Ithaca-Tompkins County
Transportation Council

DESCRIPTION OF THE UPWP

EMPHASIS AREAS FOR THE 2013-2014 UPWP

The purpose of the UPWP is to serve as the annual work program for the ITCTC. The UPWP coordinates all transportation and transportation-related planning activities within the agency’s planning area. The UPWP is produced annually to match the New York State fiscal year of April 1 to March 31. It provides details of the transportation-related planning activities that the ITCTC intends to accomplish during the program year utilizing federal, state and local resources. It also delineates responsibilities and procedures for carrying out the cooperative transportation planning process. Included in the UPWP is a budget, which details how each fund source will be utilized. This permits the UPWP to act as a grant application for federal funds and also as a management tool for directing the staff activities throughout the year. Federal regulations require that all MPOs develop UPWPs. The draft UPWP for each year is reviewed, and the final document approved, during the regularly scheduled Planning and Policy Committee meetings held in February and March, respectively.

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The 2013-2014 Unified Planning Work Program, approved 3/5/2013

The 2013-2014 program year is the twenty-first year (April 1, 2013 - March 31, 2014) for which federal planning funds are available to the Ithaca area under the metropolitan planning program. This UPWP will continue to focus on the general goal of preserving and sustaining the core MPO activities and requirements with a focus on the following emphasis areas for 2013-2014:

• Implement selected recommendations from the 2030 Long-Range Transportation Plan (LRTP).
• Plan, design and begin implementation of the LRTP update process. The deadline for LRTP update is December 2014.
• Monitor development of rules and guidelines associated with MAP-21, the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (P.L. 112-141), which was signed into law on July 6, 2012, to ensure the ITCTC meets all federal requirements of the metropolitan planning process.
• Manage project activity in the 2011- 2015 Transportation Improvement Program.
• Coordinate with NYSDOT and local project sponsors to complete the planned TIP update covering FFY 2014-2018.
• Assemble, collect and/or distribute necessary data to support the transportation infrastructure decision-making processes. This effort will include work assembling and/or distributing accident and traffic count data.
• Work to help implement recommendations generated from the multi-county Regional Transportation Study project.
• Manage implementation of the NYSERDA funded project to provide online ridesharing services in Tompkins County.
• Participate in implementation of the Southern Tier Sustainability Plan under the Cleaner Greener NY program.
• Participate in implementation efforts for the Regional Economic Development Council of the Southern Tier’s Strategic Economic Development Plan, particularly as related to transportation initiatives.
• Support Tompkins County, the City of Ithaca, TCAT and other project partners during implementation of the federally funded “ITH-ACA: Intermodal Transportation Hub – Accelerating Community Access” project, which will lead to the reconstruction of the Commons and enhancements to public transportation services.
• Contribute to and support the transportation planning efforts of participating entities in the MPO process for the following efforts:
  

Enhance coordination between Tompkins County government,as designated recipient of FTA grants, and grant subrecipients in Tompkins County.
Continued implementation of the Coordinated Public Transit-Human Services Transportation Plan.
Implementation of travel demand management strategies in cooperation with the Way2Go program.

Cornell Community Investment Initiative.


Participate in efforts to address issues of "community livability" and "social justice". In particular:
Cooperate and work with the Tompkins County Planning Department in implementation of action items from the Tompkins County Countywide Comprehensive Plan.
Support local municipalities and community groups in development of transportation plans and other efforts that support the goals and objectives in the LRTP.
Provide continued emphasis and support for the development of transportation modes and programs that provide alternatives to the private automobile as a primary mode of transportation:
trail development
public transportation
bicycling initiatives
pedestrian initiatives
car sharing
ride sharing
van pooling
guaranteed ride home
others
Coordinate with appropriate agencies to ensure that transportation services are seamless, comprehensive and accessible to all citizens.

The 2013-2014 Unified Planning Work Program, approved 3/5/2013

Unified Operations Plan, May 2000