2015 TRAC Solicitation Process & Schedule
The Transportation Review Advisory Council (TRAC) assists the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) in developing a project selection process for ODOT’s largest investments. The TRAC is chaired by ODOT’s Director and reviews applications for ODOT funding more systemically, as part of a multi-modal transportation system. The scoring criteria are designed to more readily consider projects of various modes – highways, bridges, passenger rail, transit, and freight projects – to compete for funding.
ODOT is currently soliciting for Major New Capacity (TRAC) projects. These are projects costing more than $12 million, add transportation capacity, and are critical to the mobility, economic development, and quality of life of the citizens of Ohio. The 2015 TRAC Application Cycle opened on Thursday, May 28, 2015 and will close on Tuesday June 30, 2015. TRAC Applications are web based, only available through the TRAC website.
During the 2015 application cycle, TRAC will only accept applications that meet one of the following criteria:
1. The project is an existing TRAC funded project (Tier I, II or III) and additional funds are needed to advance the project to the next stage of development
2. A new project which has not previously applied for TRAC funding that demonstrates significant impact to jobs in Ohio as well as a regional/statewide economic impact.
The purpose of this process is to establish a prioritized list of projects which will be submitted as the Region’s requests for TRAC funding. The intent of this process is to present the list in a timely fashion in a format that is useful to the TRAC and contains projects that are eligible for funding.
- The MVRPC staff will rank proposed projects by the importance of the project and by the impact the proposed project will have in the overall area.
- The list of recommended priorities will then be sent to the MVRPC TAC and Board for final review and adoption and submittal to the TRAC.
All documents necessary for project submittal are available for download at http://www.mvrpc.org/transportation/transportation-financing/transportation-review-advisory-council-trac.
Please be careful – cyclists are out on streets and trails!
Congratulations to the City of Troy on achieving bronze level bicycle friendly community. Troy joins the City of Dayton at the bronze level. Also congratulations to the City of Piqua and Miami County on a very successful bike summit. We look forward to the next summit in two years at Wright State University, hosted by Greene County.
Spring is here and that means more people are walking and riding bikes. The more cyclists are out, the safer they are because drivers expect to see them. However, the early Spring can be a challenging transition period into the year.
Pedestrians and cyclists are vulnerable road users since they are outside the protection of a vehicle. Thus, any crash involving a cyclist or pedestrian has the potential to be serious. That is why MVRPC has recently produced and released two Public Service Announcements – one aimed at drivers and the other at cyclists - that will air on network and cable television and remain available at http://www.mvrpc.org/transportation/bikeways-pedestrians throughout the year. In order for everyone to stay safe, the most important things cyclists, pedestrians and drivers need to do are:
- Obey the law in terms of speed, stop lights, and signs, and the use of alcohol
- Concentrate on the road and avoid distracted driving, riding and walking
On Friday, May 22, MVRPC launched our redesigned and reorganized website featuring our new logo and colors. The updated site, at www.mvrpc.org, not only has a new look, it is also organized by main topics, such as Transportation, Regional Planning, Environment, Data & Mapping, Our Vision, and Our Members, all of which MVRPC’s Board members, their staff, the media, and the general public will find useful. The new site incorporates many regional photos on the home page and throughout the site to highlight what the Miami Valley has to offer.
We have some new faces around MVRPC. Ms. Laura Henry and Mr. Robert Uhlhorn are full time staff members, both of whom have several years of experience in the private sector. Ms. Rachel Kosarko and Ms. Jessica Worley are our newest Planning/GIS interns. Both Geography majors and will be with us for at least a semester. Please offer them a warm welcome.
Upcoming MVRPC meetings:
06/16/2015 6:00 p.m. Public Participation Meeting for Unsewered Communities Project - Mississinawa Valley School – 1469 Ohio 47, Union City, OH 45390
06/23/2015 6:00 p.m. Public Participation Meeting for Unsewered Communities Project - WOW Church, 5802 Xenia Street, Bowersville, OH 45307
07/23/2015 9:30 a.m. Technical Advisory Committee Meeting, 10 N. Ludlow
08/06/2015 8:30 a.m. Executive Committee 9:00 a.m. Board of Directors – 1515 S. Main