Item B: West Eugene Transporation System/MPC Update

Home Browse Search

LCOG c . .......~. LANE COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS June 22, 2006 Commissioner Bobby Green, Sr. Lane County 125 E. 8th Avenue Eugene, OR 97401 Dear Commissioner Green and Members of the Metropolitan Policy Committee: The transportation system in the Central Lane Transportation Management Area is vital to the health, welfare and economic well-being of all citizens of Lane County. Our children go to school, our citizens travel to and from work and play, ambulances respond swiftly to emergencies, and goods travel from our factories and into our stores, across a vital web of highways and streets. Bike and pedestrian paths provide for alternate modes of transportation to meet federal and state requirements and afford recreational opportunities for our citizens. Transit services efficiently move people throughout the area. Federal and state transportation funds provide ongoing support to this regional network of highways, streets, paths and transit. These ~oad, path and bridge construction and maintenance projects bring millions of dollars into the county which create and sustain hundreds of jobs. It is the responsibility of the MPO to ensure federal transportation requirements are'met to ensure this syst~ and the funds to support it continue. When the LCOG Board delegatedits MPO responsibilities to the MPC, it was with 'the understanding that the MPC would diligently carry out its delegated tasks. To ensure the LCOG Board would not fail in its MPO responsibilities, it required on-going oversight and reporting ofMPC actions on a regular basis. Since November 2005, the LCOG Board has watched with concern as the MPC has failed to pass an FY06-09 MTIP. In February 2006, the LCOG Board asked the MPC Chair to p_ersonally . report on MPC's situation. At each subsequent LCOG Board meeting, the LCOG Board has directed staff to bring it a report 'ofMPC's progress, and to take a report of our concernS back to the MPC. . We still believe the MPC is the proper body to ~arry out the duties of the MPO, but we will not allow this region to lapse in fedetal funding. We owe that to the citizens we all serve. Since November, the MPC has failed to find a way around its impasse. rItis puts the region at risk of losing federal funding. The MPC has many options available to keep the process moving. These options might include: . Alter the FY06-09 MTIP to make it acceptable to the group; or 99 EAST BROADWAY, SUITE' 400, EUGENE, OREGON 97401-3111 www.lcog.org (541) 682-4283