Approval of October 11, 2018, Minutes Presenter: Gary Fickes, RTC Chair Item Summary: Approval of the October 11, 2018, minutes contained in Reference Item 1 will be requested. Background: N/A
2.1. Clean Fleets North Texas 2018 Call for Projects Funding Recommendation Presenter: Lori Clark, NCTCOG Item Summary: Staff will request approval of funding recommendations for an additional application received under the Clean Fleets North Texas 2018 Call for Projects (CFP). Background: The North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) opened the Clean Fleets North Texas 2018 CFP to award grant funds for diesel vehicle or equipment replacement projects in North Central Texas. Applications are accepted on a modified first-come, first-served basis with monthly application deadlines. Staff completed review and emissions quantification of one additional application received since the last Council approval and recommends funding for this project. This CFP is funded through the Environmental Protection Agency’s National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Supplemental Environmental Project. This initiative is an extension of clean vehicle efforts listed as weight-of-evidence in the Dallas-Fort Worth 2016 Eight-Hour Attainment Demonstration State Implementation Plan. Electronic Item 2.1.1 provides an overview of the call for projects. Electronic Item 2.1.2 provides additional detail on recommended projects. 2.2. Federal Transit Administration’s Access and Mobility Partnership Grant Opportunity Presenter: Shannon Stevenson, NCTCOG Item Summary: Staff will request Regional Transportation Council approval to submit an application to the Access and Mobility Partnership Grant for Innovative Coordinated Access and Mobility Pilot Program. Funding from this grant opportunity will address goals outlined in Access North Texas and help improve regional mobility management in North Central Texas. Background: In September 2018, the Federal Transit Administration announced the 2018 Access and Mobility Partnership Grant. The Notice of Funding Opportunity indicated availability of funding for the Innovative Coordinated Access and Mobility Pilot Program under the Access and Mobility Partnership Grant. Staff requests authorization to submit a grant application that will create a regional mobility management program to improve the coordination of transportation services and non-emergency medical transportation services. Leveraging healthcare and transportation-focused partnerships in the 16-County region, the grant will support new and current mobility management efforts to identify and address specific populations that lack transportation to wellness resources. This effort will support Access North Texas goals as well. Applications are due November 13, 2018. The total grant budget will not exceed $750,000 including local match to be provided using Regional Toll Revenue funds previously allocated by the Regional Transportation Council for transit projects and in-kind match. More information can be found in Electronic Item 2.2. 2.3. High-Speed Rail Study from Fort Worth to Laredo: Regional Transportation Council Local Funds Presenter: Michael Morris, NCTCOG Item Summary: Staff will request a funding swap for high-speed rail initiatives on the Fort Worth-Laredo project. Background: Currently, North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) staff is coordinating with other metropolitan planning organizations (MPO) along a proposed high-speed rail corridor from Fort Worth to Waco, Temple-Killeen, Austin, San Antonio, Laredo and beyond to analyze mode and alignment opportunities for the corridor. The Regional Transportation Council (RTC) previously approved $300,000 in Surface Transportation Block Grant Program funds and $200,000 in local funds from partnering MPOs for the conceptual feasibility study for high-speed passenger rail technology between Fort Worth and Laredo. At this time, staff proposes to instead fund the conceptual study with $500,000 in RTC local funds with the Alamo Area MPO in San Antonio providing $200,000 in Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program funds to NCTCOG as part of the partnership. 2.4. Transportation Department Low-Emissions Vehicle Presenter: Jason Brown, NCTCOG Item Summary: A recommendation for Regional Transportation Council (RTC) approval of $12,000 in RTC local funds for the Transportation Department’s low-emissions vehicle toward lease payments and operational costs is requested. Direction for staff to also amend the Transportation Improvement Program and other administrative/planning documents, as appropriate, to reflect the approved funding is included in this action. Background: The North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) leased a 2017 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid in January 2017 for performing site visits, attending outreach events, and other business uses. This request for funding will continue the lease payments and operational costs necessary through the term of the lease, ending in January 2020.
