The Department of Highways District 5 Office announces the temporary closure of the right lane on northbound Interstate 65 in “Hospital Curve” (mile points 135.7). This lane closure is scheduled for Tuesday evening, January 4th from 7:00 p.m. until midnight and will allow for barrier wall repairs.
The actual starting date and duration of this work may be adjusted if inclement weather or other unforeseen delays occur. Dial 511 or log on to 511.ky.gov for the latest in traffic and travel information in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Fall 2010/Winter 2011 Horizons Newsletter Now Available
The Fall 2010/Winter 2011 Horizons Newsletter is available on the KIPDA website at http://www.kipda.org/files/PDF/Transportation_Division/Newsletters/KIPDA_Transportation_Newsletter_-_Fall-Winter_2010.pdf.
In this issue you will find information about:- An update on the Big Four Bridge
- Two safety projects in New Albany
- KIPDA planning documents completed and approved
- Bullitt County Transportation Study complete
- Trolley rides in Louisville, Jeffersonville
Also, there is a story in this issue about the Water Taxi in Jeffersonville. KIPDA found out today that this service will be discontinued on Friday. Our newsletter story was completed prior to this information being released.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Fines for Texting While Driving Begin January 1, 2011
Just a friendly reminder that beginning Jan. 1, 2011, fines will be issues to anyone caught texting while driving and for those under 18 who use a cell phone while driving.
Violators will be liable for fines of $25 on a first offense and $50 on each subsequent offense, plus court costs.
“Safety is a top priority of this administration,” said Gov. Steve Beshear through a press release. “I am convinced that this new law, which many people worked with us to pass, will reduce crashes and fatalities on Kentucky roadways.”
In Kentucky last year, there were more than 57,000 crashes – and more than 200 fatalities -- attributed to driver distraction, inattention and cell phone use. Gov. Beshear signed House Bill 415 into law on April 15, 2010.
A press release from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet said the law bans texting for drivers of all ages while the vehicle is in motion. For drivers over 18, it allows the use of global positioning devices and reading, selecting or entering a telephone number or name for the purpose of making a phone call. Texting is allowed only to report illegal activity or to request medical or emergency aid.
Drivers under 18 cannot use personal communication devices such as cell phones and pagers while the vehicle is in motion. The use of a global positioning system is allowed, but manually entering information must be completed while the vehicle is stopped.
Kentucky was the 22nd state to ban texting while driving. Currently, 30 states and the District of Columbia ban text messaging for all drivers. Twelve of these laws were enacted in 2010 alone.
Information on distracted driving is at http://distraction.gov and http://highwaysafety.ky.gov/.
Violators will be liable for fines of $25 on a first offense and $50 on each subsequent offense, plus court costs.
“Safety is a top priority of this administration,” said Gov. Steve Beshear through a press release. “I am convinced that this new law, which many people worked with us to pass, will reduce crashes and fatalities on Kentucky roadways.”
In Kentucky last year, there were more than 57,000 crashes – and more than 200 fatalities -- attributed to driver distraction, inattention and cell phone use. Gov. Beshear signed House Bill 415 into law on April 15, 2010.
A press release from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet said the law bans texting for drivers of all ages while the vehicle is in motion. For drivers over 18, it allows the use of global positioning devices and reading, selecting or entering a telephone number or name for the purpose of making a phone call. Texting is allowed only to report illegal activity or to request medical or emergency aid.
Drivers under 18 cannot use personal communication devices such as cell phones and pagers while the vehicle is in motion. The use of a global positioning system is allowed, but manually entering information must be completed while the vehicle is stopped.
Kentucky was the 22nd state to ban texting while driving. Currently, 30 states and the District of Columbia ban text messaging for all drivers. Twelve of these laws were enacted in 2010 alone.
Information on distracted driving is at http://distraction.gov and http://highwaysafety.ky.gov/.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Federal Certification Review Complete, Results Available Online
The Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Transit Administration have completed the Federal Ceritification Review for the Louisville Southern Indiana Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), its planning partners and the areas planning process.
