Latest news with #TransportationImprovementPlan
Yahoo
23-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
MACOG project list open for review
ELKHART — Public feedback is being gathered on two long-range plans that guide tens of millions of dollars of transportation spending in four counties. The review and comment period for both the 2025-2029 Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy and the 2026-2030 Transportation Improvement Plan runs from now to April 4. Both plans are developed by the Michiana Area Council of Governments to meet federal requirements and help guide spending. 'The first one, the (CEDS), outlines different strategies and efforts and goals and plans, etc., so that we can access funding from the U.S. Economic Development Administration,' said MACOG Director James Turnwald. 'The (TIP) outlines how federal transportation dollars will be spent in this region and allows us to access those. Both of these are foundational documents that are required under federal law that allow our region to access different types of federal funds.' An open house to gather input on the 2029 CEDS and the 2030 TIP is set for Monday from 3 to 4:40 p.m. at the Greater Elkhart Chamber. A second open house will be April 2 from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the St. Joseph County Public Library, Community Learning Center Classroom D. Drafts of both plans can be viewed at The TIP provides information on the schedule of multimodal transportation projects that are federally funded or deemed significant to the MACOG region. The list of projects is developed in cooperation with the Indiana Department of Transportation, regional transit providers, member jurisdictions and the public. Projects in Elkhart County listed in the TIP range from countywide bridge inspection programs at a cost of more than $500,000 apiece to the reconstruction of C.R. 17 between C.R. 38 and C.R. 142, at an estimated total cost of $42.5 million. The list also covers expenses including replacement bus purchases, road and sidewalk repair and bridge replacements. The TIP must be cooperatively developed every two years and must be compatible with the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program, according to information from MACOG. The program must be fiscally constrained, meaning only the amount of funding that can be reasonably anticipated is programmed and relates to the Michiana on the Move: 2050 Transportation Plan. The CEDS serves as a five-year plan which analyzes regional assets and challenges, forms a shared vision for economic prosperity and details strategies to achieve regional goals, according to information from MACOG. Strategies focus on areas such as fostering higher education and community partnerships, improving access and connectivity, which includes infrastructure and broadband, and cultivating communities that are characterized by economic vitality and quality of life. The plan looks at population growth, employment, housing, education attainment and other factors. Regular performance reports track and record progress toward achieving CEDS objectives.
Yahoo
23-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Status of 2024 earmarks uncertain
Mar. 22—MORGANTOWN — The continuing resolution signed into law this past week averted a government shutdown, but may have closed the door on a number of projects across West Virginia. As previously reported, the temporary spending plan did not include any fiscal year 2025 congressionally directed spending, or earmarks, totaling hundreds of millions of dollars across the Mountain State. Now, local officials are questioning the status of yet-to-be-received funds awarded as congressionally directed spending from FY 2024. The Dominion Post reached out to WVU after the university made an emergency request to the Morgantown Monongalia Metropolitan Planning Organization to amend its Transportation Improvement Plan to reflect a change in funding for upcoming improvements to the university's Personal Rapid Transit system. The university had been awarded $6.4 million in congressionally directed spending in the FY 2024 appropriations cycle for the work. The funds were to be used as part of a multi-year overhaul of the transit system, including aesthetic and infrastructural updates to stations, platforms, staircases, elevators and guideway components. "Currently, a lot of those grants are frozen, including this PRT grant, " MPO Executive Director Bill Austin said. "WVU would like to continue with that work. That's about $3 million worth of work they were hoping to get done this summer. So, working with the [Federal Transportation Administration ] they figured a way to shift some funds around from the next fiscal year so they could accommodate that work." But that was just one of many FY 2024 earmarks anticipated by WVU, the city of Morgantown and other local agencies that have yet to materialize. WVU Executive Director of Communications April Kaull said the university is working with Sen. Shelley Moore Capito's office "to better understand the potential impacts and are hopeful that funding will be available for important university and related projects and initiatives." Morgantown City Councilor Danielle Trumble was part of the Morgantown delegation