Transportation Planning

Transportation Planning

As one of the 18 designated Regional Planning Affiliations (RPA) for the Iowa Transportation Commission, Upper Explorerland is tasked with planning, programming, and administering state- and federally-funded, multi-modal transportation activities in our five-county region (RPA-1). Our planners work regularly with the RPA-1 Transportation Policy Board, the Transportation Technical Committee, the Transportation Enhancement Committee, and the Passenger Transportation Advisory Group to distribute federal transportation funds, oversee state- and federally-required transportation planning activities, and manage RPA-1 projects in the Iowa DOT programming system. Our planners also represent the RPA-1 Board and its Committees in state and regional initiatives that work to improve or support the multi-modal transportation network within the region. UERPC planners also serve as the region's transportation resource by maintaining regional transportation data, assisting in project development, and providing technical support and planning assistance to the communities, agencies, and committees of our region.
 
The RPA-1 Transportation Policy Board is comprised of representation from each of the five counties and the two communities within the region with populations over 5,000, Decorah and Oelwein. The Transportation Policy Board guides and sets policy for regional distribution of state and federal transportation funding for streets, roads, walking and bicycling infrastructure, and transit, and ensures compliance with state and federal rules and regulations.

Advising the Policy Board are committees whose memberships represent expertise and/or interest in the focus of each committee:

  • The Technical Committee, which consists of the five county engineers and representatives from Decorah and Oelwein, advises the Policy Board on matters of roadway maintenance and operations and recommends projects to receive funding.
  • The Enhancement Committee consists of the five county conservation directors and other regional stakeholders with interest in ctive transportation and economic development activities. The committee meets to review and recommend projects for transportation alternatives funding and also works to build a sustainable regional trail system to provide non-vehicular travel options.
  • The Public Transportation Advisory Group (TAG) is charged with building and operating a coordinated passenger transportation system to support those who do not have access to personal transportation options or who choose not to drive or own a car. This group consists of local transit representatives, private transportation providers, human services providers, and others concerned about transportation for non-drivers.

For more information, please contact Aaron Detter. 
 

Transportation Boards & Committees

Transportation Improvement Program (TIP)

Transportation Improvement Program (TIP)

The TIP is an annual document that describes the federally funded projects and activities that are programmed for the RPA-1 region in the next four years. It is a fiscally constrained plan that identifies the use of federal funds in highway, bridge, walking, bicycling, and transit projects. The projects identified within this document may receive federal funding from a number of different sources which are distributed through a variety of methods, some through formula, others are discretionary (earmarked), and some by a competitive granting process. 

Once approved, the RPA-1 TIP is included in the Iowa Department of Transportation's Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP).



Transportation Planning Work Program (TPWP) Documents

Transportation Planning Work Program (TPWP) Documents

Transportation Planning Work Program annually outlines the transportation planning activities each RPA will undertake for the next fiscal year.

Passenger Transportation Plan (PTP) Documents

Passenger Transportation Plan (PTP) Documents

The Passenger Transportation Plan is a document that is developed to serve as a mobility management tool to help meet the specific passenger transportation needs of the region and further the development of the local and regional public transportation system. As of previous federal transportation legislation (MAP-21), annual updates will no longer be required. The PTP will undergo a full update every five years.

PTP FFY 2011-2014 Final

Public Participation Plan

Public Participation Plan

The Public Participation Plan's outline in detail the process each RPA will follow to adequately involve the public in their transportation planning activities.

Long-Range Transportation Plan (LRTP)

Long-Range Transportation Plan (LRTP)

RPA-1’s Long-Range, Multimodal Transportation Plan, Safe Mobility for Everyone, has a planning horizon year of 2045—25 years counted from the year of adoption and rounded up by one year to reach a decade midpoint. The plan is intended to guide transportation investments and policy in the five-county region in support of a transportation system that is safe for all users and modes, and that facilitates the efficient movement of people and goods. The plan includes a description of the region's existing conditions; identifies current transportation challenges; anticipates potential future needs; and explores various strategies for addressing those challenges and needs. The plan identifies short-term and long-term projects and policy goals and discusses potential funding sources to aid in achieving the goals of the plan. This document also serves as a source of information for local decisionmakers and elected officials of the region.

The RPA-1 Transportation Policy Board adoped Safe Mobility for Everyone as the region’s official, long-range, multimodal transportation plan via resolution on September 19, 2019.

Hard copies of Safe Mobility for Everyone are available for reference at both UERPC office locations, as well as the following public libraries in our region: Waukon, New Albin, Lansing, Elkader, Strawberry Point, Oelwein, Fayette, West Union, Ossian, Calmar, Guttenberg, and Cresco.

Safe Mobility For Everyone: RPA-1's Long-Range, Multimodal Transportation Plan 2045

Title VI Program

Title VI Program

Notifying the Public of Rights Under Title VI
UPPER EXPLORERLAND REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION – RPA-1

RPA-1 operates its programs and services without regard to race, color, and national origin in accordance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. Any person who believes she or he has been aggrieved by any unlawful discriminatory practice under Title VI may file a complaint with RPA-1.

For more information on RPA-1’s civil rights program, and the procedures to file a complaint, review the “FTA Title VI Program – RPA-1” document below; call 563-382-6171 or 563-382-6311 (for deaf/hard of hearing use Relay Iowa 711); email rhowe@uerpc.org; or visit our administrative offices at 325 Washington Street, Decorah, Iowa or 134 Greene Street, Postville, Iowa.