Orientation to Agenda/Director of Transportation Report Presenter: Michael Morris, NCTCOG 1. Recognition of Members Concluding Service on the Regional Transportation Council (RTC): Mike Cantrell, Commissioner, Dallas County 2. Progress North Texas 2018 Receives MarCom Platinum Award for Graphic Design 3. Air North Texas Partners Awards (Whitney Vandiver) 4. Regional Transportation Council (RTC) Member Representation at Events • Texas Mobility Summit: Mohamed Bur, Rickey D. Callahan, Gary Fickes, Jim Griffin, Jungus Jordan, Stan Pickett, T. Oscar Trevino Jr., B. Glen Whitley, Kathryn Wilemon, and W. Jeff Williams 5. Air Quality Funding Opportunities for Vehicles www.nctcog.org/trans/quality/air/funding-and-resources/fundingvehicle 6. Ozone Season Update (Electronic Item 3.1) 7. East/West Equity Update (Electronic Item 3.2) 8. Mobility Matters (Handout) 9. October Public Meeting Minutes (Electronic Item 3.3) 10. November Public Meeting Notice (Electronic Item 3.4) 11. Public Comments Report (Electronic Item 3.5) 12. Recent Correspondence (Electronic Item 3.6) 13. Recent News Articles (Electronic Item 3.7) 14. Recent Press Releases (Electronic Item 3.8) 15. Transportation Partners Progress Reports
Performance Measures Target Setting Presenter: Dan Lamers, NCTCOG Item Summary: Staff will request action for approval of proposed regional targets for federally required performance measures. The targets are set in cooperation and coordination with the Texas Department of Transportation. Background: In December 2015, the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act was signed into law. The FAST Act requires certain performance measures be included in the long-range metropolitan transportation planning process. These measures were established by a series of four rulemakings: Safety, Infrastructure Condition, System Performance/Freight/Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality, and Transit Asset Management. Previously, the Regional Transportation Council (RTC) adopted targets for the Transit Asset Management and Safety performance measures. Each performance measure rulemaking consists of several specific performance measures. Targets for these required specific performance measures must be adopted by the RTC by November 15, 2018. Proposed targets will be presented for the Infrastructure Condition and System Performance/Freight/Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality required measures. Electronic Item 4.1 shows the proposed policy actions and targets for adoption. Electronic Item 4.2 is a copy of a letter from the Texas Department of Transportation concurring with this region’s recommendation for the non-single occupancy vehicle target for the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Draft performance measure recommendations were presented to RTC members on October 11, 2018, and the Surface Transportation Technical Committee recommended RTC adoption of the proposed targets at its October meeting.
Public Participation Plan Update Presenter: Amanda Wilson, NCTCOG Item Summary: Staff will request Regional Transportation Council (RTC) approval of an update to the Public Participation Plan, which is necessary to reflect Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act requirements and innovation in public input opportunities. Background: The current Public Participation Plan, provided in Electronic Item 5.1, was approved by the RTC in February 2015. In accordance with federal law, the Public Participation Plan defines public involvement procedures and comment periods, outlines strategies to inform the public, and describes measures to include diverse voices in the transportation and air quality planning process. The Language Assistance Plan is included as an appendix. Updates are necessary to address FAST Act stakeholder requirements, changing demographics, and the increasing role of technology in public input opportunities. A 45-day comment period on an updated Public Participation Plan and Language Assistance Plan, provided in Electronic Item 5.2, ended October 24. A presentation containing additional information on the proposed revisions is included as Electronic Item 5.3.
