Stimulus good news for TPO
08/17/2009 by David Chapman Staff Writer Back into action mode following July’s discussion-only meeting, the North Florida Transportation Planning Organization passed several measures, requests and lists that will have a bearing on transportation projects within the next several years — including some good news on the stimulus front. Despite the criticisms of Florida ranking last in an upcoming report regarding spending economic stimulus money for transportation projects, the organization should have some extra funds to allocate. The first round of TPO obligated projects (11 approved in March) came in under bid, with the savings pooled and remaining under North Florida TPO distribution. A second prioritized list was drafted and approved Wednesday, with the one project — road widening of Caroline Vale Road to Merrill Road for $7.4 million — left off the initial list returning. A sidewalk improvement project in St. Augustine, on-ramp extension at U.S. 17 and I-295 in Clay County were next in line, among others. Florida Department of Transportation Dist. 2 Secretary Charles Baldwin said the total of the amount of leftover funds that could be applied toward such additional projects isn’t yet known, but should be before Thanksgiving. Baldwin also said Florida’s last-place ranking in terms of distributed project stimulus dollars will pay dividends later in terms of job growth. Other states high on the list, he said, simply replaced their existing funding for current projects with stimulus dollars. The swap, he said, gives the appearance of dollars spent on projects but doesn’t create the jobs associated with new projects. “It’s a little different approach (than other states have taken),” said Baldwin, “but naturally, we think we have the better approach.” North Florida TPO Executive Director Denise Bunnewith commented on the outside criticism as well, saying that while the state as a whole wasn’t painted favorably in the rankings, Northeast Florida should be, as area officials have done a good job. Additional stimulus projects weren’t the only thing approved during the monthly meeting, as board members also finalized the TPO’s list of priority projects that will be used in developing the FDOT’s tentative five-year work program. While a new fifth year, fiscal year 2014-15 was added, the list largely remains the same as prior lists, but the consistency is so FDOT knows what the TPO’s project priorities are for funding. Heading the list under State Highway Capacity Projects is the First Coast outer Beltway, Mathews Bridge, Brannan Field/Chaffee Road and State Road 9B projects. The list also features separate Jacksonville Transportation Authority capital and mass-transit projects as well of those from TPO counties. Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Funds were also approved for programs. The federal funding, annually $1.5 million, is to be used for projects that reduce congestion and transportation related emissions. North Florida TPO annually sets aside $1 million to aid Intelligent Transportation Systems. Such communications systems improve the efficiency of existing transportation corridors and can be easily measured and evaluated, said North Florida TPO Planning Director Jeff Sheffield. In other news and notes from the recent North Florida TPO meeting: • A resolution that had been in the works regarding the board’s support of a high speed rail system and designating a high-speed corridor between Jacksonville and Orlando was passed. The item originally was shelved from the June workshop, as Bunnewith and staff gathered more information and discussed the issue with other region officials regarding cooperation. • Board member Nancy Sikes-Kline of St. Augustine was added to the organization’s Finance Committee. She joins current Finance members and City Council members Stephen Joost and Michael Corrigan. • The next North Florida TPO board meeting is Sept. 10, but the group should walk in having some more information on a potential regional transportation authority. The subcommittee examining the issue meets for the first time Sept. 2. The makeup of such an authority’s advisory panel, a potential mix of elected officials and private citizens, was discussed during Thursday’s meeting and will be decided on in the near future. dchapman@baileypub.com 356-2466
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