2035 GVMC Long Range Transportation Plan Update

Executive Summary

The Grand Valley Metropolitan Council, as the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for Kent and Eastern Ottawa Counties, is responsible for the development of a multi-modal Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP). The purpose of the LRTP is to ensure that transportation investments in our area enhance the movement of people and freight efficiently, effectively, and safely. The LRTP must be approved by the Michigan Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration,
Federal Transit Administration, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in order for federal transportation dollars to be expended in our area. The LRTP must also be fiscally constrained, project specific, take into consideration public opinion and environmental justice, and meet established air quality standards. This LRTP has a 25-year horizon, balancing transportation investments through the year 2035.

The primary finding of the 2035 Long Range Transportation Plan is that the needs of the transportation system in our region surpass the resources available to address them. Examples include a 131% increase in ridership on The Rapid since 2000, over a quarter of the pavement on the Federal-Aid system requires an overlay or complete reconstruction, and millions of dollars of non-motorized transportation needs have been identified. The funding available for these improvements is projected to increase between 4.04% and 4.89% a year, but with project costs projected to increase at a similar rate, there is simply not enough funding to address all of the transportation objectives.

The LRTP Project List in Chapter 16 was developed to address the deficiencies identified in the plan and are limited by estimated future revenues. The first four years (2011–2014) of the LRTP Project List are equivalent to the Transportation Improvement Program project list and demonstrate the short-term transportation projects identified for funding in this region. Other individual projects listed in the LRTP Project list reflect the projected transportation capacity deficiencies.

When the illustrative projects—those which cannot be included in the LRTP Project List because they do not have funding identified and/or are considered “financially unconstrained”—are included, there is a projected $1.1 billion shortfall in funds over the life of the plan. The shortfall total is only for those projects that have identified projected costs associated with them, thus the total funding shortfall over the life of the LRTP is likely closer to $2 or 3 billion. Fundamental changes at the local, state, and federal levels of government are required to adequately fund the transportation infrastructure we rely on for the movement of people, goods, and services.

Figure 1 – Anticipated Distribution of Transportation Funds (2011–2014)

Category	Amount	Percent	Examples of Projects
Congestion Relief	$17,212,582	9.0%	Traffic signal updates, add lanes
Preservation	$57,594,425	30.2%	Pavement overlay, road reconstruction
Safety	$5,224,991	2.7%	Intersection improvements, pavement markings
Transit	$75,297,466	39.5%	Purchase buses, construction of service center
ITS	$136,930	0.1%	Pavement sensors, freeway cameras
Transportation Enhancement	$7,922,134	4.2%	Construction of shared-use paths, bicycle facilities, streetscaping
Congestion Mitigation & Air Quality	$24,659,722	12.9%	Addition of left turn lanes, weave/merge lanes on freeways, new bicycle facilities, bus replacement
Small Urban	$1,426,310	0.7%	Projects in areas with pop. between 5,000 and 50,000
Planning Studies	$1,002,000	0.5%	Transit need studies, etc.

Back to 2035 GVMC Long Range Transportation Plan page.