link to Bond Proposition #2

link to Bond Proposition #3

link to Position Paper---The Proposed Alternative

What is the support information about the Transportation Proposition #1?

Purpose and Need

United States Census Bureau population estimates datafor year 2006 shows that the Dallas-Fort Worth Metropolitan Area (DFW MPA) is the fourth largest metropolitan area in the nation with an annual growth rate of 3.1%, higher than the three larger areas. From figures presented in the Mobility 2030: The Metropolitan Transportation Plan (1), Table 1.1 reflects the impact this growth will have on the region’s transportation system. Even if the projects, programs, and policies contained in Mobility 2030 are implemented, it will take 36% more time to travel during peak hours due to congestion in 2030, and the annual congestion cost will be $6.1 billion for the citizens living within the region. For this reason, it is important to continue to aggressively pursue additional congestion mitigation strategies as well as additional revenue to implement those strategies.

Source: North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG)

Collin County is located within the DFW MPA and continues to be one of the fastest growing counties in Texas. A significant shift in density, especially along the County’s major regional thoroughfares, will occur leading into 2030. With that growth comes the challenge of meeting the transportation needs of its citizens and maintaining or improving the serviceability of the existing transportation system with increased budgetary constraints. In addition, delays due to incidents, accidents, construction, special events and congestion will affect the County’s air quality, thus impacting ozone formation. Because Collin County is designated “non-attainment” for the pollutant ozone, increased ozone levels and deteriorated air quality can cause the reduction of federal funding available for roadway projects in the future. The transportation implications that will result from Collin County’s projected growth are shown in Table 1.2.

Source: North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) and Draft Collin County Mobility Plan 2007 Update

The County has identified through the Collin County Mobility Plan 2007 Update  that its goal is to alleviate future congestion by identifying transportation improvements on a county-wide basis, while taking into consideration the limitations of the existing county thoroughfare network. To accommodate projected demographic growth in the region, Collin County has identified their transportation needs with the implementation of a mobility plan based on forecasted roadway volumes and congestion levels. The County Mobility Plan, click this link, was developed as part of the Collin County Mobility Plan.

Many improvements to the transportation infrastructure have been implemented throughout the County to address increasing traffic congestion problems. However, the rate of growth experienced by the rapid urbanization of several municipalities in the County, especially along the SH 121 and US 75 corridors, has continued to generate traffic volumes that exceed the planned operating capacities of much of the County’s major roadway network. To adequately address the future needs of the County Mobility Plan, aggressive steps are necessary to fund the design and construction of the planned improvements. Due to increased budgetary constraints, bonds will be sold to help fund the expansion of the roadway network and develop the County Mobility Plan. Because these bonds require approval from the County’s voters, the Collin County Commissioners Court appointed in 2007 a Transportation Sub-committee to receive input from city representatives to determine the most urgent thoroughfare plan needs for Collin County. Subsequently, Carter & Burgess, Inc. was hired to aid in the development of the 2007 Transportation Bond Program, provide necessary technical support and develop a formal report with recommendations from the Transportation Bond Sub-committee as to which projects should be included in the 2007 Transportation Bond Program.

Funding

Funding for transportation improvements is one ofthree subdivisions for the entire Collin County 2007 Bond Program, with the other two being for facilities and parks space projects. Based on the anticipated bonding capacity without raising County taxes, the Collin County Commissioners Court approved the funding for the 2007 Transportation Bond Program at $235,600,000.

Transportation Sub-committee

To express the County’s and each cities’ thoroughfare plan needs, Collin County Commissioners Court developed a Transportation Sub-committee to evaluate and determine viable transportation projects for the Bond Program scheduled for November 2007. The Transportation Sub-committee includes representatives from the cities in the County, appointed by each of the County Commissioners and County Judge. Staff from Collin County and Carter & Burgess, Inc. provided information and support to this committee. Members of  this committee may be viewed by clicking here.  Members of the Sub-committee attended four meetings held on May 3, May 10, May 17 and June 7, 2007 to appraise and rank the transportation needs for the County and the individual cities. The Sub-committee was able to identify significant and high priority transportation corridor improvements within Collin County and subsequently recommend to the Collin County Commissioners Court that those projects be included in the 2007 Bond Program.

The Sub-committee’s primary goal was to develop a list of projects that would provide for the an approximate $200 million Transportation Bond Program according to the following preliminary guidelines:

• To encourage as much local participation from the cities and other entities, the County portion of the funding would not exceed 50% of the total project cost.

• The county participation for a certain project is a fixed amount. If a project overruns its estimated cost, the County’s portion of the funding for that project will not increase. If a project runs under its estimated cost and both the city and County agree, the remainder of the funding allocated to that project may remain within that city for application toward another project.

• If a city is unable to contribute the required matching funds for a particular project, that project would be removed from the list considered for the Bond Program and the funding applied toward a project in the Tier 2 list based on priorities determined at that time.

