FHWA Efforts to Advance and Implement Megaregions Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations 2016 Annual Conference Fort Worth, Texas <speaker introduces him/herself> Today I’m going to talk about one of our Every Day Counts initiatives that we are really excited about: Regional Models of Cooperation. Through this initiative, FHWA and FTA, with support from the Volpe Center, have been researching and documenting all kinds of innovative examples of partnerships between transportation agencies and partners and providing some direct assistance to State DOTs and MPOs working to improve cooperation across jurisdictions. I will start with a brief overview of the initiative and the discuss one specific example that we’ve highlighted as a notable practice: the SANDAG Borders Committee.

Why is Enhanced Coordination Needed? Recognize mutual needs, goals, and objectives of the geographic region as a whole… Issues Span Organizational Boundaries International Borders Adjacent TMAs Rural Planning Intercity Passenger and Rail Freight Planning Issues like air pollution and traffic congestion do not stop at State DOT or MPO boundaries, or international borders; however, traditional planning responsibilities often do. Coordinating planning activities across boundaries requires a broad vision, persistence, and a shared commitment to achieving the best outcomes for the wider region. A lack of coordination can sometimes lead to project delays, process inconsistencies, and reduced reliability. Increasingly, thinking beyond traditional borders is needed to address modern-age transportation challenges and is necessary to exploit the competitive advantage that regional planning provides. Regional planning has the ability to spur economic development, improve freight movement, reduce traffic congestion, and support health and quality of life. Coordinating projects across jurisdictional boundaries can help deliver projects faster and produce consistent system performance and reliability.

Every Day Counts 3/RMOC Webinar Series Topic Date Status RMOC Overview Jan. 27, 2015 Available Online Air Quality Aug. 25, 2015 Regional Transit Planning Oct. 16, 2015 Safety Planning Dec. 10, 2015 Congestion Management Feb. 11, 2016 Enhanced Data Sharing etc. Apr. 28, 2016 Joint Planning Products June 9, 2016 New Technologies/Bus. Models Aug. 11, 2016 Multimodal Planning Cooperation Across Jurisdictions Oct. 13, 2016 Freight Planning Dec. 8, 2016 Coming Soon

EDC3/Regional Models of Cooperation Outreach Efforts and Successes Workshops Completed Florida Statewide Performance Measures Charlotte Freight Plan Ohio EJ Workshop Alaska Workshop Indiana Workshop Coming Soon Final Webinar (December 2016) Salt Lake City Peer Event Megaregions and Freight Joint Peer Exchange- Piedmont Megaregion RMOC Handbook

Key Issues Surrounding Megaregions Infrastructure/Congestion Freight Environment/Air Quality Economic Vitality Safety

Megaregion Boundaries by Population

Sample Megaregions and MPOs

Megaregions and the National Highway System

Mid-Atlantic Megaregion: Philadelphia (December 6-7 2016) Megaregions is currently addressed in Pennsylvania on a number of fronts. First, the largest MPO in Pennsylvania (DVRPC- MPO for Philadelphia; also a bi-state MPO for PA/NJ) participates in a large alliance of transportation agencies, toll authorities and their partners, focused on improving long-distance transportation in the I-95 Corridor. DVRPC has lead - Planning at the Edge – A collaborative effort between nine MPOs in the Northeast Megaregion stretching from New York City to Baltimore to identify and address cross-boundary transportation planning issues. The group has addressed diverse topics including regional transit, climate change considerations, and developing a shared long-range transportation vision for the Northeast Megaregion. Additionally, Pennsylvania sits at the heart of the I-95 Corridor Coalition. The coalition originally focused on the Northeastern portion of I-95, and concentrated on transportation management and operations issues. In more recent years, the coalition has expanded to include the entire length of I-95 from Maine to Florida, addressing multi-modal transportation and policy issues. Additional Talking Points to Consider: Discuss how leadership can support Megaregions to take issues beyond the “tipping point” (similar to I-95 Corridor Coalition) Northeast Corridor for passenger rail Future Economic Development potential in the region

Mid-South Megaregion: Memphis (December 8, 2016) Source: Georgia Tech CQGRD

Midwest Megaregion Understand the importance of self-defining and scaling off the Mid-West Megaregion due to the size (see above map- discuss how the current boundary reaches from Minnesota to Pittsburgh and down to St. Louis. Chicago has been working under a Megaregional framework for a long time; this is nothing new for us! Discuss the Lake Michigan Interstate Gateway Alliance (http://www.lmiga.info/docs/LMIGA_2010_Report.pdf) ---This link on page 3 has great corridor facts that can be used as talking points for you Briefly touch on CREATE program (http://www.createprogram.org/) and perhaps link to this NY Times article on Freight Delays in Chicago http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/08/us/chicago-train-congestion-slows-whole-country.html) Key issues for the Mid-West: Freight, ITS Midwest, Congestion, Infrastructure (especially on freight rail side- mention CREATE projects and TIGER funding efforts) Begin to think about scalability (i.e. start off with a Mid-West Megaregion that includes Northeast IL (greater Chicago), Northwest Indiana, and Southeast Wisconsin (greater Milwaukee) Chicago is ground-zero/the epicenter of transportation for the Nation and certainly the centerpiece for any conversation on Megaregions Think about what leadership can bring to the table and how it will differ from previous efforts? Show me the Money! Folks will expect something from us- what can we give or offer them?

Case Study: The Texas Triangle Texas Triangle Megaregion Case Study: The Texas Triangle This case study focuses on how Texas is preparing for the future. Texas has a population of 25.1 million people (2010 Census Estimate) and three of the top 10 largest cities in America (Houston ranked #4 at 2.1 million; San Antonio ranked #7 at 1.4 million; and Dallas ranked #9 at 1.2 million- all 2010 Census). The area is primed for continued growth and expansion for decades to come. The first visual (top left corner) focuses on the planned I-69 Corridor. I-69 provides a new freight gateway to connect Mexico and Canada via South Texas, Houston, and East Texas. The second visual (bottom right corner) is from the Brookings Institute report (http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/the-avenue/posts/2014/11/24-congestion-metro-trade-kane-tomer) titled “Reliving Congestion to Boost Metro Trade.” The Texas Triangle is one of America’s most valuable trade corridors, and the visual demonstrates not only freight traffic, but also passenger traffic. Spotlight on Emerging Sectors: Fracking Fracking Facts related to Texas (from Wikipedia): As of March 2012, Texas had 6,000 oil and gas fracking wells listed on FracFocus (which is an industry website). Texas has the most fracking wells than any state in the US. If Texas were a country, it would be the third largest producer of natural gas in the world, behind Russia and the rest of the United States. The Barnett Shale underlying Texas may contain the largest producible reserve of any onshore natural gas in the United States. What impact will this have on the future and our transportation network- and how we can better prepare for what’s already happening now? There’s also movement to produce a passenger high speed rail line between Houston and Dallas. The proposed alignment connected would allow trains to connect the two cities in under 90 minutes- a trip that now takes roughly 4 hours via car assuming light and/or no traffic. Providing this service could drastically reduce congestion along Interstate 45 (which connects the two cities).

Issue Spotlight: Focus on Freight

Issue Spotlight: Focus on Freight

Megaregions Resources Available Planning Capacity Building website www.planning.dot.gov Briefing Book for Transportation Planning Officials http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/publications/briefing_book/fhwahep15048.pdf Regional Models of Cooperation Homepage www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/regional_models/ Beyond Traffic Report https://www.transportation.gov/BeyondTraffic Megaregions Case Studies and Homepage www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/megaregions