Public Meeting

PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Daniel Brogan at dbrogan@srpedd.org for more info.

SRPEDD Announces a 21-day Public Comment Period with a Virtual Public Meeting on December 4, 2025, at 4:00 pm to hear comments on the release of Proposed Amendment #2 of the FFY2026-2030 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) that includes cost changes for various GATRA and SRTA Regional Transit Authority items.

November 20, 2025 – The Southeastern Massachusetts Metropolitan Planning Organization (SMMPO)’s FFY2026-2030 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) is being amended to program cost changes for various Greater Attleboro and Taunton Regional Transit Authority (GATRA) and Southeastern Regional Transit Authority (SRTA) expenses. The Amendment includes one GATRA item and several SRTA items. GATRA’s Wareham East Maintenance Facility previously had $3.9 million in 5307 funds in Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2026, but this has been reduced to $0 due to shifting construction timelines. Approximately $5.6 million in RTA capital funds remains committed to this project, which recently broke ground. For SRTA, the replacement of two vans is being shifted from FFY 2026 to 2027 because the match source has changed from RTA capital funds to statewide toll credits. Other SRTA items involve large cost variances related to the planned Fall River maintenance facility. These changes are primarily caused by delays associated with securing and obtaining approval for an environmentally resilient site that will support growing ridership driven by South Coast Rail, the Gateway Link, and fare-free bus service. The new facility is needed to serve Fall River and surrounding communities and to accommodate SRTA’s continued system growth.

The TIP is the programming document listing all federally funded road and bridge projects in the region and all transit projects for both GATRA and the Southeastern Regional Transit Authority (SRTA) over five years. Each year, the Southeastern Massachusetts Metropolitan Planning Organization (SMMPO) decides how to allocate about $30 million in federal funding for the region, which supplements state and local transportation infrastructure investments in Southeastern Massachusetts. The SMMPO conducts the federally required metropolitan transportation planning process for 27 Southeastern Massachusetts communities and is one of Massachusetts’ thirteen Metropolitan Planning Organizations.

All of this work helps support the region’s 27 communities toward building a safer, and more accessible, connected, reliable, and resilient transportation system for all mode users.

The public meeting for FFY26-30 TIP Amendment #2 will be held virtually on Thursday, December 4th, 2025, at 4:00 pm. Everyone is welcome to attend, ask questions and offer comments, but attendance is not necessary to offer input or comment. More options to offer comments can be found below.

The meetings will be conducted through ZOOM. This link provides the information to allow participants to connect to the meeting through a computer, smart phone, or regular telephone: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/categories/200101697.

Register in advance for the virtual meeting at this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87524982447?pwd=tfclbKbSnzmN00xU5hss1kbbZbAMtb.1

FFY2026-2030 TIP Amendment #2 will have a 21-day public comment period and will be endorsed at the next SMMPO meeting on December 16^th. More detailed information on the document can be found on SRPEDD’s website www.srpedd.org at the following link: FFY2026-2030 TIP Amendment #2.

Comments are encouraged and may be offered by a variety of methods including:

Sending an e-mail to transportation@srpedd.org;

Our general website form at https://srpedd.org/contact-us/;

Our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SRPEDD/; Instagram @SRPEDD https://www.instagram.com/srpedd/;

By phone call to 508-824-1367;
Attending the monthly Joint Transportation Planning Group meeting on December 10. For more info visit: srpedd.org/transportation/jtpg.

The SMMPO, through SRPEDD, provides reasonable accommodations, including language assistance and/or auxiliary aids and services free of charge, upon request and as available. For accommodation or language assistance, please contact SRPEDD’s Title VI Coordinator by phone (508 824-1367), dial 711 to use MassRelay, or by email at aduarte@srpedd.org. Requests should be made as soon as possible prior to the meeting.

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PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

SRPEDD Announces a 21-day Public Comment Period with a Virtual Public Meeting on November 6, 2025, at 4:00 pm to hear comments on the release of Proposed Amendment #1 of the FFY2026-2030 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) that includes cost increases and funding category changes for a New Bedford Project and funding for Blue Apple Bus Service continuation.

