Cape Cod MPO staff outline 2026 Unified Planning Work Program, highlight Route 6A, transit and safety studies

Colleen Maderos, transportation program manager at the Cape Cod Commission, told attendees the commission — which staffs the Cape Cod Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) — had released two draft planning documents and opened a 14‑day public comment period ending May 12. "These documents are now out for a 14 day public comment period ending on May 12," Maderos said.

David Nolan, senior transportation planner at the Cape Cod Commission, led an overview of the Unified Planning Work Program for federal fiscal year 2026. He said the UPWP "is the scope of work for MPO staff on a year to year basis," and described the program as a single document that lists the region's significant transportation planning activities, regardless of lead organization or funding source.

The draft UPWP organizes work into recurring management and certification tasks, data collection and analysis, short‑ and long‑range studies, and technical assistance. Management tasks include maintaining the Transportation Improvement Program, federal certification review activities and public participation updates. Data work covers traffic counts, pavement management surveying and performance monitoring such as crash tracking and database hosting.

Nolan highlighted several proposed studies and projects in the draft UPWP:

- Route 6A visioning study (year two): staff will continue a two‑year review of crash history, traffic volumes, speed limits and multimodal infrastructure along Route 6A. Nolan said staff plan public outreach this summer, including public meetings, pop‑up events and social media, and will coordinate with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) and municipalities to develop context‑sensitive safety solutions for the historic corridor.

- Transit needs assessment (two years): an outreach‑heavy project with flyers, surveys, pop‑ups and an online public comment tool and data viewer to solicit rider input for Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority (CCRTA) services and to review ridership and stop‑level data.

- Safety before‑and‑after analysis: a study to evaluate crash histories before and after roadway improvements. Nolan cited a Sandwich roundabout example where crashes fell from 27 in the four years before construction to six in the four years after, noting the study will review a mix of large and small reconstruction projects, with a particular focus on MassDOT TIP projects.

- Local housing and multimodal trip generation data collection: staff will collect vehicle entry/exit and parking counts at selected housing locations to develop local trip‑generation and parking demand rates to inform town review of new housing proposals.

- Bike share research: staff will research peer programs and funding approaches to assess potential for a Cape Cod bike share pilot.

- Action plan implementation support: continued support for the low‑lying roads (climate‑vulnerable) project and follow‑up work from the Vision 0 action plan, including grant application assistance for municipalities.

Nolan said some UPWP tasks are routine year‑to‑year work while others are flexible and change based on regional needs. He invited public questions and said staff expect the MPO to consider endorsement of the UPWP at its May 19 meeting, pending public feedback.

The commission posted the draft UPWP and related materials at capecodcommission.org/mpo and asked the public to submit comments by May 12. Nolan and Maderos provided an email address (transportation@capecodcommission.org) and said staff will also solicit input at upcoming pop‑up events and bike path tables in the region.