Miami-Dade 2040 LRTP - Oct. 23, 2014

9-2 | MOBILITY OPTIONS Post Plan Adoption SNAPSHOT This plan is the starting point for achieving our region’s goal of having a well-connected and efficient multimodal transportation system that is safe and accessible for all users. The LRTP is a plan focused on transportation, recognizing the importance of communities and quality of life and that transportation must mesh and support community aspirations. The outcomes of this document lay the groundwork for identifying where strategic investments ought to be made to protect and enhance the quality of life for the communities of Miami-Dade County. A project prioritization process was developed to focus on regional benefits. The prioritization process also helps to align projects with the goals and objectives guiding the decisions. The resulting prioritized list of projects guides the region to determine the sequence and timing for moving projects from planning into ensuing preliminary engineering, design, or construction phases. Post LRTP adoption, implementation of project recommendations from the LRTP occurs through the programming of transportation improvements. For projects within the planning area that are funded or considered regionally significant, the MPO, in consultation with transportation planning partners, including airport, seaport, transit, local government agencies and with the Florida Department of Transportation, determines which projects are to be advanced from the LRTP into the MPO’s short-term Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). Beyond programming the projects, the MPO along with transportation partners in the region, monitor the progress and performance of the system and the overall plan implementation process. Measuring performance is a way to gauge the impacts of the plan on the transportation system. Performance measures aim to answer questions about whether the performance of the region’s transportation system (or economy, air quality, etc.) is getting better or worse over time; and whether transportation investments are correlated or linked to the LRTPs stated goals and objectives. The recently-passed transportation reauthorization bill Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21) features a new federal emphasis on performance measurement. The 2040 LRTP is consistent with this performance-based focus, which promotes the transparency of public data and decision-making and seeks to improve the accountability of public spending by better linking investments to outcomes. LINKAGE TO THE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM The development of the TIP follows the adoption of the LRTP. The TIP is a staged multi-year program that prioritizes transportation improvement projects for federal, state and local funding. The TIP is also the capital improvements element of the LRTP. The TIP in a word puts the LRTP into action. Picturing the projects contained in the 2040 Long Range Transportation Plan for Miami-Dade County as a warehouse of transportation projects for the next 20-plus years, the TIP is the vehicle that carries those projects to market, this process is visualized in Figure 9-1 . The TIP not only lists specific projects, but also the anticipated schedule and cost for each project. Like the LRTP, the projects in the TIP must be financially constrained, undergo a series of evaluations, and include opportunity for public comment. The TIP is a ‘living’ document, meaning that it needs to stay current and up-to-date given it’s important role in documenting the funding and implementation schedule of near-term (the next five-years) investments. After it has been formally approved, any change to the TIP, known as an amendment, can occur for a variety of reasons. Frequently, projects may be added to meet changing priorities or to take advantage of a special opportunity. Amendments to the TIP must undergo the same review and public scrutiny as the original TIP. The TIP Development Committee is composed of representatives from the same agencies with voting members on the Transportation Planning Council and is appointed by their respective directors. The development committee is responsible for coordinating, compiling and preparing the 5-year Transportation Improvement Program in conjunction with federal, state, regional and local agencies.