1. Transportation (What You Need to Know)
Matt Day, AICP CTP
Principal Planner
Triangle J Council of Governments

2. Today’s Agenda Key Players & Their Roles How we Plan for Projects
How Projects get Funded
Funding Exercise!
My Project is Funded – What’s Next?
Key Considerations at the Local Level
We will have two 15- minute breaks, around 9:30 and 10:45

3. Key Players in Transportation
NCDOT
Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs)
Rural Planning Organizations (RPOs)
Municipalities
Counties
Special Authorities
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
Federal Transit Administration (FTA)
Each has a specific role in the transportation decision-making process and service/project delivery

4. NCDOT NCDOT owns and maintains most roads in the state:
All public roads outside of municipalities
Most major streets within municipalities
2nd largest system of state roads in US (after Texas)
I-, US-, NC-, and SR-
This arrangement originated in the Great Depression, when many counties were defaulting due to loans they had taken for road improvements in the 1920s. The state agreed to take over the debt as well as the road system.
As a result, there are no county roads in NC.

5. NCDOT Divided into 14 field divisions with offices around the state.
Each Division is headed by a Division Engineer.
Divisions are responsible for managing project development and delivery for most projects (some large projects are managed centrally in Raleigh).
Divisions are further subdivided into Districts, led by a District Engineer.
The District Engineer is often the first point of contact for local issues. Most districts cover a few counties.
Each county also has a maintenance yard where maintenance staff and equipment are located.

6. NCDOT

7. NCDOT Major functions in Raleigh include:
Planning
Programming
Modal Divisions (Transit, Rail, Aviation, Bicycle/Pedestrian) – ferry division located at coast
Preconstruction (project development & design) – much of this has been moved out to Divisions to manage
Mobility & Safety
DMV
Finance/Administration
In recent years, NCDOT has increasingly used consultants to perform preconstruction work, with NCDOT staff in an administrative/oversight role. You may be contacted directly by consultants regarding projects in development.

8. NCDOT Key Policies Complete Streets and Bicycle/Pedestrian Policies
Statewide Plan and related Modal Plans
Roadway Design Standards
Local Project Management Office
NCDOT has accelerated many projects in recent years in order to spend down a cash balance that had built up over the years. This is expected to slow down as the cash balance decreases.

9. MPOs & RPOs
There are 18 Rural Planning Organizations and 19 Metropolitan Planning Organizations in NC.
MPOs and RPOs are the primary conduit for information-sharing and decision-making between NCDOT and local partners.
MPO boundaries must include at least the area designated by the Census Bureau as an urbanized area with a population of 50,000 or more, plus areas expected to become urban in the next 20 years.
RPOs cover areas that are outside of MPO boundaries.

10. MPOs & RPOs

11. Rural Planning Organizations (RPOs)
Created in early 2000s through state statute (GS )
Created in response to Federal requirement that states have a process for consulting with rural governments on transportation issues
Four Core Duties in Law:
Developing plans (in coordination with NCDOT)
Forum for public participation
Prioritizing project suggestions for STIP
Providing transportation- related information to local governments and citizens

12. RPO Organization
By law, RPOs must include at least 3 contiguous counties or have a total population of at least 50,000
Each RPO has a Lead Planning Agency (LPA) that serves as the administrative and technical staff
The LPA for most RPOs is a Council of Governments, but there are three RPOs with a county as the LPA
80% of funding comes from NCDOT (pass- through Federal “Statewide Planning & Research” funds)
20% of funding comes from local governments

13. RPO Committees
The Technical Coordinating Committee (TCC) typically includes staff members from local jurisdictions and NCDOT, and sometimes additional agencies such as a COG or transit agency
The TCC is an advisory committee that makes recommendations to the TAC
The Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) typically includes elected officials from local jurisdictions and members of the North Carolina Board of Transportation representing NCDOT
The TAC is the RPO’s decision making body

14. Important RPO Products & Activities
Comprehensive Transportation Plans – long-range multimodal plans developed cooperatively with NCDOT and local governments
Strategic Transportation Investments (STI) Project Prioritization – bi- annual process of submitting and scoring projects for funding

15. Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs)
MPOs have a very similar structure to RPOs, but with a few important differences:
MPOs are created by Federal law rather than state law
MPOs have dedicated federal funding to pay for planning activities (PL funds)
MPOs must develop a fiscally-constrained Metropolitan Tranportation Plan (typically a subset of the MPO’s CTP)
MPOs must adopt a local Transportation Improvement Program (TIP)
Most MPOs are administered by cities, but a few are administered by COGs

