrey J. Gore [E-Mail Address Deleted]
Sent: Saturday, November 03, 2007 1:31 PM
To: Barren, Loretta
Subject: Review Comment for MUMPO
November 3, 2007
Dear Ms. Loretta Barren and Federal Highway Administration,
In reply to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) meeting and conducting a certification review to determine if Mecklenburg-Union Metropolitan Planning Organization (MUMPO) is following a continuing, cooperative and comprehensive transportation planning process I would like to share some comments, facts, concerns, and suggestions.
I, along with most in the Greater Charlotte Area, am thoroughly disappointed, discouraged and upset with the current situation of transportation particularly in Northern Mecklenburg County. I am concerned for the safety of family, friends, relatives and fellow citizens due to the congestion and air quality as result of the slow and non-existent planning and development of highways. There has been significant growth for decades in this region, but the far more relief continues to go to Southern Mecklenburg and Northern Union counties, while Northern Mecklenburg County has been neglected. South Charlotte already has three or four lanes of I-77 for more miles outside of downtown than the North side. The South side also between two and three lanes of I-485, and the North side's section of I-485 does not exist. The South side also has the Light Rail System built, and it nearly ready to function, and again the North side's Light Rail system does not exist, may never exist. Northern Mecklenburg County has been the stepchild of Charlotte for too long. We are located the same amount of miles outside of Charlotte than South Charlotte and parts of Union County yet no one seems to care about our well-being. Even the radio stations will announce slow traffic on I-77 Northbound on the South side of the city in the morning, and never say one word about the North side, while I am sitting in a parking lot on I-77 South for the second year in a row. We as a city need to look at the facts.
I am so dismayed and upset that I-485, 60 miles of road, is still not finished. If completed when now predicted, it will take 24 years, (1989-2013), which is unlikely. That is approximately building 2.5 mi. per year. Let me compare that rate to some other cities. Atlanta, GA and Columbus, OH also have an outer-belt, which is approximately the same total mileage as I-485. Those cities took half the amount of time to complete them. To top it off, Atlanta completed their outer-belt with four lanes all the way around in that time, and Charlotte is working on only two. Kansas City has a 95 mi. outer-belt that took approximately only 10 years to build. So it is possible to complete roads more quickly, but NC chooses not to do it. Let me give you another examples.
I-77 Southbound on the North side of Charlotte is a nightmare. How would you like to try to go to work every morning before 7 a.m. just to sit in a parking lot on the highway? Well, my husband and I whom used to carpool, along with thousands of others, from Northern Mecklenburg County deals with just this. It regularly took us, from Exit 28-Exit 23, to drive five miles, 40 minutes to an hour EVERY day! This is even before the heart of rush hour. I could not imagine the people that leave after 7 a.m. I know my husband still deals with on a daily basis on the CATS bus, but I could not deal with it, so took a job that did not require me to take I-77. Park Road, once again on the South side of Charlotte, is wider than the highway in many places! Has the Department of Transportation has even proposed widening the highway in Northern Mecklenburg and Iredell county? Nope. The traffic problem is worsening very rapidly. This area is the fastest growing area in Mecklenburg County. Yet, on NC's schedule, it may take 15 years or more by the time anything is done about this problem. An entire neighborhood in Iredell County is sold their homes so roads can be widened because traffic is so bad. It took me 1.5 hours to travel 23 miles to work daily, and it has taken me over 2.5 hours on several occasions, and over half that time is spent on five miles on the North side of town. Furthermore, this not only a problem during the week, but it not any better on the weekends. My husband and I tried to go downtown to a football game on a Sunday morning, and spend money on Charlotte's economy, but we had to turn around because it took us forty-five minutes to travel less than four miles South. We need to learn to plan, and take action in advance, not only fix our existing problems. We need to this not only for ourselves, but also for our future generations.
Traffic problems may deter people from moving to Charlotte. Thus Charlotte's economy will suffer, and not be able to grow or strengthen to its full potential. The ozone is weakens everyday by cars sitting on the highways, and the longer we sit in traffic the more dependent on foreign oil we become. Charlotte also is having an issue with smog, and it gets worse each day thousands of cars burn up the Earth's natural resources while sitting in standing traffic. This adversely affects the citizens' health, will cost the government more in health care. If there ever was an emergency, such as a hurricane or terrorist attack, and North Charlotte area would have to evacuate, but instead thousands of citizens may perish. Charlotte is the only city in the nation that has two nuclear power plants in the close proximity of a city, thus the National Department of Defense has identified Charlotte as a possible terrorist target. I am aware that there is an evacuation plan in place, but how can we evacuate if we cannot even move when to watch a Sunday football game. Charlotte, NC and the federal government need to invest more money into the roads to prevent these issues. If this is not done, this shows me that the Department of Transportation of NC, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) cares little about the environment, or about their health and safety of its citizens. The good news is we can change.
More of the city's, state's, and nation's budget needs to be spent on building roads that compensate for the growth of the city. I, among thousands of others, am willing to pay extra taxes to help solve the issue. In the year of 2005, NC had a budget surplus, which I cannot understand seeing the road conditions of this state. Obviously, the state's system to allocate their transportation budget is not working, nor is the way of raising the money to make changes. Some other cities have a city income tax to help with these types of problems. Maybe we can do that. So please get to work, plan ahead, and care about the citizens of this city, as well as the environment. Thank you for your time and support. I look forward to seeing changes in the near future.
Sincerely,
A Concerned, Upset Citizen trying to make a difference
Mrs. Gore,
Thank you for taking the time to comment on the Mecklenburg Union Metropolitan Planning Organization's (MUMPO) planning process. As the Federal Highway and Transit Administration's conducted the review we discussed several planning areas that relate to your comments. We discussed how the MPO prioritizes and ranks projects for implementation, that there is not enough money to go around, how the public is involved, and how they address air quality and congestion in the planning process.