A complainant may file a complaint directly with the RPA by filing a complaint form with Upper Explorerland Regional Planning Commission Attention: Title VI Program Coordinator, 325 Washington Street, Decorah, Iowa 52101; or 134 West Greene Street, Postville, Iowa 56162, 563-382-6171 or 563-864-7551, rhowe@uerpc.org.

A complaint may also be filed with the Federal Transit Administration by filing a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights, Attention: Title VI Program Coordinator, East Building, 5th Floor-TCR, 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE, Washington, DC 20590; or with Iowa Department of Transportation, Office of Employee Services – Civil Rights, 800 Lincoln Way, Ames, Iowa 50010, 515-239-1422, dot.civilrights@dot.iowa.gov.

If information is needed in another language, RPA-1 utilizes Language Services Associates.

RPA-1 Title VI Plan (FHWA)

News Headlines

The September 2022 Newsletter is Here!

Posted: Mon, September 19, 2022

The UERPC September 2022 Newsletter is here! 

Highlights include:

  • YOU'RE INVITED! UERPC's 50th Anniversary Celebration on October 18th!
  • Mark Your Calendars for the Get Charged Up! EV Event! on October 13th!
  • Open House for Fayette County Housing Study on Sept. 22nd in Fayette
  • UERPC Announces Grant Awards for Transportation Projects
  • UERPC Attends Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals National Conference
  • UERPC Notices
  • Northeast Iowa STEM Festival is October 27th!
  • Funding Available through the Unified Hazard Mitigation Assistance Grant Program
  • Job-related Resources
  • September 5-2-1-0 Feature

Want to view the newsletter? Click here:  http://uerpc.org/newsletters.html 

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Open house for Fayette County housing study Sept. 22 in Fayette

Posted: Fri, September 9, 2022

UERPC wrapped up a housing study this summer for Fayette County in collaboration with Fayette County Economic Development and Tourism (FCEDT). The goal of this effort was to identify housing needs and gaps to assist local stakeholders in finding solutions to current and future housing challenges.

All Fayette County stakeholders, residents, and community leaders are invited to join UERPC and FCEDT for an open house to learn about the completed study. The open house will be on Thursday, September 22, 2022, from 5pm-7pm at the Fayette Opera House in Fayette, Iowa. Attendees will have the opportunity to review the study and chat with representatives about how the study was conducted and how to best utilize the analysis for efforts to improve and expand housing in Fayette County communities.

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UERPC announces grant awards for transportation projects

Posted: Fri, August 19, 2022

Upper Explorerland Regional Planning Commission (UERPC) today announces more than $3.5 million in federal transportation grants for local projects, supporting more than $6 million in total project investments in the region.

UERPC is the designated Regional Planning Affiliation (RPA-1) for the northeast Iowa counties of Allamakee, Clayton, Fayette, Howard, and Winneshiek. Each year, the five-county region receives federal funding for diverse transportation projects that further the goals of RPA-1’s Long-range Transportation Plan. The RPA-1 Transportation Policy Board is responsible for evaluating grant applications and deciding which projects are awarded. Funding is typically awarded four years out (2026 for this round), but some projects received funding for 2023 and 2024 during this year’s application cycle.

The grants can support a wide variety of projects. Some address needed maintenance of the rural secondary road system, such as Fayette County’s pavement overlay project on W42/Juniper Road. Others, like the Main Street/IA-9 Corridor Vision Plan for the City of Lansing, support transportation planning efforts.

Funding also supports non-motorized transportation infrastructure, such as the City of Guttenberg’s Big Springs/Mississippi River Trail Connection; continued development of the Dry Run Trail in Winneshiek County; and an extension of the Turkey River Recreational Corridor trail east of Elgin into Clayton County.

The grants are funded by the Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) Program, and the STBG set-aside for transportation enhancements and alternatives. Continued and increased funding for these programs was enabled by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also referred to as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, passed by Congress and signed into law last year.

Through these projects, RPA-1 seeks to advance the regional transportation goals set forth in the Long-range Transportation Plan. A complete listing of projects funded through the next four years can be found in the RPA-1 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) document, available at uerpc.org/transportation.html. Additional information about UERPC and Regional Planning Affiliation 1, including the region’s Long-range Transportation Plan, “Safe Mobility for Everyone,” can also be found at the link above.

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The August 2022 Newsletter is Here!

Posted: Wed, August 17, 2022

The UERPC August 2022 Newsletter is here! 

Highlights include:

  • YOU'RE INVITED! UERPC's 50th Anniversary Celebration on October 18th!
  • Mark Your Calendars for the Get Charged Up! EV Event! on October 13th!
  • Gov. Reynolds Issues Disaster Proclamation for Five Counties
  • Homes for Iowa Home Arrives in Fayette
  • NEIRHTF Accepting Applications
  • Homebuyer Educational Courses Offered
  • Back-to-School Transportation Safety:  It's the responsibility of each of us
  • UERPC Notices
  • Waukon and Lansing Residents and Business Owners:  Northeast Iowa Needs Your Help!
  • 5-yr CEDS Report Adopted
  • Funding Available for Upper Explorerland Regional Housing Authority Section 8 Program
  • Job-related Resources
  • The Walking and Biking School Bus Fall Season is Almost Here!
  • Keep Iowa Beautiful Photo Contest is Now Open
  • UERPC Employee Spotlight Board Brings Smiles and Spreads Kindness!
  • August 5-2-1-0 Feature

Want to view the newsletter? Click here:  http://uerpc.org/newsletters.html 

Want to receive our newsletter in your inbox? Sign up here: http://uerpc.org/newsletters.html 

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