2018 Metropolitan Planning Organization Milestone Policy Update Presenter: Christie Gotti, NCTCOG Item Summary: Staff will provide the Council with an update on the projects that are part of the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Milestone Policy list. Regional Transportation Council (RTC) approval of the proposed recommendation will be requested. Background: In June 2015, the MPO Milestone Policy was approved by the RTC. This policy affects projects that had been funded ten or more years prior to the time of the policy approval, but that had not proceeded to construction. Projects were evaluated to determine whether there was still local support for the project, a realistic implementation schedule was provided by each local agency, and local matching funds were available. In April 2016, the RTC approved the MPO Milestone Policy and project list. The list contained the recommendations for each project based on the information received from implementing agencies. The RTC also approved a policy to give agencies one additional fiscal year from their proposed start or let date of the project to begin construction. If construction does not begin by that deadline, funding is to be removed from the project. Since that time, staff has been coordinating with agencies to ensure that project implementation is continuing to progress in a timely manner. Letters were sent to all agencies with a project on the Milestone Policy list in December 2016 reminding them of the deadlines for each project, and agencies were reminded again during development of the 2019-2022 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). Staff recommends that the RTC consider a new option for the five remaining projects. Letters have been sent to the affected agencies detailing the plan of action for each project. Details on the Milestone Policy and the new option can be found in Electronic Item 6.1. The updated Milestone Policy Project list containing the status of all projects can be found in Electronic Item 6.2. The list of projects that did not meet their deadline can be found in Reference Item 6.3. Electronic Item 6.4 contains correspondence to/from the implementing agencies regarding the impacted projects.
2017-2018- CMAQ/STBG Funding Program: Strategic Partnerships Round 3, Intersection Improvements, and MTP Policy Bundle TDC Program Presenter: Christie Gotti, NCTCOG Item Summary: Staff will brief the Council on the proposed projects to be funded under the Strategic Partnerships Round 3, Intersection Improvements, and Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP) Policy Bundle Transportation Development Credits (TDC) Program in the 2017-2018 Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program (CMAQ)/Surface Transportation Block Grant Program (STBG) Funding Program. Background: Over the past several months, staff received requests for funding from agencies around the region. These requests were split into three categories. The first is Strategic Partnerships, which is comprised of projects that are leveraging non-Regional Transportation Council funds. The second category is Intersection Improvements. Finally, there is a category for project requests from agencies that were awarded TDCs via the MTP Policy Bundle initiative. The projects were broken down by project type (e.g., roadways, intersections, bicycle/pedestrian, etc.) and evaluated by North Central Texas Council of Governments staff on technical merit. Electronic Item 7.1 contains the list of projects, organized by project type, with a staff funding recommendation as well as information on the scoring criteria. Additional details on the funding program can be found in Electronic Item 7.2.
Legislative Update and Regional Transportation Council Legislation and Finance Partnership Subcommittee Follow-up Presenter: Jungus Jordan, Chair, Legislation and Finance Partnership Subcommittee and Amanda Wilson, NCTCOG Item Summary: Staff will provide a recap of the Regional Transportation Council (RTC) Legislation and Finance Partnership Subcommittee meeting. In addition, an update on federal and State legislative actions related to transportation and air quality issues affecting the Dallas-Fort Worth area will be presented. Background: Transportation issues continue to be a focus for both the United States (US) Congress and the Texas Legislature. The Texas Legislature is not in session but continues to hold hearings on interim committee charges. The 86th Texas Legislature will convene on January 8, 2019. The 2nd session of the 115th US Congress convened on January 3, 2018, and the 1st session of the 116th US Congress will convene in January 2019. The RTC Legislation and Finance Partnership Subcommittee will meet prior to the RTC meeting. RTC members will review draft federal and State legislative programs in advance of the upcoming legislative session and prior to the introduction of a new federal transportation authorization. Electronic Item 8.1 contains the draft RTC Legislative Program for the 86th Texas Legislature. Electronic Item 8.2 contains the draft 2019 RTC Principles for the Federal Surface Transportation Authorization.
