Chattanooga-Hamilton County/N. GA Transportation Planning Organization

2040 Regional Transportation Plan

Leadership SymposiumMarch 13, 2013

TPO Structure & Plan Requirement

Chattanooga-Hamilton County/North Georgia Transportation Planning Organization (TPO)

-29 member regional policy board (19 governments)

- staffed by the Regional Planning Agency

- new plan every four years with 20+ year horizon

- federally funded planning and implementation

- legislative requirements including air quality standards

TPO Planning Area

Public Outreach

26 events/activities:

89 @ 1st Leadership Symposium

113 @ committee meetings

25 @ stakeholder discussion groups

76 @ topic-based workshops (climate change, transit, and call for projects)

58 @ public workshops

+ 451 @ questionnaire

812 interactions

In just six months…

Information Gathering/Synthesis

neighborhood traffic safety

traffic flow

road conditionbuildroads

bikeways

sidewalks

25% Over CapacitySlightly Over Capacity

2010

Transit Gaps

Plan Goals

Adopted 2040 Goals: A Scaled & Balanced Approach

Within Community Community to Region

Region to Region

Investment NeedsThat Support

•Local, multimodal connections and access to community resources

•Advance livability and quality of life principles

Investment NeedsThat Support

•Strategic, multimodal connections between communities and Regional activity/ economic centers to support economic development

Investment NeedsThat Support

•Mobility and intermodal improvements to ensure region is well connected within the state and the nation

• Support economic competitiveness and advance overall economic development potential

GoalBUILD AND MAINTAIN SAFE AND HEALTHY COMMUNITIES

Objectives•Support walkable and bicycle-friendly communities that promote safe connections to community resources•Provide incentives for complete streets project design•Encourage investments anchored in integrated transportation and land use planning that support desired community character•Improve safety through improved system operations, preventative maintenance, and ADA compliance•Prioritize investments in areas where local land use and development regulations support healthy, safe communities•Prioritize investment that improves multimodal access to existing or planned transit hubs or that fills gaps in existing multimodal system•Encourage connected street network

Within CommunityWithin Community

6

GoalCONNECT COMMUNITIES IN THE REGION BY PROVIDING MULTIMODAL TRAVEL OPTIONS TO ACTIVITY AND ECONOMIC CENTERS

Objectives•Preserve, maintain, and improve existing infrastructure before adding new capacity•Provide incentives for complete streets project design•Encourage corridor improvements anchored in integrated transportation and land use planning that support desired community character•Improve mobility and support economic development by providing expanded set of travel options, with emphasis on public transit•Improve travel time reliability through improved system operations•Incentive corridor protection plans

Community to RegionCommunity to Region

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Region to Region

GoalGROW ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY THROUGH STRATEGIC INVESTMENT IN CRITICAL REGIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE

Objectives•Preserve, maintain, and improve existing infrastructure before adding new capacity•Support continued economic growth of the region by improving intermodal connections that reduce delay for both people and goods•Reduce delay on critical regional thoroughfares with minimal impact to community, historic and environmental resources•Improve the efficiency and reliability of freight, cargo, and goods movement by reducing delay on corridors critical to freight movement•Improve travel time reliability through improved system operations

Region to Region

8

Performance Evaluation

9

How pleased are you to be here today?

A. Extremely happy, can’t think of anything you’d rather be doing

B. Pleased to be here but concerned about how long it will last

C. Are here because you were told you had to be but don’t mind participating

D. Are only attending to ensure that the planners don’t screw anything up

E. Would rather be at the dentist getting a root canal…

OVERVIEW OF FINDINGS2040 RTP Leadership Symposium

Steps of Plan Development Process

12

Maintaining the System

• Bridge, current conditions assessment– 2012 National Bridge

Inventory (NBI) Database

– Structural deficiency status based on bridge condition

– Functional obsolete status based on geometrics, e.g., number and width of lanes

– All bridges in region greater than 20-foot length

13

Summary Bridge Conditions in Chattanooga Region

Maintaining the System (continued)

