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 | TCSP-1999 Grant Proposals"Implementation of Adopted Transportation Vision for the Metropolitan Washington Region: Development of Circulation Systems and Green Space" |
APPLICATION FOR TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNITY AND SYSTEMS
PRESERVATION (TCSP) PILOT PROGRAM GRANT
TO DEVELOP CIRCULATION SYSTEMS AND GREEN SPACE
NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION TRANSPORTATION PLANNING BOARD
METROPOLITAN WASHINGTON COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS
MARCH 15, 1999
| Type of Project Request: | Implementation Grant |
| Project Title and Location: | "Implementation of Adopted Transportation Vision for the Metropolitan Washington Region: Development of Circulation Systems and Green Space" |
| Organization: | National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments |
| Key Contact: | Ronald F. Kirby, Director, Department of Transportation Planning |
| Address: | 777 North Capitol Street, N.E., Suite 300, Washington, D.C. 20002 |
| Phone/Fax/E-mail: | 202-962-3310 (phone), 202-962-3202 (fax), rkirby@mwcog.org |
| Grant Request: | $380,000 grant over a one-year period, from April 1999 through March 2000 |
I. ABSTRACT
The TCSP grant sought by the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board at the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments will encourage the implementation of two key components of the recently adopted Vision for transportation in the Washington region: circulation systems within the regional core and regional activity centers, and integration of green space into a regional greenways system. These two components of the TPB Vision do not currently receive the kind of focused attention devoted to major highway and transit systems, and stakeholder involvement in these components is limited and fragmented. TCSP funding will provide the resources and level of attention needed to advance these program areas, including involvement of key agencies, officials and stakeholders, and the identification of financial resources for project implementation. The TCSP funding will be used to design comprehensive regional programs for each of these two components, to identify priority projects which need to be implemented within each of the programs, and to encourage the inclusion of these priority projects into the region's Constrained Long Range Plan (CLRP) and Transportation Improvement Program (TIP).
II. PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Our proposal seeks to encourage the implementation of two key components of the recently adopted Vision for transportation in the Washington Region, the product of a four year process conducted by the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board (TPB). The Vision, a copy of which is attached, includes a vision statement, a set of goals, objectives, and strategies, and an action agenda. Following the adoption of the Vision document on October 21, 1998, the TPB is considering steps that need to be taken to meet the objectives of the action agenda, which calls for the inclusion of a number of key components in the year 2000 update to the region's Constrained Long Range Plan (CLRP). Our proposal for TCSP funding focuses on the following two action agenda components:
The TCSP funding will be used to design comprehensive regional programs for each of the above components, to identify critical priorities which need to be implemented within each of the programs, and to specify these priorities in sufficient detail to permit their inclusion in the year 2000 CLRP and in the FY2001-2006 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) scheduled to be adopted in July of 2000. Identification of public and private financial resources for the priority projects will be an essential part of incorporating them into the CLRP and TIP.
We believe that the TCSP provides an excellent opportunity to move forward quickly to encourage implementation of these key components of the TPB's action agenda. Our proposal will be carried out in the context of the land-use, housing, environmental, economic development and quality of life considerations defined in the 1993 report of COG's Partnership for Regional Excellence. This report reaffirmed COG's commitment to a respect for local government autonomy, while encouraging a proactive approach to regional planning through improved communication, cooperation, and coordination.
The Washington region is currently moving forward with several elements of the TPB's Vision, including full utilization of the best available transportation technology, and the identification of existing and proposed regional activity centers for inclusion with the regional core in a composite regional map for use in transportation planning. However, many other initiatives needed to advance the Vision require additional government and private sector support to ensure implementation. While circulation systems and green space have been identified as key priority program areas in the TPB's Vision and Action Agenda, specific funding commitments are needed to advance design and implementation activities for these program areas. A TCSP grant will help define and jump-start these promising initiatives.
Grant money will be used to establish resource committees for both the circulation systems and green space components. These committees will be appointed by the TPB, and will include local elected officials, state, regional and local planning and transportation officials, and key stakeholders from business, environmental, and civic groups. Consultant assistance will be obtained to assist the resource committees in accomplishing the following tasks:
Separate consultant assistance will be obtained to conduct an independent evaluation of the activities conducted under the TCSP grant.
Through its unique role as a regional forum, TPB will help bring key stakeholders to the table to develop a regional consensus on the design and funding of the above two components of the TPB's action agenda. TPB will also use the support of the TCSP program to identify TEA-21 resources that might provide part of the funding for these two regional programs.
