610 0 Sou Lh port Road Portage, India na 46368 219-76 3-606 0

Technical Planning Committee

April 11, 2017 9:00 a.m.

6100 Southport Road, Portage

AGENDA

1. Call to Order by Chairman, Opening and Announcements

   1. Pledge of Allegiance;Introductions

   2. Meeting Participation Survey

   3. Action on the minutes of the March 14 TPC meeting (Pages 1-3)

      
      

2. 2040 Comprehensive Regional Plan Presentation: Goal 4 - Protected Natural and Rural Areas - Kathy Luther

   
   

3. Implementation Planning

   1. Action on Congestion Management Process for 2040 Comprehensive Regional Plan Companion Update Amendment #4 - Scott Weber (Pages 4-10)

   2. Environmental Justice Analysis Process for 2040 Comprehensive Regional Plan Companion Update Amendment #4 Update - Scott Weber

   3. Public Comment Process Update - Stephen Sostaric

      
      

4. Programming

   1. Quarterly Tracking Report - Amanda Pollard

   2. Action on FY 2016-2019 TransportationImprovement Program Amendment #35 -

      Gary Evers (Pages 11-13).

      
      

5. Topical Committee Reports

   1. Environmental Management Policy Committee (EMPC)

   2. Ped, Pedal & Paddle Committee (3PC)

   3. Transit Operators Roundtable

   4. Land Use Committee

   5. Rail Vision/Freight Committee

      f) Surface Transportation Committee (STC)

      
      

6. Reports from Planning Partners

   1. Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP)

   2. South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association

   3. Southwestern Michigan Commission

   4. Federal Highway Administration & Federal Transit Administration

      
      

7. P·ublic Comment on Agenda Items

1. Emerging Trends Presentation - " Green Streets''- Kathy Luther

   
   

2. Other Business, Staff Announcements and Upcoming Meetings

   1. Other Business

   2. Staff Announcements

   3. NIRPC Events

      • The NIRPC office is closed for Good Friday on April 14.

      • The Land Use Committee is tentatively scheduled to meet on April 19 at 10 a.m. in the Dune Room at the NIRPC office.

      • The Full Commission/Executive Board will meet on Thursday, April 20 at 9:00 a.m. in the Lake Michigan Room at the NIRPC office.

      • The Ped, Pedal & Paddle Committee will meet on Thursday, April 27 at 1:30 p.m. in the Lake Michigan Room at the NIRPC office.

      • The Environmental Management Policy Committee will meet on May 4 at 9:00 a.m. at the NIRPC office.

      • The Surface Transportation Committee will meet on May 2 at 9 a.m. in the Lake Michigan Room at the NIRPC office.

The next Technical Planning Committee meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 9 at 9 a.m. in the Lake Michigan Room at the NIRPC office.

Requests for alternate formats, please contact Mary Thorne at NIRPC at least 48 hours prior at (219) 763-6060 extension 131 or at mthorne@nir pc .org. Individuals with hearing impairments may contact us through the Indiana Relay 711 service by calling 711 or (800) 743-3333.

The Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission (NIRPC) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability, marital status, familial status, parental status, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance program.

Technical Planning Committee Meeting

NIRPC Lake Michigan Room 6100 Southport Road, Portage March 14, 2017

MINUTES

Chairman Kevin Breitzke called the meeting to order at 9:05 a.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance and self­ introductions. Members present included Kevin Breitzke, Geof Benson, George Topoll, Bill Emerson, Jr., David Wright, Tyler Kent, Mark O'Dell, Tom Maclennan, Beth Shrader, Margot Sabata and Joe Rurode. Joyce Newland participated by conference phone. Others present included Tina Rangers, Will Farrellbegg, Ray Riddell, Lauri Keagle, Tom Schmitt, Jeff Huet, Chris Moore, Claudia Taylor, Robin Tillman, Stephen Stofko, K-Todd Behling, Deb Backhus, Don Oliphant, Jake Dammarell, Ismail Attallah and Randy Strasser, Jerry Siska, Bruce Lindner. Staff present included Mitch Barloga, Gary Evers, Kathy Luther, Scott Weber, Sarah Geinosky, James Winters, Amanda Pollard and Mary Thorne.

