Blacklands Corridor Feasibility Study. Public Meeting March 20, 2014 Fletcher Warren Civic Center Greenville, TX

Blacklands Corridor Feasibility Study Public Meeting March 20, 2014 Fletcher Warren Civic Center Greenville, TX 1

Overview Welcome, Overview, and Progress to Date Michael Morris Growth and Traffic Martin Molloy Conceptual Strategies Technical Review Matt Craig Study Takeaways to Date Chad McKeown Update on Private Sector and Timeline Tom Shelton Opportunities for Public Involvement Amanda Wilson 2

Study Area Source: NCTCOG 3

Study Purpose and Goals Determine if there are transportation needs in the Blacklands Corridor from Greenville to the President George Bush Turnpike Involve the public in identifying needs and potential transportation solutions Review the corridor study process and recommendations of the Texas Turnpike Corporation/Public Werks proposal for a toll road 4

Study Purpose and Goals (continued) If a transportation need is identified due to current and projected future travel needs: Analyze a no-build scenario and utilize it as the baseline for comparison of benefits and impacts Conduct a multimodal analysis of potential transportation solutions including various alternatives and alignments Develop concept transportation projects and objectives Identify potential economic, environmental, and social impacts of build and no-build options Identify phases of early potential project implementation Develop a transportation improvement plan for the entire corridor 5

Regional Accessibility Source: NCTCOG 6

Study Progress to Date Previously held two public meetings and one telephone town hall Identified nine potential strategies (including no-build) for current and future transportation needs Begun computer simulations of potential strategies for technical evaluation Determined that most of the NETEX right-of-way is not suitable for construction of a roadway Suggest preservation of NETEX right-of-way for future uses (including trails or rail transit) 7

Summary of Public Comments Includes all comments received through March 13 75 total Comment themes No transportation improvements needed One or more transportation alternatives unacceptable Interest in one or more transportation improvements Information request 54% 8% 13% 25% Important to express preferred alternatives in coming weeks 8

Growth: Population in 2013 214,000 93,000 Garland-Wylie 213,943 Rockwall 33,760 Lavon-Nevada 21,952 Caddo Mills 9,191 Greenville 28,286 Population Totals 307,132 = 10,000 Residents 10

Growth: Population in 2035 320,000 178,000 +50% +91% Garland-Wylie 320,050 Rockwall 59,142 Lavon-Nevada 62,754 Caddo Mills 19,867 Greenville 35,882 Population Totals 497,695 = 10,000 Residents 11

Growth: Employment in 2013 72,000 35,000 Garland-Wylie 72,152 Rockwall 11,694 Lavon-Nevada 4,673 Caddo Mills 1,897 Greenville 16,783 Employment Totals 107,199 = 10,000 Jobs 12

Growth: Employment in 2035 127,000 66,000 +76% +89% Garland-Wylie 126,817 Rockwall 22,983 Lavon-Nevada 14,455 Caddo Mills 3,985 Greenville 24,710 Population Totals 192,950 = 10,000 Jobs 13

Traffic Screen Lines Lakes County Line Elm Creek Screen Lines 14

2013 Traffic Flows Baseline Conditions Lakes County Line Elm Creek 94K 96K 219K 15

2035 Traffic Flows No Build Lakes County Line Elm Creek 160K 174K 382K Change to traffic: Lakes: +74% County Line: +81% Elm Creek: +70% 16

2013 Traffic Flows Traffic Details at Lakes Screen Line 33K Total 219,000 17

2035 Traffic Flows Traffic Details at Lakes Screen Line 58K Change to traffic: US 380: +76% SH 78: +203% SH 66: +43% IH 30: +53% Overall: +74% Total 382,000 18

19 2013 Level of Service

20 2035 Level of Service Baseline

Project Schedule Study Milestones Evaluate Existing Conditions and Identify Issues Develop Project Scope, Goals, and Objectives Conduct Baseline Forecast Generate Alternatives Evaluate Alternatives Select Locally-Preferred Alternative(s) Publish Final Feasibility Study Report 22

Blacklands Corridor Conceptual Strategies 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Baseline No Build Strategy (Only construct projects in Mobility 2035 MTP 2013 Update) Travel Options/Transportation System Management/Intelligent Transportation Systems Strategy Bicycle/Pedestrian Facilities Strategy Freight Rail Strategy Transit Strategy Improvement of Arterials (SH 66, SH 78, US 380, etc.) Strategy Bottleneck Improvements of IH-30 Strategy Expansion of IH-30 Facility Strategy (General Purpose/HOV/Managed Lanes) New Location Highway/Freeway/Tollway Strategy Note: Each strategy evaluated individually in initial stage. 23