Regional 511 Program Presenter: Natalie Bettger, NCTCOG Item Summary: Staff will brief the Regional Transportation Council on the enhancements that have been made to the 511DFW Traveler Information System. Background: The 511DFW Traveler Information System was developed as a component of the Dallas Integrated Corridor Management (ICM) project, which was an initiative funded by United States (US) Department of Transportation to help advance the state of the practice in transportation operations and manage congestion in urban areas. Dallas Area Rapid Transit is a founding member of this initiative. The 511DFW system provides travel time and speeds, transit trip planning, and road condition information accessible by web, telephone, and mobile apps for iPhone and Android, in addition to basic weather information for the Dallas-Fort Worth region. The 511DFW system was recently enhanced to improve the functionality of each of the components, including providing a Spanish language version of each, sharing Waze data, and providing a format for agency data sharing and performance measure evaluation. Additional information can be found in Electronic Item 9.
Follow Up with the Federal Highway Administration Meeting on US 75 Technology Lanes Presenter: Michael Morris, NCTCOG Item Summary: Staff will highlight results from a meeting with representatives from the Federal Highway Administration in Washington, DC, on several options to implement improvements from US 75 to Sam Rayburn Tollway/SH 121. Background: The Regional Transportation Council funded improvements for technology lanes on US 75. SH 121 in the Fort Worth District is the second application of this technology. US 75 is the third application of this technology within the region. The Texas Department of Transportation is completing the design of this facility using State funds. A status report will be presented.
Fort Worth to Dallas Core Express Service Initiative Update Presenter: Michael Morris, NCTCOG Item Summary: Staff will provide an update regarding recent efforts for the Fort Worth to Dallas Core Express Service high-speed passenger service. William Meadows, Chair of the Commission for High-Speed Rail in Dallas/ Fort Worth, and Michael Morris met with the Federal Railroad Administration in Washington, DC. Background: The Regional Transportation Council (RTC) has adopted regional policies guiding the development of high-speed passenger service implementation within the Dallas-Fort Worth region. North Central Texas Council of Governments staff continues to coordinate with project partners to ensure the efforts are consistent with the adopted RTC high-speed passenger service policies and with all transportation partners, consultants, and the public to ensure successful high-speed passenger service implementation. This item will include: • results of federal initiatives • Hyperloop technology potential • amended agreement with Texas Central Railway • development of a scope of services for an environmental analysis within the corridor
Approval of October 11, 2018, Minutes Presenter: Gary Fickes, RTC Chair Item Summary: Approval of the October 11, 2018, minutes contained in Reference Item 1 will be requested. Background: N/A
2.1. Clean Fleets North Texas 2018 Call for Projects Funding Recommendation Presenter: Lori Clark, NCTCOG Item Summary: Staff will request approval of funding recommendations for an additional application received under the Clean Fleets North Texas 2018 Call for Projects (CFP). Background: The North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) opened the Clean Fleets North Texas 2018 CFP to award grant funds for diesel vehicle or equipment replacement projects in North Central Texas. Applications are accepted on a modified first-come, first-served basis with monthly application deadlines. Staff completed review and emissions quantification of one additional application received since the last Council approval and recommends funding for this project. This CFP is funded through the Environmental Protection Agency’s National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Supplemental Environmental Project. This initiative is an extension of clean vehicle efforts listed as weight-of-evidence in the Dallas-Fort Worth 2016 Eight-Hour Attainment Demonstration State Implementation Plan. Electronic Item 2.1.1 provides an overview of the call for projects. Electronic Item 2.1.2 provides additional detail on recommended projects. 2.2. Federal Transit Administration’s Access and Mobility Partnership Grant Opportunity Presenter: Shannon Stevenson, NCTCOG Item Summary: Staff will request Regional Transportation Council approval to submit an application to the Access and Mobility Partnership Grant for Innovative Coordinated Access and Mobility Pilot Program. Funding from this grant opportunity will address goals outlined in Access North Texas and help improve regional mobility management in North Central Texas. Background: In September 2018, the Federal Transit Administration announced the 2018 Access and Mobility Partnership Grant. The Notice of Funding Opportunity indicated availability of funding for the Innovative Coordinated Access and Mobility Pilot Program under the Access and Mobility Partnership Grant. Staff requests authorization to submit a grant application that will create a regional mobility management program to improve the coordination of transportation services and non-emergency medical transportation services. Leveraging healthcare and transportation-focused partnerships in the 16-County region, the grant will support new and current mobility management efforts to identify and address specific populations that lack transportation to wellness resources. This effort will support Access North Texas goals as well. Applications are due November 13, 2018. The total grant budget will not exceed $750,000 including local match to be provided using Regional Toll Revenue funds previously allocated by the Regional Transportation Council for transit projects and in-kind match. More information can be found in Electronic Item 2.2. 