Transportation Newsletter September 2018 Volume 10 Issue 9 Northwest 1600 E. Golf Rd. Suite 0700 Des Plaines, IL 60016 Phone: 847-296-9200 Ribbon Cut on Pace I-90/Barrington Rd. Express Service Station Dates to Remember September 18 NWMC Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee 10:30 a.m. at the NWMC offices September 19 - North Shore Technical Committee - 8:30am at the Skokie Village Hall September 26 - STP Project Selection Committee - 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at CMAP September 27 NWMC Transportation Committee 8:30 a.m. at the NWMC Offices October 5 Northwest Council of Mayors Technical Committee 8:30 a.m. at the Barrington Village Hall October 10 CMAP On to 2050 Plan launch! Register today to join CMAP at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, October 10, 2018, in Chicago's Millennium Park. On August 21, Pace, the Illinois Tollway, and Hoffman Estates hosted a celebration for the opening of Illinois's first in-line transit station, the new Pace I-90/Barrington Road Park-n-Ride Station. U.S. Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, State Senator Christina Castro, Pace Chairman Richard Kwasneski, Illinois Tollway Chairman Bob Schillerstrom, Hoffman Estates Mayor William D. McLeod, and Pace board member Tom Marcucci spoke about the importance of public transportation and the interagency cooperation and investment that led to the station's opening. The Pace I-90/Barrington Road Station allows for convenient on-highway boarding, faster trip times, and a more reliable schedule. This is the first time in Tollway history that transit options were accommodated within the roadway. The station includes a free, 170-space park-n-ride lot and two "inline stations" (one in each direction) which allows express buses to pick up riders without exiting the highway. A pedestrian bridge over the tollway and two tunnels passing beneath the ramps allow commuters to access eastbound and westbound buses with ease. The south side of the station features a transfer location to two new Pace services - Route 612-Barrington Rd. Circulator and Hoffman Estates On Demand. The investment in walkability at this location connects Pace passengers to adjacent jobs and residences as well as a forthcoming kiss-n-ride facility. Pace Routes 603, 605, 607 and 610 serve the inline stations.
Page 2 Northwest Council of Mayors Technical Committee Update The Northwest Council of Mayors Technical Committee met on August 16 at the Barrington Village Hall. Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) Senior Program Analyst Kama Dobbs presented the proposed scoring system and project selection criteria for the new Surface Transportation Program (STP) regional Shared Fund. The Technical Committee raised a number of specific concerns about the scoring system and selection criteria, which have been transmitted to CMAP. In addition, Ms. Dobbs fielded questions on the proposed Active Program Management rules for all STP projects in the region. The Technical Committee approved a revised list of STP projects based on expected letting or obligation dates of upcoming projects. The Technical Committee also tabled any consideration of functional classification change requests until it obtains clarification on the status of previous requests. The next Technical Committee meeting will be held on Friday, October 5, 8:30 a.m. at Barrington Village Hall. Please contact Josh Klingenstein if you have any project changes or cost increase requests. North Shore Council of Mayors Technical Committee Update The next North Shore Technical Committee meeting will be held on Wednesday September 19th 8:30am at Skokie Village Hall, 5127 Oakton Street. Agenda items will include agency reports, STP program updates, and potential STP modifications.
Page 3 STP Shared Fund and Active Program Management Update Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) staff have proposed a series of draft policy recommendations for the management of projects funded under the Surface Transportation Program (STP). Changes include the introduction of the STP Regional Shared Fund, which is designed to fund important regional projects that address regional performance measures and the goals of ON TO 2050. The intention of the fund is also to encourage collaboration between municipalities and advance projects that local councils cannot readily fund on their own. Given these goals, projects must meet one of two eligibility requirements: Joint application from at least 3 local partners (including at least one municipality) or a total project cost of $5 million or more. Additional changes are proposed for active program management including program development (uniform calls to develop active and contingency programs), program management (training, designating managers, and quarterly status reports, obligation deadlines, reprogramming, and redistributing of funds), and additional provisions (Grant Accountability and Transparency Act (GATA), Qualifications Based Selection (QBS), etc. The STP Project Selection Committee met most recently on August 22 for a discussion on the proposed changes before the finalized proposal is voted on at the September 26 meeting. Comments and proposed changes were submitted by the NWMC to CMAP staff on behalf of the organization and the Northwest Council of Mayors Technical Committee.
