How many times have you
started a home improvement project and had it take longer than expected, cost
more than expected, or both?
Too many times to count?
Me too.
While that is frustrating
at home and can result in extra trips to the hardware store, the judicious use
of four letter words, and spousal arguments, the consequences are minor when
compared to similar issues for projects that cost thousands, if not millions,
of tax dollars.
If an agency wants to use
federal funding to pay for a transportation project in Ada or Canyon Counties,
they must submit a funding application to COMPASS. We also help our members
apply for other types of grant funding from both public and private sources. While
some requirements differ, funding applications of all types typically require
certain kinds of information – the scope of the project, a project schedule,
cost estimates, and more.
However, at times, an
agency will have a need, but not have the information necessary to successfully
apply for funding and not have the time, money, or expertise to pull that
information together. When that is the case, one of several things can happen:
(1) the agency simply does not apply for funding, leaving the need unmet; (2)
they apply, but are unsuccessful when competing for funding; or (3) they
successfully receive funding, but without a quality scope, schedule, and
budget, are more likely to encounter unforeseen problems with cost, timelines,
or other issues.
To help its members clear
this hurdle, COMPASS created the Project Development Program in 2015. This
program provides the expertise and funding to transform needs or ideas into well-defined projects with cost
estimates, environmental scans (required for federal funding), schedules, and
more. Projects that move through the program are poised to successfully compete
for funding and to be completed on time and on budget once funded.
I’m pleased to say that you will soon benefit from the results of these
labors.
To date, nine projects have received Project Development
Program assistance; portions of three of those are proposed for funding in the draft FY2018-2022 budget of federally funded
transportation projects, called the Regional Transportation Improvement Program,
or TIP:
|
Project Development Program Project
|
Resulting Project in Draft FY2018-2022
TIP
|
|
ü Chinden Boulevard
Corridor, Bicycle/Pedestrian Safety Improvements, City of Garden City
|
ü Install a pedestrian
hybrid beacon controlled crossing at the intersection of Chinden Boulevard
and 43rd Street
|
|
ü Eagle Road Corridor, Bicycle/Pedestrian
Improvements, City of Meridian
|
ü Construct a lighted
10-foot wide multi-use pathway along the east side of Eagle Road from
Franklin Road to Pine Avenue
|
|
ü Five Mile Creek
Pathway: Black Cat Road to Ten Mile Road, City of Meridian
|
ü Design and build a
multi-use pathway to extend the City of Meridian’s Five Mile Creek Pathway by
approximately one mile, from just south of the city’s wastewater treatment
plant to Black Cat Road
|
Not only are these
projects recommended to receive funding – the first hurdle – but the work
conducted through project development will help ensure that they will be
completed on time and on budget, and provide you with new, safe transportation
facilities. It is important to note that while all three of these projects are
for bicycle/pedestrian facilities, the Project Development Program is open to
all types of transportation-related projects; these just happened to be the
first to receive funding.
Why am I telling you this
now? The draft FY2018-2022 TIP that I mentioned above is currently open for
public comment, along with proposed changes to Communities in Motion 2040, the regional long-range transportation
plan for Ada and Canyon Counties. In addition to the three projects discussed
here, there are over 100 other transportation projects proposed for funding in
the TIP addressing all types of transportation (roads, buses, bicycle and
pedestrian, and more) across all of Ada and Canyon Counties.
