Wilmington MPOAnnuAlreport

FY15-16

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Table of Contents3

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Board Members

A Note from the Executive Director

Cape Fear Transportation 2040

Funded Transportation Projects

Key Projects moving forward through Partnerships

Development of the Strategic Business Plan

Long-Range Transportation Planning Services

FY16 Branding Initiative

Technical Services

Transportation Demand Management Program

FY16 New Staff

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FY16 Wilmington MPO BoardMembers

THE 2015-2016 WMPO BOARD

MEMBERS ARE (pictures shown from

top to bottom and left to right):

Hon. Gary Doetsch (Chair), Town of Carolina

Beach; Hon. Frank Williams (Vice-Chair),

Brunswick County; Hon. Neil Anderson, City

of Wilmington; Hon. Jonathan Barfield, New

Hanover County/Cape Fear Public

Transportation Authority;

Hon. Pat Batleman, Town of Leland;

Hon. Joe Breault, Town of Belville;

Hon. John Lennon, North Carolina Board of

Transportation; Hon. Hank Miller, Town of

Wrightsville Beach; Hon. David Piepmeyer,

Pender County; Hon. Charlie Rivenbark,

City of Wilmington; Hon. Emilie Swearingen,

Town of Kure Beach; Hon. Skip Watkins,

New Hanover County; Hon. Eulis Willis;

Town of Navassa.

In 2016, the WMPO‘s Board renamed the policy board of the organization (they were formerly called the Transportation

Advisory Committee or TAC) to emphasize their role as the policy-making entity for the Wilmington Urban Area MPO. The Board is the federally recognized entity responsible for carrying out the urban transportation planning process for the Wilmington Urban Area.

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As a leader in transportation planning, the MPO works with our fellow partners on a daily basis in an effort to improve transportation in our communities. I invite you to review this re-port for a glimpse at this past year‘s successes. One of the greatest achie-vements over the past year was the adoption of the Cape Fear Transportati-on 2040 plan which identifies the region’s transportation needs and outlines funding strategies between now and 2040.

The Wilmington Multi-modal Transportation Center has been under discus-sion since the 1990s, and is now under development through partnerships between WMPO member jurisdictions. A critical decision was the Board’s allocation of Surface Transportation Program- Direct Attributable funding in the amount of $2.4 million for advancement of this project.

The region continues to grow in population and the economy continues to advance in an upward direction. One of largest economic drivers, the NC Port of Wilmington, is continuing to grow with the construction of Enviva and cold storage facilities and completion of the turning basin that will allow larger ships to access the port. With this growth, there will be a continued need to evaluate access to and from the Port. The City of Wilmington cre-ated a Mayor’s Task Force for the Rail Realignment. The Wilmington Urban Area MPO and NCDOT have also agreed to fund a portion of this study which could improve access to the port, improve safety and be transformati-onal for the region.

Also of note, a goal of the Board’s was to better communicate and create a better understanding of the organization by the community. The MPO recently completed a new branding initiative with a new logo and a new website. We will continue to strive to improve our outreach efforts to create a better understanding of the organization and its critical importance in the region.

The organization looks forward to another successful year and the road ahead!

Mike Kozlosky

Executive Director

One of the greatest achievements of the past year has been the adoption of the Cape Fear Transportation 2040 plan which identifies the region‘s transportation needs and outlines funding strategies between now and 2040.

The Wilmington Multi-modal Transportation Center has been in discussion since the 1990s, and is now under development through partners-hips between WMPO member juris-dictions.

As the Wilmington Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization’s Executive Director and on behalf of the Board, I am pleased to present this 2016 Annual Report.

A NOTE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

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ADoPTIoN oFCAPE FEAR TRANSPoRTATIoN 2040

The WMPO received a commendation in its 2016 Federal Highways Certification Review for the robust public outreach efforts conducted for Cape Fear Transportation 2040. Over 4,000 unique citizen surveys were analyzed as part of the plan development process.

Federal law requires MTPs to be updated every five years. In May of 2013, the Citizen‘s Advisory Committee (CAC) was appointed by the WMPO Board to guide the development of Cape Fear Transportation 2040. On November

18, 2015, the WMPO Board adopted Cape Fear Transportation 2040 which now serves as the Wilmington MPO‘s federally-mandated metropolitan transportation plan (MTP). Cape Fear Transportation 2040 guides how multi-modal transportation needs will be addressed in the Wilmington MPO between 2015 and 2040. The Board uses this plan to guide transportation investments and the development of transportation projects and policies in the region.