III. PURPOSE AND CRITERIA
Our proposal will meet the following purposes and criteria of the TCSP program:
1. Improve the efficiency of the transportation system.
Implementing these two action agenda components will lead directly to greater system efficiency through decreased auto dependency, increased transit use, and more bicycle and pedestrian travel within the regional core and regional activity centers, and through a better connected system of green space and greenways.
The circulation systems will be designed to facilitate access to and from Metrorail, commuter rail, and bus services for passengers living or working within the regional core and regional activity centers. While the Washington region has an extensive system of regional rail and bus services, many residential and employment locations lack convenient walk or bicycle access to rail stations and major bus routes. In many instances, pedestrians and bicycle facilities are inadequate, even where distances are short. Improved transit, bicycle, and pedestrian access to these stations and bus routes will make transit a more convenient option relative to the private automobile. Attracting automobile users to transit will permit more efficient use of local roadways within the core and activity centers as well as on major highways feeding into and out of these locations. Additional transit passengers will also improve the utilization and efficiency of regional rail and bus services.
A better connected system of green space and greenways will provide improved opportunities for pedestrian and bicycle travel, and provide some relief to local roadways and major highways. Even a modest reduction in demand on a highly congested highway system such as that in the Washington region can result in significant improvements in the efficiency of the system as a whole.
2. Reduce impacts of transportation on the environment.
Increases in transit and non-motorized travel within the regional core and regional activity centers will result in decreased auto trips and associated benefits for the environment. A better connected system of greenways and green space will promote bicycle and pedestrian use, and encourage the incorporation of green space into the design of major transportation corridor improvements.
Idling and delay are major sources of emissions from cars, trucks, and buses in congested traffic conditions, which occur regularly within the regional core and activity centers in the Washington region. Well designed transit, pedestrian and bicycle circulation systems can remove some vehicles from the roads and improve operating conditions for the vehicles that remain. Both impacts will contribute to emissions reductions and a better environment.
Expanded and better connected green space and greenways provide more open space and improved ambient environmental conditions for the affected locations. TCSP grant funding for green space and greenways will provide a means for addressing growing concerns about unattractive development patterns, as well as improve connectivity between open space areas in the regional core and suburban and exurban areas.
3. Reduce the need for costly future investments in public infrastructure.
Implementing circulation systems within the regional core and regional activity centers will facilitate more transit, bicycle and pedestrian travel throughout the region, thereby reducing the need for costly future investments in infrastructure. An expanded system of greenways and green space will promote more compact urban development patterns which will reduce future infrastructure needs.
Financial constraints identified in the Constrained Long Range Plan (CLRP) for the Washington region reveal that almost eighty percent of future revenues "reasonably expected to be available" will be needed to address maintenance and rehabilitation requirements for the region's highway and transit systems. The limited funding available for new capacity will not permit the region to keep pace with projected growth in travel demand, resulting in gradual deterioration in levels of service. Effective circulation systems in the regional core and activity centers can improve the utilization and efficiency of existing transit, roadway, and highway systems, thereby reducing the need for expensive future investments.
Expanded green space and greenways will help to focus new development in the regional core and designated activity centers where it can be served by existing and planned transportation infrastructure. Greater concentration of new development into designated areas will reduce the need for costly investments in public infrastructure in currently undeveloped areas.
4. Ensure efficient access to jobs, services and centers of trade.
Improved circulation systems in the regional core and the regional activity centers will allow greater access and more transportation choices for residents and businesses. These improvements will have particular benefits for persons without access to cars. An expanded system of green space will promote more compact development patterns to which efficient access can be provided.
The TPB and COG are currently working with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) to obtain federal assistance for a regional access to jobs program. One of the major challenges of providing improved job access to clients currently on welfare is that many of the suitable jobs are difficult or impossible to reach with existing transit services. Some job access programs have turned to providing taxicab service or used automobiles to respond to these special accessibility needs. Existing workers and businesses also suffer from a lack of alternatives to the private automobile in reaching jobs, services, and centers of trade. Effective circulation systems can make many of these jobs accessible by transit to the benefit of both welfare clients and the general workforce.
As noted above, expanded green space and greenways can help to ensure efficient access to jobs, services, and centers of trade by helping to focus new development into areas that are already accessible by existing transit, roadways, bicycle and pedestrian facilities. Accessibility can be improved either by improvements to the transportation system or by locating more of the new development in already accessible areas. The circulation systems and green space initiatives in this TCSP grant application will employ both of these strategies.