Federal reviewers came to the KIPDA offices and met with staff and the planning partners to obtain information on the planning practices and also held a public meeting. The results of their finding are as follows:
Corrective actions - which are elements of the planning process that are not being adequately addressed by the MPO:
(1) States are required to develop planning agreements with the MPOs to clarify roles and responsibilities and to explain how they will work cooperatively in the development of planning tools such as metropolitan transportation plans and transportation improvement programs. The review team found a lack of clarity and certainty regarding identification of projects and revenues in the metropolitan region and issues a corrective action to the MPO and the two states that the planning agreements must be updated to more clearly describe the process used by them to develop revenue estimates and projects' cost.
(2) The Horizon 2030 Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP) expired on December 8, 2009, and the MPO is in a one-year grace period. The MPO had to approve a new MTP or complete and update to the current document by December 8, 2010 (we have since done this!), to avoid conformity and planning lapse. Thus, we were given a corrective action for not having a fically constraint document.
Recommendations - Items that he review team feels will improve the process for the region and should be seriously considered for implementation in the near future:
(1) Staff was recommended to participate in upcoming workshops (Oct. 19-21) that the HUD/EPA/DOT Smart Growth Implementation Assistance Program are hosting. Staff participated in the workshop.
(2) Increase the visibility of transit in the MTP and Transportation Improvement Program.
(3) The Congestion Mitigation Process be updated as soon as possible as the current version is almost 6 years old. The update should include non-motorized means as well as intelligent transportation system (ITS) strategies and should correlate with the Regional ITS Architecture.
(4) The MPO works with the two state DOTs to clarify requirements for the ADA Transition Plans and develop an enforcement plan within 18 months for all applicable recipients of federal-aid transportation funds.
(5) Assist the applicants in developing the quantified emission reductions so that all CMAQ applications can be ranked on an even basis.
(6) With the update of the Public Participation Plan market the many opportunities/locations available for input and consider the FHWA/FTA public listening session input on locations, transparency, use of the web and other relevant issues.
Commendations - Items worthy of recognition:
(1) The joint KIPDA/TARC vanpool program is an exemplary example in its geographic distribution and vibrancy. Team suggested KIPDA quantify the benefits of the program and share good practices.
(2) Commended for being in the MOVES pilot group for the nation and making efforts to share the information we have learned by documenting the process and making presentations.
(3) The volume of work by KIPDA/INDOT/KYTC is outstanding in the areas of ARRA, update of the MTP, financial management of expectations of the Ohio River Bridges, TARC participation in ARRA and organization of the regional planning conference.
To view the complete report (which is posted in three parts), go to http://www.kipda.org/Transportation/MPO/FederalCertificationReview2010.aspx
Federal reviewers came to the KIPDA offices and met with staff and the planning partners to obtain information on the planning practices and also held a public meeting. The results of their finding are as follows:
Corrective actions - which are elements of the planning process that are not being adequately addressed by the MPO:
(1) States are required to develop planning agreements with the MPOs to clarify roles and responsibilities and to explain how they will work cooperatively in the development of planning tools such as metropolitan transportation plans and transportation improvement programs. The review team found a lack of clarity and certainty regarding identification of projects and revenues in the metropolitan region and issues a corrective action to the MPO and the two states that the planning agreements must be updated to more clearly describe the process used by them to develop revenue estimates and projects' cost.
(2) The Horizon 2030 Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP) expired on December 8, 2009, and the MPO is in a one-year grace period. The MPO had to approve a new MTP or complete and update to the current document by December 8, 2010 (we have since done this!), to avoid conformity and planning lapse. Thus, we were given a corrective action for not having a fically constraint document.
Recommendations - Items that he review team feels will improve the process for the region and should be seriously considered for implementation in the near future:
(1) Staff was recommended to participate in upcoming workshops (Oct. 19-21) that the HUD/EPA/DOT Smart Growth Implementation Assistance Program are hosting. Staff participated in the workshop.
(2) Increase the visibility of transit in the MTP and Transportation Improvement Program.
(3) The Congestion Mitigation Process be updated as soon as possible as the current version is almost 6 years old. The update should include non-motorized means as well as intelligent transportation system (ITS) strategies and should correlate with the Regional ITS Architecture.
