Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Mobility Plan Mtp Update topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Draft regional mobility plan moves to FHWA and public review; TPO targets April 30 adoption
Summary
The draft Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP) update and interactive project viewer entered concurrent FHWA and public review; TPO staff said FHWA comments are expected by mid-April and the board will consider plan endorsement on April 30.
The Knoxville Regional TPO received an update on the Mobility (Metropolitan Transportation) Plan draft and an interactive ArcGIS project viewer on March 26, with staff saying the draft is now in concurrent Federal Highway Administration and public review windows.
Timothy Tresalevi of Stantec, the mobility plan consultant, told the board the planning process is at the finish line and that FHWA review is concurrent with a public-comment period. “We are kinda here at the finish line,” Tresalevi said. He summarized outreach results: nearly 800 online survey responses, more than 500 map point submissions, five focus-group listening sessions, and two rounds of public engagement events used to refine and prioritize projects.
Tresalevi demonstrated an ArcGIS Experience Builder interface showing fiscally constrained projects by horizon (2030, 2040, 2050), an illustrative list of unfunded projects, and narrative tabs for multimodal systems and priority populations. He described the first tab as intended for public users and the later tabs for practitioner use: “The very first tab is about the mobility plan, and it it gives a little bit of context of the 3 c process, why we're doing this, and some links to additional information,” Tresalevi said.
TPO staff advised the board the FHWA review comments are expected by April 17 and that the concurrent public comment period is open now and will run about 30 days. Staff said they plan to return the plan for endorsement at an Executive Board meeting targeted for Wednesday, April 30, and that the board’s timely adoption is important to avoid freezing funds or delaying program actions.
Board members asked whether passenger rail or regional commuter services were included. Staff said passenger rail is complicated to place in a fiscally constrained 25-year plan without committed funding but agreed to add a paragraph in the transit appendix recognizing ongoing passenger-rail discussions and to include long-term ideas such as commuter/regional bus service where appropriate.
The TPO also announced a virtual “lunch-and-learn” on April 8 and a 30-business-day FHWA review in March–April; the plan and comment tool are available at knoxmobility.org and mobility@noxplanning.org for email comments.