October 22, 2025 – The Southeastern Massachusetts Metropolitan Planning Organization (SMMPO)’s FFY2026-2030 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) is being amended in federal fiscal years (FFYs) 2026 and 2028 to program a cost change and funding reallocation for two projects. $660,000 of Federal Highway Administration funds are being reallocated to Federal Transit Administration in FFY2026 to program year four of funding for the Mansfield to Logan Shuttle (Blue Apple Bus) service. In FFY2028, New Bedford’s Project 610798 Intersection Improvements at Mount Pleasant Street and Nash Road is increasing in cost from $6,165,230 to $7,062,276. The project’s funding source is also changing from Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) funds to include $1,214,132 in statewide earmark discretionary funds.

All of this work helps support the region’s 27 communities toward building a safer, and more accessible, connected, reliable, and resilient transportation system for all mode users.

The public meeting for FFY26-30 TIP Amendment #1 will be held virtually on Thursday November 6, 2025, at 4:00 pm. Everyone is welcome to attend, ask questions and offer comments, but attendance is not necessary to offer input or comment. More options to offer comments can be found below.

Register in advance for the virtual meeting at this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_NEnz0frJSFCYISq6p2f7Fw

The FFY2026-2030 TIP Amendment will have a 21-day public comment period and will be endorsed at the next SMMPO meeting on November 18^th. More detailed information on the document can be found on SRPEDD’s website www.srpedd.org at the following link: FFY2026-2030 TIP Amendment #1.

Comments are encouraged and may be offered by a variety of methods including:

Sending an e-mail to lestrela@srpedd.org;

Our general website form at https://srpedd.org/contact-us/;

Our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SRPEDD/; Instagram @SRPEDD https://www.instagram.com/srpedd/;

By phone call to 508-824-1367;

Attending the monthly Joint Transportation Planning Group meeting on November 12. For more info visit: srpedd.org/transportation/jtpg.

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PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

All of this work helps support the region’s 27 communities toward building a safer, and more accessible, connected, reliable, and resilient transportation system for all mode users.

Register in advance for the virtual meeting at this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_NEnz0frJSFCYISq6p2f7Fw

Comments are encouraged and may be offered by a variety of methods including:

Sending an e-mail to lestrela@srpedd.org;

Our general website form at https://srpedd.org/contact-us/;

Our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SRPEDD/; Instagram @SRPEDD https://www.instagram.com/srpedd/;

By phone call to 508-824-1367;

Attending the monthly Joint Transportation Planning Group meeting on November 12. For more info visit: srpedd.org/transportation/jtpg.

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PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Lisa Estrela-Pedro at lestrela@srpedd.org or Jackie Jones at jjones@srpedd.org for more info.

SRPEDD Announces a 21-day Public Comment Period and Two Virtual Public Meeting Options – Tuesday, September 30, 2025, at 2:00 pm or Monday October 6, 2025, at 4:00 pm to hear comments on the release of the Draft Regional Evacuation Plan for Southeastern Massachusetts.

September 17, 2025 – The Southeastern Massachusetts Metropolitan Planning Organization (SMMPO)’s draft Regional Evacuation Plan is being released to a 21-day public comment period. The Southeastern Massachusetts region is at risk from a variety of natural and man-made disasters that can result in the need for evacuation. While individual communities in the region have done significant work to be prepared for disasters, there is a significant planning gap at the regional level. Most community level planning does not provide instruction for evacuation outside community borders, leading to conflicting routing between communities. In order to provide and improve regional coordination, SRPEDD staff from the Homeland Security, Transportation, and Environmental departments completed a regional evacuation plan.

The study was largely informed by meetings with representatives from every municipality in the SRPEDD region, small, targeted focus groups, and meetings with statewide partners. To gain a comprehensive understanding of municipal resources for emergency situations and potential challenges, SRPEDD staff met with representatives from town administrator offices, police and fire departments, councils on aging, school departments, departments of public works, health departments, conservation agents, and other emergency management or human services staff.