(4) The MPO works with the two state DOTs to clarify requirements for the ADA Transition Plans and develop an enforcement plan within 18 months for all applicable recipients of federal-aid transportation funds.
(5) Assist the applicants in developing the quantified emission reductions so that all CMAQ applications can be ranked on an even basis.
(6) With the update of the Public Participation Plan market the many opportunities/locations available for input and consider the FHWA/FTA public listening session input on locations, transparency, use of the web and other relevant issues.
Commendations - Items worthy of recognition:
(1) The joint KIPDA/TARC vanpool program is an exemplary example in its geographic distribution and vibrancy. Team suggested KIPDA quantify the benefits of the program and share good practices.
(2) Commended for being in the MOVES pilot group for the nation and making efforts to share the information we have learned by documenting the process and making presentations.
(3) The volume of work by KIPDA/INDOT/KYTC is outstanding in the areas of ARRA, update of the MTP, financial management of expectations of the Ohio River Bridges, TARC participation in ARRA and organization of the regional planning conference.
To view the complete report (which is posted in three parts), go to http://www.kipda.org/Transportation/MPO/FederalCertificationReview2010.aspx
Thursday, November 18, 2010
FEDERAL AGENCIES AGREE THAT KIPDA DOCUMENTS MEET CONFORMITY RULES, PLANS CAN MOVE FORWARD
Officials from the Kentucky and Indiana division offices of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the Region 4 Office of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), and the Region 4 and 5 Offices of the Environmental Protection Agency have found that the Kentuckiana Regional Planning and Development Agency’s (KIPDA) 2011-2015 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) and the Horizon 2030 Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP) both meet the federal conformity guidelines.
The MTP provides a comprehensive vision for the transportation infrastructure over the upcoming 20 years for KIPDA’s five-counties and its policy committee. Transportation projects seeking federal funding must be included in the MTP.
The TIP is a short-range funding document for the five-county KIPDA area. Projects advance from the MTP to the TIP when they are ready for funding.
The updated documents, which were approved by the KIPDA Transportation Policy Committee on October 8, 2010, are the short-range and long-range transportation planning documents for Bullitt, Jefferson and Oldham counties in Kentucky and Clark and Floyd counties in Indiana. The policy committee is made up of elected and appointed officials from the five-counties.
The TIP is a four-year planning and funding document and the MTP is a 20-year planning document.
The federal agencies found that KIPDA’s documents met the five criteria of the Transportation Conformity Rule, which includes: use of the latest planning assumptions, use of the latest emission model, use of appropriate consultation procedures, consistency with the mobile source emission budgets in the State Implementation Plan (SIP), and provisions for the timely implementation of the transportation control measures in the SIP.
Both the MTP and the TIP went into a lapse in December of 2009, which essentially prevented projects from being added to or deleted from the documents. The current MTP was set to expire December 8, 2010, and this approval of both documents allows the expenditure of Federal transportation funding to continue in the region without interruption.
The MTP provides a comprehensive vision for the transportation infrastructure over the upcoming 20 years for KIPDA’s five-counties and its policy committee. Transportation projects seeking federal funding must be included in the MTP.
The TIP is a short-range funding document for the five-county KIPDA area. Projects advance from the MTP to the TIP when they are ready for funding.
The updated documents, which were approved by the KIPDA Transportation Policy Committee on October 8, 2010, are the short-range and long-range transportation planning documents for Bullitt, Jefferson and Oldham counties in Kentucky and Clark and Floyd counties in Indiana. The policy committee is made up of elected and appointed officials from the five-counties.
The TIP is a four-year planning and funding document and the MTP is a 20-year planning document.
The federal agencies found that KIPDA’s documents met the five criteria of the Transportation Conformity Rule, which includes: use of the latest planning assumptions, use of the latest emission model, use of appropriate consultation procedures, consistency with the mobile source emission budgets in the State Implementation Plan (SIP), and provisions for the timely implementation of the transportation control measures in the SIP.