Page 4 Safe Routes to School Funding Available The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) has announced a new round of Safe Routes to School (SRTS) funding for Illinois. Between $5 to $6 million in funds is available statewide, with awards ranging from $2,000 to $200,000. For this year s round, there will be no local match required. Eligible infrastructure projects include: side-walk improvements; traffic calming/speed reduction improvements; traffic control devices; pedestrian and bicycle crossing improvements; on-street and off-street bicycle facilities; and, secure bicycle parking facilities. Eligible non-infrastructure projects include: events; equipment; and, supplies that help to address areas of education, enforcement, encouragement, and evaluation. Eligible sponsors include: schools or school district s political subdivisions (municipalities, cities, towns, etc.), metropolitan planning organizations/regional planning commissions, councils of government, local and regional agencies (law enforcement agencies, health departments, etc.), and non-profit organizations. Every applicant must be registered through the Grant Accountability and Transparency Act (GATA) grantee portal, and all pre-award requirements must be fulfilled prior to submitting an SRTS application. The grantee portal link can be found by visiting https://grants.illinois.gov/portal/. While many municipalities have already registered through GATA, you may want to confirm with any school districts which are interested in applying that they are registered. Applications will be accepted from September 24 to November 19. For more information, please visit http://www.idot.illinois.gov/transportation-system/local -transportation-partners/county-engineers-and-localpublic-agencies/safe-routes-to-school/index. Safe Routes to School Funding Clarifications The Safe Routes to School (SRTS) application guidelines originally stated only municipalities and roadway jurisdiction were eligible to sponsor Infrastructure projects. IDOT is revising that guideline to allow schools/school districts to also act as eligible sponsors for infrastructure projects, provided they demonstrate the ability to follow all federal and state policies, directives, and laws and they provide evidence of an active partnership with the affected municipality by letter of support or resolution. In order to streamline the internal IDOT processes regarding the implementation of these project items, Speed Feedback Signs will now be funded as infrastructure projects, under the Traffic Control Devices category. These would still be considered as enforcement measures and will be coordinated by IDOT Districts just as other signage projects. These projects, if awarded as stand-alone projects, will not be subject to public meetings or FHWA coordination meetings unless deemed necessary by IDOT district personnel. Because these items would be located on public ROW, certain documents (MOU/IGA) may/will be required.
Page 5 CMAP My Daily Travel Survey The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning is conducting the My Daily Travel survey, asking households in northeastern Illinois how they get from place to place in our region. Households can participate in the survey by signing up at www.mydailytravel.com. By providing accurate information about your daily travel, you will help ensure that funding to maintain roads, bridges, and transit is spent where it is needed most. Households that complete the survey will earn $50. Grant Opportunity The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) is establishing a new grant program, Driving a Cleaner Illinois, to distribute Environmental Mitigation Trust monies. Applicants can apply to the program to replace old heavy (not passenger) diesel engines with new all-electric, alternate fuel or clean diesel engines to reduce ozone forming air emissions in Illinois. Illinois EPA will open each funding round with the issuance of a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). The first funding round is now open and the NOFO available by visiting https://www2.illinois.gov/sites/gata/grants/ Northwest 1600 E. Golf Rd Suite 0700 Des Plaines, IL 60016 Phone: 847-296-9200 Cole Jackson: 847-296-9200 ext. 131 CJackson@nwmc-cog.org Josh Klingenstein: 847-296-9200 ext. 128 JKlingenstein@nwmc-cog.org