The MPO along with other transportation partners in the Metrolina region are studying the potential need for additional high occupancy vehicle lanes or Fast Lanes as the study is titled and they are currently developing a Congestion Management Process that will provide additional data needed to better identify and address congestion the Mecklenburg Union MPO area. Both these studies will provide short and long term solutions to traffic congestion in the Mecklenburg area. As these studies progress there will opportunities for public involvement and comment. Additional information regarding these studies can be found on the MPOs website, www.mumpo.org.
The MPO also develops a Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) to guide transportation needs and to plan for implementation of those needs/projects usually for 20 to 30 years in the future. The MPO and the NCDOT also develop a Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) and State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP), respectively, as the project selection and implementation document for the LRTP. The TIP and STIP detail which projects will be funded in a given year and how much money will be authorized for certain phases of a project. As you are probably aware not everything can be funded or built in a given year, so priorities are set at the MPO level and shared with the NCDOT for programming.
The MPO is in the process of kicking off the development of their next 2035 LRTP and the help of concerned citizens, such as you, is always welcome. They have a very proactive public involvement process for the development of the LRTP, so if you are interested in participating, please contact Robert Cook the MPO Planning Manager at 704-336-8643, or via email at rwcook@ci.charlotte.nc.us. Also visit the MPO's website for area specific information.
I have attached the executive summary of the review report. The full report will be posted on the MPOs website in the very near future.
If you have additional comments or questions of me, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Loretta Barren, Community Planner
Federal Highway Administration
310 New Bern Ave., Suite 410
Raleigh, NC 27601
(O) 919-747-7025
(F) 919-747-7030
loretta.barren@fhwa.dot.gov
www.fhwa.dot.gov/ncdiv
| CHARLOTTE CORNELIUS DAVIDSON HUNTERSVILLE INDIAN TRAIL MATTHEWS MECKLENBURG COUNTY MINT HILL MONROE NCDOT PINEVILLE STALLINGS UNION COUNTY WAXHAW WEDDINGTON WESLEY CHAPEL WINGATE | M E C K L E N B U R G - U N I O N METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION 600 East Fourth Street Charlotte, North Carolina 28202-2853 704-336-2205 www.mumpo.org |
| TO: Loretta Barren Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the draft Joint Certification Review. Listed below are comments on the draft's Recommendations, followed by comments on the Corrective Actions. Recommendations
Corrective Actions
MUMPO response: MUMPO will strive to improve its environmental justice practices as it develops its 2035 LRTP. However, we believe that imposing the recommended Corrective Action is unwarranted and inappropriate. This opinion is based upon the following:
The "priority ranking system" and the mapping were, and remain, the primary means by which MUMPO assesses the impact of its LRTP on low-income and minority citizens. Therefore, it questions why what was once considered noteworthy is now seen as a serious flaw in its planning process.
Again, thank you for the opportunity to comment on the draft Certification Review. If you have any questions about the above comments, please feel free to contact me at 704-336-8643, or via email at rwcook@ci.charlotte.nc.us. |
 | Memorandum | |
| Subject: | FHWA Response to the Mecklenburg Union Metropolitan Planning Organization Comments (MUMPO) Regarding the Certification Review Report | Date: February 22, 2008 |
| From: | /s/ Loretta W. Barren for John F. Sullivan, III, P.E. Division Administrator Raleigh, North Carolina | In Reply Refer To: HDA-NC |
| To: | Robert W. Cook, AICP MUMPO Secretary | |
Thank you for providing comments on the Certification Review Report for the Mecklenburg Union Metropolitan Planning Organization (MUMPO). They are appreciated and will be included in the report. After reviewing your comments I wanted to share some initial responses. Other more detailed responses may be forthcoming. I want to reiterate that we make recommendations on the planning program and processes even when we are aware and actively involved in their development. We believe this emphasizes our continued commitment to improving an area's planning processes. Loretta will work with you to develop and implement a process to meet the recommendation in the Report regarding the analysis of the Unified Planning Work Program. There were several recommendations in the Report regarding the modeling and air quality communication process, specifically recommendations 7-12 in your letter. We do agree with you in that these recommendations are not solely the responsibility of MUMPO; however MUMPO does have a responsibility to cooperate and participate in the development and implementation of these recommendations. We are drafting a letter to the other Metrolina area transportation partners recommending that they participate in the development and implementation of these regional model and air quality recommendations. We will copy you on this letter. | ||
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Loretta and I appreciated you, TAC Chairman Mayor Myers, and TCC Chairman Wayne Herring taking the time to discuss the Certification Review process and in particular the corrective action surrounding Environmental Justice (EJ) with us. We believe it shows your dedication to the MUMPO planning process and your area. I do agree with you in that the corrective action regarding EJ measures and impacts should have been a recommendation. Loretta will be revising the report to reflect that decision as well as to change the reference from E J to Title VI. Since you are in the process of updating your transportation plan the recommendation requires that a process be developed and implemented with the 2035 plan update. It is also recommended in the Certification Review Report that you document the outcomes and discussions used to rank your transportation projects. This documentation and additional mapping could be a tool for helping to determine the equitable delivery of your transportation program. I hope that you will agree with me when I say that we at the Federal Highway Administration are indeed your partner in the planning process and are available to provide assistance and support for any recommendations, corrective actions and all transportation planning efforts you undertake. Loretta will work with you to set up a schedule to ensure implementation of the near-term recommendations and corrective action in the report. The FHWA Planning and Program Development Team are planning to conduct mid-term reviews of the progress the Transportation Management Areas are making towards addressing all findings in the certification review reports. Loretta will lead this effort as well. If you have any additional questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me. File: | ||