16. Large MPOs - TMAs
MPOs with an urbanized population over 200,000 are designated as Transportation Management Areas (TMAs)
TMAs get access to a set- aside from two federal funding sources, and get to choose how to spend that funding on projects
Surface Transportation Block Grant Directly Attributable (STBGDA) – can be used on any type of surface transportation project eligible for federal funding
Transportation Alternatives Program Directly Attributable (TAPDA) – can be used on certain types of alternative projects (typically bicycle/ pedestrian projects)

17. Municipalities Cities and towns maintain their own local streets
Provide and maintain sidewalks, greenways, and other bike/ped infrastructure
Some municipalities operate transit services
Administer and provide matching funds for federally-funded local projects (Transportation Alternatives, STBGDA, Off-system bridge, etc.)
Receive Powell Bill funds from NCDOT based on formula (75% population, 25% lane miles of roads) – to be used on street maintenance primarily, but can also be used as local match for federally-funded projects
Some municipalities operate airports, train stations, or other multimodal facilities

18. Counties
Counties do not maintain roads, but are permitted to contribute funding to roads if they desire to
Typically operate and/or fund a rural/community transit service, either for a single county or as part of a regional system
NCDOT typically consults with counties regarding maintenance, resurfacing, paving, and acceptance of SR roads
Counties are beginning to get involved in activities they typically did not in the past, such as:
Constructing greenways, sidewalks, and bike/ped facilities
Funding urban transit projects (through county sales taxes)

19. Special Authorities/Agencies
Established to operate a specific service or facility
Examples:
Regional Transit Authority
Airport Authority
Independent Transit Agency
Role of local government in the authority, and role of the authority in the MPO/RPO will vary based on the specific situation

20. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)/Federal Transit Administration (FTA)
Primarily a source of funding
Formula funding that goes to NCDOT for administration
Most funds require a 20% match from non- federal sources
STBGDA & TAPDA go to large MPOs by formula
FTA urban formula funds go directly to transit agencies; rural funds are administered by NCDOT as grant program
Policies enacted by attaching them to funding
Example: Raising drinking age to 21 nationwide was linked to federal transportation funding

21. Transportation Planning
Statewide Plans
Comprehensive Transportation Plans (CTPs)
Metropolitan Transportation Plans (MTPs)
Transit Plans
Bicycle/Pedestrian/ Greenway Plans
Collector Street Plans
Capital Improvement Programs
Local Comprehensive Plans
Corridor Studies
Feasibility Studies

22. NCDOT Statewide Plans
Develop a Statewide Plan that outlines high- level policy recommendations and broad funding priorities
Currently working on a “2050 Plan” with multiple opportunities for public input
Other Recent Plans:
Statewide Transit Plan
Statewide Bicycle/ Pedestrian Plan
Statewide Freight Plan
Statewide Rail Plan
Strategic Transportation Corridors

23. Comprehensive Transportation Plans (CTPs)
Fundamental record of local transportation needs
In RPO areas, this is cooperatively developed by the RPO and NCDOT, and adopted directly by local governments (typically but not exclusively complete plans at the countywide level)
In MPO areas, the CTP is developed and adopted by the MPO
Long-range plan – typically looking out years
Plan recommendations are conceptual – not detailed designs
Multi-modal – include roads, transit, rail, bicycle, and pedestrian
NCDOT is rolling out a new format this year called CTP 2.0

24. Comprehensive Transportation Plans (CTPs)
Required by GS
Intended to work in tandem with a land use plan to identify likely areas for future needs
Source of projects to be submitted for funding
Can be used by the local government as a tool for corridor protection as development occurs
NOT FISCALLY CONSTRAINED
Intent is to identify needs regardless of cost
However, cost can be considered as an aid in alternative analysis or prioritization/timing of projects

25. Moore County CTP Example

26. Moore County CTP Example

27. Moore County CTP Example

28. Moore County CTP Example

29. Moore County CTP Example

30. Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP)
Federally required for all MPOs
Must identify projects that can reasonably be funded with anticipated revenues
Must look out at least 20 years
Must be updated at least every 4-5 years (depending on air quality requirements)
Typically, MTP projects are a subset of CTP projects
Must address items outlined in federal law
No standard format; flexibility
Adopted by MPO

