Memorandum

Date     April 18, 2013

To          Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization

From    Ryan Hicks, Congestion Management Process Manager, MPO Staff

Re          Intersection Improvement Program of the Boston Region MPO:
FFY 2014 Program Summary

The purpose of this memorandum is to brief the MPO on the plans for implementing the MPO’s Intersection Improvement Program for federal fiscal year (FFY) 2014.

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAM

The objectives of the MPO’s Intersection Improvement Program for FFY 2014 are: (1) to identify potential improvements at signalized intersections beneficial to traffic operations, (2) to implement signal retiming at the intersections where it has been identified as a beneficial improvement, (3) to recommend other short-term improvements for implementation, and (4) to provide MassDOT and municipalities with information useful for implementation of those other recommended improvements.

FUNDING

The FFY 2014 element of the Transportation Improvement Program includes $350,000 of CMAQ funds for the Intersection Improvement Program.

KEY ELEMENTS

MPO staff will select the locations to be included in the program based on past studies and data collection efforts, including Congestion Management Process (CMP) monitoring. The MassDOT Traffic and Safety Engineering Section will manage the contract and hire a consultant to perform four primary tasks for the selected locations: (1) conduct turning movement counts where up-to-date data are not available, (2) carry out intersection analyses, (3) produce mini-reports that make detailed recommendations of short-term improvements, and (4) perform signal retiming (if recommended and as approved by MassDOT). The entire process is presented in the accompanying flow chart.

The mini-reports, which will be provided to MassDOT district offices and the relevant municipalities, will present information useful for implementation of the recommendations that go beyond signal retiming. Recommendations for MassDOT-owned intersections could be implemented via “book jobs”; recommendations for municipally owned intersections could be implemented via other means, including local means and private means (such as developers), depending on the location and scope of each project.

REPORTING TO THE MPO

The CMP Committee chair will report to the MPO on the progress of the program and its projects on a regular basis. By September 30, 2014, MPO staff will present to the MPO the results of this program; the documentation will include the mini-reports detailing the recommended improvements.

RH/rh