By Joe Turner, Communications Manager

In January of 2012, the HRTPO welcomed new members to the HRTPO Board.  The HRTPO serves as the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the Hampton Roads region, and as such, it establishes regional transportation policies, determines allocation of available transportation funds and prioritizes transportation projects for the region. 

The new members are:

Anthony Conyers, Jr. (Williamsburg Area Transit Authority) – Voting member
Dolores C. Darden (Isle of Wight) Voting Member
Christopher A. Hutson (Gloucester) Voting Member
Mary K. Jones (James City County) Voting member

JoAnn W. Hall (Isle of Wight) – Voting Alternate
Judith Knudson (Williamsburg) – Voting Alternate
Charles B. Whitehurst (Portsmouth) – Voting Alternate

Colonel Korvin D. Auch (Air Force – Langley) Non-voting
Colonel Thomas R. Wetherington (Army – Langley) Non-voting

The HRTPO Board continually assesses its membership to account for emerging trends or shifts in the area of regional transportation and may add other stakeholders as deemed appropriate. Many Hampton Roads residents don’t realize that in addition to state, federal and military liasions, their elected officials are appointed to serve on the HRTPO Board. These public servants balance the difficult paradox of representing their localities, while crafting solutions that will benefit the entire region, and they perform these duties willingly and without compensation. 

In these austere times, budget season requires local governments, and the HRTPO, to make difficult choices and prioritize programs with limited resources available.  Tackling issues regionally is an ideal way to take advantage of economies of scale, as well as shared resources and expertise.  The HRTPO was founded upon this collective approach to solving problems.  It is our goal to provide the localities and citizens of Hampton Roads the highest quality products and services improve the quality of life for all in Hampton Roads.

By Kendall Miller, Public Involvement and Community Outreach Administrator/Title VI and Environmental Justice Coordinator

On March 12, 2012, the HRPTO will convene its first meeting of the Environmental Justice (EJ) Roundtable to discuss the unique role that transportation plays in the diverse communities that make up Hampton Roads. 
The Roundtable discussions will focus on a variety of environmental justice issues that affect communities throughout the region, such as access to the transportation planning process, how the benefits and burdens of transportation projects are assessed, and effective ways in which the HRTPO’s projects and programs can be communicated.

EJ is more than a set of legal and regulatory obligations. Properly implemented, EJ principles and procedures improve all levels of transportation decision making.   The HRTPO hopes to enhance the public involvement process, strengthen community-based partnerships and provide members of EJ communities with opportunities to learn about and improve the quality and usefulness of transportation in their lives.  Additionally, the proper implementation of EJ principles will ensure improved data collection, monitoring and analysis tools that assess the needs of and analyze the potential impacts on, minority and low-income populations. 

The EJ Roundtable meeting will occur in the Boardroom of the Regional Building, 723 Woodlake Drive, Chesapeake, VA.  For more information, contact Ms. Kendall Miller, Public Involvement and Community Outreach Administrator/Title VI and Environmental Justice Coordinator, at (757) 420-8300.

By Kendall Miller, Public Involvement and Community Outreach Administrator/Title VI and Environmental Justice Coordinator

A public meeting held on the evening of Tuesday, March 20, 2012, will kick off a three-day Federal Certification Review of the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization (HRTPO) .  The review, slated to run from March 20, 2012 to March 22, 2012, will be conducted by The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in partnership with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA).
 
The certification review is conducted in order to determine if the HRTPO’s transportation planning process adequately addresses major issues facing Hampton Roads in accordance with applicable Federal regulations, and will also assess the cooperative planning process between the HRTPO, transit operators, local governments, and state agencies. 

During the public meeting, which will be held in the board room of the Regional Building, 723 Woodlake Drive, Chesapeake VA, members of the public will be invited to express their views on the transportation planning process being conducted in Hampton Roads.  For more information on the Federal Certification Review, and the public meeting to be held on March 20, contact Ms. Kendall Miller, Public Involvement and Community Outreach Administrator/Title VI and Environmental Justice Coordinator at (757) 420-8300.

Brian Chenault, Community Outreach Planner

The HRTPO will soon roll out a new and improved website that reflects the unique needs, values, and concerns of Hampton Roads’ diverse stakeholders and citizens, continuing the TPO’s effort of maintaining an accessible, transparent transportation planning process.     