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Maintaining the System (continued)

15

• Pavement, current conditions assessment– 2008 Highway

Performance Monitoring System (HPMS) database

– Percent of lanes miles in good/fair/poor condition based on roughness

– Thresholds defined by Federal Highway Administration

– Sample data

Summary Pavement Conditions in Chattanooga Region

Reducing Congestion

• Base-year congestion analysis– Worst congestion along

I-24 and I-75– Severe congestion at

junction of I-24/I-75– U.S. 27 north of river– Hamilton Place Mall – Northgate Mall

• Downtown relatively uncongested

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Reducing Congestion (continued)

• Future-year congestion analysis– U.S. 27 congestion relieved

(widening project underway)

• Outward expansion and general increase in severity of general congestion due to population and employment growthover time

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Reducing Congestion (continued)

• Mobility corridor analysis– More detailed assessment

of 13 mobility corridors– Geographic sample of

corridors with high volume auto and truck traffic (“scale 3”)

– Corridors evaluatedand scored• Congestion Management

Process (CMP) route• 2040 congestion levels• Key freight route• Supports high-volume

external to external (through) trip movement

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Improving Safety

• Systemwide safety analysis– Traffic crashes leading cause

of death 5-34 years old– 55 deaths; 330 injuries

annually in region– $1,700 per person

• RTP Emphasis areas– Roadway departure– Aggressive driving– Intersection crashes

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Improving Security

• Climate adaptation analysis– Critical transportation

assets defined• Chickamauga Lock and Dam• Chattanooga Airport

and SR 153 access• Interchange of I-75/I-24• Enterprise South road

and rail access• Downtown bridges• Sequoyah nuclear plant

– Redundant facilities and evacuation routes identified

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Providing Access

• Accessibility analysis to measure proximity of people and homes to– Active transportation

facilities• Bicycle facilities (B-LOS of B or

better)• Parks and Open Space • Trails• CARTA Transit Stops

– Health-related destinations• Healthcare Facilities• Grocery Stores and

Supermarkets• Farmers Markets /Community

Gardens/ Mobile Markets• Public and Private Schools

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Environmental Sustainability Needs

1/4 Mile Walk Access 1 Mile Bicycle Access

Providing Access (continued)

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Connecting the System

• Transit Gap Analysis– Locations of highest transit

demand• Population and household density• Land use mix• Intersection density• Distance to nearest transit stop• Jobs within one mile

– Mapped against existing and planned infrastructure

– Low income, minority and elderly population as overlay

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Connecting the System (continued)

• Bicycle Gap Analysis– Locations of highest bike

demand• Population and household density• Intersection density• Jobs within one mile• Distance to nearest transit stop• Distance to commercial store• Public/private schools within one

mile• Parks and recreation facilities

within one mile

– Mapped against existing and planned infrastructure

– Low income, minority and elderly population as overlay

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Connecting the System (continued)

• Pedestrian Gap Analysis– Locations of highest pedestrian

demand• Population and household density• Intersection density• Jobs within one mile• Distance to nearest transit stop• Distance to commercial store• Public/private schools within one

mile• Parks and recreation facilities

within one mile

– Mapped against existing and planned infrastructure

– Low income, minority and elderly population as overlay

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Improving Livability and the Environment

• Livability corridor analysis– More detailed assessment

of 24 livability corridors– Geographic sample of

corridors with potential for broad multimodal enhancements and VMT reduction (“scale 2”)

– Corridors evaluated and scored in terms of:• Potential complete streets

corridor, 2035 Plan• Lack of bike/pedestrian/

transit infrastructure• Population and employment

density• Congestion levels

Operating the System

• Operations assessment– Extensive ITS coverage on

freeways; opportunity to extend into north Georgia

– Downtown Chattanooga has extensive communication network for managing key arterials in real time; opportunity to extend to more corridors with centralized management center

– Opportunity for transit signal priority for key corridors

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Which of the following types of roadways should be the highest priority for improvements:A. Freeways (e.g. I-24, I-75,

US-27)B. Major Arterials (e.g.