Both the MTP and the TIP went into a lapse in December of 2009, which essentially prevented projects from being added to or deleted from the documents. The current MTP was set to expire December 8, 2010, and this approval of both documents allows the expenditure of Federal transportation funding to continue in the region without interruption.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Holiday travelers warned to "Click It or Ticket"
“No one wants to start off the holidays with a ticket,” said Transportation Cabinet Secretary Mike Hancock. “Save your money for turkey and buying presents for loved ones – don’t throw it away simply because you failed to buckle up.”
While seat belt use is at a record high of 84 percent nationwide, Kentucky lags behind with an 80 percent usage rate. Statistics for 2009 indicate 398 (61.3 percent) of the 649 people who were killed in motor vehicles last year in Kentucky were not wearing a seat belt.
“Sadly, the holidays, which for many are the happiest time of the year, is also one of the deadliest and most tragic,” said KOHS Executive Director Chuck Geveden. “Clearly this is an indication that people are just not aware of the huge risk taken by not buckling up.”
In Kentucky last year there were 1,120 crashes over the Thanksgiving holiday, resulting in 330 injuries and seven fatalities. Of those fatalities, five were unrestrained.
Regular seat belt use is the single most effective way to protect people and reduce fatalities in motor vehicle crashes, according to NHTSA. Research has shown that when lap and shoulder belts are used properly, the risk of fatal injury to front-seat passenger car occupants is reduced by 45 percent, and the risk of moderate to serious injury is reduced by 50 percent.
For more information about the Click It or Ticket seat belt enforcement campaign for highway safety during Thanksgiving, please visit www.trafficsafetymarketing.gov and http://highwaysafety.ky.gov.
###
Monday, November 8, 2010
2010 Census Participation Numbers Available - Nationally 74% Participated
The U.S. Census Bureau has announced that 74 percent of households in the United States filled out and mailed back their 2010 Census questionnaire, matching the final mail participation rate achieved in the 2000 Census. Twenty-two states, 1,553 counties, and 278 cities and townships of 50,000 or more met or exceeded their 2000 Census participation rates. The District of Columbia and Puerto Rico also exceeded their rates.
The final 74 percent mail participation rate includes an additional 2 percent of households that mailed back their forms after April 27, when the U.S. Census Bureau announced a 72 percent participation rate. While these forms were received too late to prevent a visit by a census taker, they were included in the final tally.
Approximately 47 million households that did not mail back a census form by the deadline were visited by census takers in person as part of a series of operations and methods to ensure as complete a count as possible. The Census Bureau either received a form or attempted repeated visits to 100 percent of the identified housing units in the country.
The final mail participation rates for the nation, states, counties, cities, towns and even the neighborhood level can now be found on the 2010 Census's Web site (http://2010.census.gov/2010census/take10map/2010textview.php).
Here is a break down of counties in the KIPDA region:
Indiana State-wide Percentage—79%
By county:
Clark County—79%
Floyd County—80%
Kentucky State-wide Percentage—77%
By county:
Bullitt County—80%
Henry County—76%
Jefferson County—76%
Oldham County—82%
Shelby County—79%
Spencer County—81%
Trimble County—69%
The final 74 percent mail participation rate includes an additional 2 percent of households that mailed back their forms after April 27, when the U.S. Census Bureau announced a 72 percent participation rate. While these forms were received too late to prevent a visit by a census taker, they were included in the final tally.
Approximately 47 million households that did not mail back a census form by the deadline were visited by census takers in person as part of a series of operations and methods to ensure as complete a count as possible. The Census Bureau either received a form or attempted repeated visits to 100 percent of the identified housing units in the country.
The final mail participation rates for the nation, states, counties, cities, towns and even the neighborhood level can now be found on the 2010 Census's Web site (http://2010.census.gov/2010census/take10map/2010textview.php).
Here is a break down of counties in the KIPDA region:
Indiana State-wide Percentage—79%
By county:
Clark County—79%
Floyd County—80%
Kentucky State-wide Percentage—77%
By county:
Bullitt County—80%
Henry County—76%
Jefferson County—76%
Oldham County—82%
Shelby County—79%
Spencer County—81%
Trimble County—69%
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