Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP)

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 Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP). The purpose of the MTP is to ensure that transportation investments in our area enhance the movement of people and freight efficiently, effectively, and safely over the next 20+ years. Without an MTP, federal transportation funding could not be allocated in the region. The MTP must be financially constrained (meaning costs don’t exceed resources), project-specific, take into consideration public input as well as plans and feedback from stakeholder agencies, meet established air quality standards, and ensure that no people groups are adversely impacted by the projects in this document through our environmental justice (EJ) process.

2050 MTP Development Updates

Join us and learn about the future of transportation in our region!

The state of the transportation system, including road condition, traffic congestion, public transit, sidewalks, bike paths, nonmotorized trails, passenger rail and air travel, impacts everyone. GVMC has completed our draft 2050 Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP), which includes transportation projects and investment priorities for all modes of transportation in Kent and eastern Ottawa counties for the next 26 years, and we are hosting two open houses and a virtual public meeting to present the document, field questions, and gather comments from the public. Times and dates for these events are below:

Open Houses:

Date: Wednesday, April 10, 2024
Time: 2:00 – 3:30 pm and 5:00 – 6:30 pm
Location: Rapid Central Station
250 Cesar E Chavez Ave. SW
Grand Rapids, MI 49503

Virtual Public Meeting:

Date: Thursday, April 11, 2024
Time: 10:30 am – 12 pm
Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82832903091?pwd=q2_qJ9bSWOvXnDomJjiuuRDDYWr_IA.iNQZp3NlpUNv88r2

Passcode: 281266

Individuals with disabilities requiring auxiliary aids or services and those in need of translation or interpreter assistance should contact Andrea Faber (see contact information below) to request accommodations for the meeting by Friday, April 5, 2024.

The draft 2050 MTP and related documents are open for public comment from March 22 – April 22, 2024, and can be found below. Hard copies are available at area libraries and GVMC’s office, located at 678 Front Ave. NW • Suite 200 • Grand Rapids • MI • 49504.  

2050 MTP Executive Summary and Introduction
2050 MTP Chapters 2-5
2050 MTP Chapters 6-11
2050 MTP Appendices

2050 MTP Companion Documents
Air Quality Conformity Report
Environmental Justice Maps and Project List
Public and Stakeholder Engagement
System Performance Report

Additional Elements to 2050 MTP
Active Transportation Plan

GVMC is also offering a crossword puzzle competition based on the document to encourage participation. Download the crossword below, complete and submit it to Andrea Faber by the end of the comment period to be entered to win a gift card.

2050 MTP Crossword (English)
2050 MTP Crossword (Spanish)

Please send your comments to Andrea Faber by email, phone: (616) 776-7603, or online by using the “submit a comment” button on this page. Comments can also be mailed to GVMC (see address above) or given in person. Comments must be received by April 22, 2024, for consideration. Click here to view our press release about this public engagement opportunity.

Background Information

Developing the 2050 MTP has taken GVMC staff almost two years. We kicked off the development of our next Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP) for the Grand Rapids region during the summer of 2022, which will outline funding and priorities for all modes of transportation through the year 2050.

As part of the MTP development process, we updated socioeconomic data projections, conducted a public survey, held a student poster contest, and developed a series of needs analyses to evaluate road conditions, congestion, safety, freight movement, passenger rail, air travel, nonmotorized, transit, and other modes of transportation. In order to increase public engagement, we also launched a game — MTP Bingo. Information about these activities is below, with the most recent activities first.

Public input is an important part of this process, and we have received robust public engagement so far. GVMC will continue to keep the public informed during the development of the MTP, which is expected to be completed by May of 2024, and will offer numerous additional opportunities for area residents to get involved in the planning process and provide input. To stay informed about MTP development updates and public comment opportunities, please join our mailing list by filling out the form to the right, keep an eye out for postings on our Facebook, Instagram, and Nextdoor, and Twitter pages, and continue to watch our website for updates. The public is encouraged to submit comments in person, online, over the phone, or by mail or email at any time during the development of the MTP.

For additional information on the MTP, please email Andrea Faber or call (616) 776-7603.