5. Encourage private sector development patterns which achieve the goals of TCSP.
By stimulating more transit, bicycle and pedestrian travel, these components will support local government and private sector efforts to create more transit-oriented development at designated locations throughout the region, thereby strengthening the sustainability of the region's transportation system for the next several decades. Implementing an interconnected system of green space will protect more public land and encourage more private sector development to locate in regional activity centers.
The private sector has already demonstrated considerable interest in partnering with WMATA and local governments to develop transit and pedestrian friendly facilities around transit stations and in designated activity centers. A few private companies located within a mile or so of transit stations are currently sponsoring shuttle vans to transport their employees to and from the stations. The TCSP grant will provide an opportunity to involve private developers, employers and transit providers as stakeholders in resource committees which will build on these existing activities to locate and design additional circulation systems and green space programs in promising locations.
For example, in the regional core there is a successful business improvement district (BID) that has implemented several privately-funded services to stimulate retail, commercial and residential activities in a revitalized sector of downtown Washington. This area and other revitalization areas in the regional core and regional activity centers could be promising candidates for new circulation systems.
Currently established community preservation practices within the Washington metropolitan region which qualify for federal highway and transit funding are based on the development of individual projects by state and local agencies. These projects are submitted to the state transportation agencies for funding under the federal Transportation Enhancement Program and other TEA-21 funding categories. While these projects are typically coordinated with state and locally adopted preservation and development plans, they are not currently a formal component of the transportation plan adopted by the TPB. Integration with transportation and community and system preservation practices, promotion of transportation infrastructure and activities that minimize adverse environmental impacts, and encouragement of private sector investments and strategies are effected at the individual project level, rather than as part of an overall regional strategy.
Our TCSP grant application will provide the impetus and resources to pursue community preservation practices from a regional perspective, linking circulation systems and green space programs into regional systems. The goal will be to achieve broad regional agreement among policymakers and stakeholders on priority projects in the regional system, and to promote strong and unified advocacy for these priority projects to funding agencies. Experience has shown that funding agencies are likely to view project funding requests supported by a strong consensus more favorably than those which are promoted by individual agencies or groups. TCSP funding will facilitate this consensus building on community preservation programs in ways that have been sought but not accomplished to date.
IV. COORDINATION
Members of the TPB include representatives of the transportation agencies of the states of Maryland and Virginia and the District of Columbia, local governments, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, the Maryland and Virginia General Assemblies, and non-voting members from the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, National Park Service, and other federal agencies. In addition, we intend to develop our proposal in close cooperation with the Metropolitan Development Policy Committee (MDPC) of COG, which has responsibility for regional coordination of development policies and preparation of Cooperative Forecasts of population, households, and employment for the Washington region. The application would also include participation by the Metropolitan Washington Air Quality Committee (MWAQC) and other committees at COG dealing with community, environmental, and social considerations. The TPB's adopted Public Involvement Process will provide opportunities for participation by interested members and groups of the general public. Participation of MDPC, MWAQC, and other COG committees with the TPB in this TCSP project will ensure that the circulation systems and greenways components of the TPB's Action Agenda are fully coordinated and integrated with regional development and environmental programs, the regional access to jobs program, and with the overall regional transportation planning process.
We believe that the metropolitan planning process conducted for the Washington region by the TPB is uniquely suited for effecting the kind of coordination between state, regional, and local agencies and stakeholder groups that will be needed to develop realistic regional programs for circulation systems and greenways. Many of the state, regional, and local governments and agencies directly involved in decision-making for these systems are already represented on the TPB, and a number of the key stakeholder groups have been active participants in TPB activities through the recent vision planning process, the citizen advisory committee, the public comment period at TPB meetings, and attendance at various TPB and COG committee meetings. The evaluation component of our TCSP grant will help to demonstrate how the 340 metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) already established around the country can increase their effectiveness and commitment in promoting the role of community preservation programs in metropolitan transportation plans.
V. PARTNERS
In the past year or so, the State of Maryland has made a strong commitment to "Smart Growth" policies, the District of Columbia has adopted its own transportation vision, and Northern Virginia jurisdictions have adopted new policies to address fiscal and other challenges of rapid suburban development. In addition, the Commonwealth of Virginia will be holding a "Governor's Conference on Greenways and Trails," the first of its kind in Virginia, on May 2-4, 1999 in Roanoke, Virginia. We anticipate these ongoing initiatives will provide excellent opportunities for securing commitments of non-federal resources from local governments and other interested groups for the design and funding of the two components of the TPB's action agenda.
Our grant application provides for strong partnerships with state and local governments through the TPB and COG committees and key stakeholders in business, environmental, and local community groups. We intend to establish resource committees made up of representatives from these stakeholder organizations to help specify priority initiatives for the two components of the TPB action agenda.
