(Arlington, Texas) — North Texans are invited to comment online on several current transportation planning initiatives, including the effects of COVID-19 on regional transportation, emission reduction plans, potential funding awards, and Federal performance measures.
To help the public better understand the impacts of COVID-19 on the transportation system, NCTCOG staff will provide an update on several performance metrics. These policy metrics address the financial implications of the pandemic, travel behavior responses and benefits, and offsetting unemployment increases.
Staff will also provide the public with updates on several project initiatives. In 2019, the Federal Highway Administration awarded funding to NCTCOG to develop the IH 45 Zero Emission Corridor Plan to support both battery-electric and hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles along IH 45 from Dallas to Houston. Staff is seeking stakeholder involvement from fuel providers, fleets, infrastructure developers, fuel associations, government agencies, utilities, and interest groups and will provide an update on planning progress. Additionally, staff will present recommended projects to receive funding as part of the 2020 Transportation Alternatives Call for Projects.
Finally, staff will discuss recent federal transportation rules that require metropolitan planning organizations to monitor and set targets for a specific set of performance measures. Observed trends, project implementation, and the effects of COVID-19 will impact the decision on whether target adjustments will be recommended.
The department’s new interactive map tool, the Regional Smoking Vehicle Program, vehicle incentive opportunities and administrative revisions for Mobility 2045, the region’s long-term transportation plan, will also be highlighted.
North Texans can provide input on the aforementioned topics beginning August 10 and continuing through September 9 at
www.nctcog.org/input. To request printed copies of the information, call 817-608-2365 or email
cbaylor@nctcog.org
About the North Central Texas Council of Governments:
NCTCOG is a voluntary association of local governments established in 1966 to assist local governments in planning for common needs, cooperating for mutual benefit and coordinating for sound regional development. NCTCOG's purpose is to strengthen both the individual and collective power of local governments and to help them recognize regional opportunities, eliminate unnecessary duplication and make joint decisions.
NCTCOG serves a 16-county region of North Central Texas, which is centered in the two urban centers of Dallas and Fort Worth. Currently, NCTCOG has 238 member governments including 16 counties, 169 cities, 22 school districts and 31 special districts. For more information on the NCTCOG Transportation Department, visit
www.nctcog.org/trans.
About the Regional Transportation Council:
The Regional Transportation Council (RTC) of the North Central Texas Council of Governments has served as the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for regional transportation planning in the Dallas-Fort Worth area since 1974. The MPO works in cooperation with the region’s transportation providers to address the complex transportation needs of the rapidly growing metropolitan area. The Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area includes Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Hood, Hunt, Johnson, Kaufman, Parker, Rockwall, Tarrant and Wise counties. The RTC’s 44 members include local elected or appointed officials from the metropolitan area and representatives from each of the area’s transportation providers. More information can be found at
www.nctcog.org.