Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Mpo Staff Updates topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Gallatin Valley MPO staff outlines data collection, long-range plan and FY2026 work-program priorities
Summary
MPO staff reported progress on the long-range transportation plan procurement, traffic-count equipment and installation plans, a pending hire for a junior planner, public participation revisions, and a proposed light FY2026 UPWP that will prioritize staffing, count stations and a travel survey.
MPO manager Jeff Butts told the Transportation Technical Advisory Committee that the Gallatin Valley MPO has concluded contract negotiations with consultant Nelson yyNygaard for the long-range transportation plan and that the City Commission approved the contract on May 6; a project kickoff with the consultant is scheduled for the coming week.
Butts provided a multi-item staff update: MDT-funded continuous traffic-count stations are anticipated for installation in June; the MPO intends to propose additional count funding in next year’s work program; the office has purchased tube classifiers and ordered a Miovision camera to supplement pedestrian and bicycle counts (the camera is on back order); and the MPO will assume additional traffic-count responsibilities from MDT on certain roadways.
On staffing, Butts said the MPO completed interviews for a junior planner and expects to extend an offer this week. He said the new staff member will take on count installations and data tasks.
The MPO closed a 45-day comment period on its public participation plan on May 11 and received substantive comments requesting clearer guidance on when significant procedural changes would come back to committees for review; staff expect to return a revised public participation plan to the technical committee in June for further feedback.
On the Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) for fiscal year 2026, Butts said the MPO will prepare and submit the draft earlier than last year because of reduced FHWA capacity; the first draft will appear at the June committee meeting with final submission in July. Planned FY2026 items described by staff include funding two full-time positions, continuous-count station installations (including electricity charges), a travel survey focused on remote-work patterns, and modest office expenses. “We do have to be budget conscious with this MPO,” Butts said.
Butts also reported a recent meeting with Streetlight, a private data provider, about contracted travel-demand and analysis services that smaller MPOs use in place of a full in-house model; the MPO may consider contracting such a service through a future UPWP amendment or project.
No committee vote or formal action was taken; the updates were informational and staff will return with drafts of the public participation plan and a proposed UPWP schedule for committee review.
