PRESS RELEASE ‐ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact Jackie Jones at jjones@srpedd.org for more info.

SRPEDD Announces a 21‐day Public Comment Period and a Remote Public Meeting to hear comments for the draft Regional Transportation Plan: Moving Forward 2050 and the draft 2024 Regional Bicycle Plan.

August 15, 2023 – The draft 2024 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP), Moving Forward 2050, and draft 2024 Regional Bicycle Plan (RBP) are being released for public comment. The Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) thoroughly details and assesses the transportation needs of SRPEDD’s 27 Southeastern Massachusetts communities and identifies improvements in areas including roads, bridges, travel patterns, public transit, bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, airports, freight, congestion management, and safety. This RTP also includes a needs assessment of zero emission vehicle infrastructure and alternative transportation needs relating to mixed use and multifamily housing development. The RTP acts as a blueprint of the region’s existing and future transportation system to the year 2050 and is a framework for future investment as the region experiences population, housing, and climate-related changes. The plan was developed with input from meetings with municipal officials across Southeastern Massachusetts Metropolitan Planning Organization (SMMPO) region municipalities, a widely distributed public survey, drop-in style public listening sessions, stakeholder meetings with diverse community-based organizations in conjunction with the SMMPO’s Coordinated Human Services Transportation Planning, and ongoing collaboration with MassDOT, SRTA, and GATRA officials.

The 2024 Regional Bicycle Plan (RBP) identifies why bicycle transportation is a sound investment for Southeastern Massachusetts, existing bicycling infrastructure and needs, and strategies recommended to equitably increase bicycling opportunities in the region. The Plan provides updates on recent developments in the regional bike network, including regionally significant routes such as the South Coast Bikeway, Taunton River Trail, WWII Veterans Memorial Trail, Ten Mile River Trail, and Mount Hope Bay Greenway. It discusses the public health, environmental, equity, and economic benefits of investing in expanded bicycle infrastructure in the region. The Plan emphasizes the need for greater intermodal coordination between bikeway and transit planning efforts. A series of action steps are identified pertaining to safety, equity, transit connections, data and monitoring, outreach, economic benefits, connectivity, land use, funding, and route planning.

A public meeting to hear comments and concerns on the draft RTP and draft RBP plans will be held remotely on Tuesday, September 12 at 4:00 PM via Zoom. Everyone is welcome to attend, ask questions and offer comments. This link https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/categories/200101697 provides the information to allow participants to connect to the meeting through a computer, smart phone or regular telephone. This is the direct link to the meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89594375262?pwd=T0MxUEg3MytaSkt2c3Fic3FnTkxQdz09

The draft RTP and draft RBP plans will become final on September 19, 2023 at the next SMMPO meeting. The draft plans can be found on SRPEDD’s website at www.srpedd.org for review. Links here: DRAFT Regional Transportation Plan and DRAFT Regional Bicycle Plan.

Comments are encouraged and, if attendance at the above‐mentioned public meeting is not possible, may be offered by a variety of methods including: E‐mail jjones@srpedd.org for RTP-related questions and jgray@srpedd.org for Regional Bicycle Plan-related questions; Direct message or comment on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/SRPEDD; or Direct message or Tweet to Twitter @SRPEDD_NEWS https://twitter.com/SRPEDD_NEWS?lang=en

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