Fiscal Constraint was a key federal requirement of Cape Fear Transportation 2040. This meant that all projected regional transportation project expenditures between 2015 and 2040 must be balanced by a projected revenue source. The plan serves as the basis of the WMPO‘s Me-tropolitan Transportation Improvement Program (MTIP) which is the WMPO‘s portion of the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP).

Public Involvement was the basis of Cape Fear Trans-portation 2040 project recommendations. The CAC took great strides to ensure that all elements of the plan reflec-ted the desires of the general public. Efforts of the CAC were realized through public open houses, stakeholder groups, advertisements, speaking tours, press releases (re-sulting in media coverage) a website and a travel choice survey that received over 4,000 responses.

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Cape Fear Transportation 2040 serves as a guide for the develop-ment of 6 modes of transportation in the Wilmington Urban Area. The plan contains specific project and policy direction for all of these modes to include specific project recommendations for:

15AVIATIONPROJECTS

100BICYCLE &

PEDESTRIANPROJECTS

2FERRY

PROJECTS

14FREIGHT &

RAILPROJECTS

134MASS

TRANSIT PROJECTS

58ROADWAY PROJECTS

$597,943,000FEDERAL & STATE

TRANSPORTATION FUNDS PROGRAMMED IN

THE WMPO REGION

The State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) programs all federal and state

2016-2025STATE TRANSPORTATION

IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM

funds for transportation projects in the state of North Carolina. Only projects included in the MPO‘s Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP) are eligible for funding through the STIP.

Cape Fear Transportation 2040 is the WMPO‘s current MTP and one of its results is the programming of over $597,943,00 in transportation projects in the 2016-2025 NCDOT STIP in all 6 modes of trans-portation within the Wilmington MPO region.

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TRANSPoRTATIoN PRoJECTS FUNDED IN ThE MTIP/STIP IN RIghT-oF-wAY ACqUISITIoN oR UNDER CoNSTRUCTIoN

Projects Under Construction

• Causeway Widening

• I-140/Wilmington Bypass

• Kerr Avenue Widening

Projects in Right-of-Way Acquisition

• Military Cutoff Road Extension

• Wilmington Multi-modal Transportation Center

• 17th Street Streetscape

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Projects in Study/Design

• Cape Fear River Crossing

• Independence Boulevard Extension

• Hampstead Bypass

• US17BUS/Market Street Medians/Access Management

• US17 Hampstead Superstreet/Access Management

• Gordon Road Widening

• College Road Upgrade

• Eastwood Road & Military Cutoff Road Interchange

• Carolina Beach Road & College Road Interchange

• Castle Hayne Road Widening

• South Front Street Widening

• Isabel Holmes Bridge Interchange

• Carolina Beach Road Streetscape

• US74/Martin Luther King Jr. Pkwy & US17BUS/

Market Street Interchange

• Shipyard Boulevard Transit Amenity Upgrade

• NC132/College Rd & US74/Oleander Dr Interchange

• US74/Martin Luther King Jr. Pkwy & Kerr Ave Interchange

TRANSPoRTATIoN PRoJECTSFUNDED IN ThE MTIP/STIP

FoR STUDY/DESIgN8

PARTNERINg wITh NCDoT AND ThE CITY oF wILMINgToN To DEvELoP ThE RAIL REALIgNMENT FEASIBILITY STUDY

The Wilmington MPO region continues to grow in population and the economy continues to advance

in an upward direction. With this growth, there will be a continued need to evaluate access to/from

Wilmington‘s port. Currently, the only rail that serves the NC Port of Wilmington winds through the City

of Wilmington in its route towards the port which necessitates slower movements for rail cars, disruption

of traffic patterns for both trains and vehicles, and safety issues at the crossings. One option to address

these issues is to explore moving the rail line from the City of Wilmington towards Eagles Island across

the Cape Fear River. As such, the City of Wilmington created a Mayor‘s Task Force for the Rail Realign-

ment. The Wilmington MPO is partnering with the City of Wilmington and NCDOT to fund and manage

the development of this Rail Realignment feasibility study.

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PARTNERINg wITh ThE CITY oF wILMINgToN AND CAPE FEAR

PUBLIC TRANSPoRTATIoN AUThoRITY FoR ThE UPCoMINg CoNSTRUCTIoN oF ThE wILMINgToN MULTI-MoDAL

TRANSPoRTATIoN CENTER

The Wilmington Multi-modal Transportation Center has been discussed since the 1990s. The Board

entered into an agreement in late 2015 with the North Carolina Department of Transportation, the

City of Wilmington and the Cape Fear Public Transportation Authority for the future development of the

center. Subsequently the WMPO Board voted to allocate Surface Transportation Program - Direct Attri-

butable funding in the amount of $2.4 million for the advancement of this project. This funding allocati-

on will allow this long-awaited project to “get off the ground“ and move it forward toward construction

over the next few years.

