I. INTRODUCTION
All urbanized areas of more than 50,000 in population are required to designate a Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) to carry out the continuing, cooperative and comprehensive (3-C) transportation planning process. The Lawrence - Douglas County Metropolitan Planning Organization (L-DC MPO) was designated by the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) Secretary on behalf of the Governor as the MPO for the Lawrence - Douglas County Metropolitan Planning Area on December 8, 2008. Previous to that designation the Lawrence Douglas County Metropolitan Planning Commission served as the MPO since October 1982.
Among the MPO's responsibilities is the development and maintenance of a Transportation
Improvement Program (TIP). The TIP is a multi-year listing of federally funded and/or
regionally significant projects selected to improve the transportation network for the Lawrence
- Douglas County Metropolitan Planning Area (MPA). That MPA is all of Douglas County
including the four cities in the county (Baldwin City, Eudora, Lawrence, and Lecompton). The
TIP discusses multi-modal transportation system development which focuses not only on roads
and motor vehicle travel but also on transit, bicycle, and pedestrian related improvements.
Projects listed in this TIP are designed to implement the region’s Metropolitan Transportation
Plan (MTP). This TIP and the projects listed in it are also designed to be consistent with the
region's Comprehensive Plans, urban development objectives, and social, economic, and
environmental goals and plans. This TIP document identifies projects to be implemented over
the next five years in accordance with funding allocations and the region’s project selection
criteria.
Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU)
On August 10, 2005 President Bush signed a new federal surface transportation bill into law. That new act called SAFETEA-LU kept intact many of the planning provisions of the previous Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) programs including the planning factors discussed below with one addition. Under TEA-21 safety and security were combined under a single factor. With SAFETEA-LU the security factor was separated out to add emphasis to transport system security. In addition to that security change, SAFETEA-LU also impacted MPO operations by placing greater emphasis on safety, including a new Safe Routes To School Program. SAFETEA-LU also included greater emphasis on environmental mitigation and consultation with interested parties in the planning process.
SAFETEA-LU Transportation Planning Factors
In 2005 SAFETEA-LU was passed into law, and on February 14, 2007 new planning regulations to implement that law were published by the FHWA and the FTA. SAFETEA-LU includes eight planning factors for each MPO to consider in their planning process (including TIP development) and in the creation/update of their Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP - until recently called the Long Range Transportation Plan). During the course of TIP development the MPO staff and others will review projects submitted for TIP listing to see that they address one or more of these eight basic federal planning factors listed below.
- 1. Support the economic vitality of the metropolitan area, especially by enabling global
competitiveness, productivity, and efficiency
- 2. Increase the safety of the transportation system for motorized and non-motorized users
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