EASTERN SHORE METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION
MEETING ANNOUNCEMENTS
THE EASTERN SHORE – June 13, 2014 – The Eastern Shore Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Policy Board held a meeting on Wednesday, June 11, 2014, in the Commission Conference Room at the Baldwin County Satellite Courthouse in Fairhope, Alabama. The Policy Board is the governing body of the MPO.
The Policy Board began its meeting by considering recommendations from the MPO Advisory Committees following the committees’ review of six options to address the current lack of funding.
- Recommendation 1: Recommend that the Policy Board authorize MPO staff to continue researching the possibility of participating with ALDOT to fund large projects on state and federal roads within the planning area.
- Recommendation 2: Recommend that the Policy Board authorize MPO staff to pursue responsive or adaptive traffic signals along US 98.
- Recommendation 3: Recommend that the Policy Board authorize MPO staff to continue its research of the Neighborhood Infrastructure Incentive Plan Act of 2011 with the aim of developing a guide that can be followed by homeowners and consultants for funding small local projects.
The Policy Board approved the Advisory Committee recommendations and added language to recommendation number 2 authorizing MPO staff to pursue responsive signals on SR 181 from US 31 to US 90.
The Policy Board then considered a resolution to add two projects to the visionary/needs project list of the Long Range Transportation Plan. The visionary list is a list of unfunded projects that are recognized needs within the planning area. The Policy Board tabled the first project, the resurfacing of CR 13 from US 90 to CR 64 and from SR 104 to CR 48 and requested that the Advisory Committees investigate the possibility of adding sidewalks to the project.
The Policy Board adopted Resolution 2014-09 adding a project to the visionary list that would involve the installation of responsive traffic signals on US 98 from CR 44 to US 31. The Policy Board also adopted Resolution 2014-10 adding a project to the visionary list that would involve the installation of responsive traffic signals on Highway 181 from US 90 to US 31. Responsive signals are traffic signals connected with fiber optic cables or wireless technology that allow the signals to communicate with each other and respond real time to changing traffic conditions. Projects can be viewed on the MPO interactive project map available on the MPO website (http://easternshorempo.org/interactive-map/).
The MPO Coordinator, Matthew Brown, presented the Policy Board with a working draft of the MPO’s Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP). The LRTP projects transportation decision-making in the Metropolitan Planning Area out to at least a twenty-year horizon. The LRTP is updated every five years and serves as a conduit for public input on a broad range of transportation issues. The LRTP considers all modes of transportation from a regional perspective.
The MPO’s Draft Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) is on schedule to be complete by mid-2015. The plan development process requires MPO staff to continually seek input from committee members and the public. MPO staff patterned the Draft LRTP after example LRTPs provided by the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT). MPO staff is aiming for a document that is user friendly for the public while still meeting ALDOT’s requirements. The MPO plans to place core content in the body of the plan and place ancillary/support content in the appendices. The document will go through several iterations of review with ALDOT. The public can view the documents online (http://easternshorempo.org/working-draft-2040-lrtp/) and provide comments regarding the plan’s contents. The documents will be published for formal review and public comment at a later date.
The Policy Board reviewed several other discussion and informational items which are available in the meeting agenda packet on the MPO website. An Agenda Action Report is currently available on the MPO website. A transcript of the meeting minutes for the Policy Board meeting is expected to be available on the MPO website in approximately two weeks. Meeting minutes for Advisory Committee meetings are currently available on the MPO website.
The next meeting of the Eastern Shore MPO Policy Board is scheduled for Wednesday, July 23, 2014, at 10:00 AM at the Gathering Place in Spanish Fort. For more information regarding the Eastern Shore MPO please visit www.easternshorempo.org or email coordinator@easternshorempo.org.