GVMC Needs Analyses and MTP Bingo (spring and summer of 2023)

During the spring and summer of 2023, GVMC worked with various stakeholders and Committees, including organizations representing transit, passenger rail, air travel, freight movement, and nonmotorized modes of transportation and analyzed pavement condition, traffic congestion, and safety for all users of the transportation system to complete a series of needs analyses. These analyses demonstrate where the transportation system is functioning below optimal levels and will be the foundation for proposing solutions to meet the current and forecasted transportation needs by mode for the 2050 Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP), GVMC’s long-range transportation plan.

These analyses include:

Modal Needs
Air
Freight
Nonmotorized
Passenger Rail
Transit

Transportation Needs

Bridge Condition (New)
Congestion (updated 10/10/2023)
Pavement Condition
Safety (updated 10/9/2023)

To encourage public engagement with the needs analyses, GVMC launched MTP Bingo. Participants were asked to select activities on the bingo card to earn a bingo, which included opportunities to interact with the transportation system or learn about available transportation resources. Once a bingo was achieved, the participant could submit their bingo card with a comment that compared their experience with the transportation system and what they learned to the results of GVMC’s needs analyses.

All participants submitting a bingo card received a voucher for a free summer fun safety kit from GVMC, which included a reusable bag, a water bottle, a frisbee, a pen, notepad, chip clip, and reflective gear. They were also entered to win several grand prizes, including:

  • $100 gift card to Gazelle Sports

  • $100 gift card to Tanger Outlets

  • $50 gift card to Celebration Cinemas

  • Four box seat tickets to a Whitecaps game

  • Seasonal pass to Millennium Park Beach and Splashpad

DOWNLOAD 11”x17” BINGO CARD - English
DOWNLOAD 11x17” BINGO CARD - Spanish/español

DOWNLOAD PRESS RELEASE

Hard copies of the bingo card were also available at GVMC’s office, at three Gazelle Sports locations in Grand Rapids and Grandville, and at the Georgetown Township Public Library and the Sparta Carnegie Township Library.

The public comment period on the needs analyses and the MTP Bingo game ran from June 15 - July 12. Completed bingo cards and comments could be submitted in person, by mail or email, or using an online submission button through Survey Monkey.

GVMC would like to thank our sponsors, Gazelle Sports and the West Michigan Whitecaps!


Public Survey (late summer and fall of 2022):


During the late summer and fall of 2022, GVMC conducted a public survey that was available in English and Spanish in order to help understand the public’s thoughts on our transportation system and how they’d like to see future transportation resources invested. The survey closed on November 11th, 2022. GVMC received over 1,100 responses. Information from the survey will help inform our 2050 Metropolitan Transportation Plan and allow us to be responsive to the needs of the public as we develop the document. To view the results of the survey in a story map, please click here. To view the results of the survey based on zip code, please click here.

GVMC held a competition amongst MPO communities. The five communities with the highest participation rates in the survey were entered in a drawing to win a $1,000 beautification grant that will provide trees or green infrastructure. The drawing took place on November 23rd, 2022, with Jamestown Charter Township being selected as the winner.

Curious how your community did in the competition? Click the graphic above to view the results dashboard.


Student poster contest example template. The template has room for the student to draw a picture and write an explanation.

Student Poster Contest (late summer and fall of 2022)

Along with the public survey, GVMC asked students in grades K-12 to draw a picture of what they would like transportation to look like in their neighborhoods in 2050 and to provide an explanation. We received over 100 thoughtful and artistic responses from students across our area.

Thanks to everyone who participated!

Disclaimer: Artwork submitted and explanation may be used with the artist’s first name, grade, and city/community in the 2050 MTP or appear on our website.


 

Thanks to our Partners!

 

 

Socio-Economic Data

The early stages of the 2050 MTP development process required the allocation of Socioeconomic (SE) growth throughout the region based on MDOT projections out to 2050. MDOT provides the MPO with employment and household data at the community level that needs to be dispersed to our Traffic Analysis Zones (TAZ’s) so the GVMC transportation model can process these changes to determine potential deficiencies. GVMC Staff met with jurisdiction leaders from Nov 22 – to January 23 in-person and virtually to help with the placement of this growth.

To access GVMC’s 2050 MTP Socioeconomic (SE) Data Resource Map and Traffic Analysis Zone (TAZ) growth allocation results click here.

