Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) - 1460

To promote a coordinated regional transportation planning process through the development and implementation of a Regional Transportation Plan.

MCAG is designated as the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) and the Regional Transportation Planning Agency for the Merced region. In that capacity, MCAG is required by Federal and State law to prepare a Regional Transportation Plan (RTP). With the enactment of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) in August 2005, the RTP is subject to provisions for project selection and funding. Of primary consideration is the provision that the MPO develop a project evaluation and selection process that will enable the most cost-effective projects to be move forward. MCAG's Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) has served as a guide for transportation planning activities in Merced County for many years. The RTP is a long-range (20 year) transportation planning document that establishes the region's transportation goals, objectives, and policies. The last RTP Update was adopted in September 2004, including an Environmental Impact Report.

In 2001 MCAG received a planning Grant from Caltrans to improve the Regional Transportation Planning process. The purpose of the project was to:

• Streamline the transportation planning process by developing a method to integrate land use planning with environmental and transportation planning
• Lessen the environmental impact by providing a forum for regulatory agencies to arrive at a consensus regarding priorities
• Implement an aggressive public outreach campaign to solicit more widespread citizen, i.e. Black, Hispanic, Asian American, American Indian/Alaskan Native, and Pacific Islander involvement in the transportation planning process from the beginning through plan level recommendations.

The FHWA, USEPA, and Caltrans have sought to study institutional options and technical planning tools that would result in improved regional transportation, land use, and environmental planning as well as the delivery of transportation projects. These agencies proposed a “pilot project” with a California MPO to evaluate procedures and tools such as GIS with traffic and environmental models. The planning study, “Merced County Partnership for Integrated Planning” (PIP), was programmed over a two-year period.

The project assembled and integrated data within the context of the MCAG 20-year Regional Transportation Plan (RTP). Data will be modeled and displayed in several scenarios for PIP participants to evaluate and ultimately develop plan-level recommendations.