November 6, 2019
-
Approved Minutes
November 6, 2019
-
Approved Minutes
Welcome
Stride Forward is building off the research, policies, and projects of the preceding Blueprint 2040. Stride Forward must identify how the metropolitan area will develop and operate a multi-modal transportation system over the next 20-25 years. It will address the 2018 transportation funding propositions, the City of Flagstaff climate emergency and Carbon Neutrality Plan, and respond to housing affordability and equity.
Multi-modal investments include:
Transit
Highway
Roadway
Bicycle
Pedestrian
Accessible transportation
Onward: Examining the effects of existing plans for where growth should go and what transportation system we’ll build (bikes, buses, roads, and trails). How well we get around, treat our neighbors, treat the planet. All within the funding limits we currently expect.
Upward: A different plan for growth and transportation that allows shorter trips, better enables trips by biking, walking and bus, and provides the information and incentives we need to find trip choices healthier for us and the planet. Just how different is the path that enables the region to better thrive environmentally, economically and socially?
Onward and Upward Concepts
MetroPlan will share two (2) concepts for your consideration, Onward and Upward, and evaluate them against new policies and perspectives brought by our changing world like climate action, social justice and equity, even the nature of our daily work lives. Will we face these new realities by moving “Onward”, a concept that stays the course on current land use and transportation plans, or venture “Upward” to meet these challenges in new ways? What we learn together will chart our new course to the future.
Stride Forward will clearly communicate to decision-makers and the public the effectiveness of various transportation design strategies in meeting mobility, accessibility, and climate action goals. It will serve as a policy document and identify what is needed to achieve Flagstaff climate goals and report on public attitudes toward those needed projects and programs.
Moving Forward
Stride Forward has seven (7) distinct milestones to be completed by MetroPlan staff and their consultant
Burgess & Niple.
Milestone 1: Project administration which includes updates to the MetroPlan Board and Committees.
Milestone 2: Socioeconomic and transportation conditions and trends, research into effects of travel demand management and new technologies, and how Covid-19 may influence the number of daily trips we make.
Milestone 3: Update and validate the transportation model to 2019. Results from this model will be a base of comparison to modeled projections from the “Onward” and “Upward” scenarios.
Milestone 4: Project 2045 costs and performance measures based on the “Onward” and “Upward” scenarios.
Milestone 5: Provide a robust public engagement experience for all community members.
Get involved now!
Milestone 6: Produce regional transportation policy directing investments and strategies.
Milestone 7: Using an Equity Analysis to evaluate how “Onward” and “Upward” affect the ability of low-income, minorities, the elderly, and other vulnerable communities’ access vital goods and services.
Background and History
What is MetroPlan? MetroPlan is our region’s transportation planning agency. We’re made up of partners from across Northern Arizona who work alongside residents to create the finest transportation system in the country. MetroPlan is a federally mandated and funded transportation policy-making and planning organization.
As a local decision-making body, MetroPlan is responsible for carrying out the transportation planning process with our planning partners. Many of these partners appoint staff and elected officials to sit on the various MetroPlan committees which provide valuable feedback and direction on current and future transportation investments.
This includes;
Executive Board - responsible for all actions, agreements, and functions to be carried out by MetroPlan.
Management Committee - advises MetroPlan's Executive Director and the Executive Board. With an emphasis on the policy direction of members’ respective jurisdictions.
Technical Advisory Committee – responsible for reviewing, studying, analyzing, and making recommendations to the MetroPlan Executive Board and staff.
MetroPlan not only works with a variety of regional partners and organizations but also relies on Flagstaff residents to help plan, prioritize, and fund future investments in transportation. Get involved now!
Federal Mandate
In accordance with 49 United States Code (USC) 5303(i), each metropolitan planning organization (MPO) must prepare a Regional Transportation Plan (RTP), such as Stride Forward, to accomplish the objectives outlined by MetroPlan, the state, and the public transportation providers with respect to the development of the metropolitan area's transportation network.
The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) recognizes MetroPlan for the purposes of disseminating federal transportation funds for the planning and construction of highways, public transit, and other travel and freight modes.
Looking Back
The 2017 update to the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP), Blueprint 2040, identified $250 Million in projects and resulted in 3 ballot initiatives being sent to voters in 2018: Prop 419 for general transportation, Prop 420 for a Lone Tree railroad overpass, and Prop 421 for transit service improvements. Voters approved all but the transit funding. As a result of these decisions, MetroPlan: Stride Forward, maybe as much about “how” as “what”. In other words, the region is clear on the projects that need to be completed and has a commitment to voters to deliver. However, the design, relative modal emphasis of the projects, and program schedule need further exploration in light of recent policy developments.
