FAST Planning briefed commission on MPO role, air-quality freeze and funding squeeze

Jackson Fox, executive director of FAST Planning, told the Fairbanks North Star Borough Planning Commission on Feb. 11 that the Fairbanks-area Metropolitan Planning Organization (FAST Planning) is continuing routine long- and short-range transportation planning but is constrained by a federal air-quality "conformity freeze" tied to the area's PM2.5 nonattainment status.

FAST Planning is the region's federally designated MPO that prepares a 20-year metropolitan transportation plan and a short-range transportation improvement program. Fox said FAST Planning coordinates local governments, state agencies and public input and provides an annual suballocation of local federal funds to build streets, trails, transit vehicles and other projects. "We bring all of our governments to the table ... and identify transportation projects that can meet those needs and approving that funding plan of projects, in priority order," Fox said.

The presentation described the MPO's governance and staffing: a seven-member policy board made up of three mayors, one city council member, one borough assembly member and two state seats; an 18-seat technical committee with city, borough and state department representatives; and supporting groups including a bicycle and pedestrian committee, a project enhancement committee and a seasonal mobility task force. Fox identified staff members including Olivia Lunsford and Deborah Todd and noted FAST Planning's transition from FMATS to an independent nonprofit in 2019.

Fox outlined…