SEMPO Updates

News and Information for September 2020

A Message from the Executive Director

As we end the week we also enter into a new month, and hopefully one that continues with positive news as we saw just yesterday. On September 22, 2020, the House Appropriations Committee filed H.R. 8337, the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2021 and Other Extensions, with bipartisan support which extends the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act federal funding levels for surface transportation through to September 30, 2021. The original FAST Act expired on September 30, 2020.  On October 1, 2020 the president signed the act into law. This is a welcomed sigh of relief and will provide much needed certainty in surface transportation funding. Vital to State Departments of Transportation is that the FAST Act extension includes an additional $13.6 billion added to the Highway Trust Fund. “We are pleased that Congress approved the $13.6 billion transfer to the Highway Trust Fund and that states will have certainty for planning their 2021 programs, knowing the current surface transportation legislation remains in place for another year,” said Jim Tymon, AASHTO’s executive director. The extension also helps to stabilize the Airports and Airways Trust Fund, administered through the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), with a $14 billion dollar infusion. 

The larger picture is still being debated and it remains important that we encourage members of congress to pass a multi-year transportation bill before the expiration of this extension.

 - Alex McElroy

ADA Pedestrian Transportation System Condition Assessment

The fruits of our summer labor are coming to bear with our ADA transportation system condition assessment. Lochmueller reported they are 90% complete with the data analysis of all the individual data points collected over the summer. They are now compiling the draft community plans which will be presented at our October 21st SEMPO Board meeting. Please take a moment to check out the maps below of our pedestrian transportation infrastructure.

2020 Missouri's Highway Safety and Traffic Conference

From September 29 through October 1st staff attended the Missouri's Highway Safety and Traffic Conference held virtually. Presenters discussed topics such as the State of Safety in Missouri, the Show-Me Zero Initiative, an update on Medical Marijuana in Missouri, Combatting Impaired Driving in 2020, and Engaging the Public in a Pandemic. The conference was informative and it was reassuring to see how many professionals are focused on making our modes of transportation safer for all of us. But there are many challenges to making this happen. Just think about some of the changes that have occurred in just under a decade: proliferation of cell phone usage, opioid epidemic, medical and recreational marijuana, autonomous vehicles... hopefully the latter will lead toward enhanced safety, but it will still be susceptible to human error. If the presentation materials are shared in the near future, I will be happy to pass along for anyone interested.

Changes in Passenger Traffic Due to COVID-19

Statewide passenger traffic is down 20% since the public health emergency began (3/15/20 – 9/19/20). The month of August showed a decrease of 8% in passenger traffic as compared to 2019. The numbers provided by MoDOT show September worsening slightly to a 10% reduction in passenger traffic from September 1st through September 19th as compared to 2019. Easter Sunday, April 12th remains the highest day of passenger traffic reduction with a negative 55% recorded statewide. 

Commercial traffic statewide is performing better than passenger traffic statewide with an average decrease of 5% since March 15, 2020.  The month of August showed only a decrease of 1% in commercial traffic as compared to 2019 and the Month of September through September 19 experienced a decrease of 2%. As with passenger traffic, Easter Sunday, April 12th was the worst day on record for commercial traffic with a decrease of 36% as compared to 2019. 

Metropolitan Transportation Plan Update

The SEMPO Board approved the selection of KLG Engineering and the Lochmueller Group to perform the MTP Update at their Board meeting on September 16. The Technical Planning Committee (TPC) held a special MTP kickoff meeting on Tuesday, September 29 via Zoom to discuss the upcoming project with the consultants. During the meeting, the group discussed the scope of services to be performed, the project schedule, information to be collected, and possible steering committee members. There is much work to be done over the next several months so please do your share in assisting us develop this long range transportation plan for our communities.

SEMPO Trivia

What is the name and location of the structure below with vegetation on the top? Be the first one to respond to my email (amcelroy@cityofcape.org) with the correct answer, and I will bring the drink of your choice to our next SEMPO meeting. 

Automated Vehicles

Do you remember the movie Demolition Man? It starred Wesley Snipes and Sylvester Stallone. I remember watching the movie in the theatres in 1993 with my grandma... I was 12 and needed an adult, plus my grandma was really cool. Anyway, the movie was future based and showed communities with automated vehicles. I was captured by the idea but always thought it would be something much further in the future. Well it is certainly here now and our nation is trying to figure out the best way to safely deploy it as the technology advances at a rapid pace.

Transportation Quote

"The reality about transportation is that it's future-oriented. If we're planning for what we have, we're behind the curve."

  - Anthony Foxx