1) Baseline Strategy Only Mobility 2035 Committed Projects PRELIMINARY SUBJECT TO FURTHER STUDY Energy-corridor.blogspot.com 24

2) Travel Options/Transportation Management Strategy Travel Options Programs which encourage people to travel at alternate times or with fewer vehicles. Transportation System Management (TSM) Improves efficiency and reliability using incident management, signal coordinating, ramp metering, etc. Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Advanced technologies such as real-time travel data and incident detection. 2a) Add Park and Ride Lots at Strategic Locations, such as: - IH 30 at Dalrock Rd. - Along SH 78 - Others TBD 2c) Synchronize existing traffic signals, particularly along: - SH 78 - SH 66 - SH 205 2d) Install dynamic message signage on IH 30 2e) Institute a truck lane policy on IH 30 2b) Institute an Express Bus service connecting Greenville to the regional transit system Telegraph.co.uk TTI TTI TTI PRELIMINARY SUBJECT TO FURTHER STUDY 25

3) Bicycle/Pedestrian Improvements Countywide Plans Mobility 2035 Off-Street Trails + Locally-Planned Bicycle/Pedestrian Facilities PRELIMINARY SUBJECT TO FURTHER STUDY 26

4) Freight Rail Strategy Intermodal & Freight Rail Improvements: Could or should the NETEX rail corridor be used for freight rail expansion? What are the impacts of the KCS Wylie Intermodal Center? What are the impacts of the Walton Logistics Hub? PRELIMINARY SUBJECT TO FURTHER STUDY 27

5) Transit Improvement Strategies Extension of Cotton Belt Commuter Rail End of Planned Cotton Belt Rail Connection to Light Rail dallasobserver.com NCTCOG.org End of DART Blue Line in Rowlett Inspired by: Cotton Belt Rail Corridor DART 2030 Transit System Plan Hunt County Transportation Plan Mobility 2035 2013 Update ridedart.org 28

6) Improvement of Arterials Strategy Baseline includes improvements to: SH 78 to 6 lanes SH 66 to 4-6 lanes SH 205 to 4-6 lanes US 380 to 4 lanes Outer Loop Frontage Road (FM 1138) Potential Improvements Include: Optimization of SH 78 Full Build out of County Thoroughfare Plans New Arterial Facilities 29

6) Arterial Build-Out of Local Thoroughfare Plans PRELIMINARY SUBJECT TO FURTHER STUDY 30

6) Enhanced Arterials New Arterials: PGBT to SH 205 PRELIMINARY SUBJECT TO FURTHER STUDY New Arterial Streets/Bridges Conceptual Routes Only* *Routes shown depict general travel needs only. If determined viable, a separate study would be performed to identify actual routes. 31

6) 2035 Traffic Flows No Build (Baseline) 58K Total 382,000 32

6) 2035 Traffic Flows - with Two New Location Arterials 59K Change to traffic: US 380: +2% SH 78: -24% SH 66: -15% IH 30: -7% Overall: +9% Total 415,000 33

6) Enhanced Arterials SH 78 Elevated Express Lanes 78 TEXAS 78 TEXAS SH 78 Elevated 34 PRELIMINARY SUBJECT TO FURTHER STUDY

7) Bottleneck Improvements of IH-30 Strategy Proposed Improvements Ramp Access / Configuration Improvements Add Auxiliary Lanes PRELIMINARY SUBJECT TO FURTHER STUDY Convert Select Shoulders to Travel Lanes Convert 2-Way Frontage Roads to 1-Way 35

8) Expansion of IH-30 Facility Strategy 8a) Add 2 HOV / Managed Toll Lanes in each direction 8a) Add 1 HOV / Managed Toll Lane in each direction Wikipedia.com 8c) Add Service Roads in each direction across Lake Ray Hubbard PRELIMINARY SUBJECT TO FURTHER STUDY 8b) Add a 4 th general purpose lane in each direction 8b) Add a 3 rd general purpose lane in each direction HNTB.com 36

8) 2035 Traffic Flows IH 30 with Added Managed Lanes 58K Change to traffic: US 380: 0% SH 78: -2% SH 66: -6% IH 30: -10% Total 392,000 Overall: +3% 37

9) Example New Location Highway/Freeway/Tollway Strategy Toll49.org Similar to: Chisholm Trail Pkwy (Ft. Worth) Toll 49 (Tyler) Westpark Tollway (Houston) ascehouston.com PRELIMINARY SUBJECT TO FURTHER STUDY *Route shown depicts general travel needs only. If determined viable, a separate study would be performed to identify an actual route. 38

9) 2035 Traffic Flows New Freeway + Outer Loop 58K 55K 18K 25K Change to traffic: Total 399,000 US 380: -5% SH 78: -36% SH 66: -17% IH 30: -9% Overall: +4% 39