 

 

GVMC 2045 Metropolitan Transportation Plan Clears Federal Review

GVMC’s 2045 Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP) is now official. After nearly two years of planning, research, public input, and cost analysis, the Grand Valley Metropolitan Council received notification from the Federal Highway Administration on June 5, 2020, that its 2045 MTP conforms to federal regulations and has been formally accepted. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Transit Administration, and the Michigan Department of Transportation also reviewed the plan as part of the confirmation process.

Previously, the GVMC Technical and Policy Committees approved the plan in March and April, respectively. The GVMC Board unanimously approved a resolution accepting the plan on May 7, 2020. In November of 2022, MDOT requested to amend the 2045 MTP to accommodate a grant from the Michigan Legislature for a boulevard on M-37 from south of 92nd Street to north of 76th Street in Caledonia Township. This request was approved at the Policy Committee meeting on November 16, 2022. Links to the amended plan are below.

Due to the file size, the document has been divided into three sections. (See links below.) If you wish to view a hard copy of the document, please email Andrea Faber or call 616.776.7603.

GVMC 2045 MTP Chapters 1-5
GVMC 2045 MTP Chapters 6-11
GVMC 2045 MTP Appendices

GVMC 2045 MTP 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 Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP). The purpose of the MTP is to ensure that transportation investments in our area enhance the movement of people and freight efficiently, effectively, and safely over the next 20+ years. Without an MTP, federal transportation funding could not be allocated in the region. The MTP must be financially constrained (meaning costs don’t exceed resources), project-specific, take into consideration public input as well as plans and feedback from stakeholder agencies, meet established air quality standards, and ensure that no people groups are adversely impacted by the projects in this document through our environmental justice (EJ) process. This MTP has a 25-year horizon, balancing transportation investments through the year 2045.

Public Survey

One of the first steps in the development of the MTP was conducting a public survey, which asked the public to rank various aspects of the transportation system, what their top three transportation investment priorities were in light of available funding, whether or not they would be willing to pay more through a slight increase in the gas tax or a small local millage to improve the transportation system, and whether they had any comments or concerns about the transportation system that they would like us to consider as we developed the MTP. In all, GVMC received 867 responses, and surveys were completed by residents of every zip code area within Kent and eastern Ottawa Counties. The survey results have been analyzed and are included in a story map. All of the public comments received from the survey are included in Appendix I of the 2045 MTP.

The results are not surprising as they mirror the feedback from the 2040 MTP survey. The chart below shows the public’s top three transportation investment priorities. Improving roadway pavement condition was by far the largest public priority, followed by using technology to reduce traffic congestion and delays, and widening busy roads and interchanges.

Bar graph showing the top priorities where funding should be invested. The top three results were improve roadway pavement condition (68.63%), use technology to reduce traffic congestion (43.48%), and widen busy roads (36.68%).
 

The survey results were taken into consideration during the development of the vision statement for the 2045 MTP, which reads: “Through cooperation and collaboration with our members, regional stakeholders, and the public, GVMC will continue to enhance a sustainable and resilient multimodal transportation system that is accessible, safe, reliable, environmentally sound, socially equitable, economically viable and adaptable for future growth within the constraints of available resources.” The goals and objectives were also influenced by the public survey results and will achieve the vision within the framework of federal performance measures and available resources. The vision statement and goals and objectives are discussed in Chapter 3.

Determination of Highest Priority

Highest priority system needs are determined using various approaches during the MTP development. Taking into account the vision statement, goals and objectives, public survey results, and available data, GVMC staff worked with several committees to develop a list of needs by mode for the transportation system. Staff also conducted a deficiency analysis for pavement and bridge condition, safety, and congestion to determine where the system was failing to operate below acceptable standards. When all of the needs and deficiencies were identified, the GVMC Technical and Policy Committees, with input from the MTP Steering Committee formed to guide the development of the MTP, established a list of identified transportation investment priorities. Public input was also considered via the GVMC Technical and Policy Committees for development of the transportation investment priorities, and both meetings are open to the public. Transportation investment priorities identify areas where future available transportation funds should be allocated and influence the projects that are selected to meet desired outcomes. Staff completed a financial analysis to determine the amount of federal, state, and local funding reasonably expected to be available over the life of the plan to achieve these priorities. Below are the results of the financial analysis:

(1)    $5.7 billion in local funding over the life of the plan
(2)    $557.6 million in federal funding for local programs over the life of the plan
(3)    $3.4 billion in state funding over the life of the plan
(4)    $4 billion in transit funding from all fund sources over the life of the plan

MPOs may use federal funds for local programs to fund projects deemed to be the highest priorities for the region as a whole. GVMC has determined five priorities over the life of the plan, which include:

(1)    Maintaining the system in a state of good repair
(2)    Congestion management
(3)    Nonmotorized
(4)    Safety
(5)    Transit

These priorities are not ranked by importance. However, safety improvements are considered during the design phase for all projects, which must follow AASHTO design standards.  