2.3. High-Speed Rail Study from Fort Worth to Laredo: Regional Transportation Council Local Funds Presenter: Michael Morris, NCTCOG Item Summary: Staff will request a funding swap for high-speed rail initiatives on the Fort Worth-Laredo project. Background: Currently, North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) staff is coordinating with other metropolitan planning organizations (MPO) along a proposed high-speed rail corridor from Fort Worth to Waco, Temple-Killeen, Austin, San Antonio, Laredo and beyond to analyze mode and alignment opportunities for the corridor. The Regional Transportation Council (RTC) previously approved $300,000 in Surface Transportation Block Grant Program funds and $200,000 in local funds from partnering MPOs for the conceptual feasibility study for high-speed passenger rail technology between Fort Worth and Laredo. At this time, staff proposes to instead fund the conceptual study with $500,000 in RTC local funds with the Alamo Area MPO in San Antonio providing $200,000 in Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program funds to NCTCOG as part of the partnership. 2.4. Transportation Department Low-Emissions Vehicle Presenter: Jason Brown, NCTCOG Item Summary: A recommendation for Regional Transportation Council (RTC) approval of $12,000 in RTC local funds for the Transportation Department’s low-emissions vehicle toward lease payments and operational costs is requested. Direction for staff to also amend the Transportation Improvement Program and other administrative/planning documents, as appropriate, to reflect the approved funding is included in this action. Background: The North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) leased a 2017 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid in January 2017 for performing site visits, attending outreach events, and other business uses. This request for funding will continue the lease payments and operational costs necessary through the term of the lease, ending in January 2020.
Orientation to Agenda/Director of Transportation Report Presenter: Michael Morris, NCTCOG 1. Recognition of Members Concluding Service on the Regional Transportation Council (RTC): Mike Cantrell, Commissioner, Dallas County 2. Progress North Texas 2018 Receives MarCom Platinum Award for Graphic Design 3. Air North Texas Partners Awards (Whitney Vandiver) 4. Regional Transportation Council (RTC) Member Representation at Events • Texas Mobility Summit: Mohamed Bur, Rickey D. Callahan, Gary Fickes, Jim Griffin, Jungus Jordan, Stan Pickett, T. Oscar Trevino Jr., B. Glen Whitley, Kathryn Wilemon, and W. Jeff Williams 5. Air Quality Funding Opportunities for Vehicles www.nctcog.org/trans/quality/air/funding-and-resources/fundingvehicle 6. Ozone Season Update (Electronic Item 3.1) 7. East/West Equity Update (Electronic Item 3.2) 8. Mobility Matters (Handout) 9. October Public Meeting Minutes (Electronic Item 3.3) 10. November Public Meeting Notice (Electronic Item 3.4) 11. Public Comments Report (Electronic Item 3.5) 12. Recent Correspondence (Electronic Item 3.6) 13. Recent News Articles (Electronic Item 3.7) 14. Recent Press Releases (Electronic Item 3.8) 15. Transportation Partners Progress Reports
Performance Measures Target Setting Presenter: Dan Lamers, NCTCOG Item Summary: Staff will request action for approval of proposed regional targets for federally required performance measures. The targets are set in cooperation and coordination with the Texas Department of Transportation. Background: In December 2015, the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act was signed into law. The FAST Act requires certain performance measures be included in the long-range metropolitan transportation planning process. These measures were established by a series of four rulemakings: Safety, Infrastructure Condition, System Performance/Freight/Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality, and Transit Asset Management. Previously, the Regional Transportation Council (RTC) adopted targets for the Transit Asset Management and Safety performance measures. Each performance measure rulemaking consists of several specific performance measures. Targets for these required specific performance measures must be adopted by the RTC by November 15, 2018. Proposed targets will be presented for the Infrastructure Condition and System Performance/Freight/Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality required measures. Electronic Item 4.1 shows the proposed policy actions and targets for adoption. Electronic Item 4.2 is a copy of a letter from the Texas Department of Transportation concurring with this region’s recommendation for the non-single occupancy vehicle target for the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Draft performance measure recommendations were presented to RTC members on October 11, 2018, and the Surface Transportation Technical Committee recommended RTC adoption of the proposed targets at its October meeting.
