Approval of April 14, 2016, Minutes Presenter: Mark Riley, RTC Chair Item Summary: Approval of the April 14, 2016, minutes contained in Reference Item 1 will be requested.
Consent Agenda 2.1. Unified Planning Work Program Modifications Presenter: Dan Kessler, NCTCOG Item Summary: Regional Transportation Council (RTC) approval of modifications to the FY2016 and FY2017 Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) will be requested. Background: The Unified Planning Work Program is required by federal and State transportation planning regulations and provides a summary of the transportation and transportation-related air quality planning tasks to be conducted by Metropolitan Planning Organization staff. The FY2016 and FY2017 UPWP identifies the activities to be carried out between October 1, 2015, and September 30, 2017. Amendments to this document are being proposed to reflect a new project, project modifications and funding adjustments. The proposed amendments have been presented to the public through the April 11, 2016, public input opportunity and are included as Reference Item 2.1.1. Additional information is provided in Electronic Item 2.1.2. The Surface Transportation Technical Committee has recommended RTC approval.
Orientation to Agenda/Director of Transportation Report Presenter: Michael Morris, NCTCOG 1. Reminder: June Regional Transportation Council (RTC) Meeting Rescheduled from June 9 to June 16, 2016 2. RTC Nominating Subcommittee Appointments (Chair Mark Riley) 3. Recognitions: • North Central Texas Council of Governments, Texas Department of Transportation, North Texas Tollway Authority, and Cintra Selected for Transportation Research Board Managed Lanes Committee Don Capelle Award for Leadership • Environmental Protection Agency 2016 SmartWay Affiliate Challenge Honoree Award (Electronic Item 3.1) • Progress North Texas 2015 Receives Hermes Creative Platinum Award • Next Big Idea Winner: North Texas to Houston High Speed Rail Receives Award from the Urban Land Institute 4. Air Quality Funding Opportunities for Vehicles (Electronic Item 3.2) 5. Ozone Season Update (Electronic Item 3.3) 6. Compressed Natural Gas and Liquid Natural Gas Code and Compliance Workshop, May 20, 2016 (Electronic Item 3.4) 7. April Online Input Opportunity Minutes (Electronic Item 3.5) 8. Freight Congestion and Delay Study (Electronic Item 3.6) 9. Recent Correspondence (Electronic Item 3.7) 10. Recent News Articles (Electronic Item 3.8) 11. Recent Press Releases (Electronic Item 3.9) 12. Transportation Partners Progress Reports
Transportation Control Measure Substitution Presenter: Chris Klaus, NCTCOG Item Summary: Staff will request Regional Transportation Council (RTC) authorization to substitute US 67/IH 35E high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes and associated emissions benefits with traffic signal progression improvements and their associated emissions benefits. Background: As a result of changing transportation needs, the US 67/IH 35E HOV lanes between IH 20 and IH 30 will be replaced with express lanes. Currently, the HOV lanes and associated emissions benefits are included in the regional State Implementation Plan as a transportation control measure (TCM). Due to the interim facility being rebuilt, the HOV lanes require substituting other transportation project(s) that achieve equivalent emissions benefits. Recently completed traffic signal progression improvements have been identified for use to substitute the US 67/IH 35E HOV lanes. Emissions benefits from the signal progression improvements are larger than the US 67/IH 35E HOV lanes. May 10, 2016, concluded the 30-day public comment process. Staff continues coordination with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to finalize the substitution. A draft resolution for RTC approval is provided in Reference Item 4.1. Additional details are provided in Electronic Item 4.2.
Public Transportation Service and Funding for Collin County Presenter: Sarah Chadderdon, NCTCOG Item Summary: Staff will provide an update on the status of public transportation service and funding for Collin County. In addition, staff will request Regional Transportation Council (RTC) approval to use available funding to support transit service in Collin County to fully leverage new local funds. Background: Since December, when Texoma Area Paratransit System (TAPS) stopped providing transit service in Collin County, local governments, transit providers, and North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) staffs have been coordinating on options for transit service in affected areas of Collin County. On December 10, 2015, the RTC approved up to $675,000 for interim (90-day) transit service for seniors and people with disabilities. With that funding and local dollars, service is operating in several cities through May 2016. Officials at the City of McKinney and Collin County are considering options for accessing federal funds intended for public transportation in rural and small urban portions of the county. In order to ensure funding from the McKinney Urbanized Area is not lost to the region, the RTC approved NCTCOG as an interim option to serve as the direct recipient for the McKinney Urbanized Area pot of federal funding in March 2016. Recently, Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) and Toyota announced a $1 million charitable donation in support of public transportation to address gaps in service in Collin County. DART requested additional federal funding to leverage this donation to provide service through September 2017. Reference Item 5 includes additional detail.