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In March of 2016 the WMPO Board began creating a

Strategic Business Plan to guide the organization. The

Board worked with a facilitator to discuss the organization‘s

challenges to chart a strategic direction. Immediate results

of the process included the shortening of the organization‘s

mission statement and a focus on branding the organization.

The Board plans to continue the development of the strategic

plan to further direct the focus of the organization, resulting in

a short-list of priorities.

DEvELoPMENT oF ThE wMPo 2017 - 2021

STRATEgIC BUSINESS PLAN

wMPo Board Priorities FY17-21

• Hampstead Bypass• Rail Realignment• Cape Fear River Crossing• Independence Boulevard

Extension• Freight Rail Service re-

establishment between Wilmington and Raleigh

• Wilmington International Airport offers more direct flights to major hubs

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New Website - www.wmpo.orgThe WMPO website was re-vamped in 2016 with this new interface. This included creating a more user-friendly, mobile device-friendly web-site with a fresh design aesthetic.

New LogoThe WMPO adopted a new logo to assist in the rebranding of the organization with a fresh and identifiable image. The new WMPO logo helps to impress the interdependency of

the WMPO‘s different activities and the continuing, coopera-tive, and comprehensive nature of transportation planning.

New Mission StatementThe WMPO adopted a new mission statement to clarify the

organization‘s comitment to FHWA‘s 3-C process. Create and execute continuing, cooperative and comprehensive

regional long-range planning efforts that proactively drive trans-portation decisions to improve safety, connectivity, economic

development and quality of life in the Wilmington region.

FY16 wMPo‘S NEw BRANDINg INITIATIvE

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The primary role of the WMPO is to conduct transportation planning for the Wilmington Urban Area in a

continuing, cooperative, and comprehensive manner. As such, the WMPO is key to ensuring federal manda-

tes are met. Most importantly, the MPO develops and maintains the Metropolitan Transportation Plan (Cape Fear

Transportation 2040 was adopted in November of 2015 and serves as our current MTP). In addition, responsibili-

ties include management of the development of several other plans and initiatives (see page 14) and providing the

following services:

Mapping/GraphicsMapping and graphics are critical for communicating the analysis and recommendations conducted by the WMPO.

Data ManagementWith 1,000 proposed projects documented in WMPO plans, the management and updating of project data is critical to ensuring that the correct information can be shared when funding/development opportunities present themselves

NCDOT Prioritization Process Management/Other funding mechanismsStaff is responsible for seeking opportunities for project funding and implementation, including all necessary submittals to NCDOT‘s Prioritization process.

ThE wILMINgToN URBAN AREA MPo PRovIDES LoNg-RANgE TRANSPoRTATIoN PLANNINg SERvICES FoR ThE REgIoN

Long-Range PlanningThe Wilmington Urban Area MPO cooperates with member jurisdictions and partners to develop long-range transportation plans (see page 14).

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The creation of long-range plans involves documenting the future vision for all modes of transportation

within the WMPO boundaries. Long-range planning projects in FY15-16 involved working with

committees of experts, performing existing conditions analysis, conducting public outreach and develo-

ping and vetting recommendations. Some key 2015-2016 long-range planning initiatives are below:

Gulch Greenway PlanIn 2016, the WMPO began the process of developing a master plan for the first phase of the Downtown Greenway which is a top-ranked future greenway from the Wilmington/New Hanover County Comprehensive Greenway Plan . This project will produce the conceptual design of the trail along the former railway bed from 3rd to McRae Streets in downtown Wilmington.

Congestion Management Process Biennial ReportThe federally-mandated Congestion Management Process was adop-

ted by the TAC on December 11, 2013. As part of this process, the WMPO collects data on an ongoing basis to analyze the impacts of

congestion in our region. The WMPO has worked towards producing the first biennial report documenting the results of the analysis.

Pender County Collector Street PlanThrough a partnership with Pender County, the WMPO contrac-ted with Stantec Consulting Services to develop a collector street plan for the portion of Pender County within the WMPO bounda-ries. This plan was adopted in March of 2016.This plan will guide future development, location and design of roadways to provide increased connectivity and accomodate all modes of transporta-tion.