Strategy Evaluation Strategy 1) Baseline (Mobility 2035 2013 Update Only) Safety Mobility Evaluation Criteria Environmental Impacts Economic Development o o o - 2) Travel Options/TMS/ITS + + o o Next Step Carry forward for comparison Carry forward as complementary strategy 3) Bicycle/Pedestrian Facilities + + o o Carry forward as complementary strategy 4) Freight Rail o o o o No further study 5) Transit + + o + 6) Improvement of Arterials + + - + 7) Bottleneck Improvements to IH-30 + + o o 8) Expansion of IH-30 Facility + ++ - + Carry forward for long term consideration Carry forward as complementary and long term strategy Carry forward as interim strategy Carry forward for comparison 9) New Location Freeway/Tollway + ++ - - + Carry forward Safety Mobility Environmental Impacts Economic Development Does the strategy have the potential to reduce crashes in the study area? Does the strategy have the potential to reduce congestion in the study area? PRELIMINARY SUBJECT TO FURTHER STUDY Does the strategy have a potentially significant environmental impact? Does the strategy facilitate regional economic development? 40

Problem Definition What are the concerns in the study area? Growth Lake Crossings SH 78 IH 30 US 380 Collin County Outer Loop Missing Roadway Network Intermodal Connections Economic Development Connectivity to Job Centers Safety Issues Others? 42

Takeaways to Date Growth is occurring and projected to continue throughout the study area Lakes are a barrier to transportation SH 78 between the lakes is heavily traveled and congested IH 30 congestion is highest crossing the lake, decreasing east of SH 205 Study area lacks a well defined grid of roadways and accessibility to freeways/tollways Expansion of KCS facility in Wylie will increase truck traffic on nearby facilities Increased truck traffic on rural roads presents safety challenges 43

Takeaways to Date Collin County Outer Loop may meet the north/south travel needs in the study area and has little impact on east/west travel Opportunities may exist to partner with utilities in sharing corridors Need for additional capacity exists between PGBT and SH 205 near SH 78 corridor Due to limited impact from expansion of existing arterials and freeways, a new alignment corridor should continue to be evaluated 44

Freeway Planning Warrants 100,000 90,000 80,000 70,000 At George Bush Turnpike Between Lake Ray Hubbard and Lavon Lake At SH 205 Possible Different Solutions Along Corridor Daily Volume 60,000 50,000 40,000 30,000 Transition Area At FM 6 20,000 10,000 At Proposed Collin County Outer Loop At FM 36 At US Highway 69 0 Near PGBT Distance: 28 Miles Near Greenville Year 2035 Volumes on Proposed New Location Freeway Suburban to Rural Freeway Warrant 45

Update on Private Sector Texas Turnpike Corporation/Public Werks remains interested in a potential project and is no longer considering use of NETEX right-of-way TTC/Public Werks must complete an environmental document consistent with National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) guidelines Environmental document must: Public Sector Progress Include public involvement Gain public acceptance Gain local government support Inventory identified issues Private Sector Progress Mitigate impacts Time Recommendation 47

48 Project Schedule

Public Involvement to Date 2013 July Public meeting in Lavon October Blacklands Corridor Connection newsletter November Public meeting in Nevada 2014 February Blacklands Corridor Connection newsletter, telephone town hall March Public meeting in Greenville 50

Other Ongoing Public Involvement Efforts Website and social media updates Media outreach Stakeholder interviews with citizens, business leaders, and elected officials to gather more specific input and discover more avenues to provide information about and seek input on the study Surveys (print and online) www.nctcog.org/blacklands NCTCOGtrans 51

Public Involvement Survey: Responses Introduced at Nov. 7 meeting in Nevada Only 12 percent of people who attended the meeting took the public involvement survey 99 people attended the public meeting Nov. 7 12 people 34 people completed the public involvement survey 52

Public Involvement Survey: Responses 34 total respondents through March 16 3 groups of respondents that coincided with key actions 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Number of Survey Respondents by Week Public meeting Community interest Newsletter mailed 53

Public Involvement Moving Forward Will continue to hold meetings on weekday evenings Early notification of public meetings is a priority. Expanding distribution of Blacklands Corridor Connection newsletter and reach of study information are priorities as well as providing opportunities to provide input. Public involvement efforts outlined will continue, and staff plan to meet with city councils and other local boards as the study continues. www.nctcog.org/blacklands NCTCOGtrans 54

Contacts Amanda Wilson, AICP Public Involvement Manager awilson@nctcog.org 817-695-9284 Jahnae Stout Communications Supervisor jstout@nctcog.org 817-608-2335 55