31. CAMPO MTP Example

32. CAMPO MTP Example

33. Transit Plans
Most transit agency plans focus on the short- term (3-5 years)
Works well for operational planning, but timelines can be difficult for capital planning if NCDOT funding is required (often more than 5 years out) – CTPs could help with this
NCDOT works with rural systems on developing plans
Counties/communities with major investments planned typically have plans to support those
Example – Durham- Orange LRT
County Transit Plans that support/relate to sales tax measure
Federal New Starts planning and design process

34. Bicycle & Pedestrian Plans
NCDOT has a Planning Grant program for municipalities and small counties
Requires a local match
Typically either a bicycle plan or pedestrian plan, but combined plans allowed in some cases
Some cities/counties develop plans on their own
Some regions have plans
Statewide and county- level bicycle routes
Coordination with Parks & Rec planning, particularly with regard to greenways

35. Corridor Studies
Corridor studies come in a variety of flavors, ranging from relatively basic analyses of future traffic flow/operations in a corridor to complex analyses of multiple modes of transportation and multiple land use/development scenarios.
These studies are typically done in corridors where a more detailed level of analysis than could be accomplished through a CTP is desired, such as corridors with traffic operational issues (as opposed to straight- forward capacity issues).

36. Example Corridor Study: NC 211 in Moore County
Widening project underway at time
Growth area
Desire to control proliferation of signals and driveways as the area develops in future and ensure continued mobility
Projected future traffic and calculated measures of effectiveness for a no- build scenario and a superstreet scenario
Developed recommendations that NCDOT and locals can use in reviewing future driveway/road connections and as potential street improvements for future funding

37. Feasibility Studies & Express Designs
NCDOT generally conducts feasibility studies when there is not enough information known about a project to be able to program it properly – for example, if no prior planning or environmental work has been done
The primary product is a refined cost estimate and brief report. Sometimes, but not always, the study will look at multiple alternatives.
NCDOT has started doing more express designs on projects submitted for STI funding in order to confirm cost estimates

38. Collector Street Plans
The CTP/MTP generally focus on higher-level roadways that might be funded at the state level
Some areas use collector street plans as a method to fill in the network gaps
Especially useful in areas where growth is anticipates, to guide the spacing and alignment of future subdivision collector streets

39. Capital Improvement Plans
Local jurisdictions create Capital Improvement Plans to establish a funding program for local funds
Example: A town wants to construct a sidewalk with it’s own funds, and plans out revenue sources and costs over a several-year period
Example: A county received funding for a greenway through NCDOT, but must make plans for how it will supply the local match at the time it is necessary

40. Transportation Element of Comprehensive Plans
Local jurisdictions develop their own comprehensive plans (land use plans, development plans, etc.) that often include transportation elements
These should be coordinated with CTPs, bike/ped plans, transit plans, collector street plans, and other studies as appropriate
Recommendations from these plans should be shared with the MPO/RPO to ensure they get reflected in the next transportation plan updates

41. Funding Process (STI)
Strategic Transportation Investments (STI) was a law passed in 2013 that codified the process for selecting transportation projects for funding, and changed the funding allocation formulas. It replaced the “Equity Formula”.
STI was first applied in Prioritization 3.0 (P1.0 and 2.0 operated under the old rules).
MPOs/RPOs have two important roles in the STI process:
Submitting projects for considerations/scoring
and
Assigning local input points to projects after NCDOT completes the quantitative scoring
We are finishing P5.0 this winter, and will begin submitting P6.0 projects in Summer 2019.

42. State Funding Source Sources Funds Allocation Motor Fuel Tax 50% 71%
DMV Fees
30%
Highway Use Tax 20%
Sources
SFY 2017
Highway Fund
Highway Trust Fund
Funds
Allocation
Legislative
Appropriations
71%
29%
60% Total
State Revenues
(Maintenance &
Operation)
40% Total
(Capital)
≈15%
≈85%
Statutory Directed
(including Federal-aid match)
100% 42

43. Sources, Funds & Distribution
Highway Fund
Highway Trust Fund +
Federal Aid $1,112M

44. How does the STI formula work?
The STI applies to capital projects and includes all funding sources that go to capital improvements (Highway Trust Fund, most Federal funding sources)
STI does not apply to operations or maintenance projects (typically paid from Highway Fund)
STI funding is divided into three main categories:
Statewide Mobility (40% of funds)
Regional Impact (30% of funds)
Division Needs (30% of funds)

45. Statewide Mobility Category
Major highways, major airports, and Class 1 railroad projects are eligible for this category.
40% of funding goes to this category
100% of scoring for these projects is based on quantitative factors (no local input points)
Projects in this category are competing at the statewide level

