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Archives for November 2020

The 4 Steps of Good Transportation Planning

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[<2 Minute Read]

Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) in collaboration with their member jurisdictions make decisions on how to best invest federal, state, and local taxes into the regional transportation system.  They strive to make improvements in safety, modernize the system, enable accessibility to more people, contribute to larger societal goals, and expand the system strategically.  MPOs plan, program, and fund all sorts of projects, from reconstructing highway interchanges and arterial corridors, to replacing public transit buses and building new bike/ped facilities, all for the sake of progressing towards the MPO’s established transportation goals.

As part of this overall decision-making process, MPOs strive to ensure that the concerns and issues of all those with a stake in transportation decision-making are identified and addressed.  MPOs engage the general public and stakeholders under the broad heading of “Public Engagement”. 

So, how do we measure success? How do we know when we’ve done a “good job” engaging the public?

It depends. It depends on what our goals are. Here are some goals for your consideration. 

Inform

Inform the public to the maximum extent possible of available resources as well as opportunities to participate in the transportation decision-making process and planning initiatives. Some useful questions to ask:

  • Do we regularly share relevant information with committee members, member jurisdictions, and the public?
  • Is our website up to date?
  • Do we have a relationship with the local media?
  • Do we have a Citizens’ Academy (or equivalent) to provide opportunities for the public to learn about the transportation planning process?

Involve

Involve the public early and often in the transportation planning process by asking:

  • Do we offer opportunities for diverse representation on committees?
  • Do we offer regular, on-site updates with the governing bodies of member jurisdictions?
  • Did we consider public input as a project selection criterion?

Coordinate

Proactively develop relationships with other organizations within the planning area to increase the opportunity for their participation in transportation planning. This could mean answering the following:

  • Do we share documents and involvement opportunities with local and regional planning departments and community organizations?
  • Do we participate in other regional initiatives?

Improve

Continually identify and implement ways to improve the public participation processes, and honestly ask:

  • Do we set aside time to catch up on the best practices?
  • Do we de-brief with our team after public engagement campaigns to discuss lessons learned?
  • Do we ask our stakeholders to share their experiences (good and bad) with our organization?
  • Do we set aside a budget for cost effective tools that can help us accomplish our public engagement goals?

Earning, respecting, and maintaining the public’s trust is perhaps the most important jobs MPOs do.  We take that job seriously and are working to improve how our ProjectTracker tool can help you achieve your public engagement goals.  We’d love to hear from you on how we can best do that.  You can reach us at [email protected].

Loved this post and want to learn more? Check out what our customers have to say here!

Do You Suffer From TIP Amendment Anxiety?

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[2 Minute Read]

HI, I’m Kristen Z., and I have TIP Amendment Anxiety.  Yep, you read that right, I have (self-diagnosed) TIP Amendment Anxiety.

Is There a Better TIP Amendment Process?

Can I get an AMEN here?? If I’ve gauged my audience right, you too are a professional Transportation Planner at an MPO and you may be thinking,

“Geez, Kristen, one of your responsibilities is to administer the TIP.  What’s your problem?  What’s the big deal?”

I know, I know…you may also be thinking that even though TIP Amendments are super tedious and time-consuming, the importance of doing them right ensures that programmed projects stay on schedule. Greater good…I get it.  

But…I know you can feel my pain and dread as my phone rings with another call from a “Last Minute Larry” because he can’t get the MS Access database to open.  (Do you blame me for considering the roll to voicemail option as I wonder why the process cannot be more efficient?)

Ok, ok, you’re right, I know. It’s just that my TIP Amendment to-do list is so tedious:

  • Update the information in the last amendment MS Access database
  • Revise last amendment communications to reflect current information and files
  • Release targeted communications and instructions
  • Merge all new information back into master database
  • Run internal QA/QC macros
  • Run the final reports
  • Update the map in ArcGIS, and write the staff reports

This process works, it does.  The TIP is amended regularly with public comment periods alongside Board and committee consideration and action.  And with a sigh of relief, I wait for the next one.

Can you relate?

Would you like to find a way to streamline the TIP Amendment process so that your time (or your staff’s time) can be more effectively spent on other MPO responsibilities?

Would you like to find a tool to make the TIP Amendment process easier, more efficient, more accurate, and super user friendly for lead agencies, the public, and DOT and FHWA/FTA partners to access the project info in the TIP?

Do you have a hard time finding staff with advanced database skills to administer TIP Amendments?

I did! At the time, I found myself promoted to Planning Manager and did not have time to devote to the time-consuming TIP Amendment process anymore.  We decided to replace the tedious MS Access process with a TIP management software solution because it would free up my time to focus on other responsibilities and, frankly, it was a cheaper option than spending my time or a co-worker’s time on the tedious TIP Adoption and Amendment process with MS Access.  

After a competitive RFP process, we chose EcoInteractive’s ProjectTracker SaaS tool for several reasons.

  • They specialized in this type of work, they weren’t just a database company trying to make a standard relational database “fit” the TIP process
  • They offered several bonus features we hadn’t even anticipated – a public on-line portal, mapping features, automatic emails to lead agency contacts, automated routine reports like Fiscal Constraint and Summary of Changes.
  • The public portal was an easy way for us to show TIP project information to our Board members and other stakeholders.
  • They were clearly experts in the overall TIP process, how it relates to the MTP and to the STIP

This last item was the biggest selling point for us. We had a small staff composed of several “new to MPOs” planners. We wanted to spend our time as efficiently as possible, focusing our time on the assignments that were most important to our Board.  EcoInteractive’s ProjectTracker SaaS tool allowed us to do just that because it allowed me to process TIP Amendments with ease and confidence.

See for yourself.  Request a 10-minute demo today at www.ecointeractive.com. No strings attached.

Now, if there was something EcoInteractive could do about that pesky federal regulator.  😊

Loved this post and want to learn more? Reach out at [email protected] or check out what our customers have to say here!

The Evolution of Running an Errand – and Its Impact on the Future of Transportation

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[5 Minute Read]

We have all participated in some form of buying groceries, grabbing lunch, picking up a birthday gift and/or making a Costco run. In recent years, we have witnessed the disruption of these traditional everyday activities. Our ability to purchase items online and receive them within hours rather than days has redefined our definition of running an errand. 

The resulting shift in consumer behavior has continued to impact the demand on express delivery options. The coronavirus pandemic has only increased this demand according to research from Edison Trends, which studies anonymized and aggregated e-receipts from millions of U.S. consumers.

This increased consumer demand for speed and convenience has required various industries including e-commerce, retail, pharma, food and grocery to be more agile and evolve their supply chain operations. The adoption of the Hub and Spoke Distribution Model, and the use of independent contractors as last mile carriers, who use personal vehicles to transport goods are examples of this evolution.

Our transportation system can be directly impacted by these changing trends. A number of challenges come to the forefront for policy makers, responsible agencies and transportation planning in general For example, Metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) will need to consider the increased daily truck traffic generated from these distribution centers being located in urban locations and the corresponding employee commuter impact on congestion. In addition, the increased consumer adoption of express delivery options coupled with strategically located package delivery lockers could result in the reduction of consumer shopping trips. Noncommercial vehicles being used for commercial delivery will impact trip generation, distribution and assignment. As a result, travel demand models will need to account for these shifts in behavior.

Transportation planners designing a vision that supports the future of life for the next 20, 30 years will need to create a system supporting the changing distribution of vehicle types and density from the proliferation of e-commerce delivery. 

Have a question or comment? We’d love to hear from you. You can reach us at [email protected].

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