PRESS RELEASE ‐ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact Lisa Estrela‐Pedro at lestrela@srpedd.org for more info.

SRPEDD Announces a 21‐day Public Comment Period and a Remote Public Meeting to hear comments for the draft FFY2024 Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) and draft 2023 Coordinated Human Services Transportation Plan.

May 16, 2023 – The draft FFY2024 Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) and draft Coordinated Human Services Transportation (CHST) Plans are being released for public comment. The UPWP identifies, in a single document, all of the annual transportation planning activities that are to be undertaken in the Southeastern Massachusetts Metropolitan Area which is also the SRPEDD region, over the next federal fiscal year, from October 1, 2023 through September 30, 2024. Planning activities include transportation studies, data collection, technical assistance to communities and other projects. New tasks include a corridor study of the Route 28 Corridor from Cushman Street in Middleborough to Charlotte Furnace Road in Wareham and an overhaul of the Regional Pedestrian Plan. All of this work helps shape the region’s transportation future.

The CHST Plan identifies current transportation providers and services in the SRPEDD region; unmet transportation needs and service gaps for seniors, people with disabilities and people with low incomes; potential strategies to address the unmet needs, and priorities for the funding of grant proposals in the SRPEDD region. The Plan was developed with input from human services organizations and agencies, transit providers, and the public. The document is used to identify eligible projects for funding from the Federal Transit Administration’s Section 5310 Program and helps guide transportation providers in the Southeastern MA region who are applying for 5310 funding.

A public meeting to hear comments and concerns on the draft UPWP and draft CHST Plan will be held remotely on Thursday, June 8 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/200101697provides 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/83528107297?pwd=THpKa0VGM3NJZVlTNXBrUHdyUW1sQT09

The draft UPWP and draft CHST Plan will become final on June 20, 2023 at the next SMMPO meeting. The UPWP document and 2023 CHST Plan can be found on SRPEDD’s website at www.srpedd.org for review. Links here: DRAFT FFY2024 UPWP and DRAFT 2023 CHST 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 lestrela@srpedd.org;

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