Amnicola Highway, Lee Highway)

C. Minor Arterials (e.g. Bonny Oaks, E. Brainerd Road)

D. Collectors & Locals (e.g. Snow Hill Rd, Mack Smith Rd.)

What’s the most important transit trip for the region?

A. Trips around town for shopping or recreation

B. Trips to and from workC. Trips that enhance

access to social services

D. There are no important trips

What’s more important to bicycle and pedestrian travel?

A. Connecting to places within your town (parks, schools, libraries, etc.)

B. Connecting to regional destinations (other towns and regional parks, etc.)

C. Both

How important is walkability to the future of the study area?

A. Extremely important, we must have it no matter what

B. Important, but only in the city limits

C. Somewhat important, but primarily in transit corridors and downtowns

D. Nice to have, but not necessarily needed for the area to be a future success

E. Unimportant

FUNDING OUR NEEDS2040 RTP Leadership Symposium

Funding Needs

• Level of investment needed to:– Maintain existing infrastructure– Strategically expand and operate

• Define needs in context of projected revenue over life of 2040 transportation plan

• Define gap/unmet needs• Scenario discussion to support best use of available

funds given needs identified

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Current Bridge Maintenance Funding Needs

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Total current needs = $105M

Long Term Bridge Maintenance Funding Needs

Projected Bridge Conditions in 2040 Given Funding Level

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Total needs over life of plan = $322M

Current Pavement Maintenance Funding Needs

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Long Term Pavement Maintenance Funding Needs

Projected Conditions in 2040 Given Funding Level

Baseline condition = 83%

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Total needs over life of plan = $1.38B

Total System Maintenance Needs

How much will it cost to maintain existing How much will it cost to maintain existing transportation system, in current conditions, over transportation system, in current conditions, over life of long-range plan?life of long-range plan?

$1.7 billionMore than doubling current spending levels from 2035 Plan

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New Investment Needs

How much will it cost to build, operate, and maintain How much will it cost to build, operate, and maintain all additional identified needs in the region?all additional identified needs in the region?

39

$7.0 billion

Total Investment Needs

Existing System Maintenance$1.7 billion$1.7 billion

Total Needs$8.7 billion$8.7 billion

Additional Identified Needs$7.0 billion$7.0 billion

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Revenue Availability

And how much funding is actually available between And how much funding is actually available between now and 2040?now and 2040?

$5.7 billion

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Spending the Money

$1.7B$1.7B(MAINTAIN)(MAINTAIN)

$7.0B$7.0B(EXPAND)(EXPAND)

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Spending the Money (continued)

$5.7B$5.7B(AVAILABLE)(AVAILABLE)

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Spending the Money (continued)

$5.7B$5.7B(AVAILABLE)(AVAILABLE)

$1.7B $4.0B $3.0B

UNFUNDEDUNFUNDEDFUNDEDFUNDED

44

Spending the Money (continued)

$5.7B$5.7B(AVAILABLE)(AVAILABLE)

$1.3B$1.7B $5.7B

FUNDEDFUNDEDUNFUNDEDUNFUNDED

45

Spending the Money (continued)

$5.7B$5.7B(AVAILABLE)(AVAILABLE)

$0.5B $2.5B$1.2B $4.5B

UN

FUN

DED

UN

FUN

DED

FUNDEDFUNDEDUN

FUN

DED

UN

FUN

DED

46

Spending the Money (continued)

$4.5B$4.5B(AVAILABLE)(AVAILABLE)

$0.5B $2.5B$1.2B $4.5B

Road Capacity

Tran

sit

Capa

city

47

$5.3B$5.3B(AVAILABLE)(AVAILABLE)

Which approach do you believe is most important when considering the management of our transportation system? A. “Fix it first,” fully

maintain what we have before adding to the transportation system

B. Forego some maintenance to allow for more capacity projects

With the understanding that there won’t likely be sufficient funds for all identified needs, I’d be willing to defer some transportation maintenance needs for other transportation improvements.