A recent comprehensive assessment(1) of the TPB's public involvement activities conducted by ICF Kaiser Consulting Group provides guidance for effectively involving stakeholders and local communities in the development of the two TCSP components. The assessment stated:
"A critical principle for effective public involvement is proactive efforts to gain early participation by all stakeholders."
In establishing advisory bodies it is critically important that the membership should reflect the diversity of stakeholders to ensure balanced input. The TPB will actively plan for and solicit a diverse group of stakeholders.
The report also stated:
"Use of passive public involvement techniques leads to self-selection bias among those who participate, and to a corresponding lack of diversity. The result is that people who are not specifically involved in their communities rarely seek to provide input. Active or proactive involvement activities, include, for example, making presentations to organizations and seeking input at local civic or service organizations' regularly scheduled meetings. Information received from other MPO's around the country indicates that involving traditionally underserved populations requires a high degree of effort to find ways to aggressively solicit their input and involvement in transportation decisions."
In the first phase of vision planning(2), the TPB made significant efforts to solicit information on transportation concerns in four communities: a low-income Latin community in suburban Maryland; a predominantly low-income, African-American inner city neighborhood in the District of Columbia; persons with limited English skills in a close-in Virginia suburb, and senior citizens in a remote suburb in Virginia. Where appropriate in the development of new circulation systems and greenway projects, we will employ the lessons learned in this effort to help ensure that underserved populations are involved.
For the first component, circulation systems within the regional core and regional activity centers, resource committees would include stakeholder participation by state, regional, and local transit agencies, private transportation providers, business groups located in the regional core and regional activity centers, community groups representing residents in the regional core and activity centers, as well as business, environmental and community representatives with a regional perspective on the benefits and costs of improved circulation systems.
For the second component, integration of green space into a regional greenways system, resource committees will include and build upon the participation in the Metropolitan Green Space Workshop held at COG on October 21, 1994. The workshop was co-sponsored by the Potomac River Greenways Coalition, COG's Metropolitan Development Policy Committee, the Northern Virginia Planning District Commission, and the Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Division of the National Park Service. Additional participation will be sought from parks commissions and agencies throughout the region, as well as from business, environmental, and community groups with a regional perspective on the benefits and costs of an enhanced regional system of green space and greenways.
VI. SCHEDULE, BUDGET AND RESOURCES
This project will be conducted over the period from April 1999 through March 2000. This time-frame will provide for the completion of the design and funding elements of the program in time for their inclusion in the year 2000 CLRP, scheduled to be adopted by the TPB in July of 2000.
A workplan for the year 2000 update to the CLRP and the development of the FY2001-2006 TIP has been prepared, and the first stages of that workplan are currently being implemented. A key milestone of the workplan is the preparation of candidate projects, programs, and financial resources by April of 1999 for inclusion in a public outreach effort to be conducted from May through October of 1999.
Following the public outreach effort, a set of prioritized projects, programs, and financial resources will be prepared by the TPB for inclusion in a "solicitation document" to be issued in December to the state, regional, and local implementation agencies. These agencies will prepare project submissions for consideration by the TPB in February and March of the year 2000. The TPB will endorse a set of submissions for inclusion in the air quality conformity analysis in March of 2000.
The TCSP grant will provide an opportunity for refinement and detailing of the circulation systems and green space components during the May through October 1999 public outreach effort for the year 2000 CLRP update. These components can then be considered in the prioritization of projects, programs, and financial resources in October and November of 1999. The grant resources will also be available for providing input to implementing agencies as they develop and refine their project submissions from December of 1999 through March of 2000.
The total budget for the project is $480,000, to be expended over a 12-month period from April 1999 through March 2000. The total federal TCSP grant funding requested is $380,000. Of this amount, $250,000 will be utilized to obtain specialized consultant services to assist in the development of the circulation systems and greenways components. We expect a significant and direct involvement of state and local professionals in the identification, design and development of circulation systems in the regional core and regional activity centers and in the development of a regional greenways system. This in-kind contribution of state and local professional staff time is estimated to be $100,000. The participation of state and local professionals will be documented throughout the duration of the project. An amount of $80,000 will be utilized to obtain the services of a separate, independent consultant to carry out the evaluation of the TCSP grant activities.