Most importantly, the new website will serve as a how-to guide for accessing and getting involved in the various projects, programs, and other work of the TPO.  In other words, giving citizens a direct say in the decisions made about transportation in our region.  To facilitate this process and make it as easy as possible for citizens, the website will continue to feature an events calendar and translator, allowing translation of the TPO’s reports, notices and website between a number of languages.    

The new website is an in-house project developed by TPO staff, and will go live in the next two months.

The Regional Board Room, 723 Woodlake Drive, Chesapeake, Virginia

1. CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order by the Chair at approximately 10:30 a.m.

2. HRTPO RESOLUTIONS OF APPRECIATION
The HRTPO Board recognized Transportation District Commission of Hampton Roads President/CEO Mr. Philip A. Shucet for his contribution to the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization.

3. PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD
A member from the Sierra Club Observer addressed the HRTPO Board regarding the need for the Commonwealth to establish a revenue stream to address the region’s transportation needs.

4. COMMONWEALTH TRANSPORTATION BOARD MEMBER COMMENT PERIOD
Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) members Mr. Aubrey Layne, Mr. W. Sheppard Miller III and Mr. Hollis D. Ellis briefed the HRTPO Board on the actions of the January 18, 2012 CTB meeting.  They indicated that the CTB approved the City of Chesapeake’s application for $152 million from the Virginia Transportation Infrastructure Bank to complete the project funding package for the Dominion Boulevard road and bridge construction project and the shift of funding allocations in order to advance the Richmond/Hampton Roads Intercity Passenger Rail project by 10 months.  The CTB members also indicated the CTB de-allocated approximately $17 million statewide under the Revenue Sharing Program for projects not initiated after two subsequent fiscal years of allocation as described by the Revenue Sharing Program guidelines.  The CTB members noted that approximately $5 million was de-allocated from projects in Hampton Roads.

5. SUBMITTED PUBLIC COMMENTS
Submitted written public comments were provided to the HRTPO Board.

6. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
At the request of the Chair, Agenda Item #8 FY 2012-2015 Transportation Improvement Program Amendment: VDOT was moved after Agenda Item #17 of the Regular Agenda.  The amended Agenda was approved.

CONSENT AGENDA:
Agenda items under the Consent Agenda were approved by the HRTPO Board.
7. Minutes
9. FY 2012-2015 Transportation Improvement Program: VDOT
10. HRTPO Citizen Transportation Advisory Committee: Membership
11. HRTPO CMAQ/RSTP Projects and Allocations 2011: Final Report

REGULAR AGENDA:
12. Military Briefing: U.S. Navy
This item was for informational purposes only.  The HRTPO Board took no action on this agenda item.

13. Hampton Roads Long-Range Transportation Plan Adoption: Final Reports and Resolutions
The HRTPO Board approved the 2034 Long-Range Transportation Plan and associated resolution as well as the 2035 Rural Long-Range Transportation Plan and associated resolution.

14. FY 2013 Unified Planning Work Program: Establishing Planning Priorities
The HRTPO Board took no action on this item; however concurred on the following planning priorities: Transportation Funding, Military Transportation Needs, and Passenger Rail.  In addition, one member suggested that Freight and another member suggested that Regional Toll Impacts be considered for inclusion as regional planning priorities in the UPWP.

15. Project Priorities and Candidate P3 Projects
The HRTPO Board approved the list of regional priorities to be submitted during the development of the FY 2013-2018 Six-Year Improvement Program. The HRTPO Board also approved three regional projects to be submitted as candidate projects to advance under the PPTA.  In addition, the HRTPO Board directed the HRTPO Executive Director to coordinate with the city of Suffolk on the CenterPoint – Kenyon Connector project and with the city of Virginia Beach on the Virginia Beach Transit Extension to determine whether they are feasible candidate projects to advance under the PPTA in accordance with the Commonwealth transportation objectives and PPTA Implementation Manual screening criteria.

16. Downtown Tunnel/Midtown Tunnel/ MLK Freeway Extension Project: VDOT
This item was for informational purposes only.  The HRTPO Board took no action on this agenda item.

8. FY 2012-2015 Transportation Improvement Program: VDOT
The HRTPO Board approved the TIP Amendment.

17. Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation Comments and Updates
Ms. Amy Inman briefly reported on the CTB’s action to advance the Amtrak Virginia: Next Stop Norfolk project construction progress.