This study examines the potential triggers for evacuation, clearly defines regional evacuation routes, and provides a plan to coordinate regional resources. The study also contains recommendations for improving routing and coordination and a resource list of best practices, which include:

Re-entry Permitting: Controlling the flow of residents back into disaster impacted areas through a permitting system administered away from the disaster area in order to make for an orderly re-entry only for those with homes in impacted areas.
Regional CERT: There has been a decrease in the number of active Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) after Communities may not be able to maintain a CERT if only one or two individuals are interested. However, if several municipalities band together with interested individuals, regional teams may be formed. Regionalization lets municipalities pool their budgets and share assets, and in some cases, can open grant opportunities not available to single municipalities.
Regional Public Info and Warning: It has been said that for a message to get across to the public they need to see it three times, e.g., on the municipal Facebook page, on a variable traffic message board, and a text from their local alert system. Building a robust database of people opted into emergency alerts, and wide-scale, unified messaging from municipal websites, leaders, and community groups to get individuals opting into this system, will be crucial to spreading the word in an emergency.
Regional Sheltering: For some municipalities, capacity for resourcing, staffing, and operating an emergency shelter for 72 hours before help arrives is now more limited. Regionalizing shelters spreads the burden of resourcing and operating across regional partners and makes it easier to send one-two personnel every other shift than fully staff a shelter with just one municipality’s resources. Centralizing clients in one shelter also facilitates provision of wraparound services.

The Plan will help tie identified needs to potential funding sources and proposes next steps. SRPEDD staff will be doing tabletop exercises with community stakeholders to test evacuation scenarios and will distribute best practice information to local stakeholders and the public, which will include updated routing and TIP project evaluation criteria that prioritizes TIP funding towards projects that help strengthen evacuation routing.

All of this work helps support the region’s 27 communities toward building a safer, and more accessible, connected, reliable, and resilient transportation system for all mode users.

Two virtual public meetings on the draft Regional Evacuation Plan will be held remotely, one on Tuesday, September 30, 2025, at 2:00 pm and one on Monday October 6, 2025, at 4:00 pm. The same information will be presented at both meetings; there is no need to attend both. Everyone is welcome to attend, ask questions and offer comments, but attendance is not necessary to offer input or comment. More options to offer comments can be found below.

Register in advance for the September 30, 2025 (2 pm) webinar at this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_z3Jomt7rS2OaynGMll0KYw

Register in advance for the October 6, 2025 (4 pm) webinar at this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ZjlZlfT6RDaTVDmpp9WQgg

The Draft Evacuation Plan will have a 21-day public comment period, and a final version will be endorsed at the next SMMPO meeting which is scheduled for October 21st. More detailed information on the document can be found on SRPEDD’s website www.srpedd.org at the following link: Draft Regional Evacuation Plan.

Comments are encouraged and may be offered by a variety of methods including: via e-mail at kham@srpedd.org; our website at https://srpedd.org/contact-us/; our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SRPEDD/; or Instagram @SRPEDD https://www.instagram.com/srpedd/

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PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Lisa Estrela-Pedro at lestrela@srpedd.org or Jackie Jones at jjones@srpedd.org for more info.

Re-entry Permitting: Controlling the flow of residents back into disaster impacted areas through a permitting system administered away from the disaster area in order to make for an orderly re-entry only for those with homes in impacted areas.
Regional CERT: There has been a decrease in the number of active Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) after Communities may not be able to maintain a CERT if only one or two individuals are interested. However, if several municipalities band together with interested individuals, regional teams may be formed. Regionalization lets municipalities pool their budgets and share assets, and in some cases, can open grant opportunities not available to single municipalities.
Regional Public Info and Warning: It has been said that for a message to get across to the public they need to see it three times, e.g., on the municipal Facebook page, on a variable traffic message board, and a text from their local alert system. Building a robust database of people opted into emergency alerts, and wide-scale, unified messaging from municipal websites, leaders, and community groups to get individuals opting into this system, will be crucial to spreading the word in an emergency.
Regional Sheltering: For some municipalities, capacity for resourcing, staffing, and operating an emergency shelter for 72 hours before help arrives is now more limited. Regionalizing shelters spreads the burden of resourcing and operating across regional partners and makes it easier to send one-two personnel every other shift than fully staff a shelter with just one municipality’s resources. Centralizing clients in one shelter also facilitates provision of wraparound services.

All of this work helps support the region’s 27 communities toward building a safer, and more accessible, connected, reliable, and resilient transportation system for all mode users.

Register in advance for the September 30, 2025 (2 pm) webinar at this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_z3Jomt7rS2OaynGMll0KYw

Register in advance for the October 6, 2025 (4 pm) webinar at this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ZjlZlfT6RDaTVDmpp9WQgg

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PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Lisa Estrela-Pedro at lestrela@srpedd.org or Jackie Jones at jjones@srpedd.org for more info.

