TO: Mayor and City Council
THROUGH: Steve Powers, City Manager
FROM: Peter Fernandez, PE, Public Works Director
SUBJECT:
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Modifying Salem-Keizer Area Transportation Study goals to include reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Ward(s): All Wards
Councilor(s): All Councilors
Neighborhood(s): All Neighborhoods
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ISSUE:
Shall the City Council authorize the Mayor to sign the attached letter to the Salem Keizer Area Transportation Study (SKATS) requesting that the proposed Regional Transportation Systems Plan, Goal 7, include “and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions” after the current language of “minimize the impact to the natural and built environment?”
RECOMMENDATION:
recommendation
Authorize the Mayor to sign the attached letter requesting that the proposed Regional Transportation Systems Plan, Goal 7, include “and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions” after the current language of “minimize the impact to the natural and built environment.”
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SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND:
On April 9, 2018, Council approved the following motion:
“Direct staff to prepare a report to Council and a letter to SKATS, to be considered at the April 23, 2018, City Council Meeting, with respect to Goal 7 of its policy goals, to support the inclusion of ‘and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions’ after the current language of ‘minimize the impact to the natural and built environment’.”
FACTS AND FINDINGS:
The Salem-Keizer Area Transportation Study (SKATS) is the federally designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the Salem-Keizer area. An MPO is a federally-authorized body for any urban area over 50,000 in population that allows local governments to have a say in how federal transportation funding is spent in the community. SKATS is directed by a Policy Committee composed of elected representatives from the cities of Keizer, Salem, and Turner; Marion and Polk Counties; Cherriots; the Salem-Keizer School District; and a manager from the Oregon Department of Transportation.
As required by federal regulation, SKATS produces the Regional Transportation Systems Plan (RTSP), a 20-year plan for prioritized transportation investments on the regional system. The RTSP is updated every four years, with the next adoption scheduled for May 2019. SKATS has initiated the 2019 update, which includes many opportunities for input from the public.
The first topic of the update is to review, and modify as necessary, the RTSP goal statements. The SKATS Policy Committee released proposed goal statements for public comment after discussions in February and March 2018. The ten proposed goal statements are provided below. An on-line survey soliciting public input was available March 27 through April 16. Input from the survey will be presented to the SKATS Policy Committee at its meeting on April 24, 2018.
The proposed goals of the 2019 RTSP are to have a Regional Transportation System that is:
1. Able to meet the accessibility needs of the region for the next 20 years;
2. Preserved in good repair (and replaced at the end of their useful life, as necessary) and maintained to be usable to protect the region’s investment;
3. Developed with the collaboration of state and local governments to enhance the safety and security of the regional system for all users and modes of travel;
4. To meet the needs for users of the regional transportation system: that the benefits and burdens of the transportation system are not disproportionately distributed;
5. Efficient to use: this refers to a system that provides the greatest benefit to the users of the system and does so with projects that are cost appropriate;
6. Multimodal and comprehensive, supportive of moving goods and people by the mode of their choice;
7. Planned to minimize the impact(s) to the natural and built environment; [bold font added]
8. Developed and maintained with the funds available to the region;
9. Provide transportation infrastructure for a vibrant regional economy; and
10. The result of an open and continuous dialog with the public, other stakeholders, local jurisdictions, and agencies within the SKATS area.
Goal 7, in bold, is the subject of Council’s motion. The staff recommendation is based on Council’s motion and, if approved, the request to SKATS would be to modify Goal 7 to read:
“Planned to minimize the impact(s) to the natural and built environment and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions” (italics added to emphasize proposed amendment)
In February, the SKATS Policy Committee received similar requests including from the Cherriots representative on the SKATS Policy Committee. These proposals were discussed by the Policy Committee members, the majority of whom objected to the proposed revisions to the environmental goal as they did not believe that it would be useful in the development of the RTSP.
The SKATS Policy Committee will receive a report on public input at their meeting on April 24, 2018, and provide direction to SKATS staff concerning the goal statements. The proposed goal statements will then be incorporated into Chapter 3 of the 2019 SKATS RTSP, which will be presented to the Policy Committee for review and approval this summer. Final adoption of the goals will be as part of adopting the RTSP in May 2019. Adoption of the RTSP by the SKATS Policy Committee is done through a unanimous vote.
Robert D. Chandler, PhD, PE
Assistant Public Works Director
Attachment:
1. Draft letter to SKATS Policy Committee Chair