| Federal regulation requires, as part of the metropolitan
planning process, the development of a Transportation
Improvement Program (TIP). The document must include a
three-year priority list of federally funded transportation
projects. Miami-Dade County's TIP includes four year priority
list of federally funded projects and all other transportation
projects funded with state and/or local monies. The TIP must
be consistent with the Metropolitan Transportation Plan. In
order for transportation projects to receive federal funds they
must be included in the TIP. This document has to be prepared in
cooperation with State and public transit operators. The TIP has
to be approved by the MPO and the Governor. This document
becomes part of the
State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP).
The TIP document is prepared every year to fulfill Federal
statutory requirements which provide that, as a condition to
receive Federal funding, each urbanized area will have a
continuing planning process that results in plans and programs
consistent with the comprehensively planned development of the
urbanized area. This document programs transportation projects
that serve this purpose.
The priorities established by this document express the
policy decision of the MPO as to the order in which
transportation improvements will be advanced during the program
period. This document also fulfills Federal requirements in that
the included projects are derived from the area's
Long Range Transportation Plan
(LRTP) for inclusion in the program and addresses new program
requirements relating to the recently enacted federal
Safe,
Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act (SAFETEA-LU):
A legacy for users of 2005.
PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT
The TIP process begins at the start of each fiscal year. A
letter is sent to all municipalities, involved agencies and
private parties informing them that the process is to begin,
providing them with the tentative scheduling and soliciting
their input. The Citizens
Transportation Advisory Committee (CTAC) provides a forum
for citizens to evaluate the recommendations developed through
the MPO's transportation planning and programming process.
The MPO provides adequate public notices for public hearings
so as to allow community citizens the opportunity to participate
in the development of the TIP. The proposed TIP is published and
made readily available for review and comment. Similarly, the
approved TIP is published and made readily available for
information purposes. The functional responsibilities of
participating agencies are needed to insure the continuing
development and operation of urban transportation system
facilities. Usually, three to four presentations are made to
CTAC for reviewing the document.
The final public hearing for adoption is scheduled on May of
every year.
PROJECT SELECTION
In its efforts to comply with federal requirement regarding
the development of a TIP project selection procedure, and due to
the fact that the need for transportation improvements exceed
the available funding, the TIP
Development Committee formed a subcommittee to organize the
selection criteria into a more structured and understandable
format. The committee recommends that the first three years of
the adopted TIP be considered as committed and the selection
criteria should be applied to the remaining two years in
addition to the outstanding project proposals. There are three
generalized steps to follow: Project Selection, Project Ranking,
and Project Prioritization.
WHAT IS THE TIP?
The TIP is a staged multi-year program that prioritizes
transportation improvement projects for federal, state and local
funding. The TIP is also the capital improvements element of the
LRTP. The TIP has a role in
putting the LRTP into action.
TIP: Putting the Long Range
Transportation Plan into action. Picturing the project
contained in the 2030 LRTP for Miami-Dade County as a warehouse
full of transportation projects for the next 20+ years, the TIP
is the vehicle that carries those projects to market. |