Short Term $80 Million TEX Rail Corridor Contingent Loan Presenter: Michael Morris, NCTCOG Item Summary: Staff will request action on a proposed partnership with the Fort Worth Transportation Authority (FWTA) to provide a short-term, cash flow-related loan for the construction of the TEX Rail corridor. The Regional Transportation Council (RTC) has previously provided loans for roadway projects such as the President George Bush Turnpike Eastern Extension, SH 360, and the LBJ Express project. Background: FWTA filed a Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA) request with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) in September 2015. At that time, the approval process was estimated to take 4-5 months. FTA has delayed review and approval of the FFGA until after the Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) is received from FWTA’s contractor (anticipated by mid-May 2016). Once the GMP is received, FTA will start the review process. FFGA approval is expected in the fall of 2016. In order to meet the construction schedule, the FWTA must start construction in July 2016. The FWTA has certain funds on hand to cash flow the early construction process such as sales tax receipts (traditional and 3/8th cent from Grapevine), $20 million Tarrant County commitment, Regional Toll Revenue Funds (for vehicles), Texas Mobility Funds (for seamless aviation connections), and various existing Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program and Surface Transportation Program – Metropolitan Mobility funds previously awarded by the Regional Transportation Council. However, the FWTA anticipates existing resources will be exhausted by January 2017 if the FFGA has not been executed by that time. The FWTA is seeking a loan from RTC to cash flow construction expenses until April 2017, as the FWTA anticipates having access to the funding from the FFGA by that time. It is possible that the FWTA will receive the FFGA approval earlier than anticipated. In that event, this loan would not be necessary. The FWTA will pay back the RTC as soon as it is reimbursed with federal funds from the FFGA. In addition, once the FWTA receives these funds, it will be local funds, which will be used to pay back the RTC. Reference Item 6 contains additional details about this partnership loan. Under any circumstance the RTC will be reimbursed by the Fort Worth Transportation Authority.
Title VI Nondiscrimination Program Update Presenter: Ken Kirkpatrick, NCTCOG Item Summary: Staff will request Regional Transportation Council (RTC) approval of the North Central Texas Council of Governments’ (NCTCOG) Title VI Program Update submission to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). Background: Every three years, the FTA requires all funding recipients to submit a Title VI Program to ensure compliance with nondiscrimination requirements. An update to NCTCOG’s Title VI Program is due to FTA in June 2016 and requires approval by Executive Board and the RTC. A summary of NCTCOG’s Title VI Program and FTA requirements are included in Electronic Item 7.1. The proposed program update submission is provided as Electronic Item 7.2. A draft resolution approving the Title VI Program Update is included as Reference Item 7.3 for RTC consideration.
2017-2020 Transportation Improvement Program Development Draft Final Listings Presenter: Adam Beckom, NCTCOG Item Summary: Staff will request Regional Transportation Council (RTC) approval of the final 2017-2020 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) project listings. Background: A new TIP is developed every two years through a cooperative effort among the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG), the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), local governments, and transportation authorities. The TIP is a staged, multi-year listing of transportation projects with committed funding from federal, State, and local sources within the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. For regionally significant projects to proceed to implementation, they must be included in the TIP listings. To this end, NCTCOG staff has met with local partners to receive input and updates on their active projects. The data from these meetings has been organized into a draft project listing, which is financially constrained against the funding allocations identified in the 2016 Unified Transportation Program (UTP). Electronic Item 8.1 contains roadway and transit listings. Please note that the roadway project listings are provided in double-entry format, meaning that each project is listed twice. The first entry, which is not shaded, will show the currently approved limits, scope, and funding for the project. The second entry, highlighted with gray shading, shows the proposed change for which action is being requested. The listing is sorted by city and can be searched electronically for ease of use. Transit listings (also included in Electronic Item 8.1) are separated in two sections: 1) Dallas District and 2) Fort Worth District. Please note that while this item is an action item, it is not being printed due to the file length and ease of use electronically versus as a paper copy. Projects listed in fiscal years 2017-2020 will be included in the new TIP and the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) listing and submitted to TxDOT, along with final documentation by June 24, 2016. The resolution contained in Reference Item 8.2 affirms RTC approval of the 2017-2020 TIP listings and will be used to transmit the document to TxDOT. On March 25, 2016, the Surface Transportation Technical Committee (STTC) recommended the 2017-2020 TIP listings for RTC approval. Since STTC approval, staff has continued to incorporate comments from the public, local agencies, and TxDOT districts. As such, there may be small changes to projects listed since the Committee’s approval. Additional details regarding the final draft 2017-2020 TIP development process and projects are available in Electronic Item 8.3.