The INDOT participation survey was available at the table in the lobby.

The minutes of the February 14, 2016 Technical Planning Committee meeting were approved on a motion by Geof Benson and a second by Mark O'Dell.

Presentation: Tina Rangers, Karner Blue, presented an overview of the second goal of the 2040 Plan for a vibrant region - well-educated people goals for the intersection of transportation and education in Northwest Indiana using several statistics as provided for in the 2016 One Region Indicators Report.

Implementation Planning

• Laurie Keagle, South Shore Clean Cities, presented on planning for Volkswagen Clean Diesel settlement funds. SSCC will meet here at NIRPC on March 29 at 1p.m. to discuss how entities can take advantage of Indiana's $39 million share through funding opportunities for clean transportation. A Green Drives event will be held in Naperville, Illinois on May 18. For more information, visit their website at www.sscc.org.

• Sarah Geinosky and Scott Weber presented the recommended road and highway changes to the National Highway System in Lake Porter and LaPorte Counties. On a motion by Geof Benson and a second by Beth Shrader, the Technical Planning Committee voted to recommend the changes to the National Highway System to the Executive Board for adoption.

• Stephen Sostaric announced that survey boards were available in the lobby for design options for the l-65/US30 Safety Study and invited meeting participants and guests to contribute their input on these boards.

  
  

  Programming

• Mitch Barloga announced that NIRPC will hold a 30-day public comment period for the FY 2018-2021 Transportation Improvement Program, Amendment #4 to the 2040 CRP Update Companion and Air

  Quality Conformity Analysis . Additions in Amendment #4 include NICTD's 25 mile double tracking project from Gary to Michigan City and the 9 mile Westlake Corridor Project between Hammond and Dyer. Modifications are the moving of the completion date of the llliana from 2020 to 2040 and the removal of INDOT's 1-65 Added Travel Lanes between SR 2 and SR 10. Gary Evers added that this is the largest TIP he has ever seen, driven by the NICTD projects and the improvements at St. Joseph County Airport for a total of $1.6 billion over four years, of which $1.2 billion is public transit. Five public open houses will be held through March. Comments can be submitted to NIRPC through April

  13. Approval will be sought from the NIRPC Board at its May meeting. See the NIRPC website for more information.

• Gary Evers reported that the Transportation Resource & Oversight Committee for Lake and Porter Counties met on February 28. Of the $4 million projected for the March letting, only $3 million was needed to satisfy requests. The next meeting is March 28 and the next LaPorte County TROC meeting is April 5 or 6. HB 1002 is in the senate right now. The bill proposes swapping out all of the highway federal funds for state funds and we would no longer be transferring funds to FTA and INDOT would issue a contract directly with transit operators, with implementation in a year or two.

• Gary Evers explained FY 2016-2019 Transportation Improvement Program Amendment #34, changes to existing projects in Valparaiso, Michigan City and LaPorte County and deleting a Valparaiso project. The amendment was reviewed by the lnteragency Consultation Group and no public comments were received. On a motion by Geof Benson and a second by Mark O'Dell, the Committee voted to recommend Amendment #34 to the Commission for adoption.

  
  

  Topical Committee Reports:

• Geof Benson said the Environmental Management Policy Committee will meet on April 6 at 9 a.m. The Committee may try to get electronic consensus to draft a resolution for support for NOAA and the Lake Michigan Coastal Program. The Trump Administration is talking about slashing or cutting the Great Lakes Initiative, which would cut a lot of funding in the Great Lakes states.

• Mitch Barloga reported that the Ped, Pedal & Paddle Committee heard a presentation last month on plans for a bike share program from Valparaiso Parks. The launch is on April 19. The next meeting is March 23 at 1:30 at NIRPC.