46. Regional Impact Category
Eligibility: All statewide- category projects plus all other US & NC routes, smaller commercial- service airports, multi- county transit services, and certain ferry projects
Projects in this category are competing at the regional level
30% of funding goes to this category. Each Region gets a share based on its population.
70% of scoring for these projects is based on quantitative factors
30% of scoring is based on local input points (currently divided with equal weight between MPOs/RPOs and NCDOT Division Engineers)

47. Regional Impact Category

48. Division Needs Category
Eligibility: All statewide- and regional-category projects plus all SR routes, general aviation airports, other transit services, most ferry projects, and all bicycle/pedestrian projects
All projects are eligible in this category
30% of funding goes to this category. Each Division gets an equal share
50% of scoring for these projects is based on quantitative factors
50% of scoring is based on local input points (currently divided with equal weight between MPOs/RPOs and NCDOT Division Engineers)
Projects in this category are competing at the division level

49. Division Needs Category

50. How do Projects get Considered for Funding?
Projects can be entered one of two ways:
By the RPO/MPO
By the local NCDOT Division
Each Division gets a flat number of projects to enter (14 per mode this cycle)
MPOs/RPOs get a number of projects proportionate to population and road mileage (22 per mode this cycle for Triangle Area RPO)
Most MPOs/RPOs have a committee or project request process they use to solicit project requests from member governments and the public
In P6.0, this submittal window will be in Summer
There are typically some projects that automatically carry forward for rescoring from previous rounds and do not need to be resubmitted

51. Committed Projects
The Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) is a 10-year document
In the past, projects within the first five years of the STIP have been considered “committed”
Committed projects do not have to go through prioritization scoring again
Determined based on first year of right-of-way or construction
Projects in the second half of the STIP are not committed, and do have to recompete for funding in the next cycle.
This is done so that NCDOT can get started on project development for projects that are likely to be in years 6-10, but still allow flexibility for those funded projects to change as needs and priorities change.
We expect that in P6.0, there may be a change to commit the first 6 years.

52. How does Project Scoring Work?
The STI law includes a provision for a Work Group to develop the specific criteria used for scoring.
This work group meets extensively in advance of each prioritization cycle to develop the rules for the process, and includes representation from MPOs, RPOs, NCDOT, and other organizations.
The work group develops measurable scoring criteria for each mode of transportation (and sometimes for different types of projects within each mode).
An example from P4.0 (the previous cycle) is shown on the next two slides.

53. P4.0 Example Criteria

54. P4.0 Example Criteria

55. How do the Local Input Points Work?
Both the MPO/RPO and the local NCDOT Division Engineer receive local input points to assign to projects.
In both cases, there is a legislative requirement that we use some type of data-driven process for determining how to assign our local input points.

56. Common MPO/RPO Approaches
Most MPOs/RPOs use some combination of SPOT quantitative scores, other quantitative data, and some sort of local input (local project rankings, local points, etc.)
They assign weights to these criteria, which calculate scores
They then put the projects in order based on this scoring and assign points in order
Some (but not all) include provisions for a set-aside amount of points per mode, or per geographic area
Some typical examples:
Cape Fear RPO – combination of SPOT score, local ranking, Division Engineer input, and project readiness
Charlotte Regional TPO – combination of MTP horizon year, MTP score, and SPOT score
Gaston-Cleveland-Lincoln MPO – primarily uses SPOT score data, but categorizes and weights it differently
A few Organizations use a different type of method – the “redline method” – which will be discussed later

57. Overall TARPO Approach
Equal Weight to SPOT Quantitative Score & County-level Project Ranking (50/50)
Decision was made in P5.0 to use the SPOT scores (previously used different quantitative measures, but this caused lots of confusion and created unnecessary work)
Counties are asked to rank projects after scoring results are released, so they can consider the scores if they want to
Each of the four counties ranks its top 10 projects – these are translated into points (#1 gets 50 points, #10 gets 5 points)

58. Overall TARPO Approach
After combining SPOT score (50%) with County Rank score (50%), take all the projects and list in order
Run down the list putting 100 points on each project until points run out, with a few caveats:
Each county gets points on at least two projects
No points on projects with quantitative score less than 10
No particular modal split
Allow projects to cascade down to lower categories without restrictions
Process does allow deviations to methodology if TAC chooses

59. P5.0 Outcome for TARPO
TARPO had 80 projects (26 eligible for both regional & division; 54 eligible for division only)
TARPO gets 1400 points to assign in each category (regional or division)
Only highway projects were eligible for Regional category in TARPO area
Focusing on Division category, our initial results based on methodology would have put points on several projects with low chances of funding while leaving points off other projects that had a good chance of funding – the TAC chose to deviate in order to maximize the number of projects likely to get funded

