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Unified Planning Work Program  

By Dan Avery

           The month of July signifies change within most Indiana MPOs as they transition from one fiscal year to another.  Tasks are completed and finalized in late June as staffs prepare to initiate new challenges in early
July.  The process that governs these activities is the development and execution of the MPO Unified Planning Work Program, commonly referred to as the UPWP or work program. The work program serves as a planning document which guides the transportation planning activities.  While the work program is unique for each metropolitan planning area depending on their regional opportunities and responsibilities, they must follow guidelines established by the Federal Highway and Federal Transit Administrations.

        These guidelines stipulate that the MPO must develop work programs in cooperation with the State and publicly owned transit operators.  It must discuss the planning priorities facing the metropolitan area, describe all metropolitan transportation and transportation related air quality planning activities, and document all planning activities to be performed with both the Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Transit Administration planning funds.  The work program contains an annual budget of the MPO; essential tasks to maintain transportation
planning certification; the various planning studies with their objectives, the expected product, and relationship of the study to the transportation planning process; and identifies the responsibilities of each participating agency for carrying out the planning activities.  

        The Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Transit Administration also annually publish Planning Emphasis Areas that identify specific transportation planning issues of national interest. The work program describes how the Planning Emphasis Areas will be incorporated and addressed through the planning process. The Planning
Emphasis Areas for Fiscal Year 2004 include: the incorporation of safety and security within planning processes; integration of planning and environmental processes; incorporation of management and operations
within planning processes; consultation with local officials in non-metropolitan areas; and enhancing the technical capacity of planning processes to support decision-making.

        The Northeastern Indiana Regional Coordinating Council (NIRCC) is the MPO for the Fort Wayne Urbanized Area.  NIRCC is also the Regional Planning Agency (RPO) serving a four-county area including Adams,
Allen, DeKalb and Wells counties.  While the work program primarily addresses the metropolitan transportation planning activities for NIRCC, it also references other activities such as the Rural and Small Urban Area
planning efforts and region wide traffic volume counting.  NIRCC has designed the Unified Planning Work Program to develop and support the Transportation Plan. The goal of the Transportation Plan is to provide
safe and efficient travel, which promotes both mobility and accessibility throughout the region for all modes of travel.   NIRCC performs transportation planning activities to resolve existing and future issues
through a close working relationship with representatives of local government; transit providers; air, trucking, and rail transportation services; citizens, and the Indiana Department of Transportation.    

        The transportation planning process pursues the most efficient and cost effective strategies to improve all modes of transportation.  The desire for an efficient transportation system includes accountability for environmental and social costs.  The transportation planning process provides the community with a plan that preserves neighborhood
tranquility, minimizes environmental disruption, improves air quality, supports economic growth, is compatible with desirable land use developments, and satisfies future travel demands.

        The transportation planning emphasis for Fiscal Year 2004 in the Fort Wayne Metropolitan Planning Area, as documented in the work program, is a continuing focus on improving the efficiency of the existing transportation system.  Congestion and safety management will be the primary tools utilized to achieve this objective.  In order to evaluate the transportation system, identify problem areas, develop feasible solutions, and implement the selected solutions, the transportation planning process must gather and analyze pertinent information for good decision-making practices.  

        The work program has identified the major transportation planning issues facing the Fort Wayne Metropolitan Area to include: monitoring and addressing issues regarding the implementation of the eight-hour air quality standards and the corresponding impacts to Northeast Indiana; expansion of the Congestion Management System to include the development of an intelligent transportation system regional architecture; continue to improve the safety management process including the ability to identify safety concerns, analyze crash data, calculate severity, and develop safety improvement projects; review and evaluate the Urbanized Area Boundary, Federal Functional Classification System, and Metropolitan Planning Area incorporating current census data; continue the implementation and refinement of the travel forecasting model; and engage in appropriate activities in preparation of  
the Transportation Plan Update.  The major transportation planning issues are consistent with and support the national Planning Emphasis Areas.

        In addition to the metropolitan transportation planning activities presented in the work program, NIRCC will support transportation planning efforts in small urban and rural areas within its jurisdiction.   These efforts will lead to transportation plans designed to improve the safety and efficiency of the rural and small urban transportation systems.

        The culmination of these activities formulates a pro-active transportation planning process designed to provide safe and efficient travel and one that promotes mobility and accessibility throughout the region.  The work program is the instrument that supports this process and helps to ensure its success.