The major cost items by category for the project are as follows:
| Program design/support and identification of funding |
| |
Consultant team services | $250,000 | |
State/local in-kind service | 100,000 | |
| ||
| Program evaluation |
| |
Independent evaluation consultant | 80,000 | |
Travel to evaluation workshop | 2,000 | |
| ||
| Program administration |
| |
Steering committees support | 30,000 | |
Project management |
| |
18,000 | ||
Total | $480,000 |
VII. PROJECT EVALUATION PLAN
An independent consulting firm will be selected to monitor and document the activities to develop each of the two components of the action agenda. At the end of the TCSP grant, the consultant will prepare a comprehensive evaluation report to document successful components that have been considered for inclusion in the year 2000 CLRP and the FY2001-2006 TIP; identify the obstacles addressed; and present observations and lessons about the practical implications of integrating land development, transportation, and environmental decision making that may be useful for other MPOs and state and local agencies considering how to implement similar projects in other regions.
Because the actual operation/construction of these circulation and greenway initiatives will not occur for some time after this TCSP project is completed, the evaluation plan will focus on documenting the process and products of the TCSP project, and on assessing estimated outcomes in terms of costs and benefits. The evaluation of the TCSP grant will specify a few key measures which will reflect the impacts of the programs. For the circulation systems, increased transit mode share for trips to, from, and within the regional core and regional activity centers would be an appropriate measure, along with impacts on roadway level of service and mobile source emissions. For the green space program, identification of funding sources and the establishment of critical new links in the regional greenways system would constitute measures of success. These measures will be used during the period of the TCSP grant to estimate the likely benefits of the programs once they are implemented. The involvement of the stakeholders, the ways that agreements and commitments are achieved, and the financial strategies will be described and assessed explicitly.
The baseline for evaluating the impacts of this TCSP grant will be the process, products, and outcomes of CLRP and TIP development to date. The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA) provided greatly increased flexibility in the use of highway and transit funding categories, and also provided programs explicitly aimed at Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) and Transportation Enhancements, including bicycle trails and preservation of historic transportation facilities. Processes for developing plans and projects to take advantage of these new ISTEA features have been evolving, but are not yet fully developed. This TCSP grant is aimed at accelerating the development and adoption of appropriate processes.
Project development for federal transportation funding to date has been carried out primarily by agencies with strong expertise in regional highway and transit systems. Development of local circulation systems and green space programs requires increased involvement by other stakeholder groups such as local transit systems, private transit operators, transportation management agencies, bicycle planners, park service personnel, community planners, and interested citizens. The evaluation of this TCSP grant will examine the impact of increased involvement of these stakeholder groups provided through their participation in resource committees appointed by the TPB.
The products of this TCSP grant will include specification of circulation systems and green space programs in sufficient detail to permit their inclusion in the year 2000 CLRP and the FY2001-2006 TIP. The evaluation of these products will compare the status and funding of circulation systems and green space programs in the 2000 CLRP and FY2001-2006 TIP with the contents of the previous CLRP and TIP. Where significant changes are identified, the evaluation will assess the contribution of the increased stakeholder involvement in the development of the programs, and the lessons to be learned from such involvement.
VIII. SUMMARY
The TPB has devoted a great deal of time and resources over the past four years to the development of a transportation vision which can address the region's transportation challenges by reaching beyond the constraints of current financial resources, seeking greater stakeholder participation in plan and program development, and strengthening the linkages between regional transportation plans and the aspirations and concerns of local communities. This effort has promoted consensus among the region's elected leadership, transportation and other agency staff, and key stakeholders on comprehensive approaches to transportation planning which recognize the critical linkages with environmental, community, and social considerations.
The TPB's TCSP grant application will provide the impetus and resources to pursue two components of the TPB Vision from a regional perspective: circulation systems within the regional core and regional activity centers, and integration of green space into a regional greenways system. These two components of the TPB Vision do not currently receive the kind of staffing and focused attention that is devoted to major highway and transit systems in the development of TPB plans and programs. Stakeholder involvement in these two components is currently limited and fragmented, and will benefit greatly from a structure that involves TPB-appointed resource committees with extensive staff and consultant support. TCSP funding will facilitate the kind of consensus building that is critical to advancing these kinds of community preservation programs into metropolitan plans and identifying specific funding for their implementation.
The TCSP program created under the new TEA-21 legislation reflects the strong interest of the federal government in supporting these community preservation approaches in the nation's metropolitan areas. The TPB would like to be one of the first MPOs in the country to take advantage of this new federal initiative.
1. Assessment of Public Involvement in Transportation Planning for the Washington Metropolitan Region, ICF Kaiser Consulting Group, October 1998.
2. A System That Service Everyone: Attracting Nontraditional Participants into the Regional Transportation Planning Process, P.M. Lebeaux, December 1996.
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