MPO TPC/TAC Board Minutes - 02/20/2014 TRANSPORTATION POLICY COMMITTEE (TPC) MEETING
WICHITA FALLS METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION
February 20, 2014
Present:
Glenn Barham, Mayor, City of Wichita Falls ♦ Members
Larry Tegtmeyer, TxDOT, District Engineer •
Russell Schreiber, City Public Works Director •
Dennis Wilde, North Texas Reg. Planning Commission
Jeff Watts, City of Pleasant Valley, Representative •
Harry Jenkins, Proxy, Jim Henson, Lakeside City, Mayor
Michael Smith, City Council Representative •
Tim Ingle, City Council Representative •
Jaimie Lee, WFMPO, Transportation Planner ll ♦ Staff
Lin Barnett, WFMPO, Transportation Planning Director
Rhonda Poirot, Rep. James Frank ♦ Visitors
Tammy Marlow, TxDOT, North Region Support Center
Danny Brown, Director, TP&D •
Tammye Fontenot, TxDOT, TPP •
Greg Lancaster, TxDOT, TPP •
Kevin Hall, Texas A&M Transportation Institute
Woodrow (Woody) Gossom, Wichita County Judge ♦ Absent
I. Welcome & Introduction
Mayor Barham, the TPC chairperson, called the meeting to order at 8:02 a.m. and
welcomed everyone in attendance.
II. Public Comment on Agenda and Non-Agenda Items
Mayor Barham asked for any public comments on agenda and non-agenda items. There
was none.
III. Review and Approve Administrative Revision to FY 2014-2015 Unified Planning
Work Program: Subtask 1.4—Agency Memberships (p. 8)
Mr. Barnett directed the committee's attention to page 8 of the meeting packet. He
explained that public involvement constitutes a large portion of our 2015-2040
Metropolitan Transportation Plan update. Mr. Barnett stated that the Wichita Falls
Chamber of Commerce and Industry graciously helped MPO staff by forwarding the link
to one of their MTP surveys to over 3,000 people that subscribe to the Chamber's email
notification list. This was of enormous help to MPO staff, which also learned that as a
member to the Chamber of Commerce they could have access to many other Chamber
resources. Mr. Barnett explained that the Office of Management and Budget Circular A-
WICHITA FALLS MPO TPC MEETING February 20,2014 PAGE 1
87 states that an MPO can join a civic organization that offers agency memberships;
however, the MPO must first receive permission from its federal funding agency before
applying for membership, in WFMPO's case, the Federal Highway Administration
(FHWA).
Mr. Barnett stated FHWA reviewed WFMPO's request and gave the MPO permission to
join the Chamber of Commerce and Industry under an agency membership. To
accomplish this, the Policy Board needed to approve an administrative revision to
WFMPO's FY 2014-2015 Unified Planning Work Program under Subtask 1.4. The
revision changed the language in Subtask 1.4 to include agency memberships as an
allowable WFMPO expense.
Mayor Barham asked for a motion to approve adding agency memberships as an
allowable expense to the 2014-2015 Unified Planning Work Program under Subtask 1.4.
Councilor Smith made the motion to approve. Mr. Tegtmeyer seconded the motion,
which carried unanimously.
IV. Review and Approve the Transportation Demand Model Refresh for Forecast Year
2040 (TxDOT Presentation)
Mr. Barnett prefaced the presentation by stating that the Travel Demand Model
constitutes one of the most important functions of any MPO. He commented that the
model makes it possible for MPO staff to create alternative analyses of the area within
the MPO's boundary out to a 25-year horizon. Mr. Barnett then thanked Mr. Hall, Mr.
Lancaster, and Ms. Fontenot for their unwavering work to complete the model on time so
that MPO staff could begin using it for alternative analysis support to the MTP update.
Mr. Barnett introduced Mr. Hall and asked him to begin his presentation.
Mr. Hall, research scientist with the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, gave a detailed
presentation discussing the final refresh of the WFMPO transportation network model.
The Travel Demand Model (TDM) looks at predicted traffic patterns and congestion out
into future years. For WFMPO, the TDM refresh expands the MPO's forecasting ability
from 2035 out to 2040. MPO staff will use the TDM to conduct alternative analyses for
the 2015-2040 Metropolitan Transportation Plan update. Mr. Hall discussed the changes
from year 2035 to year 2040 and informed the committee about areas such as Network
Development, Demographic Development, External Station Volume Development, and
the next steps for the MPO. Mr. Hall stated that the Wichita Falls region has a very good
Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) Modeled to Capacity ratio at 36.47%, meaning the
community uses less than 40% of the total VMT capacity. Mr. Hall also pointed out that
the External Travel Station Forecast indicated a trend of negative or extremely low
growth at the travel stations. He commented that the downturn of the economy starting
in 2008 probably had an effect on the number of trips into and through the MPO study
area.
Mr. Hall concluded his presentation by thanking MPO staff for their work to verify all the
data on the ground and for getting it back to TxDOT as quickly as they did. Mr. Hall
stated the next steps for WFMPO were to begin planning for the next model update in
2015. He then answered questions from the Policy Board.
WICHITA FALLS MPO TPC MEETING February 20,2014 PAGE 2
After the Policy Board completed their review, Mayor Barham asked for a motion to
approve the Travel Demand Model for MPO staff use. Mr. Watts made the motion for
approval. Mr. Wilde seconded the motion, which carried unanimously.
V. Adjourn
The meeting adjourned at 9:00 a.m.
• ./
Honorable Glenn Barham
Mayor Wichita Falls
RECEIVED IN
CITY CLERK'S OFFICE
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WICHITA FALLS MPO TPC MEETING February 20,2014 PAGE 3