2016 Advanced Transportation and Congestion Management Technologies Deployment Initiative and Transit-Oriented Development Planning Pilot Program Grants Opportunities Presenter: Natalie Bettger, NCTCOG Item Summary: Staff will brief the Council on the 2016 Advanced Transportation and Congestion Management Technologies Deployment (ATCMTD) initiatives and the Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Planning Pilot Program grant opportunities recently announced by the United States Department of Transportation (US DOT), and will request action on the proposed list of projects to be submitted. Background: In March 2016, the US DOT announced the 2016 ATCMTD initiatives grant program for large scale installation and operation of advanced transportation technologies to improve safety, efficiency, system performance, and infrastructure return on investment. In addition, the Transit-Oriented Development Planning Pilot Program grant initiative is for comprehensive planning that supports economic development, ridership, multimodal connectivity and accessibility, increased transit access for pedestrian and bicycle traffic, and mixed-use development near transit stations. The program augments the Federal Transit Administration’s Fixed Guideway Capital Investment Grants (CIG) Program by supporting comprehensive planning that must be associated with new fixed guideway and core capacity improvement CIG projects. Reference Item 9.1 includes an overview of the grant opportunities and the proposed list of projects to submit. Final applications are due to the US DOT by June 3, 2016, for the ATCMTD initiatives grant program. Additional details are available in Electronic Item 9.2. Final applications for the TOD Planning Pilot Program are due June 13, 2016. Additional information is available at Electronic Item 9.3.
Progress Reports Item Summary: Progress Reports are provided in the items below. • RTC Attendance (Reference Item 10.1) • STTC Minutes and Attendance (Electronic Item 10.2) • Local Motion (Electronic Item 10.3) 11. Other Business (Old or New): This item provides an opportunity for members to bring items of interest before the group. 12. Future Agenda Items: This item provides an opportunity for members to bring items of future interest before the Council. 13. Next Meeting: The next meeting of the Regional Transportation Council is scheduled for 1:00 pm, Thursday, June 16, 2016, at the North Central Texas Council of Governments.
Approval of April 14, 2016, Minutes Presenter: Mark Riley, RTC Chair Item Summary: Approval of the April 14, 2016, minutes contained in Reference Item 1 will be requested.
Consent Agenda 2.1. Unified Planning Work Program Modifications Presenter: Dan Kessler, NCTCOG Item Summary: Regional Transportation Council (RTC) approval of modifications to the FY2016 and FY2017 Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) will be requested. Background: The Unified Planning Work Program is required by federal and State transportation planning regulations and provides a summary of the transportation and transportation-related air quality planning tasks to be conducted by Metropolitan Planning Organization staff. The FY2016 and FY2017 UPWP identifies the activities to be carried out between October 1, 2015, and September 30, 2017. Amendments to this document are being proposed to reflect a new project, project modifications and funding adjustments. The proposed amendments have been presented to the public through the April 11, 2016, public input opportunity and are included as Reference Item 2.1.1. Additional information is provided in Electronic Item 2.1.2. The Surface Transportation Technical Committee has recommended RTC approval.
Orientation to Agenda/Director of Transportation Report Presenter: Michael Morris, NCTCOG 1. Reminder: June Regional Transportation Council (RTC) Meeting Rescheduled from June 9 to June 16, 2016 2. RTC Nominating Subcommittee Appointments (Chair Mark Riley) 3. Recognitions: • North Central Texas Council of Governments, Texas Department of Transportation, North Texas Tollway Authority, and Cintra Selected for Transportation Research Board Managed Lanes Committee Don Capelle Award for Leadership • Environmental Protection Agency 2016 SmartWay Affiliate Challenge Honoree Award (Electronic Item 3.1) • Progress North Texas 2015 Receives Hermes Creative Platinum Award • Next Big Idea Winner: North Texas to Houston High Speed Rail Receives Award from the Urban Land Institute 4. Air Quality Funding Opportunities for Vehicles (Electronic Item 3.2) 5. Ozone Season Update (Electronic Item 3.3) 6. Compressed Natural Gas and Liquid Natural Gas Code and Compliance Workshop, May 20, 2016 (Electronic Item 3.4) 7. April Online Input Opportunity Minutes (Electronic Item 3.5) 8. Freight Congestion and Delay Study (Electronic Item 3.6) 9. Recent Correspondence (Electronic Item 3.7) 10. Recent News Articles (Electronic Item 3.8) 11. Recent Press Releases (Electronic Item 3.9) 12. Transportation Partners Progress Reports
Transportation Control Measure Substitution Presenter: Chris Klaus, NCTCOG Item Summary: Staff will request Regional Transportation Council (RTC) authorization to substitute US 67/IH 35E high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes and associated emissions benefits with traffic signal progression improvements and their associated emissions benefits. Background: As a result of changing transportation needs, the US 67/IH 35E HOV lanes between IH 20 and IH 30 will be replaced with express lanes. Currently, the HOV lanes and associated emissions benefits are included in the regional State Implementation Plan as a transportation control measure (TCM). Due to the interim facility being rebuilt, the HOV lanes require substituting other transportation project(s) that achieve equivalent emissions benefits. Recently completed traffic signal progression improvements have been identified for use to substitute the US 67/IH 35E HOV lanes. Emissions benefits from the signal progression improvements are larger than the US 67/IH 35E HOV lanes. May 10, 2016, concluded the 30-day public comment process. Staff continues coordination with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to finalize the substitution. A draft resolution for RTC approval is provided in Reference Item 4.1. Additional details are provided in Electronic Item 4.2.
