2050 Long Range Transportation Plan Update

[marcuscnelson]

For those unaware, the North Florida Transportation Planning Organization, which oversees the direction of federal funds for local projects and helps further regional transportation programs, is currently working on Path Forward 2050, the latest edition of the Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP), which acts as the overarching guide for the next quarter-century of transportation (and really community) development in the region. The LRTP is updated every five years.

The previous LRTP from 2019, Path Forward 2045, was notable for its confidence in the coming prevalence of autonomous vehicles and the degree to which it prioritized roadway and highway projects over other forms of transportation:



Path Forward 2050 is an opportunity to take a hard look at our region's transportation priorities and ask whether they are appropriate for what we want North Florida to become. It's a chance to ask if we should continue to spend 94% of our money on road construction or if refocusing that funding would lead to better outcomes. The only thing keeping us from ideas like rethinking if Level of Service is the right way to measure capacity, a real focus on complete streets with the safety measures people want, or a serious plan to move regional rapid transit forward, is a willingness to have those ideas and see them through. Getting local leaders (some of whom are on the TPO board) to push for a better LRTP is where that starts.

[Charles Hunter]

One problem with trying to direct the 2050 LRTP away from the U2C is something called the "Existing and Committed Network" which serves as the starting point for building the future transportation system. The "Existing" portion adds transportation facilities that have been completed since the base year of the prior update (2019). The "Committed" portion includes those projects with Construction funding in the Five-Year Transportation Improvement Program / FDOT 5-Year Work Program and any Strategic Intermodal (SIS) projects with funding in the first 10 years.

[Charles Hunter]

The Draft Goals for the 2050 LRTP are:
1. Encourage Safe and Secure Travel
2. Invest in Projects that Enhance Economic Competitiveness
3. Invest in Livable and Sustainable Communities
4. Enhance Mobility and Accessibility
5. Enhance Equity in Decision Making
6. Preserve and Maintain Our Existing System
7. Create Reliable and Resilient Multimodal Infrastructure
8. Enhance Tourism Transport Management
9. Ensure North Florida Is Ready for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles Future Technologies that Support Transportation

Note, there is a survey at the 2050 Path Forward link in Marcus' post.

[marcuscnelson]

The TPO is offering presentations to interested groups on the LRTP. Perhaps a group of folks here might be interested in some kind of virtual presentation on it and the Needs Plan projects? I'd be curious what's on there.

[WAJAS]

I'd be interested in it.

[Charles Hunter]

The LRTP is entering the home stretch.

First, the NFTPO has posted the "Final Survey" for the long-range plan: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LRTP_finalsurvey_partners
Take a few minutes to respond. There are a few "open comment" opportunities, so let those creative juices flow.

The consultant, staff, and Steering Committee are reviewing the "Draft Cost Feasible Plan" (aka CFP) - a list of around 125 highway, transit, bicycle, pedestrian, and complete streets projects; plus about a half-dozen "boxed" items that provide funds for programs such as trails or ITS, and others, where the projects will be determined later. The schedule calls for the CFP to be finalized and sent to the NFTPO Board at their meeting on October 10th, in advance of the November federal deadline to adopt the 2050 Plan.

As you might expect, the greatest number of projects propose adding lanes to existing Interstates and arterials. The only "new roadway" is the already committed First Coast Expressway. Curiously, the next largest number of projects are labeled "Complete Streets" or "Context Sensitive" - a rather vague description. Following that group are about a dozen U2C projects for the five proposed routes (Bay Street, Northwest, Riverside, San Marco, and Springfield) in two groups: purchase Autonomous Vehicles (20 for each route), or "Implementation" of the service.

The LRTP (2050 Path Forward) website, includes an interactive map for the Needs Plan projects. I think they hope to have the Cost Feasible info up by early September.
https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/d59e12e6f4aa4442ae1fe4e5faee756