Cape Cod Commission outlines FY2026 Unified Planning Work Program priorities including Route 6A, safety before-and-after studies and transit needs work

Commission planners advanced discussion on the FY2026 Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) at the Feb. 24 MPO meeting, outlining the work the commission intends to perform for the coming federal fiscal year.

Dave Nolan, senior transportation planner at the Cape Cod Commission, said the UPWP documents staff work items and planned studies. The UPWP timeline calls for a March vote on a draft slate of UPWP projects, an April release for a 14-day public comment period and a final MPO vote in May, with work beginning Oct. 1, 2025.

Nolan said recurring tasks include management and certification activities, data collection (traffic counts, bicycle and pedestrian counts, pavement condition), Title VI and Environmental Justice work, and GIS support. Proposed study tasks for FY2026 include continuing the Route 6A corridor visioning project (a two-year effort), a before-and-after safety analysis of recent roadway improvements, and options for a region-specific housing multimodal trip-generation study or a bike-share research project. He also proposed renaming a task to “Action Plan implementation and support” to consolidate Climate Action Plan and Vision Zero Action Plan follow-up work.

Transit-related tasks in the draft UPWP include continuing a multi-year transit needs assessment (year two) and exploring micro-mobility and Transportation Management Association (TMA) approaches. Nolan emphasized that next month staff will present more detailed slides for each proposed project to support the March vote.