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Gulf
Coast Area Transportation Study (GCATS)
Development
Process
The GCATS is a long-range transportation plan that provides a
vision for transportation projects to be constructed out to the
years 2030. The MGCATS
will present a fiscally constrained, staged improvement program
for the Gulf Coast. The
projects that will be included in the MGCATS will be constrained
within “real” estimates of funding availability.
In order for a transportation project to receive federal
funding, it must be identified in this document.
Goals
and Objectives
The
first step to the study process is the development of the goals
and objectives to guide the planning to be undertaken for the
study. This is
achieved with input from the public through meetings held in each
of the three counties in the study area.
The MPO also makes available a “stakeholders survey”
that was sent out to various private and public agencies to garner
input regarding the goals and objectives.
To conclude this process, the MPO technical and policy
committees adopted the final version of the goals
and objectives.
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Transportation Model
Development
The
transportation model is a planning tool that allows us to take a
look a future traffic on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
Planning assumptions are made for the year 2030 for
population, employment, casino development, hotel development, and
school enrollment for the study area.
This data is organized into Traffic Analysis Zones (TAZs)
that are used to generate traffic, distribute the traffic by
origin and destination, and then assign the traffic to the
transportation system. Using
this tool will help planners get an idea of which streets will
have congestion problems in the future.
The
data in the model is currently being reviewed and updated as a
result of Hurricane Katrina.
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Development of Transportation Alternatives
This
stage of the process is used to take inventory of all
transportation projects ideas and that the public and public
agencies would like to have considered for inclusion in the GCATS.
At this point all projects are welcome no matter the cost
or scope of the project. This
is the region’s opportunity to add their ideas to a wish list of
projects. The
following maps show a “draft” list of regional transportation
concerns and projects that will be considered for inclusion into
the Gulf Coast Area Transportation Study (GCATS).
Please
take a moment to review and make comment on the following lists
and maps to make sure that all projects that you want to have
considered for inclusion in the GCATS are included.
Projects
Wish List
(Click to view)
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Projects for
Evaluation
(Click on the picture or
text for a larger view)
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Evaluation of
Transportation Alternatives
The
GCATS will be a financially constrained plan.
This will be accomplished by an estimation of all
transportation funding expected between now and the year 2030.
With these constraints in mind, the list wish list of
transportation alternatives will be evaluated based on the goals
and objectives that were set at the beginning of the process.
Each project will be considered to determine how
effectively provides relief of traffic congestion, improves
regional connectivity, helps with safety problems, impacts to the
environment, etc. The
best projects will be selected for inclusion into the “Draft
Plan”.
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Draft
Plan
The Draft Staged Improvement Program is
ready for your review. These are the projects that have been
selected for inclusion into the Gulf Coast Area Transportation
Study (GCATS) as a vision for our future transportation system
and will be eligible for federal funding. Public comment can be
received in by any of the following:
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Mail your
comments to GRPC, 1232 Pass Road, Gulfport, MS 39501
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Visit our
office in Gulfport
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Make
comment online below
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Make plans
to attend the following public meeting that will be held at
the following locations:
October 23rd
– D’Iberville City Hall, 10383 Automall Pkwy, D’Iberville, MS
October 24th
– Kiln Public Library, 17065 Hwy 603, Kiln, MS
October 25th
– MS Gulf Coast Community College, 2300 Hwy 90, Gautier, MS
The public
review and comment period will end on Tuesday October 31st.
Please have your comment in by this time. If you have any
questions please call Kenneth Yarrow at 228-864-1167.
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Projects for Review
(Click on the picture or
text for a larger view)
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Update
4/11/07:
Comments from the Jackson County
public meeting,
Wednesday, April 11, 2007, at the
Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, Gautier, MS
The meeting Wednesday in Gautier included citizens interested in
learning about the planning process and others with specific
questions about projects. The most repeated comment was to
finish with the planning and get started implementation. Most
everyone favored the bicycle/pedestrian plans and agreed with
the safety issues, but the MS Hwy 57 project, Hwy 90 and Martin
Bluff Road drew the most discussion. Another roadway not in
Jackson County the participants talked about was the need to
improve the Hwy 15 corridor to facilitate north-south traffic
north of I-10, and which would provide an additional evacuation
route.
The attached
link to the Mississippi Press covers much of the discussion.
http://www.gulflive.com/news/mississippipress/index.ssf?/base/news/1176372904231900.xml
Comments from the Harrison County
public meeting,
Tuesday, April 10, 2007, at the
Donal Snyder Center, Biloxi
Over fifty citizens attended the first of three public meetings
to be held on the Gulf Coast long range plan and supplemental
planning studies. The response cards indicate they found our
planning work satisfactory and they were pleased to have the
opportunity to see the plans and talk with the GRPC staff.
There were
concerns expressed by a number of residents over a potential
project that would connect Popps Ferry to I-10 at the Woolmarket
exit by means of a new corridor that could traverse their
neighborhood. This project had been included as an alternative
to the “H” alternative presented by MDOT to connect I-10 to HWY
90, which met with serious opposition and was subsequently
removed from the long range plan due to a lack of financial
commitment. The current project was included in order to
prepare a regional transportation network to accommodate the
need for another north-south connection to the interstate. At
this time, there are issues that must be addressed before this
project could move forward, in particular those concerning the
environment and funding. This project is listed as a Stage
Three (Year 2030) project, meaning it is not a high priority for
local funding support and is not expected to be implemented for
the twenty-plus years.
Because of the
high level of interest in the project GRPC will talk with the
City of Biloxi, Harrison County, MDOT and FHWA to provide
further information on this project, the issues of the
environmental process, local sponsorship and support for the
project.
Please check
our website for Project Updates as they become available.
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