SRPEDD Announces a 21-day Public Comment Period and Virtual Public Meeting on Wednesday, June 4, 2025, at 4:00 pm to hear comments on the release of the Draft FFY2026 UPWP staff work plan and Draft Safe Streets for All – Regional Safety Action Plan.

May 21, 2025 – The Southeastern Massachusetts Metropolitan Planning Organization (SMMPO)’s draft FFY2026 Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) is being released to a 21-day public comment period. The UPWP is the planning document listing the transportation-related projects, technical assistance, and other activities that SMMPO staff at the Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District (SRPEDD) will undertake during the upcoming federal fiscal year to support the goals and actions established in the Regional Transportation Plan, Moving Forward 2050. Ongoing planning activities include traffic data collection and analysis, pavement management analysis, community technical assistance, transit and active transportation project planning, public engagement, and development of the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). Special projects outlined in the draft UPWP to be undertaken in the October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026 period include:

a Food Access and Security in Transportation Plan that will collect and map data on grocery stores, bodegas, food pantries, farmers markets, and other food security infrastructure locations in Southeastern Massachusetts to assess gaps in transit and active transportation access to food;
an Age-Friendly Mobility Plan that will identify needs, set priorities, and recommendations for future SRPEDD technical assistance work in transportation-related improvements that encourage healthy aging in Southeastern Massachusetts communities;
an Economic Impact Analysis of the Southeastern Regional Transit Authority’s fare free program;
a Corridor Study of Pleasant Street in Fall River;
development of a database to prioritize flood-prone roadways and culvert replacements;
Evacuation planning tabletop exercises;
an update of the region’s Congestion Management Plan; and
a Parking Lot Utilization Plan that will collect and map parking usage rate data to help communities make informed, sustainable, and cost-effective parking policies and land use decisions.

Additionally, the SMMPO’s draft Regional Safety Action Plan (RSAP), developed through a federal Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grant, is being released to a 21-day public comment period. From 2019–2023, Southeastern Massachusetts experienced 1,828 serious vehicle-involved crashes resulting in 245 deaths and 1,623 severe injuries. To address this, the SMMPO led by SRPEDD, together with consulting firms Toole and VHB and an interdisciplinary Task Force, developed a Vision Zero-aligned Regional Safety Action Plan. The plan aims to reduce fatal and serious injury crashes by 35% by 2040—and ultimately reach zero—using a Safe Systems Approach that emphasizes safer road design, speed management, and protection for vulnerable users like pedestrians, cyclists, and transit riders.

The Plan was informed by crash data analysis and public engagement, including 300+ survey responses, community event tabling, and focus groups which targeted youth, low-income, and Limited English Proficient road users. It identifies high-risk corridors and common crash factors in the region such as speeding and distracted driving and presents a comprehensive toolkit of various engineering and safety solutions—including short to long term and low to higher cost options—to address these high crash-risk and high-injury areas. Low-cost, short-term solutions include high-visibility crosswalks, pavement markings, signage, signal timing changes, and trimming vegetation that blocks sight lines. The Plan also proposes non-engineering solutions such as educational campaigns and enforcement strategies.

New Bedford, Fall River, and Taunton were identified as having the highest number of serious crashes, with Middleborough and Dartmouth showing higher crash severity rates per capita. The RSAP ranks and prioritizes potential safety projects at both the regional and municipal levels to ensure a wide array of opportunities for funding for all 27 communities. This Action Plan identifies locations within each community in the SMMPO region that are eligible to apply for implementation or demonstration project federal SS4A funding to make streets safer. The current grant round closes on June 26, 2025 and communities are encouraged to reach out to SMMPO staff for guidance. The RSAP is being released for public review to gather local feedback and ensure alignment with municipal needs.

The RSAP was developed in collaboration with a diverse Regional Task Force of municipal officials, community leaders, transit professionals, and public health advocates. Their role continues into implementation of the Plan as stewards of safer streets across Southeastern Massachusetts.

All of this work helps support the region’s 27 communities toward building a safer, and more accessible, connected, reliable, and resilient transportation system for all mode users.

A virtual public meeting on the draft UPWP and RSAP will be held remotely on Wednesday, June 4, 2025 , at 4:00 pm. Everyone is welcome to attend, ask questions and offer comments, but attendance is not necessary to offer input or comment. More options to offer comments can be found below.

The meeting will be conducted through ZOOM. This link provides the information to allow participants to connect to the meeting through a computer, smart phone or regular telephone: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/categories/200101697.