60. P5.0 Outcome for TARPO Original Methodology:
200 points on 2 aviation projects
680 points on 7 bike-ped projects
378 points on 4 highway projects
142 points on 2 transit projects
After Deviations:
100 points on 1 aviation project
570 points on 6 bike-ped projects
589 points on 7 highway projects
141 points on 2 transit projects

61. Scenario – If We Didn’t Deviate, What Might Get Funded?
Likely cut-line around 53

62. Scenario – What Might Happen When We Deviate?
Likely cut-line around 56

63. How does NCDOT Select the Projects for Funding?
NCDOT takes the results of the quantitative scoring plus the local input points to rank projects in priority order within each competition (statewide, region, division).
They must also consider things such as project readiness/timelines, legislative funding caps, and restrictions on use of certain federal funding sources.
In addition, NCDOT considers a modal “normalization” that ensures a minimum of 4% of regional and division funding goes to non- highway projects and a minimum of 90% of regional and division funding goes to highway projects (6% is flexible and can go either way).

64. Time for an Exercise…
You are all local government, agency, or organization representatives serving on the “Mayberry County MPO.”
The MPO has a long- range Metropolitan Transportation Plan that identifies 20 necessary projects for the region.
NCDOT is starting a new cycle of funding prioritization, and the Mayberry County MPO must decide which projects to submit for consideration.
The MPO is only allowed to submit five highway projects and five non- highway projects for prioritization.

65. Mayberry County MPO Map

66. Time for an Exercise… Form groups of 10 people.
Each person in the group will be assigned a character, with specific interests and priorities.
The MPO staff has provided a helpful table and map to explain some of the benefits and tradeoffs of each project.
Each group has an MPO Director who should facilitate the discussion.
At the end, the MPO Director must record the decision of the “board” regarding which projects to submit.
You have 15 minutes.
GO!

67. What did Your Group Choose to Submit?
Each group has 10 sticky dots (5 orange for highway, 5 green for non-highway) that the MPO Director should place in the appropriate location on the project matrix at the front of the room.
Each Division Engineer gets an additional yellow dot to put on the project of his/her choice.
Was the discussion/ decision difficult or easy?
Did your group consider any of the split and/or combined project options? Did your MPO Director bring up this option?
Did your Division Engineer coordinate with the group regarding his/her extra project selection, or did they keep it a secret?

68. The Scoring Results are In!
NCDOT has calculated its quantitative project scores for all projects, and has provided them to your MPO.
The quantitative scores are out of a total possible 100 points.
Your group should take the scoring results sheet and mark the projects that your MPO or Div. Eng. submitted, since if you did not submit them then they do not exist as projects in your universe.
Each MPO now gets to assign 400 “local input” points to projects. These can be assigned in any amount you like, but may not exceed 100 per project.
Each Division Engineer also gets to assign 300 local input points to projects.
You have 10 minutes for your MPO and Division Engineer to determine how they will assign points.

69. How Well did Your Group Do?
Calculate your total project scores using the provided worksheet.
For projects that did not receive any local points from the MPO or the DE, the total score will be the quantitative score divided by 2.
For projects that received points the equation is:
(.5 * Score) + (.25 * MPO) + (.25 * Div Eng)
When NCDOT programs projects in Division 15, they find that the money for highway projects runs out at a total score of The money for non- highway projects runs out at a total score of 53.
How many projects did your MPO successfully get funded? What kinds of projects?

70. What Happens Next? Project Development
Ed Lewis, NCDOT Division 7 Planning Engineer, developed a slide deck on the Project Development process for a 2014 training hosted by my RPO.
I am shamelessly using his slide deck today, which is available in PDF form at this link:
content/uploads/2018/03/7_ Project_Development_and_ Merger_Process.pdf (Google Viewer Link)

71. Key Considerations at the Local Level
Stay involved in your MPO or RPO’s prioritization process – this is critical
You’ve got to play in order to win
Be strategic
Consider local contributions
Make sure there is buy- in to the projects your area is submitting
Under current state policies, expansion and improvement of bicycle and pedestrian facilities lies on your shoulders.
Even if you get NCDOT money, there are various local match requirements – plan ahead
Do not low-ball your cost estimate! Do your homework ahead of time

72. Questions?
Matt Day, AICP CTP Principal Planner Triangle Area RPO Triangle J COG (919)