• If a project within a particular city is dropped for any other reason (i.e. letting date not met, a change in project priority, or funding from other sources) and both the city and County agree, the funding for that project remains within that city for application toward an alternate project.

STUDY PROCESS

The study process was divided into two phases – the Data Collection Phase and the Project Screening Phase. The Data Collection Phase involved the identification of significant corridor improvements needed for Collin County. Through correspondence and discussions with city personnel, pertinent information was acquired and compiled in spreadsheets that reflected the project lists utilized in this report. The major components of the Data Collection Phase are:

• Initial request for and receipt of proposed projects and creation of the Initial Project Screening list.
• Traffic volume projections
• Data verification through discussions with cities
• Project cost estimates
• Funding participation determination

The Project Screening Phase involved the prioritization of the submitted improvements through a detailed screening process to determine the most qualified transportation projects to be included in the 2007 Bond Program. The projects submitted were evaluated to determine if they were compatible with the County’s transportation goals based on their cost efficiency, congestion relief impact, and improvement to overall safety. In summary, the Project Screening Phase consisted of:

• Developing project descriptions and identifying project types
• Determining the various project costs
• Conducting an initial project screening
• Performing a traffic evaluation
• Programming with Transportation Sub-committee members
• Developing a list of recommended Tier 1 and Tier 2 projects

Data Collection Phase

The objective of the Data Collection Phase was to create a viable list (Initial Project Screening list) of projects that reflect the transportation infrastructure needs of the County. Although some of these projects were not chosen for the 2007 Bond Program, the remainder were listed in a separate Tier 2 Project list in the event additional County transportation funding becomes available.

Initial Request for Projects

On March 13, 2007, Collin County submitted a letter to each local jurisdiction requesting viable proposed transportation projects to be considered for the 2007 Bond Program. Following the criteria, 19 of the 29 cities contacted responded with projects within their communities.

Initially submitted were 176 projects valued at $1,359,068,270 with a County requested share of $515,212,010.

Traffic Volume Projections

Because year 2030 traffic volume projections are crucial in evaluating the demand that will be placed on a roadway’s future capacity, this information was requested and utilized in the traffic evaluation portion of the Project Screening Phase explained later in this report. Future traffic volumes provided in the Draft Collin County Mobility Plan 2007 Update were based upon growth that would occur at the county “build-out” population of 2.19 million, which occurs if all transportation improvements on the County Mobility Plan are implemented. In some areas of Collin County, “build-out” will occur prior to 2030, while in other areas “build-out” will occur after 2030.

For this reason, projections from the Draft Collin County Mobility Plan 2007 Update were not used in this report. The North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) traffic projections were readily available from the Mobility 2030 Update: The Metropolitan Transportation Plan and have been included in the transportation plan. NCTCOG used their standard travel demand model forecasting process to project the future traffic demand within the County.

These traffic volume projections were used to calculate the congestion factor and cost efficiency for each project.

Project Screening Phase

Projects were initially screened to determine if they were compatible with the County’s transportation goals and whether they would benefit multiple jurisdictions based on their estimated construction cost, congestion relief and improvement to safety.

Project Shortlist (Tier 1 Projects)

With the conclusion of the project screening, traffic evaluation, and programming with the Bond Committee, the Project Shortlist (Tier 1 Projects) was created. These projects equate to approximately $236 million in requested County Participation to be funded through the 2007 Transportation Bond Program.  These projects may be viewed on a County Map by clicking here.  All 113 projects included in this list met the Sub-committee’s criteria and the County’s criteria for bond funding associated with the cost for the transportation improvements. For the city projects, this list reflects their commitment of 50% of the total cost (minus other participation) and represents a balance of funds spread within the County based on community population and anticipated growth.

Summary

The Initial Project Screening list was approximately $1.36 billion (total project costs) is needed to satisfy the identified near term transportation infrastructure needs of the County. However, based on a $236 million contribution by the County, along with city and other participation, only $485 million in transportation improvements will be implemented through this Bond Program. As recommended by the Transportation Sub-committee and to assist the Commissioners Court with determining the most effective projects to fund by this Bond Program, a tier system was developed to provide a viable list that met the criteria of the Bond Program as well as provide additional projects should funds become available. All  of the 113 Tier 1 projects totaling a bond amount of $235,607,181 represent the most critical transportation needs for Collin County.

The county participation for a particular project is a fixed amount. If a certain project overruns its estimated cost, the County’s portion of the funding for that project will not increase. In cases where project costs overrun, it may be necessary to change the scope to warrant the allotted funding amount. This measure ensures that the County’s contribution is capped despite unforeseen changes to project scope, costs, or scheduling. However, if a project selected for the bond program is dropped for any reason, the funding for that project remains within that city for application toward another project.