Roanoke Valley Area

METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION

Staffed by the

REGIONAL commission

MPO POLICY BOARD: Counties of Bedford, Botetourt, Montgomery and Roanoke; Cities of Roanoke and Salem; Town of Vinton; Federal Highway Administration; Federal Transit Administration; Greater Roanoke Transit Company (Valley Metro);

Roanoke Regional Airport Commission; Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission; Virginia Department of Rail & Public Transportation; Virginia Department of Transportation

roanokempo.org 313 Luck Avenue, SW | Roanoke, Virginia 24016 | P: 540.343.4417 | F: 540.343.4416

February 19, 2014

MEMORANDUM TO: Members, Transportation Technical Committee FROM: Mark McCaskill, AICP, Senior Planner SUBJ: Rescheduled February TTC Meeting Date & Time The rescheduled February meeting of the Transportation Technical Committee (TTC) will be held on Thursday, February 27, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. at the Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission office (Upstairs Conference Room), 313 Luck Avenue, SW in Roanoke, VA. (NOTE: The February 13 TTC Meeting was cancelled due to snow.)

A G E N D A

1. Welcome, Call to Order and Introductions .................................................................. Chairman Gray

2. Approval of January 9, 2014 TTC Minutes, pp. 3-6 .................................................... Chairman Gray 3. Update on the Regional Surface Transportation Program ....................................... Chairman Gray

(RSTP) Project Scenarios (Attachment #4)

4. FY 2015 Unified Planning Work Program Process Update ..................................... Mark McCaskill

5. Constrained Long-Range Transportation Plan 2040 Process Overview ............. Mark McCaskill

6. Traffic Analysis Zone (TAZ) Data Update ........................................................................... Matt Miller

7. Regional Pedestrian & Transit Vision Plans Development .......................................... Cristina Finch Draft Map of Regional Multimodal Districts & Centers (Attachment #1)

Public Survey Input on Pedestrian Plan (Attachment #2)

Draft Walkability Goals

Draft Maps of Existing & Recommended Pedestrian Accommodations

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TTC Agenda (Cont’d) Page -2

8. Other Business ................................................................................................................. Mark McCaskill Availability of Annual Listing of Transportation Project Obligations Report (Attachment #3)

2014 Dates of Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals (APBP) Webinars, p. 7

Preview of Transportation Alternatives (TA) Applications, pp. 8-9

9. Comments by Members and/or Citizens

10. Adjournment

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Roanoke Valley Area

METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION

Staffed by the

REGIONAL commission

MPO POLICY BOARD: Counties of Bedford, Botetourt, Montgomery and Roanoke; Cities of Roanoke and Salem; Town of Vinton; Federal Highway Administration; Federal Transit Administration; Greater Roanoke Transit Company (Valley Metro);

Roanoke Regional Airport Commission; Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission; Virginia Department of Rail & Public Transportation; Virginia Department of Transportation

roanokempo.org 313 Luck Avenue, SW | Roanoke, Virginia 24016 | P: 540.343.4417 | F: 540.343.4416

MINUTES

Transportation Technical Committee Meeting January 9, 2014

The January meeting of the Transportation Technical Committee was held on Thursday, January 9, 2014 at 1:30 p.m. at the Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission office, 313 Luck Avenue, SW, Roanoke, VA. Attendance was as follows: Member Representing Liz Belcher Roanoke Valley Greenway Commission Chris Chittum City of Roanoke Brian Epperley Roanoke County Michael Gray Virginia Department of Transportation – Salem District David Holladay Roanoke County Carol Linkenhoker Botetourt County Melinda Payne City of Salem

Kevin Price Valley Metro Michael Todd Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation

Ben Tripp City of Salem Gary Woodson Town of Vinton

Others Present: Carl Palmer, Greater Roanoke Transit Company (Valley Metro) Staff Present: Cristina Finch, Tyler Godsey, Bryan Hill, Mark McCaskill, Matt Miller, Jackie Pace, Eddie Wells

1. WELCOME, CALL TO ORDER, INTRODUCTIONS

Chairman Gray called the meeting to order at 1:30 p.m. A quorum was present.

2. APPROVAL OF DECEMBER 12, 2013 MINUTES

The Minutes of the December 12, 2013 TTC meeting were distributed earlier.