• James Winters reported that the transit operators will meet this morning to continue to constrain the project selection for the transit TIP.

• Stephen Sostaric said that the Rail Vision/Freight Committee meets tomorrow at 9 a.m. in the Lake Michigan Room at NIRPC.

• Scott Weber reported that the Surface Transportation Committee will meet on April 4 at 9 a.m. in the Lake Michigan Room.

There were no reports from our planning partners or USDOT.

Emerging Trends: Mitch Barloga showed a planning video from Winston-Salem .

Announcements:

Kevin Breitzke announced the upcoming meetings and noted the office is closed on April 14 in observance of the Good Friday holiday. The next Technical Planning Committee meeting will be on April 11,

2017 at 9:00 a.m. in the Lake Michigan Room at the NIRPC office. Hearing no other business, he adjourned the meeting at 10:10 a.m.

A Digital M P3 of this meeting is filed. Contact M ary Thorne at the phone number or email below should you wish to receive a copy or a portion of it.

The Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission (NIRPC) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability, marital status, familial status, parental status, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance program.

;

·5m··i1. Northwestern Indiana

MRPC

RESOLUTION 17-08

A RESOLUTION OF THE NORTHWESTERN INDIANA REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION APPROVING THE CONGESTION

MANAGEMENT PROCESS FOR THE 2040 COMPREHENSIVE REGIONAL PLAN UPDATE COMPANION AMENDMENT #4

April 20, 2017

WHEREAS, Northwest Indiana's citizens require a safe, efficient, effective, resource­ conserving regional transportation system that maintains and enhances regional mobility and contributes to improving the quality of life in Northwest Indiana; and

WHEREAS, the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission, hereafter referred to as "the Commission," is designated as a Transportation Management Area (TMA) according to the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) by being a Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) with a Metropolitan Planning Area (MPA) of over 200,000 population in Lake, Porter and LaPorte Counties.

WHEREAS, the Commission, being designated the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the Lake, Porter and LaPorte County area, has established a regional, comprehensive, cooperative, and continuing (3-C) transportation planning process to develop the unified planning work program, a transportation plan, and a transportation improvement program to facilitate federal funding for communities, counties, and transit operators, and to provide technical assistance and expertise to regional transportation interests; and

WHEREAS, the Commission performs the above activities to satisfy requirements of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act of 2015 (PL 114-94), applicable portions of all prior federal transportation program authorizing legislation, as well as other federal, state, and local laws mandating or authorizing transportation planning activities; and

WHEREAS, the Congestion Management Process is a product of a multi-modal, 3-C transportation planning process, compatible with regional goals and objectives and socio-

economic and demographic factors used to form the 2040 Comprehensive Regional Plan (CRP), as amended; and

WHEREAS, the Congestion Management Process is an implementation of the 2040 Comprehensive Regional Plan (CRP), as amended; satisfies Title 23 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 450.322 requiring a TMA to apply a Congestion Management Process for any project(s) adding capacity to the transportation network.

WHEREAS, the Congestion Management Process for all of the roadway capacity-adding projects appearing in the 2040 Comprehensive Regional Plan Update Companion Amendment #4 has already been found by the NIRPC former Transportation Policy Committee on November 19, 2013 and March 18, 2014.

WHEREAS, the Commission's Technical Planning Committee approved the Congestion Management Process for the 2040 Comprehensive Regional Plan Update Companion Amendment #4 on April 11, 2017.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission hereby approves the Congestion Management Process for the 2040 Comprehensive Regional Plan Update Companion Amendment #4.

Duly adopted by the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission this twentieth day of April, 2017.

