News and Information from March 2021

A Message from the Executive Director

525,600 minutes in a year. I know that because I was raised by a music major that shared her affinity of musicals with her kids. If you get the reference, I'll honor the trivia winnings below. It is hard to believe we are now entering our last quarter of the fiscal year (or 394,200 minutes in). But when I think about where we were at the beginning of this fiscal year, it's hard to believe it was less than a year ago. In July of last year, we were just wrapping up our field work for our ADA Pedestrian Transportation Infrastructure Condition Assessment marking the first milestone of our two major planning projects (the small task of our Metropolitan Transportation Plan Update being the other). The Board of Directors subsequently accepted the findings of the report in January 2021. As we are now putting the final touches on our 2021 - 2045 MTP, we are also narrowing in on our Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) for fiscal year 2022. Much like the current fiscal year, we have a number of exciting projects we are contemplating. Our flagship project for the year has been recommended to be an Electric Vehicle Readiness Plan. Transportation Planning Committee members and Board members have noted the need for future planning in this area as we see trending growth in the electric vehicle industry. Our draft UPWP has been presented to our state DOT and FHWA partners and will be ready for viewing in the near future. Our April Board meeting will host a Public Hearing on the draft document for those interested in attending and sharing thoughts on the work plan.

Metropolitan Transportation Plan Update

On March 17th, the SEMPO Board of Directors held a Public Hearing on the draft 2021 - 2045 Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP). The document will serve as a roadmap for policy and investment decisions for over a 20-year planning horizon. The Board is scheduled to consider the plan's adoption on April 21st. On the eve of its consideration, let's take a look at the MTP by the numbers:

· October 2020 - Steering Committee formed comprised of 15 SEMPO member representatives.

· November 2020 - 9 Focus Group meetings held addressing Emergency Management, Transit, Freight, Economic Development & Tourism, Bicycle & Pedestrian travel, Neighborhoods, Aviation, Accessibility, and General Stakeholders with over 60 participants providing feedback and insight.

· November 2020 - Hosted an online survey that was made available to the public for 5 weeks and received 143 respondents. 

· February 9, 2021 - 2 Virtual Public Open Houses hosted to so solicit feedback from the public at-large with 30 participants joining the discussion. 

· February 19, 2021 - draft 2021 - 2045 MTP issued for comment containing $152,694,099 fiscally constrained transportation projects and investments through 2025 within the SEMPO Metropolitan Planning Area (see page 106 for MPO Financial Summary through 2045).

Missouri Motor Fuel Tax Proposal

On March 11, 2021, the Missouri Senate passed SB 262 which proposes an additional tax on motor fuel, beginning with 2.5 cents in October 2021, and increasing by 2.5 cents in each fiscal year until reaching an additional 12.5 cents per gallon on July 1, 2025. The most recent increase in Missouri's motor fuel tax occurred in 1996. Currently, Missouri implements a gas tax of 17 cents per gallon, but SB262 would increase it to 29.5 cents by 2025. The funds would go toward maintaining the state’s roads and bridges. The legislation  includes a rebate program: "Drivers would be required to apply with the Department of Revenue (DOR) once a year to receive a refund for the tax, supplying data on the number of gallons purchased, information on the seller and purchaser, and more." The program was inspired by a similar policy enacted in South Carolina. The bill would also establish an Electric Vehicle Task Force within Department of Revenue tasked with analyzing the impact of electric vehicles on transportation funding.  The task force would be required to deliver a written report to the General Assembly and the Governor no later than December 31, 2022.

The bill has now been sent to the House for further consideration. 

Roadway Fatalities Update

The Southeast District has experienced 19 fatalities on the roadways in 2021 so far. This number is up from 16 fatalities reported from February. Of these 19 fatalities only six were buckled. Statewide the 2021 total is 146 lives lost. While this number is slightly lower than the five-year and three-year statewide average the number of fatalities in rural areas is trending in the wrong direction with a 43.21% increase over the 5-year average and a 36.00% increase over the three-year average. These numbers are indicating to transportation professionals that more open roads do not necessarily correlate with safer roads. On a positive note, alcohol use is trending down for the year reporting a 45.00% decline from 2020 numbers.

Monthly Statewide Planning Partners Call

MoDOT Director Patrick McKenna reported the 2022 - 2026 Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) is in draft form and ready to present to the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission (MHTC) at their meeting in May with final approval being presented for consideration in July. This is a welcomed advancement as there was no 2021 - 2025 STIP due to the impacts of the public health emergency resulting in approximately 500 STIP updates needing approval during the interim. Director McKenna also shared that the unfunded needs list collected by MoDOT staff through planning partner entities will be presented to the MHTC in April.

ASCE Infrastructure Report

On March 3, 2021 the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) issued a report rating American infrastructure with a grade of C-. Which is not the greatest news and has lead groups to state that the report highlights the need to invest in the country’s infrastructure. The report highlights an existence of a $2.59 trillion shortfall in infrastructure needs throughout the United States. The ASCE's report card website provides user-friendly summaries of the report amongst the various infrastructure categories examined. Click the button below to take a look. Individual state report cards are also available. 

2020 Census Changes to Urban Area Boundary

SEMPO staff participated in a Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) presentation on the proposed changes to the Urban Area boundaries being reviewed by the US Census Bureau. While the changes are not as dramatic as the proposed changes to the Metropolitan Statistical Areas, there are some nuances worth noting.  The proposed Census Bureau Urban Area Criteria for the 2020 Census includes an increase in the minimum threshold to qualify as an Urban Area from 2,500 population to 10,000 population or 4,000 Housing Units and no longer distinguishing between urbanized areas and urban clusters. Urban clusters were previously identified as having a population of 2,500 to 49,999. FHWA staff indicated that there is no anticipated change to the 50,000 population threshold within an Urbanized Area for the triggering of a requirement of a Metropolitan Planning Organization formation. The proposed criteria recently published in the Federal Register and the resulting comments will be reviewed this summer with the final urban areas criteria being published in the winter of this year.

SEMPO Trivia

In the NBC's television show "The Good Place", how do the characters move in and out of the Good Place neighborhood?

a. Ever Given Ship
b. Golden Door
c. Suez Canal
d. Highway to Heaven
e. The Trans Eternal Railway

Be the first one to respond to my email (amcelroy@cityofcape.org) with the correct answer and I'll bring the drink of your choice to our next meeting.

EV charging explained - Will EVs kill the grid?

If you already know the distinction of Level 1, 2, or 3 charging stations or the difference between J1772, CCS1, Type 2, CCS2, CHAdeMO, GB/T, or the Tesla proprietary charger, then this video is not for you.

Transportation Tweet

Transportation Quote

"The transport sector needs more diversity and offers fantastic opportunities to shape our communities, towns and cities to make them better for everyone. If you see something that you think isn’t right – in the built environment, in our transport systems or in colleagues’ behavior – that is an opportunity to change and improve things."

 - Susan Claris Transport Planner, Arup, Awarded 2019 Transport Planner of the Year by the Transport Planning Society