Public Participation Plan Update Presenter: Amanda Wilson, NCTCOG Item Summary: Staff will request Regional Transportation Council (RTC) approval of an update to the Public Participation Plan, which is necessary to reflect Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act requirements and innovation in public input opportunities. Background: The current Public Participation Plan, provided in Electronic Item 5.1, was approved by the RTC in February 2015. In accordance with federal law, the Public Participation Plan defines public involvement procedures and comment periods, outlines strategies to inform the public, and describes measures to include diverse voices in the transportation and air quality planning process. The Language Assistance Plan is included as an appendix. Updates are necessary to address FAST Act stakeholder requirements, changing demographics, and the increasing role of technology in public input opportunities. A 45-day comment period on an updated Public Participation Plan and Language Assistance Plan, provided in Electronic Item 5.2, ended October 24. A presentation containing additional information on the proposed revisions is included as Electronic Item 5.3.
2018 Metropolitan Planning Organization Milestone Policy Update Presenter: Christie Gotti, NCTCOG Item Summary: Staff will provide the Council with an update on the projects that are part of the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Milestone Policy list. Regional Transportation Council (RTC) approval of the proposed recommendation will be requested. Background: In June 2015, the MPO Milestone Policy was approved by the RTC. This policy affects projects that had been funded ten or more years prior to the time of the policy approval, but that had not proceeded to construction. Projects were evaluated to determine whether there was still local support for the project, a realistic implementation schedule was provided by each local agency, and local matching funds were available. In April 2016, the RTC approved the MPO Milestone Policy and project list. The list contained the recommendations for each project based on the information received from implementing agencies. The RTC also approved a policy to give agencies one additional fiscal year from their proposed start or let date of the project to begin construction. If construction does not begin by that deadline, funding is to be removed from the project. Since that time, staff has been coordinating with agencies to ensure that project implementation is continuing to progress in a timely manner. Letters were sent to all agencies with a project on the Milestone Policy list in December 2016 reminding them of the deadlines for each project, and agencies were reminded again during development of the 2019-2022 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). Staff recommends that the RTC consider a new option for the five remaining projects. Letters have been sent to the affected agencies detailing the plan of action for each project. Details on the Milestone Policy and the new option can be found in Electronic Item 6.1. The updated Milestone Policy Project list containing the status of all projects can be found in Electronic Item 6.2. The list of projects that did not meet their deadline can be found in Reference Item 6.3. Electronic Item 6.4 contains correspondence to/from the implementing agencies regarding the impacted projects.
2017-2018- CMAQ/STBG Funding Program: Strategic Partnerships Round 3, Intersection Improvements, and MTP Policy Bundle TDC Program Presenter: Christie Gotti, NCTCOG Item Summary: Staff will brief the Council on the proposed projects to be funded under the Strategic Partnerships Round 3, Intersection Improvements, and Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP) Policy Bundle Transportation Development Credits (TDC) Program in the 2017-2018 Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program (CMAQ)/Surface Transportation Block Grant Program (STBG) Funding Program. Background: Over the past several months, staff received requests for funding from agencies around the region. These requests were split into three categories. The first is Strategic Partnerships, which is comprised of projects that are leveraging non-Regional Transportation Council funds. The second category is Intersection Improvements. Finally, there is a category for project requests from agencies that were awarded TDCs via the MTP Policy Bundle initiative. The projects were broken down by project type (e.g., roadways, intersections, bicycle/pedestrian, etc.) and evaluated by North Central Texas Council of Governments staff on technical merit. Electronic Item 7.1 contains the list of projects, organized by project type, with a staff funding recommendation as well as information on the scoring criteria. Additional details on the funding program can be found in Electronic Item 7.2.
