Public input begins on CRTPO’s local input point assignment for Regional Impact projects under NCDOT
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (May 21, 2018) – The Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization (CRTPO) is requesting public input on the next stage of developing future Regional Impact transportation projects for Iredell, Mecklenburg and Union Counties. The process to develop the CRTPO’s 2020-2029 Transportation Improvement Program is administered by the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) and is called “Prioritization 5.0.” CRTPO is the federally-designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the Charlotte urbanized area.
Highway, aviation, rail and transit projects are all represented on the draft lists and maps proposed for Regional Impact local input point assignment, and can be found on the CRTPO website (www.crtpo.org/plans-programs/transporation-improvement-program). Regional Impact highway projects consist of U.S. and North Carolina routes (i.e. US 21, US 521, NC 49 and NC 200) and regional transit and rail projects. Beginning in September 2018, CRTPO will open a separate public involvement period for the Division Needs projects, which include road projects on the secondary road system, as well as bicycle and pedestrian, rail, transit and aviation projects.
NCDOT has scored projects submitted by MPOs, Rural Planning Organizations (RPOs) and NCDOT Divisions, according to formulas established under the Strategic Transportation Investments (STI) law. CRTPO has 2,500 local input points to allocate to its projects within the Regional Impact tier and an additional 2,500 points to allocate within the Division Needs tier of STI. The STI legislation specifies that MPOs, RPOs and NCDOT Division offices must adhere to their adopted methodologies to the greatest extent possible when assigning local input points.
This public input period will close on Wednesday, June 20. Comments should be directed to Neil Burke using the following methods:
E-Mail: info@crtpo.org
Regular Mail: CRTPO
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center
600 E. Fourth St., 8th floor
Charlotte, NC 28202
FAX: 704-336-5123
Members of the public can also comment on the proposed project lists during the CRTPO Board meeting on Wednesday, June 20. The CRTPO Board meeting will be held in Room 267 of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center beginning at 6 p.m. Those who wish to speak must sign up at least five minutes prior to the start of the meeting.
The Strategic Transportation Investments law has created a quantitative, data-driven approach to develop the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) and its local counterpart, the locally-adopted Metropolitan TIP. As a result, the most important opportunities for public involvement in Prioritization 5.0 are when CRTPO selects projects for consideration, which occurred in Sept. 2017, and when CRTPO provides input on the final priority of projects, which occurs when the MPO votes on the Regional Impact project list during the July 18, 2018 meeting and the Division Needs project list during the Oct. 17, 2018 meeting.
The final product of Prioritization 5.0, the Transportation Improvement Program for FY 2020-FY 2029, will be adopted by CRTPO in 2019.
More information is available on the CRTPO website at www.crtpo.org.