The direct link to the public meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81435133182?pwd=qPegiVuEDNBD20UpaieCqhXWUxSaoT.1
Meeting ID: 814 3513 3182
Meeting Password: 372831

The Draft FFY2026 UPWP and Draft Safety Action Plan will have a 21-day public comment period and final versions will be endorsed at the next SMMPO meeting which is scheduled for June 17th. More detailed information on the two documents can be found on SRPEDD’s website www.srpedd.org at the following links: Draft FFY2026 UPWP and Draft Regional Safety Action Plan.

Comments are encouraged and may be offered by a variety of methods including: via e-mail at lestrela@srpedd.org; our website at https://srpedd.org/contact-us/; our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SRPEDD/; or Twitter @SRPEDD_NEWS at https://twitter.com/SRPEDD_NEWS

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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 Virtual Public Meeting on Thursday, March 6, 2025, at 4:00 pm to hear comments on the release of Amendment #2 of the FFY2025-2029 TIP that includes various transit project fund reallocations and Amendment #1 of the FY2025 UPWP that will add development of a Regional Age- and Dementia-Friendly Plan.

February 19, 2025 – The FFY2025-2029 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) for Southeastern Massachusetts is being amended in federal fiscal years (FFYs) 2025 and 2026 to program cost and timeline changes for various Greater Attleboro-Taunton Regional Transit Authority (GATRA) projects. A bus purchase project will be added to FFY2025 and construction of the Wareham East Maintenance Facility is being pushed out to FFY2026. These modifications will lead to the proposed fund reallocation or downsizing of several projects, including GATRA’s parcel 6A solar project, purchase of support vehicles, rehabilitation of bus facilities, miscellaneous support equipment, and other vehicle replacements.

The TIP is the programming document listing all federally funded road and bridge projects in the region and all transit projects for both GATRA and the Southeastern Regional Transit Authority (SRTA) over five years. Each year, the Southeastern Massachusetts Metropolitan Planning Organization (SMMPO) decides how to allocate about $26 million in federal funding for the region, which supplements state and local transportation infrastructure investments in Southeastern Massachusetts. The SMMPO conducts the federally required metropolitan transportation planning process for 27 Southeastern Massachusetts communities and is one of Massachusetts’ thirteen Metropolitan Planning Organizations.

The region’s FFY2025 Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) is also being amended to include tasks for the development of a Regional Age- and Dementia-Friendly Plan. In the coming decades, no population in the Southeastern Massachusetts region is projected to experience as much growth as older adults over 65 years of age. SMMPO staff are responding to older adult needs identified in previous work and collaborating with various local partners to create a work plan of action items staff will take to support SMMPO communities toward creating physical and social environments that are inclusive and accessible for people of all ages, with a focus on helping older people live well. The focus will be on highlighting deficiencies and recommendations relating to older adult transportation and mobility infrastructure and will also draw connections to housing, food access, and open spaces. The UPWP identifies all the transportation planning activities to be undertaken by SMMPO staff in the SRPEDD region over the federal fiscal year. Planning activities include transportation studies, data collection, technical assistance to communities and other projects.

All of this work helps support the region’s 27 communities toward building a safer, and more equitable, connected, reliable, and resilient transportation system for all mode users.

A virtual public meeting on the proposed amendment will be held on Thursday, March 6, 2025, at 4:00 pm. Everyone is welcome to attend, ask questions and offer comments, but attendance is not necessary to offer input or comment. More options to offer comments can be found below.

To register for the public meeting visit: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_hx91n0GwSxiXAqHDUYZOyg

Meeting ID: 886 3799 3326

Meeting Password: 083246

Proposed FFY25-29 TIP Amendment #2 and FFY2025 UPWP Amendment #1 will have a 21-day public comment period and will be endorsed at the next SMMPO meeting which is scheduled for March 18th. For more information about the proposed amendment, visit SRPEDD’s website www.srpedd.org at the following link: FFY2025-2029 TIP Amendment #1 and FFY2026 UPWP Amendment #2.

Comments are encouraged and may be offered by a variety of methods including: via e-mail at lestrela@srpedd.org; our website at https://srpedd.org/contact-us/; our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SRPEDD/ or Twitter @SRPEDD_NEWS at https:// https://x.com/SRPEDD_NEWS.