Public Transportation Service and Funding for Collin County Presenter: Sarah Chadderdon, NCTCOG Item Summary: Staff will provide an update on the status of public transportation service and funding for Collin County. In addition, staff will request Regional Transportation Council (RTC) approval to use available funding to support transit service in Collin County to fully leverage new local funds. Background: Since December, when Texoma Area Paratransit System (TAPS) stopped providing transit service in Collin County, local governments, transit providers, and North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) staffs have been coordinating on options for transit service in affected areas of Collin County. On December 10, 2015, the RTC approved up to $675,000 for interim (90-day) transit service for seniors and people with disabilities. With that funding and local dollars, service is operating in several cities through May 2016. Officials at the City of McKinney and Collin County are considering options for accessing federal funds intended for public transportation in rural and small urban portions of the county. In order to ensure funding from the McKinney Urbanized Area is not lost to the region, the RTC approved NCTCOG as an interim option to serve as the direct recipient for the McKinney Urbanized Area pot of federal funding in March 2016. Recently, Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) and Toyota announced a $1 million charitable donation in support of public transportation to address gaps in service in Collin County. DART requested additional federal funding to leverage this donation to provide service through September 2017. Reference Item 5 includes additional detail.
Short Term $80 Million TEX Rail Corridor Contingent Loan Presenter: Michael Morris, NCTCOG Item Summary: Staff will request action on a proposed partnership with the Fort Worth Transportation Authority (FWTA) to provide a short-term, cash flow-related loan for the construction of the TEX Rail corridor. The Regional Transportation Council (RTC) has previously provided loans for roadway projects such as the President George Bush Turnpike Eastern Extension, SH 360, and the LBJ Express project. Background: FWTA filed a Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA) request with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) in September 2015. At that time, the approval process was estimated to take 4-5 months. FTA has delayed review and approval of the FFGA until after the Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) is received from FWTA’s contractor (anticipated by mid-May 2016). Once the GMP is received, FTA will start the review process. FFGA approval is expected in the fall of 2016. In order to meet the construction schedule, the FWTA must start construction in July 2016. The FWTA has certain funds on hand to cash flow the early construction process such as sales tax receipts (traditional and 3/8th cent from Grapevine), $20 million Tarrant County commitment, Regional Toll Revenue Funds (for vehicles), Texas Mobility Funds (for seamless aviation connections), and various existing Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program and Surface Transportation Program – Metropolitan Mobility funds previously awarded by the Regional Transportation Council. However, the FWTA anticipates existing resources will be exhausted by January 2017 if the FFGA has not been executed by that time. The FWTA is seeking a loan from RTC to cash flow construction expenses until April 2017, as the FWTA anticipates having access to the funding from the FFGA by that time. It is possible that the FWTA will receive the FFGA approval earlier than anticipated. In that event, this loan would not be necessary. The FWTA will pay back the RTC as soon as it is reimbursed with federal funds from the FFGA. In addition, once the FWTA receives these funds, it will be local funds, which will be used to pay back the RTC. Reference Item 6 contains additional details about this partnership loan. Under any circumstance the RTC will be reimbursed by the Fort Worth Transportation Authority.
