TIP Top Ten

Every year about this time, I write to encourage you to comment on the update to the Regional Transportation Improvement Program, or “TIP” – a five-year budget of federally funded and regionally significant transportation projects. Like any budget, it is detailed and can be intimidating.

That said, your feedback is important. I’ve developed my own “Top 10” list of why you should take the time to review and comment on the FY2017 – 2021 TIP, which is open for public comment through September 19, 2016.

10.       The population of Ada and Canyon Counties is expected to increase by over 440,000 people by the year 2040, for a total forecasted population of 1.022 million. That’s a lot more people using our transportation system.

9.         $80.3 billion worth of freight travels on I-84 each year. Transportation is key to our economic growth.

8.         Idaho received a “C-” on its American Society of Civil Engineers infrastructure report card.

7.         The TIP budgets federal transportation funding, but the federal gas tax that supplies most of that funding has not been raised since 1993. Needless to say, that money doesn’t go nearly as far as it did 23 years ago.

6.         Time spent in traffic is time away from your family and business. The time it takes to travel from Caldwell to Boise is forecasted to double by 2040.

5.         The Federal Highway Administration estimates that every $1 spent on road, highway, and bridge improvements results in an average benefit of $5, in the form of reduced vehicle and road maintenance costs, delays, fuel consumption, and emissions, as well as improvements to safety as a result of improved traffic flow.

4.         30% of Idaho’s major roads are in poor condition. Driving on poor roads costs each Idaho motorist an average of $519 per year in extra vehicle repairs and operating costs. The TIP is focused on maintenance to address these issues.

3.         Roadway conditions are a significant factor in approximately one-third of traffic fatalities. One-hundred eight-six people died on Idaho roads (statewide) in 2014.

2.         It’s easier than ever to see how projects in the TIP align with regional goals. With each project description you will see a menu that shows which performance measures are met (from Communities in Motion 2040) that specific project supports.

1.         Projects included in the FY2017 – 2021 are budgeted at over $370 million, but we are still $150 million short of meeting transportation needs, each year, in Ada and Canyon Counties.

Our quality of life is directly tied to the quality of our transportation system. That, combined with a growing population and limited transportation funding, leads to some very tough decisions. Your input is needed to ensure we are making the best investments possible.

Want to learn more?

Link to:

• Draft FY2017 – 2021 TIP and public comment materials (public comments due September 19, 2016)
• The TIP: What it is and why you should care
• Making sense of the TIP
• TIP brochure (English/Español)
• Funding terms and acronyms

Who is working to make your future brighter? Nominate them for a Leadership in Motion award!

Think for a moment about what you saw out your window yesterday and what stories you have seen in the news. I’m willing to bet that, like me, much of what you saw, heard, and read had something to do with preparing for our future – road construction, new buildings, discussions of the millennial generation and what changes they will bring, emerging technologies, business expansion, maintaining our quality of life, and more.

At COMPASS, we are always looking to – and planning for – the future of Ada and Canyon Counties. You need look no further than the top of our website to see what we are all about – “working together to plan for the future.”

Our main tool for planning for the future is Communities in Motion – the regional long-range transportation plan for Ada and Canyon Counties. This plan looks 20+ years into the future to plan not only for transportation, but also for those elements that affect, or are affected by, transportation, such as housing, economic development, and health.

However, we certainly aren’t the only ones with an eye toward the future.

Each year, through the COMPASS Leadership in Motion awards, we honor those people and projects who, like us, are planning for the future and implementing Communities in Motion.

To do that, we need your help. For someone to receive an award, they first must be nominated.

Think about what you see happening around you to prepare for the future, then nominate a project, or the person behind the project, to recognize their contributions to a better future for all of us.

I encourage you to look at who was recognized last year and to review the Communities in Motion 2040 goals as you consider who, or what, to nominate.

Anyone may submit a nomination and anything or anyone (other than COMPASS staff) that is implementing the goals of Communities in Motion is eligible to be nominated. Keep in mind that a project does not need to be a “transportation” project to be submitted for a Leadership in Motion award.

Details on award categories, as well as a link to the nomination form, can all be found here.

Nominations for COMPASS Leadership in Motion awards will be accepted through 3:00 pm, Friday, September 30, 2016. Awards will be presented at the COMPASS/Valley Regional Transit holiday luncheon on Monday, December 19, 2016.