18. HRTPO Board Action Items: Three-Month Tentative Schedule
This item was for informational purposes only.  The HRTPO Board took no action on this item.  Mr. Dwight Farmer, HRTPO Executive Director, indicated that the HRTPO 2012 Retreat typically scheduled for the month of February has been tentatively scheduled for May 2012.

19. Correspondence of Interest
This item was for informational purposes only.  The HRTPO Board took no action on this item.

20. For Your Information
This item was for informational purposes only.  The HRTPO Board took no action on this item.

21. Old/New Business
There was no old/new business.

ADJOURNMENT

By: Sam Belfield
Senior Transportation Engineer

The Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization (HRTPO) is seeking the participation of commuters travelling to/from all military installations in Hampton Roads in a transportation survey.

The HRTPO is collecting information about the commuting experience of military personnel (active-duty, civilians, contractors, reservists and others) travelling to/from the region’s military bases.  The survey was developed by the HRTPO, in concert with the Commands from the region’s military installations and various transportation stakeholders. It is designed to identify and determine the challenges local military personnel and military-related commuters routinely face during their daily commutes.

The survey can be found on the homepage of the HRTPO’s website (http://www.hrtpo.org) and takes about 5-10 minutes to complete, depending upon web connection speeds. Click on the HRTPO Military Commuter Survey button below, or visit, http://www.hrtpo.org/MilitaryCommuterSurvey.asp

Survey collection is currently underway and will be open to military commuters from November 8, 2011 until February 20, 2012.  The survey results will be summarized and passed on to the HRTPO board, local transit agencies, local governments, VDOT, and other decision-makers in an effort to improve military travel in our region.

By Kendall Miller
Public Involvement and Community Outreach Administrator/Title VI Coordinator

HRTPO's Freight Transportation Advisory Committee (FTAC), an advisory committee to the HRTPO Board, will be hosting the Inaugural Virginia Freight Transportation Summit, a prequel to the 2011 Virginia Governors Transportation Conference.  The Summit, which will be held on December 6, 2011, is co-hosted by the Port of Virginia.

Speakers, including Representative John Mica (R-FL), Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and Jeffrey Lacker, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, will discuss topics focusing on the economic contributions of freight transportation and developing efficient distribution infrastructure systems.

For more information on the 2011 Virginia Governors Transportation Conference , click here.

By Jessica M. Banks
Senior Transportation Analyst

The 2011 Association for Metropolitan Planning Organizations (AMPO) Annual Conference took place in Dallas, TX from October 25 -28, 2011.  This event brought together policy board members, executive directors, technical staffs, federal and state employees, and consultants to share information on a variety of MPO issues.  The 2011 Conference theme was “Moving America’s Metros.”  Topics of the conference included Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning, Developing Sustainable Communities, Innovative Financing, MPO Operations, Performance Measures, Tolling and Highway Finance, and Transit-Oriented Development. 

On October 26, 2011, the Keynote Address was given by Matthew K. Rose, Chief Executive Officer of Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway Company.  Headquartered in Fort Worth, TX, BNSF Railway Company operates one of the largest rail systems in North America.  Holding this position since 2000, Mr. Rose is a member of multiple boards including AMR Corporation, AT&T Inc., Association of American Railroads, President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, and US Chamber of Commerce.

An update on the latest transportation policy happenings in Washington, DC was given to conference attendees.  This interactive session reviewed recent legislative actions, current funding issues, reauthorization, and the possible impact of the upcoming elections.

The results of the 2011 AMPO Awards were announced on October 27, 2011.  The 2011 award winners included:
•    National Award for Outstanding Overall Achievement for a TMA MPO: Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission
•    National Award for Outstanding Leadership: Michael Skipper, Nashville Area MPO
•    Commemorative Memorial: New York Metropolitan Transportation Council Staff

Joining AMPO, Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration representatives held a Q&A town hall discussion on emerging and recent transportation issues on October 28, 2011.

Ms. Camelia Ravanbakht, HRTPO Deputy Executive Director, served on a panel speaking to the topic of Emergency Response and Preparedness.  This discussion-based session highlighted challenges and activities underway that address the issues of security planning for natural and man-made disasters.  Ms. Ravanbakht also attended the AMPO Policy Committee meeting.

For more information about the conference sessions and workshops, please visit: http://www.ampo.org .