The Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation had a full agenda this morning, taking action on five pieces of legislation headed for the Metro Council on July 17. With few changes, the committee recommended all five plans, programs and assessments for council adoption.
2014 Regional Transportation Plan
The 2014 Regional Transportation Plan update builds on the adopted transportation plans of cities and counties across the region to create a list of long-term priority projects. This year’s limited update will act as a springboard for more discussion for changes in the 2018 RTP update, which will reexamine regional transportation policies as well as the list of priorities.
The Metro Council had discussed earlier this week whether language should be added that would create a spacing standard for pedestrian crossings on all major arterials. The committee was unwilling to make the change without more deliberation, choosing more general language that calls for “safe crossings of streets and controlled pedestrian crossings on major arterials.” This recommendation does not change the existing RTP policy that calls for major arterials that act as transit corridors to have safe pedestrian crossings at no more than 530 feet.
2015-18 Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program
The Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program is the federally required documentation of transportation investments scheduled for the Portland metropolitan over the next four years, including projects planned by TriMet, the Oregon Department of Transportation and local agencies receiving federal funds allocated by Metro.
The Regional Active Transportation Plan
The plan identifies a vision, policies and actions to complete a seamless green network of on- and off-street pathways and districts connecting the region and integrating walking, biking and public transit. The Regional Active Transportation Plan includes new updated pedestrian and bicycle network vision maps, network concepts and functional classifications and policy recommendations.
Air Quality Conformity Analysis
Federal and state regulations require that the region assess the air quality consequences of proposed transportation improvements in the short-term (as demonstrated in the MTIP) and the long-term (under the RTP). The analysis shows the region meeting Clean Air Act standards for the carbon monoxide emissions from surface transportation.
Civil Rights Assessment
Metro must assess whether transportation investments under the MTIP and RTP discriminate against communities of color, low-income communities and communities of people with limited English proficiency. The assessment determines that the region will be investing at a higher rate in these communities compared to the regional rate, but recommends further actions to coordinate efforts under Metro’s Equity Strategy to these programs.