Technical Committee Action: Upon motion by Ms. Belcher, seconded by Mr. Chittum and carried, the December 12, 2013 Minutes were approved, as presented.

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3. QUARTERLY REPORTS ON REGIONAL SURFACE TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM (RSTP) PROJECTS

Chairman Gray distributed copies of a matrix showing the quarterly reporting status of the RSTP projects which were approved for funding by the MPO Policy Board in 2013. Chairman Gray noted that if there were no objections from the TTC, this would be the information that he would present to the MPO Policy Board at their January 23, 2014 meeting. Chairman Gray also stated that there is a need to come up with a process to make transfers of RSTP monies seamless. This would amount to a process of adjusting the current RSTP projects for small changes in project costs without going through the entire process of soliciting new RSTP projects. There was some discussion about distinguishing between an RSTP project and the UPC numbers used by VDOT in their accounting system. There may be situations in which one project gets divided into several UPC numbers for cash flow or accounting reasons. The TTC agreed with this situation as long as funds were not moved from one project to another and the “child” UPC numbers are traceable to their “parent” RSTP projects. Further discussion ensued in cases where funds are left over or otherwise not needed by a project. An example of this situation is the Elliston Intermodal Center Study which received State funding from the Office of Intermodal Planning and Investment (OIPI), and will not need the RSTP funds. For this to occur, a process will be needed in which the responsible party makes a request to the MPO to transfer the funds. VDOT and MPO staff are currently investigating whether the funds can be transferred to a holding (overage/underage) account in case other projects need additional funds or not. The current schedule for accepting new RSTP projects will begin in the summer of 2014 and the projects will be scored throughout the fall/winter of 2014, and approved by the Roanoke Valley Area MPO Policy Board in the spring of 2015.

Chairman Gray noted he would develop scenarios from the discussions at today’s meeting for distribution at next month’s TTC meeting.

4. REVIEW OF THE CONGESTION MANAGEMENT PROCESS (CMP) PLAN

Mark McCaskill noted that he had recently received additional written comments from Liz Belcher, and Roanoke County and Botetourt County representatives on the draft CMP Plan. Chairman Gray stated that the Federal Highway Administration would like to have action by the Roanoke Valley MPO Policy Board on a final document in January 2014. Transportation Technical Committee Action:

Upon motion by Ms. Belcher, seconded by Mr. Holladay and carried, it was moved that the TTC recommends forwarding the Congestion Management Process Plan, with the additional changes received, to the Roanoke Valley Area MPO Policy Board for review and approval at their January 23, 2014 meeting.

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5. DEVELOPMENT OF THE PEDESTRIAN AND TRANSIT VISION PLANS

Cristina Finch reported that after three months of being available, the public input survey is now closed and 471 responses were received. She reviewed general information about the people who responded (i.e., place of residence, place of work, vehicle ownership, age, and disability, etc.). TTC members were asked to review, prior to the meeting, shapefiles containing the draft regional multimodal districts and centers. The shapefiles reflected input provided at the last two meetings. Due to the lack of time, only a few draft multimodal district and center maps were reviewed and commented on at the meeting. Ms. Finch stated she would create individual maps and send to respective localities for further review and comment, or TTC members could contact her to come by the Commission office to view and comment.

6. OTHER BUSINESS

A. Amtrak “Roll On-Roll Off” Bicycle Service

Shane Sawyer noted that at a Regional Bicycle Advisory Committee Meeting, it was recommended that the issue of a roll on-roll off bicycle service on Amtrak trains be shared with the TTC. Shane distributed an excerpt from the November 20, 2013 Regional BAC Meeting Notes stating that efforts are underway to encourage roll on-roll off bicycle service on Amtrak trains. The BAC stated that currently in Virginia the only option to transport a bike on Amtrak is to box the bike and check it as baggage (adding around $50 to the price of a train ticket). There are only 6 (out of 20) Virginia Amtrak stations that have checked baggage service, making boxing not an option in the remaining 14 stations. The excerpt also noted that the Va. Bicycling Federation recently participated in a test of roll on-roll off service from Harper’s Ferry to DC’s Union Station. For details of the test, see www.vabike.org/bike-test-amtrak-capitol-limited. The excerpt also stated that the City of Richmond and Chesterfield County have passed resolutions supporting roll on-roll off bicycle service on Amtrak. Contact Shane Sawyer (ssawyer@rvarc.org) if you have further questions.