A. Strongly agreeB. AgreeC. NeitherD. DisagreeE. Strongly disagree

INTERMISSION2040 RTP Leadership Symposium

ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS2040 RTP Leadership Symposium

Alternatives Analysis

• Two “bookend” scenarios to illustrate benefits of road investments and transit investments

• Includes road and transit capacity investments – Includes “call for projects”– Public involvement– Technical analysis

• Approximately equal cost• Want to use these to produce the “Blend of the Best”

Remember This?

BYPASSES & CONNECTORS SCENARIOPrimary investments in expanding highway accessibility and improving existing road corridors.

Bypasses and Connectors Scenario27 miles of New Roadways

• Includes 16 mile Northern Hamilton County connection between US 27 and I-75 with new TN River Bridge

•230 miles of Roadway Widening

• Includes almost all of I-24 and I-75

• Includes portions of US-27 and SR-153

• Includes SR 321/SR 151 as Eastern Bypass (4 lane arterial) between Collegedale, TN and Ringgold, GA

23 miles of Safety/Preventative Maintenance

15 miles of complimentary local bus routes

Bypasses & Connectors

Key Growth Drivers:

• Existing zoning & ordinances

• Proximity to major roads

• Interchanges & major Intersections

• Large water & sewer service area

• General preference for greenfield development patterns

Growth Characteristics• Low-density, decentralized growth

• Greater maintenance cost

• Expanding road network allows for increased distance between new neighborhoods and existing centers

• New commercial development follows along widened corridors (linear development pattern)

• Greater amount of land lost to new development.

BIG TRANSIT SCENARIOPlacing a greater emphasis on alternate travel modes

Big Transit Scenario•“Chattanooga Way”

o 15 mile long new light rail line

o Connects Downtown, Airport, Enterprise South

•SR 153/US 27 “Bus Plus”

o 19 mile long new Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line

o Connects Hamilton Place, Airport, Northgate, Soddy Daisy

•“Premium Bus” Express Service on Interstates

o 24 miles of new routes/extension of Route 4

o Connects Ringgold/Lookout Valley/Collegedale to Downtown

Big Transit Scenario• Expanded Local Bus Routes

o 76 miles of new/extended routeso Expands service area to include:

Red Bank, East Ridge, Collegedale in Tennessee

Rossville, Fort Oglethorpe, Ringgold in North Georgia

• Improved Frequency of Existing CARTA Routes

• Free Circulator Shuttleso Builds on success of downtown electric

shuttleo East-west downtown shuttle (Aquarium,

Erlanger Hospital)o New Hamilton Place Mall area shuttleo Complimentary Roadway Projects (85

miles)

Big Transit Scenario

Key Growth Drivers:• Premium transit service

(bus rapid transit & light rail)

• Station areas & existing centers

• Existing water & sewer service area

• General preference for infill development & redevelopment

• Protect environmentally-sensitive areas & agriculture

Growth Characteristics• New: compact, higher-density growth attracted

premium transit station areas (1-mile radius)• Significant number of local farms protected from

new development• Maintain small town feel to outlying areas• Average household transportation costs reduced• More efficient development pattern reduces

overall infrastructure cost

Comparison of Alternatives

Bypasses and Connectors Measure of Effectiveness Big Transit

16,035,000 Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) 14,943,000

521,000 Vehicle Hours Traveled (VHT) 533,500

2,670 Delay (Hours) 3,060

3,573,00 Total Number of Trips 3,573,00

6,400 Transit Trips 12,000

28.7 Vehicle Miles Traveled / Capita 26.8

0.1%-0.3% Percent of trips by transit 0.5%-1.5%

Overall, how attractive is the “Bypasses and Connectors” Investment Scenario?

A. Very attractive

B. Attractive

C. Somewhat attractive

D. Neutral

E. Not very attractive at all

Overall, how attractive is the “Big Transit” Investment Scenario?