Title VI Nondiscrimination Program Update Presenter: Ken Kirkpatrick, NCTCOG Item Summary: Staff will request Regional Transportation Council (RTC) approval of the North Central Texas Council of Governments’ (NCTCOG) Title VI Program Update submission to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). Background: Every three years, the FTA requires all funding recipients to submit a Title VI Program to ensure compliance with nondiscrimination requirements. An update to NCTCOG’s Title VI Program is due to FTA in June 2016 and requires approval by Executive Board and the RTC. A summary of NCTCOG’s Title VI Program and FTA requirements are included in Electronic Item 7.1. The proposed program update submission is provided as Electronic Item 7.2. A draft resolution approving the Title VI Program Update is included as Reference Item 7.3 for RTC consideration.
2017-2020 Transportation Improvement Program Development Draft Final Listings Presenter: Adam Beckom, NCTCOG Item Summary: Staff will request Regional Transportation Council (RTC) approval of the final 2017-2020 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) project listings. Background: A new TIP is developed every two years through a cooperative effort among the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG), the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), local governments, and transportation authorities. The TIP is a staged, multi-year listing of transportation projects with committed funding from federal, State, and local sources within the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. For regionally significant projects to proceed to implementation, they must be included in the TIP listings. To this end, NCTCOG staff has met with local partners to receive input and updates on their active projects. The data from these meetings has been organized into a draft project listing, which is financially constrained against the funding allocations identified in the 2016 Unified Transportation Program (UTP). Electronic Item 8.1 contains roadway and transit listings. Please note that the roadway project listings are provided in double-entry format, meaning that each project is listed twice. The first entry, which is not shaded, will show the currently approved limits, scope, and funding for the project. The second entry, highlighted with gray shading, shows the proposed change for which action is being requested. The listing is sorted by city and can be searched electronically for ease of use. Transit listings (also included in Electronic Item 8.1) are separated in two sections: 1) Dallas District and 2) Fort Worth District. Please note that while this item is an action item, it is not being printed due to the file length and ease of use electronically versus as a paper copy. Projects listed in fiscal years 2017-2020 will be included in the new TIP and the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) listing and submitted to TxDOT, along with final documentation by June 24, 2016. The resolution contained in Reference Item 8.2 affirms RTC approval of the 2017-2020 TIP listings and will be used to transmit the document to TxDOT. On March 25, 2016, the Surface Transportation Technical Committee (STTC) recommended the 2017-2020 TIP listings for RTC approval. Since STTC approval, staff has continued to incorporate comments from the public, local agencies, and TxDOT districts. As such, there may be small changes to projects listed since the Committee’s approval. Additional details regarding the final draft 2017-2020 TIP development process and projects are available in Electronic Item 8.3.
2016 Advanced Transportation and Congestion Management Technologies Deployment Initiative and Transit-Oriented Development Planning Pilot Program Grants Opportunities Presenter: Natalie Bettger, NCTCOG Item Summary: Staff will brief the Council on the 2016 Advanced Transportation and Congestion Management Technologies Deployment (ATCMTD) initiatives and the Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Planning Pilot Program grant opportunities recently announced by the United States Department of Transportation (US DOT), and will request action on the proposed list of projects to be submitted. Background: In March 2016, the US DOT announced the 2016 ATCMTD initiatives grant program for large scale installation and operation of advanced transportation technologies to improve safety, efficiency, system performance, and infrastructure return on investment. In addition, the Transit-Oriented Development Planning Pilot Program grant initiative is for comprehensive planning that supports economic development, ridership, multimodal connectivity and accessibility, increased transit access for pedestrian and bicycle traffic, and mixed-use development near transit stations. The program augments the Federal Transit Administration’s Fixed Guideway Capital Investment Grants (CIG) Program by supporting comprehensive planning that must be associated with new fixed guideway and core capacity improvement CIG projects. Reference Item 9.1 includes an overview of the grant opportunities and the proposed list of projects to submit. Final applications are due to the US DOT by June 3, 2016, for the ATCMTD initiatives grant program. Additional details are available in Electronic Item 9.2. Final applications for the TOD Planning Pilot Program are due June 13, 2016. Additional information is available at Electronic Item 9.3.
Progress Reports Item Summary: Progress Reports are provided in the items below. • RTC Attendance (Reference Item 10.1) • STTC Minutes and Attendance (Electronic Item 10.2) • Local Motion (Electronic Item 10.3) 11. Other Business (Old or New): This item provides an opportunity for members to bring items of interest before the group. 12. Future Agenda Items: This item provides an opportunity for members to bring items of future interest before the Council. 13. Next Meeting: The next meeting of the Regional Transportation Council is scheduled for 1:00 pm, Thursday, June 16, 2016, at the North Central Texas Council of Governments.