Transportation Planning
Organization
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PROCESS
FOR TRANSPORTATION
PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING
The following procedure is established to fulfill public participation and
comment requirements for all transportation plans and transportation
improvements developed by the Morgantown-Monongalia County Transportation
Planning Organization (MMCTPO). In accordance with 23 CFR Part 450, MMCTPO is
creating these public participation procedures, so that citizens, affected
public agencies, representatives of transportation agency employees, private
providers of transportation, and other interested parties have a reasonable
notice of and opportunity to comment on proposed plans and programs. As part of
the metropolitan planning process, a proactive process has been developed which
provides for "complete information, timely public notice, full public
access to key decisions, and supports early and continuing involvement of the
public in developing plans and programs." Specific planning requirements
in the development of a public involvement process are as follows:
1. A minimum public comment period of 45 days before the public Participation
Process is initially adopted or revised.
2. Provide timely information about transportation issues
and process to all interested parties affected by transportation plans,
programs, and projects within the MPO.
3. Provide reasonable public access to technical and policy information used in
the development of plans and TIPs, and open meetings where matters related to
the Federal-aid highway and transit programs are being considered.
4. Require adequate public notice of public involvement activities and time for
public review and comment at key decision points, including but not limited to,
approval of plans and TIPs.
5. Demonstrate explicit consideration and response to public input received
during the planning and program development process.
6. Seek and consider the needs of those traditionally undeserved by the
existing transportation system, including but not limited to, low-income and
minority households.
7. When significant written and oral comments are received on the draft
transportation plan or TIP (including the financial plan) as a result of the
public involvement process or the interagency consultation process required
under the U.S. EPA's conformity regulations, a summary, analysis, and report on
the disposition of the comments shall be made part of the final plan and TIP.
8. If the final transportation plan or TIP differs significantly from the one
which was made available for public comment by the MPO and raises new material
issues which interested parties could not reasonably have foreseen from the
public involvement efforts, an additional opportunity for public comment on the
revised plan or TIP shall be made available.
9. The public involvement process shall be periodically reviewed by the MPO in
terms of their effectiveness in assuring that the process provides full and
open access to all.
10. These procedures will be reviewed by the FHWA and FTA as necessary for
all Metropolitan Planning Organization’s, to assure that full and open access
is provided to the MPO decision-making processes.
11. The metropolitan public involvement process shall be coordinated with
the statewide public involvement process wherever possible, to enhance public
consideration of the issues, plans, and programs and reduce redundancies and
costs.
Utilizing the above referenced planning requirements, MMCTPO has developed
specific procedures to insure full accessibility to all technical information
during the development of plans and TIPs. The following procedure is
established to fulfill these requirements:
I. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN PLANNING PROCESS
Prior to the development of the draft Transportation Improvement Program (TIP),
a notice will be placed in the local newspapers requesting input and/or
participation in the development of the documents. The notice will state the
nature of the request with an input period of thirty (30) days from the date
the notice was published. All comments and/or suggestions received will be
documented and included in the preparation of the preliminary documents.
Prior to the development of the TIP and Long Range Transportation Program
(LRTP), a notice will be placed in the local newspaper requesting input and/or
participation in the development of those documents. All comments or
suggestions received will be documented and included in the
documents.
MMCTPO notices will be broadcast on the Morgantown Government Access Channel (Adelphia Channel 15) along with the monthly MMCTPO public meetings.
Copies of all Programs and Reports will be made available for public review during normal business hours at the office of the MMCTPO.
Amendments to approved Programs and Reports must include a
ten (10) day public notice procedure.
Under emergency conditions, this ten (10) day public notice process can
take place during or after a vote to approve or reject the amendment. The vote
is subject to any adverse public comment during the ten (10) day public notice
period. A new vote on the amendment can
be requested by a policy board member, after the ten (10) day public comment period, if there are considerable public
comments about the amendment.
II. ADDITIONAL PROCEDURES
In addition to public notice in the local newspaper, a mailing list of all
known interested parties will be maintained by the MMCTPO staff. The list will
include the MMCTPO Policy Committee and Technical Advisory Committee, private
providers of transportation, and representatives of transportation agencies,
and organizations that serve or speak on behalf of traditionally underserved
populations.
As a publicly funded entity, all meetings of the MMCTPO and its committees shall be subject to compliance with the Open Government Proceeding Act as cited in Article 6-9A-1-12 of the West Virginia Code.
A public comment period shall be at the beginning of each MPO Policy Board meeting or other committee meeting before regular business is addressed.
Sign up sheets will be provided where names and phone numbers will be requested to facilitate follow up on any information provided.
Each person shall be given four (4) minutes to speak with the Chairperson having leeway to extend the time. Detailed written comments on complex issues are encouraged in lieu of verbal commentary.
Public input portion shall be limited to one-half (1/2) hour. If a particularly important issue is being considered, and many persons from the same group wish to speak, an individual for a specific group may be asked to speak on behalf of the group.