Michael W. Griffin Chairman

ATIEST:

Diane Noll Secretary

A mendment #4 to the 2040 Comprehensive Regiona l Pla n Update

Compa nion: Congestion Management Process

Prepared by the Northwestern Indiana

Regiona l Planning Commission

I

Applicability of the Process:

23 CFR 450.320 requires that all Transportation Management Areas (TMAs), defined as Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) administering the federal transportation planning process for metropolitan planning areas with population greater than 200,000 people, conduct a Congestion Management Process (CMP). NIRPC falls into the definition of a TMA and thus is required to conduct a CMP. NIRPC's CMP requires that all roadway capacity-adding projects included in or amended into its Long Range Plan products pass its CMP. In Amendment #4, no projects add capacity to the roadway. However, given that the Congestion Management Processes in the past for the 1-65 Added Travel Lanes project, now proposed in Amendment #4

as removing the segment between SR-2 and SR-10 still implies the yet unbuilt segment between US-30 and SR-2 will be built, it is necessary to examine whether or not a CMP is warranted here for this segment. The 1-65 ATL project was included in Congestion Management Processes that passed NIRPC's former Transportation Policy Committee for segments between US-30 and US- 231 and between US-231 and SR-2 on November 19, 2013 and March 18, 2014 respectively.

Also, these 2 prior CMPs analyzed the IIliana Corridor as part of the build networks. However, Amendment #4 to the 2040 Comprehensive Regional Plan Update Companion does not eliminate the IIliana Corridor, but rather pushes back its completed year from 2020 to 2040, so the prior 2 CMPs for the 1-65 Added Travel Lanes project are still valid for the CMP for Amendment #4. Therefore, instead of a new CMP for Amendment #4, the findings of the previous CMPs for the 1-65 Added Travel Lanes Project are summarized afresh. Also, a case study of a similar project is presented in Middlesex County, New Jersey where vehicle probe speed data is available both before and after a major Interstate Lane Widening project on 1-95.

Summary of Congestion Management Process of 1-65 Added Travel Lanes between US-30 and US-231,Approved by NIRPC's former TPC on November 19, 2013:

The CMP conducted in 2013 for the segment of 1-65 Added Travel Lanes between US-30 and US-231 passed NIRPC's former Transportation Policy Committee on November 19, 2013.

As shown in Table 1below, the CMP showed a slight increase in Daily Vehicle Miles of Travel (VMT) across the entire NIRPC travel demand model area of Lake, Porter, and LaPorte Counties, but also a slight decrease in Daily Vehicle Hours of Travel (VHT) across the NIRPC travel demand model area. Moreover, Average speed was slightly higher in the build scenario.

Table 1: Daily Vehicle Miles of Travel (VMT), Daily Vehicle Hours of Travel (VHT) and Average Speed in 2040 No-build and 2040 1-65 ATL between US-30 and US-231

2040 Daily VMT 2040 Dally VHT Average speed (VMT/VHT)

2040 No-build

2040 1-65 ATL

Difference

31,247,154 1,371,495 22.78 m ph

31,249,392 1,371,224 22.79 m ph

+2,238 -271

Also, the CMP conducted and approved in 2013 for the 1-65 ATL project between US-30 and US-231 showed a net decrease of 11crashes expected to result from this project using INDOT crash rates from the Interstate and Non-Interstate system (an increase in 4 crashes on 1- 65 and a decrease of 15 crashes off 1-65) as shown in Table 2.

Table 2: Projected Change in Crashes on the Interstate System, Non-Interstate System, and Total Change Expected to Result from the 1-65 ATL Project between US-30 and US-231

Finally, the CMP conducted and approved in 2013 for the 1-65 ATL project between US- 30 and US-231 examined both demand management and transportation systems strategies as potential alternatives to the 1-65 ATL project. According to the CMP report, the demand management strategies, which included flex-time and telecommuting, would result in a reduction in Daily VMT of about 15, well less than the 271 Daily VMT reduction achieved by the 1-65 ATL project. The transportation systems management strategies, which included intersection improvements and access management parallel to the corridor, could achieve a reduction up to 60 Daily VMT, again much less than the 271 Daily VMT reduction achieved by the 1-65 ATL. Therefore, the 1-65 ATL project from US-30 to US-231 passed the CMP.