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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 Virtual Public Meeting on Thursday, February 6, 2025, at 4:00 pm to hear comments on the release of Amendment #1 of the FFY2025-2029 TIP that includes a Swansea project cost increase and addition of a New Bedford project.

January 21, 2025 – The FFY2025-2029 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) for Southeastern Massachusetts is being amended in FFY2025 to program a cost increase and a new project. Project #608759 for traffic signal and safety improvements at three intersections on Swansea’s Route 6 will have a cost increase of $3,092,506, from $12,663,827 to $15,756,333 due to the extension of project limits (~400’), updated unit prices and higher utility relocation costs. Work on this project consists of intersection improvements at the following three intersections: Route 6/Route 118 (Swansea Mall Drive), Route 6/Maple Avenue, and Route 6/Route 136 (Market Street). Work includes traffic signal upgrades, geometric improvements, improved bicycle and pedestrian accessibility, signs, pavement markings, and/or geometric modifications. The intent of the project is to address safety at these three high crash locations. The FFY2025-2029 TIP will also program Project S13168 in FFY2025 which will include two demonstration projects in the city of New Bedford funded by a Safe Streets for All Discretionary grant of $237,266.

The TIP is the programming document listing all federally funded road and bridge projects in the region and all transit projects for both the Greater Attleboro and Taunton Regional Transit Authority (GATRA) and the Southeastern Regional Transit Authority (SRTA) over five years. Each year, the Southeastern Massachusetts Metropolitan Planning Organization (SMMPO) decides how to allocate about $26 million in federal funding for the region, which supplements state and local transportation infrastructure investments in Southeastern Massachusetts. The SMMPO conducts the federally required metropolitan transportation planning process for 27 Southeastern Massachusetts communities and is one of Massachusetts’ thirteen Metropolitan Planning Organizations.

All of this work helps support the region’s 27 communities toward building a safer, and more equitable, connected, reliable, and resilient transportation system for all mode users.

A virtual public meeting on the proposed amendment will be held on Thursday, February 6, 2025, at 4:00 pm. Everyone is welcome to attend, ask questions and offer comments, but attendance is not necessary to offer input or comment. More options to offer comments can be found below.

The meeting will be conducted through the ZOOM app. This link provides the information to allow participants to connect to the meeting through a computer, smart phone or regular telephone: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/categories/200101697.

To register for the public meeting visit: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_b9V5xEuwRfCa-fj0aJ2xMA

Meeting ID: 814 7544 8552

Meeting Password: 420223

Proposed FFY25-29 TIP Amendment #1 will have a 21-day public comment period and will be endorsed at the next SMMPO meeting which is scheduled for February 18th. For more information about the proposed amendment, visit SRPEDD’s website www.srpedd.org at the following link: FFY2025-2029 TIP Amendment #1.

Comments are encouraged and may be offered by a variety of methods including: via e-mail at lestrela@srpedd.org; our website at https://srpedd.org/contact-us/; our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SRPEDD/ or Twitter @SRPEDD_NEWS at https:// https://x.com/SRPEDD_NEWS.

PRESS RELEASE ‐ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

SRPEDD Announces a rescheduled Remote Public Meeting due to technical difficulties to hear comments on the SMMPO region’s list of transportation resilience projects to include in the Massachusetts Statewide Resilience Improvement Plan (RIP) and qualification for additional funding that is currently under a 21 day public comment period.

Flooding of the Wading River at Walker Street in Norton, Massachusetts, sandbags placed on roadway that has been severely flooded.

Flooding of the Wading River at Walker Street in Norton, Massachusetts (Photo by SRPEDD)

December 19, 2024 – Southeastern Massachusetts Metropolitan Planning Organization (SMMPO) staff recently concluded Phase 1 of a regional evacuation route mapping study that collected information from 27 Southeastern Massachusetts communities about local vulnerabilities, hazards, and existing evacuation protocols and resources relating to flooding, winter storms, wildfires, hazardous materials, and active threat events. The study will culminate in a Regional Evacuation Plan that will map regionally coordinated evacuation routes, document shared best practices and resources for the 27 communities, and recommend action steps to improve communication and egress in the event of an emergency. Phase 1 of the Evacuation Route Study identified various vulnerable locations, many of which are susceptible to flooding. SMMPO staff are seeking to include these 146 locations and potential projects in the MassDOT Resilience Improvement Plan (RIP) to qualify them for additional funding.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has released a round of Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-saving Transportation Program (PROTECT) grants. The purpose of this grant program is to support projects that improve the resilience of transportation infrastructure to withstand natural disasters and impacts of climate change, flooding, sea level rise, and extreme weather, and other natural disasters. The funding offers both planning and implementation grants to state, local and regional government bodies to focus on making roads, bridges, and transit systems more climate resistant. Grants can range from $100,000 to $5 million for planning projects and $5 million to $25,000,000 for implementation projects. Recipients are required to fund 20% of project costs, while FHWA funds 80%. However, including the project in a statewide resilience improvement plan reduces the local match requirement to 13% and eliminates the requirement to conduct an elaborate benefit-cost analysis. SMMPO staff are aiming to include 146 potential projects in the MassDOT statewide Resilience Improvement Plan to make this funding more accessible to local communities should they wish to apply.