Legislative Update and Regional Transportation Council Legislation and Finance Partnership Subcommittee Follow-up Presenter: Jungus Jordan, Chair, Legislation and Finance Partnership Subcommittee and Amanda Wilson, NCTCOG Item Summary: Staff will provide a recap of the Regional Transportation Council (RTC) Legislation and Finance Partnership Subcommittee meeting. In addition, an update on federal and State legislative actions related to transportation and air quality issues affecting the Dallas-Fort Worth area will be presented. Background: Transportation issues continue to be a focus for both the United States (US) Congress and the Texas Legislature. The Texas Legislature is not in session but continues to hold hearings on interim committee charges. The 86th Texas Legislature will convene on January 8, 2019. The 2nd session of the 115th US Congress convened on January 3, 2018, and the 1st session of the 116th US Congress will convene in January 2019. The RTC Legislation and Finance Partnership Subcommittee will meet prior to the RTC meeting. RTC members will review draft federal and State legislative programs in advance of the upcoming legislative session and prior to the introduction of a new federal transportation authorization. Electronic Item 8.1 contains the draft RTC Legislative Program for the 86th Texas Legislature. Electronic Item 8.2 contains the draft 2019 RTC Principles for the Federal Surface Transportation Authorization.
Regional 511 Program Presenter: Natalie Bettger, NCTCOG Item Summary: Staff will brief the Regional Transportation Council on the enhancements that have been made to the 511DFW Traveler Information System. Background: The 511DFW Traveler Information System was developed as a component of the Dallas Integrated Corridor Management (ICM) project, which was an initiative funded by United States (US) Department of Transportation to help advance the state of the practice in transportation operations and manage congestion in urban areas. Dallas Area Rapid Transit is a founding member of this initiative. The 511DFW system provides travel time and speeds, transit trip planning, and road condition information accessible by web, telephone, and mobile apps for iPhone and Android, in addition to basic weather information for the Dallas-Fort Worth region. The 511DFW system was recently enhanced to improve the functionality of each of the components, including providing a Spanish language version of each, sharing Waze data, and providing a format for agency data sharing and performance measure evaluation. Additional information can be found in Electronic Item 9.
Follow Up with the Federal Highway Administration Meeting on US 75 Technology Lanes Presenter: Michael Morris, NCTCOG Item Summary: Staff will highlight results from a meeting with representatives from the Federal Highway Administration in Washington, DC, on several options to implement improvements from US 75 to Sam Rayburn Tollway/SH 121. Background: The Regional Transportation Council funded improvements for technology lanes on US 75. SH 121 in the Fort Worth District is the second application of this technology. US 75 is the third application of this technology within the region. The Texas Department of Transportation is completing the design of this facility using State funds. A status report will be presented.
Fort Worth to Dallas Core Express Service Initiative Update Presenter: Michael Morris, NCTCOG Item Summary: Staff will provide an update regarding recent efforts for the Fort Worth to Dallas Core Express Service high-speed passenger service. William Meadows, Chair of the Commission for High-Speed Rail in Dallas/ Fort Worth, and Michael Morris met with the Federal Railroad Administration in Washington, DC. Background: The Regional Transportation Council (RTC) has adopted regional policies guiding the development of high-speed passenger service implementation within the Dallas-Fort Worth region. North Central Texas Council of Governments staff continues to coordinate with project partners to ensure the efforts are consistent with the adopted RTC high-speed passenger service policies and with all transportation partners, consultants, and the public to ensure successful high-speed passenger service implementation. This item will include: • results of federal initiatives • Hyperloop technology potential • amended agreement with Texas Central Railway • development of a scope of services for an environmental analysis within the corridor