Summary of Congestion Management Process of 1-65 Added Travel Lanes between US-231 and SR-2, Approved by NIRPC's former TPC on March 18, 2014:

The CMP for the 1-65 ATL between US-231 and SR-2 passed the NIRPC former Transportation Policy Committee on March 18, 2014. The CMP for this segment again looked at both demand management (telecommuting, carpooling, and flextime) and transportation system strategies (ITS and growth management) but still found that the 1-65 ATL project between US-231 and SR-2 resulted in Volume-to-Capacity (V/C) and Level of Service (LOS) improvements that far outweighed the improvements in V/C and LOS from demand management and transportation system strategies without the capacity-adding project.

Table 3: Volume/Capacityh Ratios for Baseline, 1-65 Added Travel Lanes, and Demand Management and Transportation System Strategies

Therefore, since only the capacity-adding option of building the 1-65 ATL project between US-231 and SR-2 could sufficiently improve V/C and LOS, the CMP for the 1-65 ATL project for that segment passed on March 18, 2014.

Conclusion and Summary from both CMP Approval Findings for 1-65 Added Travel Lanes between US-30 and US-231 and between US-231 and SR-2:

In conclusion, the CMP for the 1-65 ATL project for both the US-30 to US-231 and US-231 to SR-2 segments passed the NIRPC former Transportation Policy Committee on November 19, 2013 and March 18, 2014 respectively. These 2 segments collectively constitute the extent of the 1-65 ATL project from US-30 to SR-2, which is consistent with the extent of the segment proposed in Amendment #4 to the 2040 Comprehensive Regional Plan Update Companion.

Therefore, the CMP was already applied for the entirety of this segment, and having no other capacity-adding road projects in the amendment, it is not necessary to approve a new CMP.

Case Study: NIRPC examined a case study of an added travel lanes project similar in type to the proposed 1-65 added travel lanes project: a 9-mile added travel lanes project on 1-95 in Middlesex County, New Jersey opened to traffic in November 2014. Like the proposed 1-65 added travel lanes project, this project added one travel lane in each direction. Also similar to the 1-65 project, this project is roughly 50 miles outside of a major city. NIRPC also chose this case study because it has available probe data on travel time both before and after the project opened to traffic. The National Performance Measure Research Data Set (NPMRDS) provides travel time data at 5-minute intervals for all probe-equipped vehicles (i.e. vehicles with cellphones and in-vehicle GPS devices) between July 2013 and December 2015. NIRPC analyzed all available data for this stretch of 1-95 between July 2013 and October 2014 as a before added travel lanes scenario, and data between November 2014 and December 2015 as an after added travel lanes scenario . Four key measurements of change between the before added travel lanes and after added travel lanes scenarios are presented in Table 1.

Table 8: Measurements of Change on 1-95 in Middlesex County, New Jersey Before and After ATL

Source: National Performance Measure Research Data Set (NPMRDS) 1

1 Based on NPMRDS Data available for a 9-mile segment of I-95 in Middlesex County, NJ. July 2013 to October 2014 for Before Added Travel Lanes scenario, November 2014 to December 2015 for After Added Travel Lanes scenario. Measurements are from NPMRDS available data and are only a sample size and not

Based on the case study, adding travel lanes to a major Interstate Highway in order to increase capacity by 33 percent (1-65 Added Travel Lanes would be 50 percent) appears to significantly improve congestion across several measures. First, travel time improved by 5.7 percent after the project was opened to traffic. More significantly, delay hours, defined as hours spent below the posted speed limit, decreased dramatically by 73.2 percent. Thirdly, vehicle speeds improved substantially, evidenced by mean vehicle speeds increasing by 14.1 percent and median vehicle speeds increasing by 2.5 percent.

Since the 1-65 added travel lanes project is a very similar type of project, NIRPC expects a similar improvement in congestion by adding travel lanes. The effect may even be more substantial given that expanding from four to six travel lanes is a 50 percent expansion in

capacity, whereas the 1-95 New Jersey project expanded only 33 percent from six to eight lanes.

expanded based on AADT or actual highway usage. Total Travel Time and Delayed Hours were sample weighted to compare After Added Travel Lanes and Before Added Travel Lanes scenarios.

