UPCOMING MEETINGS & EVENTS

• April 21 - Palm Beach MPO Board Meeting: The meeting begins at 9:00 a.m. at the Palm Beach County Governmental Center, 12th Floor McEaddy Conference Room, 301 N. Olive Ave., West Palm Beach, FL 33401. The agenda and backup information will be posted online a week in advance at PalmBeachMPO.org/board.

• April 22 - Federal Highway Administration Workshop: Flyer: "Incorporating Reliability into the Congestion Management Process." Free day-long workshop in Port St. Lucie to assist MPOs and their planning partners with incorporating travel-time reliability into the Congestion Management Process.

• April 25 - Complete Streets Working Group Meeting: This third group meeting will be held at 10:00 a.m. at the MPO office, 4th Floor, 2300 N. Jog Rd., West Palm Beach, FL 33411.
  Public Notice: It is likely that multiple members of the MPO Board or of any of its advisory committees may participate in this meeting.

• April 27 - May 1 - SunFest Free Bike Valet: For the second year, the MPO will partner with the West Palm Beach Downtown Development Authority which annually sponsors a free bike valet adjacent to the SunFest north entrance gate at Clematis St.

Complete calendar of all MPO meetings, events and related community activities: PalmBeachMPO.org/calendar

Commuters Accepted the Challenge

Rather than drive alone to work, close to 50 local workplace teams used carpools, buses, trains, walking and bicycling for some or all of their work commutes during the month of March. Almost 70K miles were saved from driving single occupancy vehicles and 31K lbs.of CO2 were saved from the environment.
Check team leaderboards: PBCommuterChallenge.org.

Celebration Event Held April 2

The Palm Beach MPO and its Commuter Challenge partners and sponsors hosted a great celebration event on Saturday, April 2, 2016 along the waterfront in West Palm Beach. Top teams and top individual commuters were recognized.
Click to view event photos.

Thank you to the following Commuter Challenge partners and sponsors:

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MPO Part of the "Alert Today, Alive Tomorrow" Campaign

MPO staff members partnered with local law enforcement agencies and others on March 24, 2016 to provide safety information for pedestrians and bicyclists near the Lake Worth Swap Shop in Palm Springs. This area is known for risky road crossing behaviors on a fast moving, heavily traveled road. MPO staffers provided positive reinforcement by giving MPO bags-backpacks with safety reflective strips to pedestrians who properly used the signals and crosswalks, and bike safety lights to bicyclists. Due to a large Hispanic population in the area, Spanish materials were also distributed and bilingual staff members participated. For information on the Florida Department of Transportation's Alert Today, Alive Tomorrow campaign: AlertTodayFlorida.com

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MPO Advisory Committees - April Highlights

The following items were heard by one or more of the MPO Advisory Committees in April. Click on each to review presentation slides.

• I-95 & Glades Rd. (Boca Raton) Proposed Interchange Improvements
• Palm Beach County Road Impact Fees by Municipality
• Complete Streets Savvy
• LUX Solar LED Road Markers
• Commuter Challenge Recap

For online agendas, backup materials, and audio recordings of past meetings: PalmBeachMPO.org/meeting

INFORMATION & UPDATES

FEC Quiet Zone Update
Phase 1 Construction is Underway

Phase I construction for All Aboard Florida's new Brightline express passenger rail service is well underway along the FEC corridor, including construction of its intermodal station in downtown West Palm Beach. Over the next several months, MPO funded supplemental safety infrastructure features will be installed at grade crossings. This will enable local governments along the rail corridor to establish a continuous Quiet Zone from Broward County to West Palm Beach, consistent with All Aboard Florida service commencement in 2017. Phase 1 includes additional stations in Miami and Ft. Lauderdale.

The Palm Beach MPO is committed to providing any necessary support to enable a continuation of the Quiet Zone throughout northern Palm Beach County when All Aboard Florida proceeds with Phase II construction to Orlando.

Quiet Zones are stretches of rail corridor where the routine blowing of train horns is not required for passenger or freight trains due to the installation of supplemental safety features at roadway crossings along the route.

For additional information on All Aboard Florida including construction updates: www.AllAboardFlorida.com

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U.S. Dept. of Transportation Updates

FASTLANE Grant Program

The U.S. Dept. of Transportation (USDOT) is soliciting applications for the Fostering Advancement in Shipping and Transportation for the Long-term Achievement of National Efficiencies (FASTLANE) grant program to fund critical freight and highway projects across the country. The FAST Act authorizes $800M for fiscal year 2016, with 25 percent reserved for rural projects, and 10 percent for smaller projects. Applications are due on April 14, 2016. Click for more information.

TIGER Grant Program

$500 million will be made available for transportation projects across the country under an eighth round of funding through the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) competitive grant program. These discretionary grants will fund capital investments in surface transportation infrastructure and will be awarded for projects that will have a significant impact on the nation, a metropolitan area, or a region. Applications are due April 29, 2016. Click for more information.

FHWA Earmark Repurposing

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has asked states to identify eligible projects for which old earmarked funds may be re-purposed. In Florida, only 14 projects have greater than $1M available and only one of these is located in District 4. FDOT is leading the analysis regarding repurposing of these funds but will coordinate its recommendations through the MPOs. Click for more information.

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Transportation Project Highlights

• Interchange Improvements at I-95 and Donald Ross Rd. (Palm Beach Gardens) began April 4
• The eastbound outside lane of SR 80 (Southern Blvd.) at Benoist Farms Road is closed around-the-clock through April 15 for a gas line repair

Palm Beach MPO   2300 North Jog Road, 4th Floor, West Palm Beach, FL 33411
Telephone:  561.684.4170          Email:  Info@PalmBeachMPO.org  

Public participation is solicited without regard to race, color, national origin, age, sex, religion, disability or family status. Hearing impaired individuals are requested to telephone the Florida Relay System at #711. For complaints, questions, or concerns about civil rights or nondiscrimination; to request special accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA); or to request translation services at least five business days prior to a meeting (free of charge), please contact: Malissa S. Booth, Public Information & Title VI Officer    
Email: MBooth@PalmBeachMPO.org    Call: 561-684-4143

 © 2016 PALM BEACH METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION.

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