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ThE wILMINgToN URBAN AREA MPo PRovIDES DEvELoPMENT REvIEw AND PRoJECT DEvELoPMENT/MANAgEMENT TEChNICAL SERvICES

35 TIA

REVIEWS

515 SITE PLAN REVIEWS

409 TRAFFIC COUNTS

16 STBGP-DAPROJECTS

4 TASA-DA

PROJECTS

In October of 2012, the Wilmington Urban Area MPO was designated a Transportation Management Area

(TMA) by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). This allowed the WMPO to expand the number

of technical services provided to member jurisdictions. The WMPO provides the following technical services:

management of a Direct Attributable program, assistance with project management for WMPO projects, de-

velopment review, TIA review and a traffic count program. The Direct Attributable programs now include the

STBGP-DA and TASA-DA programs (Surface Transportation Block Grant Program - Direct Attributable and

Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside Direct-Attributable, respectively) which were formerly called the STP-DA

and TAP-DA programs.

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IN

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2016• Wilmington Multi-modal Transportation Center

2015• Cape Fear Boulevard MUP• Westgate Drive MUP• Holly Tree Road & College Road

Crosswalks• Coral Drive Sidewalks

2014• Island Greenway• Hinton Avenue MUP• Hooker Road MUP• Leland Middle School Sidewalk• Old Fayetteville Loop Road

Sidewalks• Village Road MUP• 5th Avenue Crosswalks• Middle Sound Greenway

2013• Main Street Bicycle Lanes• Heide-Trask Drawbridge*• Wrightsville Avenue Intersection• Old Fayetteville Road

MUP• Harper Avenue MUP• Military Cutoff Road MUP• Shipyard Boulevard Sidewalk

WMPO STBGP-DA & TASA-DA Projects in Development

* Project under construction 16

Bike-TO-WOrk Week

PArTiciPAnTS

254

Bike-TO-SchOOl DAy

PArTiciPAnTS

50

Park & Ride

Carpool

2 New Lots

96 Participants

20 ParticipantsVanpool

FY16 KICKS-oFF A NEwTRANSPoRTATIoN DEMAND MANAgEMENT PRogRAM IN ThE wMPo REgIoN

In January of 2015 the Cape Fear Transportation Demand

Management Program was created to provide attractive

transportation options to commuters in the Cape Fear Region.

These options included carpool, vanpool, bike share, alternative

work schedules, Park & Ride lots, transit amenities, and bicycle

and pedestrian infrastructure. The TDM Committee is comprised

of representatives from the WMPO member jurisdictions, Wave

Transit, and employers in the area who are interested in offering

attractive transportation options to their employees.

Fy15-16 TDM ProgramProject SuccessesThe program just started butalready boasts multiple success stories!

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96 Participants

20 Participants

FY16 NEw wMPo STAFF

Adrienne Harrington, M.P.A. - ASSOCIATE TRANSPORTATION PLANNERNew in this role but not new to the WMPO, Adrienne is managing pro-jects outlined in “Work Cape Fear: Expanding Commuter Options in the Cape Fear Region”. This plan includes trip-reduction projects that will provide transportation options outside of the traditional single-occupant vehicle. Some examples include bike share, carpool, vanpool, Park & Ride lots, and events and outreach to promote such efforts.

Josh Lopez - ASSOCIATE TRANSPORTATION PLANNERAs an Associate Transportation Planner, Josh has a variety of responsi-bilities within the WMPO. Josh successfully managed the development of the Pender County Collector Street Plan. Currently, Josh is working towards updating the Public Participation Plan and implementing an updated transportation project database management program.

Beth Doliboa - ASSOCIATE TRANSPORTATION PLANNERAs an Associate Transportation Planner, Beth has a range of responsibi-lities within the WMPO. Beth has become highly involved with bike and pedestrian planning in the region, serving as staff support to the WMPO Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee. Beth has also been an integral part of the WMPO‘s participation in the P 4.0 process and has developed the WMPO’s first Congestion Management Process Biennial Report.

Tim Lowe, P.E. - SENIOR PROJECT ENGINEERAs Senior Project Engineer, Tim is responsible for overseeing and admi-nistering the Technical Services programs for the WMPO. He mana-ges the STBGP-DA and TASA-DA programs, traffic data collection, TIA review, and development review in addition to providing assistance by acting as a technical resource for planning and executive staff.

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wMPoP.o. Box 1810wilmington, NC 28402Phone: (910) 341-3258Fax: (910) 341-7801website: www.wmpo.orgeMail: wmpo@wmpo.org

Wilmington MPO Mission StatementCreate and execute continuing, cooperative and comprehensive regional long-range planning efforts that proactively drive transportation decisions to improve safety, connectivity, economic development and quality of life in the Wilmington region.