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TIPS: Transportation Improvement Programs   

Transportation Improvement Programs are adopted bi-annually by the Regional Planning Commission (RPC). They are prepared cooperatively by the RPC, acting in its legal capacity as the Metropolitan Planning Organization for the New Orleans urbanized area, and Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (LaDOTD), and affected transit operators.

TIPs consist of priority lists of projects (both highway and transit) which are being advanced toward construction over the four-year period, FY-11 to FY-14. Projects found in the TIPs have evolved through the transportation planning process and are contained in the region’s long-range Metropolitan Transportation Plans.

Both the local TIPs and State TIP are identical documents containing a common set of projects proposed for federal funding. TIPs and STIP are products of a consensus-building process carried out jointly by the RPC and the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development.

Both the TIPs and STIP are on a two-year update cycle. However, the TIPs are reviewed annually by the RPC and selected revisions are permitted, following formal amendment procedures.

Projects contained in the TIPs are derived from Phase I of the Metropolitan Transportation Plan. Projects are largely reconstruction-oriented consisting of roadway rehabilitation, overlay, and traffic signalization. Bus transit and rail rehabilitation and extensions are also emphasized along with intermodal facilities development.

Projects identified in the TIPs are part of the approved Transportation Plan and refer to improvements being funded under Title I and Title III of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU).

The Unified Planning Work Program for Transportation Planning, Fiscal Year 2011 describes all federally funded transportation studies being conducted within the greater New Orleans Transportation Study Area during the period July 1, 2010 through June 30, 2011 .

The Study Area: This study area consists of three urbanized areas (UZAs) - New Orleans, Slidell and Covington/Mandeville in St. Tammany Parish.

The Unified Planning Work Program documents the federally funded planning activities being undertaken by the Regional Planning Commission, local transit providers, the state Department of Transportation, and local governmental units to maintain and improve the overall efficiency of the region’s highway, transit, aviation, maritime and rail systems.

The Program also describes endeavors being undertaken by the RPC in other spheres of activity such as economic development, brownfields reclamation, and aviation .

The UPWP is reviewed and endorsed annually by the Regional Planning Commission and the Transportation Policy Committee. The UPWP is also submitted annually to the various federal-funding agencies for review and approval.

The unified planning work program process is designed to ensure that a continuing, comprehensive transportation planning program is carried out cooperatively by the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, the Regional Planning Commission Transportation Policy Committee (TPC), local governments, transit operators, and the citizens of the seven parishes represented on the Transportation Policy Committee. This effort is carried out through activities of a Technical Advisory Committee (parish planning directors and representatives of each transportation mode); public informational meetings; and through involvement with various business and citizen groups.

The region’s Transportation Policy Committee consists of the full RPC membership plus representatives from St. Charles and St. John Parishes, the City of Mandeville, the City of Slidell (both cities are in St. Tammany Parish), organizations involved in transportation including the Port of New Orleans, Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, Louisiana Airport Authority, New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal (rail), Louisiana Motor Transport Association (truck), Regional Transit Authority and the Jefferson Parish Transit Administration.

All tasks contained in the Unified Planning Work Program are undertaken in accordance with planning requirements and contractual obligations of the participating local, state, and federal agencies.

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Offsite Parish-Transit Links
Jefferson Transit http://www.jeffersontransit.org
New Orleans Regional Transit Authority http://www.norta.com

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