01043962

Component

Decreasing resources combined with increasing reporting and planning requirements are the reality for many small and medium-sized communities and Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs). The University Transportation Centers (UTC) Program includes 26 centers nationwide, sponsored by the United States Department of Transportation. Four of these centers focus on aspects of rural transportation exclusively, while several others have program themes that are complimentary to the needs of smaller and medium-sized communities and rural areas. Successful partnerships between the UTCs and these areas are explored in this paper, and a framework laid for participants to investigate partnerships with UTCs and their community and/or MPO. For example, the Mack-Blackwell Rural Transportation Center (MBTC), located at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville partnered with the local MPO to evaluate the state of the transit system in Northwest Arkansas, a project that enabled the MPO to obtain funding to hire a consultant for a Phase II study and then address the problems identified. Due to limited funds and resources, this pilot study would have been difficult for the MPO to do any other way. The benefits to MBTC included an education opportunity for students, an opportunity to perform a service to the community, and an opportunity for technology transfer. There are many examples of partnerships between UTCs and MPOs and rural agencies and the preparation of this paper included an informal survey of UTCs with a rural and/or small community focus to obtain examples that could be replicated by others. UTCs could be helpful as a technical resource, for assistance with planning issues (such as with air quality or ITS), and can serve as a local resource on a project team when a consultant is hired. These public/private partnerships can be an effective way to stretch the increasingly scarce resources available to small and medium-sized communities and MPOs.

01043941

English

9p

2004

9th National Conference on Transportation Planning for Small and Medium-Sized Communities

CD-ROM

Figures (3) ; References (11)

Communities; Medium sized cities; Metropolitan planning organizations; Public private partnerships; Rural areas; Small cities; Technology transfer; Transportation planning

University Transportation Centers Program

Education and Training; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning

TRIS, TRB

Mar 9 2007 1:49PM

• "What Do 3rd Graders and Volunteer Fire Chiefs Have in Common?": Public Outreach Experience on Planning Studies in Bowling Green, KY
• 2002 Congestion Management Report: Travel Time and Delay Study
• A Spatial Economic Model to Forecast External Trips in Small Communities
• Accomplishing Alternative Access on Major Transportation Corridors
• Addressing Rural Development Needs with Transportation Corridor Improvements
• Applications of TRIMM for Small and Medium Communities
• Congestion Mitigation Resources & Strategies for Arizona's State Highway System
• Crash Analyses of Raised Medians and Driveway Density: How Access Management Makes Communities Safer
• Duluth Urbanized Area Growth Impact Study
• Duluth-Superior Wayfinding Plan
• Economic Development Highways Initiative: Lessons Learned, and a Framework in the Sky
• Evaluating the Impacts of a New Bypass Segment Using a Travel Demand Model
• Evaluating the Impacts of Service Changes for a Mid-Size Transit System: Case Study of Columbia, South Carolina
• Four Decades of Travel Modeling and Forecasting in North Carolina--Lessons Learned
• Go for Health! Partnership-Supporting the Link Between Transportation Choices and Routine Physical Activity
• Integrating Multi-Modal Transportation into the Development Review Process
• Level of Service Analysis for Two-Lane Uninterrupted Flow Facilities in Developed Areas
• Linking Land Use and Transportation Planning in Aquidneck Island, RI: A Regional Perspective
• Linking Transportation & Economic Vitality; Kalamazoo, Ml
• New Digital Imaging Systems for Small and Mid-Sized Metropolitan Areas
• Regional Transportation Impact Fees as a Viable Financial Strategy in Growing Communities
• Roadway Project Prioritization for Ada County Highway District's Five-Year Work Program
• Safe Routes to School Through Safe Communities: Results of a Community Planning Grant Program in California
• Should Larger Time Penalties Be Applied for Modeling Internal-External Trips?
• Small City Funding Partnerships: A Report from Washington State
• Small Urban Area Travel Demand Modeling in Oregon
• The 2002 Parkersburg West Virginia Household Travel Survey - What Went Right and What Went Wrong
• The Return of the Streetcar — An Experience from Middle America
• The Successful Implementation of a Quiet Rail Project
• TransCAD Tools for Managing Network Data
• Transportation Planning - Changes in North Carolina
• Transportation Utility Fees: The Oregon Experience
• Using the Principles of NEPA in Long-Range Planning to Improve Transportation Decision-Making
• Variations in Hispanic Travel Based on Urban Area Size