.2Jsi Northwestern lndia''na

·MR:PC

RESOLUTION 17-09

A RESOLUTION OF THE NORTHWESTERN INDIANA REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION AMENDING THE

2016-2019 TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM FOR LAKE, PORTER, AND LAPORTE COUNTIES, INDIANA

AMENDMENT NO. 35

April 20, 2017

WHEREAS, Northwest Indiana's citizens require a safe, efficient, effective, resource­ conserving regional transportation system that maintains and enhances regional mobility and contributes to improving the quality of life in Northwest Indiana; and

WHEREAS, the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission, hereafter referred to as "the Commission", being designated the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO} for the Lake, Porter and LaPorte County area, has established a regional, comprehensive, cooperative, and continuing (3-C} transportation planning process to develop the unified planning work program, a transportation plan, and a transportation improvement program to facilitate federal funding for communities, counties, and transit operators, and to provide technical assistance and expertise to regional transportation interests; and

WHEREAS, the Commission performs the above activities to satisfy requirements of the Fixing America 's Surface Transportation (FAST} Act of 2015 (PL 114-94}, applicable portions of all prior federal transportation program authorizing legislation, as well as other federal, state, and local laws mandating or authorizing transportation planning activities; and

WHEREAS, the FY 2016-2019 Transportation Improvement Program is a product of a multi-modal, 3-C transportation planning process, compatible with regional goals and objectives and socio-economic and demographic factors used to form the 2040 Comprehensive Regional Plan {CRP}, as amended; and

WHEREAS, the FY 2016-2019 Transportation Improvement Program is an implementation of the 2040 Comprehensive Regional Plan {CRP), as, amended; is fiscally constrained, and is consistent with the State Implementation Plan for Air Quality; and

WHEREAS, the FY 2016-2019 Transportation Improvement Program is developed by the Commission in coordination and cooperation with local elected and appointed highway and transit officials, special interest and service organizations, including users of public transit, the Indiana Department of Transportation, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, the U.S. Federal Highway Administration, the U.S. Federal Transit Administration, and the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency; and

WHEREAS, the changes to the FY 2016-2019 Transportation Improvement Program brought about by this amendment were reviewed by the Air Quality Conformity Task Force's lnteragency Consultation Group (ICG); and

WHEREAS, the changes to the FY 2016-2019 Transportation Improvement Program brought about by this amendment were subjected to public comment in the manner prescribed by the 2014 Public Participation Plan with no comments received; and

WHEREAS, the Technical Policy Committee (TPC) has recommended that the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission make these changes to the 2016- 2019 Transportation Improvement Program.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission hereby amends the 2016-2019 Transportation Improvement Program by adding the new projects and making other changes as shown on the attachment to this resolution.

Duly adopted by the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission this twentieth day of April, 2017.

Michael W. Griffin Chairperson

ATTEST :

Diane Noll Secretary

2016-2019 Transportation Improvement Program for Lake, Porter, and LaPorte Counties, Indiana

Amendment #35 April 2017

Local Projects/Pro ject Phases

TAP

1592275 Hobart Deep River Stormwater Outfall and BMP. Increase Award Chicago PE 2017 $ 134,335 $ 107,468 $ 26,867

UA

CN in 201 9. Cost to Complete: $382,000.

from Hammond Lake Front Park to State Line. (Increase Aard)

NIRPC UPWP Planning Funds/Contract for

Projects included in 201 8-2021 TIP .

New INDOT Projects/Pro ject Phases

1-80/94 Lane Re-marking & Signage changes

NHPP

1700406 INDOT in vicinity of Intersection with 1-65 (travel lane Add Phase CN 201 8 $ 81 6,142 $ 734,528 $ 81,614

Interstate

Lengttn 2.97 miles.

w

closure)