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Rural Regional Transportation Plans (RRTP) in Tennessee

The document summarizes Tennessee's Rural Regional Transportation Plans (RRTPs), which are comprehensive regional planning documents for Tennessee's 12 Rural Planning Organizations. The RRTP process involves collecting transportation data, holding stakeholder meetings in each county, developing regional goals and recommendations, and producing a final plan. The plans are intended to strategize rural transportation networks, increase infrastructure investment efficiency, and engage communities in statewide planning. Completing RRTPs for all regions by 2023 will help evaluate the process and ensure plans meet community and TDOT needs.

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Sustainable Regional Planning•
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Rural Regional Transportation Plans (RRTP) in Tennessee MAREIKE ORTMANN, UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE – CENTER FOR TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH D. STACY MORRISON, TENNESSEE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION – LONG RANGE PLANNING
Tennessee’s Planning Organizations 12 RPO’s and 11 MPO’s
Tennessee’s Rural Planning Organizations Structure • 12 RPOs in Tennessee (consist of 3 to 9 counties) • Each RPO has an RPO Coordinator who is in charge day-to-day operations • TDOT's Office of Community Transportation (OCT) works closely with the RPO Coordinator • RPOs do not have Transportation Improvement Plans and do not receive direct funding for projects • RPOs help TDOT rank projects that would be included in the statewide TIP (STIP)
Rural Regional Transportation Plans RRTP is a planning document that strategizes the method in which people, goods, and activities are moved in an area designated as “rural”.
Why Rural Regional Transportation Plans?  There were not any regional planning documents for Tennessee's RPOs prior to this statewide effort  TDOT's previous Deputy Commissioner had the idea to develop RRTPs similar to other states  The TDOT 25-Year Long Range Transportation Plan calls for transportation plan development for Tennessee’s rural areas, similar to MPO Long Range Plans  The RRTP is supposed to link regional transportation and land use into one comprehensive planning document
Purposes of the RRTPs Create a regionwide comprehensive planning document linking transportation and land use Increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the state's rural transportation infrastructure investments and to increase the economic competitiveness of the state's rural regions Identify transportation infrastructure needs and make recommendations to address the needs Engage the community stakeholders in TDOT's statewide Long Range Planning Process Create a resource for TDOT Planners and RPO community stakeholders
Timeline of Tennessee’s RRTP Planning Process Started in 2016 with the outline of RRTP Process In 2017 first pilot project: Dale Hollow RPO – create a Template Plan Template was used for following plans About 2-3 plans per year were developed Managed by one TDOT/UT employee (Special Projects Coordinator) New Plan Template developed in 2019 During pandemic (2020-2022), meetings were held virtually and later hybrid (virtual & in-person) Changes are implemented to the maps and content in 2022 Current goal is to complete all RRTP’s by 2023 After first round of RRTPs is done: Evaluation of planning process and purpose of plans
Timeline for Tennessee’s RRTPs 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 West TN RPO Southwest RPO Dale Hollow RPO East TN North RPO East TN North RPO Center Hill RPO South Central East RPO South Central West RPO Southeast TN RPO Northwest TN RPO First TN RPO Middle TN RPO
1 Hr Presentation Kick-off Meeting •Meeting with all RPO stakeholders •Presentation of purpose & goals, and next steps of RRTP Data Collection & Inventory •TDOT’s Data Visualization Office collects and prepares Data County One-on- One Meetings •Meetings with counties one-on-one to talk about issues and needs •Identifying locations on maps Preparation and Review of Draft •Writing text narrative •Review of text and graphics •Review of document by planners and RPO Workshop Meeting •Presentation of data collection and seeking input •Development of Regional Goals and Strategies Finalizing Plan •Development of Recommendations •Final Review •Finalizing Text Presentation and Adoption •Final presentation of plan at RPO meeting •Adoption of plan 2 months 1 Day Process Steps of RRTP 3 Months 30 Min Presentation
RRTP Public Engagement Process Kick-off Meeting •At bi-annual RPO Meeting •Participants: RPO Executive Board and Technical Committee, TDOT's Office of Community Transportation (OCT), RPO Coordinator •Presentation of purpose, content, and timeline of the RRTP One-on-one County Meetings •Participants: TDOT's OCT staff, RPO Coordinator, RRTP Project Coordinator, County officials (roadway superintendent, public transit operator, community planners, county and city mayors, other representatives) •Community participants identify transportation needs and issues in different categories •Locations are identified on maps (paper or virtual) Workshop Meeting •Half-day meeting •Participants: RPO community stakeholders, TDOT Division representatives (TDOT Safety, Multimodal, Operations, Planning, Freight) •Present collected data/ maps and seek input •County members would rotate to different work stations (by topic) •Develop regional goals and strategies Final Presentation & Adoption •Presentation of final plan •Adoption of plan (either at that meeting or after final version of the plan) •Publishing final version of RRTP on TDOTs website
Content of the RRTP • Executive Summary • Introduction  Purpose and Objectives of the Plan  Overview of the Region • Socioeconomic and Land Use Trends  Demographic Trends  Industries and Freight Movement  Economic Profiles  Land Use • Regional Transportation Systems  Functional Classification  Traffic Volumes  Volume/Capacity Ratio  Truck Traffic  Travel Behavior  Safety  Multimodal Facilities • Regional Goals and Recommendations  Public Participation Process  Regional Goals  Identified Transportation Needs and Recommendations
Content of the RRTP
Content of the RRTP
Next Steps for RRTPs  Implement some changes to the Plans: 1. Further expand section on Recommendations 2. Utilizing GoogleMaps during one-on-one meetings to mark locations of transportation issues 3. Potentially using MetroQuest in the future to engage the public in surveys
Next Steps for RRTPs  After completion of first set of plans  Evaluation of planning process: 1. How are the plans used by the communities? 2. How are the plans used by TDOT? 3. How can we streamline the plans? 4. Is there any essential component missing from the plans?
Conclusions  The Good • Increased public outreach to rural communities by TDOT • Strengthen relationships between TDOT and RPOs • Plan is resource that can be used for county wide plans and for grant applications • Changes along the way improved the outcome of the plans • Create and share comprehensive data and information that is useful for the development of grant applications for the rural communities  The Bad • Plan template changed several times (labor and time intensive) • Staff turnover complicated and prolonged the planning process • Overall, project took longer than originally planned and timelines had to be shifted several times • Continue to be apprehensive with identifying actual projects that may not be obtainable
More Information  TDOT’s Website: https://www.tn.gov/tdot/long-range- planning-home/longrange-oct/rural- regional-transportation-plans.html  Contact:  Mareike Ortmann (UT): mschuppe@utk.edu  D. Stacy Morrison (TDOT): Stacy.Morrison@tn.gov