A. Very attractive

B. Attractive

C. Somewhat attractive

D. Neutral

E. Not very attractive at all

Which scenario best supports quality of life?

A. Highways and Corridors

B. Big Transit

C. Combined approach

D. Neither

Where should transportation investments seek to encourage future growth?

A. Existing corridorsB. New corridorsC. Existing centersD. New centersE. Outlying areasF. Grow anywhere we can

CONSIDERING THE TRADEOFFSLightening Round

What will provide the biggest bang for the region’s bucks?

A. Widen existing roads

B. Build new roads

C. Expand transit service

D. Create more quality walking and biking choices

What’s the most important regional transit corridor?

A. Light Rail (Chattanooga Way) between downtown, airport, and Enterprise South

B. SR-153/US-27 BRT route between Hamilton Place, Airport, Northgate, and Soddy-Daisy

C. Express bus on I-75/I-24 to the suburbs (Collegedale, Ringgold, Lookout Valley)

D. Free Circulator Shuttles (Downtown East/West, Hamilton Place)

Regarding transit…Rank the following from most important to least important.

A. Expand local bus service to areas not currently served (Red Bank, East Ridge, Collegedale, North Georgia)

B. Frequency of serviceC. Length of weekday serviceD. Weekend serviceE. Low fareF. Type of transit vehicle

Which intermodal facility should be the top priority area for coordination and collaboration? A. Chattanooga Metropolitan

Airport passenger and/or freight improvements and expansion

B. Chickamauga Dam and Locks Reconstruction

C. Development of a freight intermodal (rail/truck/waterway) center/facility within Chattanooga

D. Atlanta-Chattanooga High Speed Rail

What do you believe best supports business recruitment and retention?

A. Less congestion

B. Increased choice (travel modes)

C. Increased accessibility

D. Attractive streets

E. Complete streets

It’s important to begin building a rapid transit network in our region in the near future.

A. Strongly agree

B. Agree

C. Neither

D. Disagree

E. Strongly disagree

Priority transit investments in the region should include:

A. Within community (Service within the cities and towns

B. Community to region (Express bus from the small towns to the large employment centers)

C. Region to region (Service connecting between the cities and towns)

What would it take to make your community bicycle friendly?

A. Safe streets

B. Greenways

C. More signed routes

D. Better intersection design

E. All of the above

What would help my daily commute most?

A. Widen existing roads

B. Build new bypasses

C. Add rapid transit

D. Quality housing choices within close proximity to employment centers

Considering that our financial resources are fixed; how would you prioritize the following funding scenarios?A. Large/expensive transportation

improvements

B. Smaller/less expensive local transportation improvements

C. System maintenance and operation enhancements (traffic control enhancements & use of technology) with remaining funds used for system expansion

Considering that our financial resources are fixed; how would you prioritize the following funding scenarios?A. Regional congestions

solutionsB. Project specifically

intended to spur economic development

C. Projects that improve the quality of life for local residents

D. Other

If you had control over the transportation budget, how would you rank the following in importance?A. Neighborhood traffic safety

& calmingB. Sidewalk construction and

repairsC. Bikeway construction on

roads and greenwaysD. Widening and building roadsE. Improving condition of

roadwaysF. Improving traffic flowG. Public transportationH. Other

If additional funding for transportation improvements is needed, would you support any of the following sources?A. Higher gas taxB. Higher sales taxC. Higher property taxD. Toll roadsE. Development impact feesF. Transportation bonds

(borrowing)G. OtherH. Do not support additional

funding

Which of the following is most important when considering which projects to fund?

A. Does the project open up new land for development

B. Does the project reduce congestion

C. Does the project result in travel time savings

CLOSING THOUGHTS AND REMARKSQuestions & Comments

Next Steps

• Draft Needs Plan• Project Evaluation / Costing• Policy Board Review and Endorsement of

Financial Constrained Project List• Public Review and Comments• Draft Final Plan