The Project List

The MTP project list was developed to address the deficiencies identified in the plan and reflect investment priorities. It is constrained by available revenues, meaning that the costs of the projects selected do not exceed anticipated revenues. The first four years (2020–2023) of the MTP project list are equivalent to the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) project list and demonstrate the short-term transportation projects identified for funding in this region. Other individual projects listed in the MTP project list reflect projected transportation capacity and/or operational deficiencies with recommended alternatives identified.

Local Needs Compared to Available Federal Funding; Costs displayed in millions

Local Needs Compared to Available Federal Funding; Costs displayed in millions

 

Unfunded Priorities

Throughout the development of this MTP, efforts were made to establish a basic vision of what we collectively would like our transportation system to be in the year 2045 and how the system could achieve optimal performance. Issues related to the condition of the pavement, to the reliability of travel times, to the convenience of the local transit system, to the availability of alternate means of transportation and the efficiency of moving freight throughout the system were all analyzed.

The results of this analysis concluded that in order to achieve a PASER rating of 6 for pavement, which is considered fair condition, we would need a 50% increase in the annual budget, or $20.5 million, which would bring the total annual investment for pavement from $41 million to $61.5 million. In this scenario, the amount of pavement funding needed over the life of the MTP would be over $1.5 billion. There is also $13.7 million in identified need to improve identified capacity deficiencies (congestion) in the GVMC region. Currently, there is roughly $80 million in unfunded need for nonmotorized projects, $616 million in unfunded need for transit, and $16 million in unfunded needs for safety projects. All tolled, there is approximately $2.2 billion in identified local needs over the life of the plan. With only $557.6 million available in local funds, which will increase to approximately $697 million after adding 20% for the required local match, there is a shortfall of approximately $1.5 billion in meeting these needs. Because of this shortage, GVMC encourages local units of government to pursue additional sources of funding, such as millages, special assessments, or grants, to improve the transportation system.

Potential Future Funding

Gretchen Whitmer was elected governor in 2018 with a campaign promise to fix the roads, and in March of 2019, she proposed a 45-cent-per-gallon gas tax increase to be phased in over one year which would raise over $2 billion to fix Michigan roads. In the fall of 2019, the state budget moved forward without Whitmer’s 45-cent-per-gallon increase. However, negotiations about how to more fully fund Michigan’s crumbling infrastructure are continuing, which could lead to additional transportation funding. 

Public Involvement

GVMC is committed to ensuring that citizen input will figure prominently throughout the planning processes and contribute to transportation problem identification through public comment periods, public meetings, and review of the MTP document. Federal statute requires the public have reasonable opportunity to comment on transportation plans and programs. In accordance with the Public Participation Plan, GVMC encourages ongoing public participation. For more information about how you can participate in the MPO transportation planning process, visit our Get INVOLVED page.

Contact GVMC Transportation Staff

The GVMC staff is always looking for comments and input. Please contact Andrea Faber, Transportation Planner, at (616) 776-7603 with your MTP-related comments and questions, or submit your inquiry through the “submit a comment” button at the top of the page. You may also send written comments to: Grand Valley Metropolitan Council, 678 Front Ave NW, Suite 200, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49504.

If you are interested in receiving e-mail notifications about transportation issues in Kent and eastern Ottawa counties, sign up using the form at the top of the page, or contact Andrea Faber by phone (616.776.7603) or email.

Previous Long-Range Transportation Plans

GVMC 2040 Metropolitan Transportation Plan

To view the 2040 Metropolitan Transportation Plan, click here. A hard copy of the document is available for viewing at the GVMC offices. 

To view the 2040 Metropolitan Transportation Plan financial analysis, please click here

GVMC 2035 Long-Range Transportation Plan

Click here to view the 2035 GVMC Long-Range Transportation Plan (Archived)

Banner photo by Natekal23 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0] via Wikimedia Commons

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