B. Initial Discussion of the FY 2015 Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP)

Mr. McCaskill reported that it is time to begin developing the next Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP). The “Have To” items, such as the Long-Range Transportation Plan, Congestion Management Process Plan Review, RSTP scoring and allocation, Transportation Improvement Program, Public Transportation Planning Assistance, etc., cover 60-75% of the total UPWP. Mark asked TTC members to inquire with their respective local government administrator/manager and planning staff about project ideas to include in the UPWP. A timetable was also provided in the agenda package. It is anticipated that a final UPWP will be forwarded to the Roanoke Valley Area MPO Policy Board at their April 2014 meeting.

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C. Other Comments

Mark McCaskill and Shane Sawyer reported that Barbara Duerk had asked them to convey to the TTC a recommendation to explore alternative connections to the planned Lick Run Greenway Bridge to be built over I-581 as a part of the Valley View Interchange Project.

The meeting was adjourned at 3:15 p.m.

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Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals (APBP) Professional Development Webinar Series

2014

The Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission will host the following webinars

from the 2014 APBP Professional Development Webinars Series. All webinars will be

held at the Regional Commission office, 313 Luck Ave., SW, Roanoke, VA (Top Floor

Conference Room) from 3:00 – 4:00 pm. Webinars are open to interested parties and

individuals and are offered free of charge. No RSVP is required. Most presentations

offer credit for professional certification. Visit www.apbp.org for additional

information.

March 19, 2014 All In: The Value of Investing in Complete & Green Streets

April 16, 2014 Public Health Benefits of Active Transportation

May 21, 2014 Best Planning and Engineering Practices for School Zones

June 18, 2014 Calming Arterial Streets for Safer Walking and Cycling

August 20, 2014 Transform Bicycling & Walking Outside the Urban Context

rvarc.org

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URBANIZED AREA MPO FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017 FY 2018 FY 2019 FY 2020 TOTAL

RICHMOND Richmond Federal 971,178 969,454 969,454 969,454 969,454 969,454 5,818,448

Tri-Cities Federal 151,571 151,302 151,302 151,302 151,302 151,302 908,081

VIRGINIA BEACH/HAMPTON ROADS Hampton Roads

Federal 1,695,112 1,692,102 1,692,102 1,692,102 1,692,102 1,692,102 10,155,622

ROANOKE Roanoke Federal 247,392 246,953 246,953 246,953 246,953 246,953 1,482,157

WASHINGTON DC Washington DC COG Federal 2,551,269 2,546,740 2,546,740 2,546,740 2,546,740 2,546,740 15,284,969

FAMPO Federal 81,336 81,192 81,192 81,192 81,192 81,192 487,296

TOTAL 5,697,858 5,687,743 5,687,743 5,687,743 5,687,743 5,687,743 34,136,573

TRANSPORTATION ALTERNATIVES PROGRAM FUNDSFY 2015 - FY 2020 PRELIMINARY ALLOCATIONS

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2014 Transportation Alternatives Project Requests

14-Feb-14 TMA Area Roanoke

New Projects

Project

Number: 14004

Name: Garden City Boulevard Bicycle/Pedestrian Connection

Sponsor: City of Roanoke

Project Cost: $1,000,000

Current Request: $800,000

Description: Construction of a Shared Use Trail on Garden City Boulevard from Davenport Avenue/Ivywood Street to Riverland Road.

Remarks: SRTS applicant

Total EN Funds

Anticipated:$800,000

District Salem

average score: 231

Project

Number: 14006

Name: ADA Bus Access Facilities

Sponsor: City of Roanoke

Project Cost: $200,000

Current Request: $160,000

Description: Construction of ADA compliant curb ramps, ADA bus shelters, benches, and ADA compliant landing pads at bus stops.

Remarks:

Total EN Funds

Anticipated: $160,000

District Salem

average score: 201

Project

Number: 14051

Name: Hanging Rock Battlefield Trail

Sponsor: City of Salem

Project Cost: $900,000

Current Request: $720,000

Description: Construction of an segment of the Hanging Rock Trail from the South Trailhead near Branch Drive to East Main Street.

Remarks:

Total EN Funds

Anticipated: $720,000

District Salem

average score: 219

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