that traveled to Washington D.C. earlier this month for the National League of Cities Congressional City Conference. Trumble, who met with Capito while in D.C., said she was surprised to learn the 2025 congressionally directed spending was being eliminated. When asked about the 2024 funding, Trumble said she left the conference concerned about any federal funding that's been announced but not received. "I think that it's not automatically gone like fiscal year 25, but other grants that the city has been awarded seem to be frozen, and I think we should be moving forward with the assumption that they are not guaranteed any longer, " she said. "The fiscal year 25 congressionally directed spending is certainly gone now, but I'm concerned about any other money that we don't already have in hand. I think the freeze is affecting a lot more than fiscal year 2025, and even more than just earmarks." Capito's office previously told The Dominion Post the continuing resolution only eliminated the 2025 congressionally directed spending requests. "Senator Capito understands the frustration, and she shares in that frustration, but remains committed to supporting initiatives that benefit West Virginia, " Capito Communications Director Kelley Moore said.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
JATSO seeks public input — Unfunded Needs Survey
JOPLIN, Mo. — The public is asked to help shape future transportation improvement plans in Joplin. In an effort to improve safety for all users, the Joplin Area Transportation Study Organization, or JATSO, is conducting a survey to help guide the FY2026-2029 Transportation Improvement Plan, or 'TIP'. The survey will help identify areas in town where it may be difficult to ride a bicycle. The survey gives pedestrians a way to identify areas where it's unsafe to walk or cross the street. Motorists can also point to dangerous or crowded intersections. Those interested in Joplin public transportation but can't utilize it for various issues can share what would entice them to ride the Trolley more often. JATSO doesn't just include Joplin. The planning area includes Joplin, Carl Junction, Webb City, Oronogo, Duenweg, Duquesne, and Newton County. The survey will assist in creating area projects, and budgeting them. Those interested in taking the transportation survey can do so, here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Phillips named new regional planning executive director
Feb. 24—LIMA — The work of the Lima/Allen County Regional Planning Commission can often go unnoticed by the public, but for Rebecca Phillips, the commission's new executive director, the work is well worth the effort. After 17 months as the commission's finance director, Phillips was voted into her new role Thursday by the RPC executive committee. Phillips, an Allen County native currently living in the Allen East area, is succeeding former executive director Tara Reynolds-Bales, who resigned in September. Prior to her employment at the RPC, Phillips worked as the fiscal officer for Bath Township as well as in financial aid roles for Rhodes State College and the University of Northwestern Ohio. "I'm excited," she said. "I was the finance director, so I think that gives me a good foundation to move up into this role. I've done a little bit as far as some of the strategic planning for our agency and our work plan, which is what we plan to do for the upcoming year. I've been involved a lot in that, but this will really expand on that." Phillips wants to build on the work of her predecessors in building positive relationships with area civic officials, both in townships and in villages and cities. These connections are important, she said, since the RPC is a valuable resource for creating solutions for officials on improving a wide variety of civic planning issues, from improving roadways and traffic flow to addressing zoning and property issues to locating funding sources for potential improvement and safety projects. "There is a wide range of needs out there that we have from our members," she said. "It's about getting to know them and getting to know what those needs are and how we can best serve them in their needs with planning and transportation dollars." The RPC is also the administrator for the West Central Ohio Rural Planning Organization, which is addressing transportation issues in rural areas over a seven-county area surrounding Allen County. Phillips also hopes to get the public more engaged in the planning process for the various projects and studies the RPC oversees, encouraging public comment during a project's formation. "We have open houses, and all of our meetings are public, and we publish them on our website," she said. "My hope is in strengthening those relationships, attending those council meetings, being involved with the (Lima/Allen County) Chamber and networking with some of those people there, putting ourselves out there and letting people know what we do." An open house event on the commission's 2026-2029 Transportation Improvement Plan will be held from 2 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 1 at the Allen County RTA, 200 E. High St., Lima. For more information on the Lima/Allen County Regional Planning Commission, visit Featured Local Savings
