Air Quality Plan one topic for NCTCOG RTC Public Meetings

Get Informed, Get Involved
Regional Transportation Council Hosts Public Meetings

May 31, 2007 (Arlington) – The Regional Transportation Council of the North Central Texas Council of Governments will host a series of public meetings and workshops in June on transportation planning and funding programs.

The RTC is required to hold public meetings and take comments from the public before they can move forward on highway, freeway, toll way, aviation and air quality plans for the 16 county region.

Topics include:

• Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) Draft Fiscal Year 2008 and Fiscal Year 2009 and Modifications to Fiscal Year 2006 and Fiscal Year 2007 Work Program
The UPWP serves as a guide for transportation and air quality planning activities to be conducted over the course of the fiscal year, beginning October 1 of each year. Included in the UPWP are detailed descriptions of the transportation and air quality planning tasks, listings of various committee activities and membership, and a summary of the amount and source of state and federal funds to be used for planning activities.

Air Quality is an important topic. Nine of the 16 counties in this region have air pollulants in quantanties that exceed Federal EPA Standards. Funding sanctions are anticipated to cost this region billions of dollars of transportation funding.

• Comprehensive Development Agreements and North Texas Tollway Authority Funding Initiative and Revenue Allocation to the Region
With current state legislation allowing the use of Comprehensive Development Agreements for implementation of transportation facilities, new funding is being brought to the region by the private sector or the North Texas Tollway Authority. In an effort to advance projects, the Regional Transportation Council of the North Central Texas Council of Governments is developing a funding initiative to select projects using proceeds from these Agreements.

• Quarterly Modifications of the Transportation Improvement Plan
Within metropolitan areas across the country, regional transportation projects are tracked through Transportation Improvement Programs. The Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) is a staged, multiyear program of projects approved for funding by federal, state, and local sources within the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Due to the changing nature of projects as they move through the implementation process, the TIP must be modified on a regular basis.


The public meetings will be held:

Wednesday, June 6, 6:30 p.m., Burleson City Hall. 141 West Renfro, Burleson, TX 76028

Thursday, June 7, 10:30 a.m., North Central Texas Council of Governments, 616 Six Flags Drive, Arlington, TX 76011

Thursday, June 7, 6:30 p.m., Christopher A. Parr Library, 6200 Windhaven Parkway
Plano, TX 75093