This list was prepared using locations identified in the regional Evacuation Route Study, Regional Transportation Plan, a GIS vulnerability analysis, and review of communities’ Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Plans. It is being released to local officials and public review in order to gather feedback regarding if listed locations are appropriate and whether any are missing. Following the public comment period, locations will be voted on for approval by the SMMPO and later evaluated by MassDOT for final inclusion in the statewide RIP. SMMPO staff are available to assist with grant applications and encourage municipal officials to notify the agency if they plan to apply.

The SMMPO decides how to allocate about $26 million in federal funding for the region, which supplements state and local transportation infrastructure investments in Southeastern Massachusetts. The SMMPO conducts the federally required metropolitan transportation planning process for 27 Southeastern Massachusetts communities and is one of Massachusetts’ thirteen Metropolitan Planning Organizations.

The rescheduled public meeting to hear comments on the SMMPO’s resilience projects list will be held remotely on Tuesday January 21, 2025 at 10:30 AM via Zoom. Everyone is welcome to attend, ask questions and offer feedback. 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. To register for the meeting visit:

The list will become final on January 21, 2025, at the next SMMPO meeting. The draft list can be found on SRPEDD’s website at https://srpedd.org/transportation/srpedd-evacuation-route-plan/ for review. Link here: DRAFT SMMPO Transportation Resilience Projects List.

Comments and questions are encouraged and, if attendance at the above‐mentioned public meeting is not possible, may be offered by a variety of methods by January 20, 2025 including:

Email Jackie Jones at jjones@srpedd.org or call 508-824-1367 x230;

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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PUBLIC INPUT OPPORTUNITY
Come share your views about the transportation planning process in the Southeastern Massachusetts region!
Every four years, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) are required to review the metropolitan transportation planning process conducted by the Southeastern Massachusetts Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), Massachusetts Department of Transportation, Greater Attleboro Taunton Regional Transit Authority (GATRA), Southeastern Regional Transit Authority (SRTA) area providers of public transportation, and local municipal partners in order to certify that they are carrying out the process in accordance with all applicable Federal requirements.

As part of this review, the Federal agencies would like to hear from members of the public and community partners about their views of how the transportation planning process is conducted in the region during these sessions:

Session 1: Virtual Session
Time: 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM
Date: Thursday, January 16, 2025
Location: This meeting will be held virtually on Zoom.
Join via Zoom at this meeting link or using Meeting ID: 161 359 4197, Passcode: 871311.
To join the meeting by phone, dial +1 (646) 828-7666.

Session 2: Virtual Session
Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Date: Thursday, January 16, 2025
Location: This meeting will be held virtually on Zoom.
Join via Zoom at this meeting link or using Meeting ID: 160 901 5027, Passcode: 142061.
To join the meeting by phone, dial +1 (646) 828-7666.

Session 3: Virtual Evening Session
Time: 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM
Date: Thursday, January 23, 2025
Location: This meeting will be held virtually on Zoom.
Join via Zoom at this meeting link or using Meeting ID: 160 321 4724, Passcode: 544547.
To join the meeting by phone, dial +1 (646) 828-7666.

If you are unable to attend, you may also submit your comments or observations in writing by January 28, 2025, to:
FHWA: Eric Gemperline, Community Planner
Email: eric.gemperline@dot.gov

FTA: Kirstie Tirandazi
Email: kirstie.tirandazi@dot.gov

This meeting is accessible to people with disabilities and those with limited English proficiency. Accessibility accommodations and language services will be provided free of charge, upon request, as available. Please contact Eric Gemperline at Eric.Gemperline@dot.gov for more information.