Corridor Studies and Special Planning, Research (SPR) PROJECTS
Responsible Staff: Mary Deppe
Purpose
There are times when a certain road corridor or area of the region may need further study and planning due to increased volume of traffic, economic development, changes in land use or other aspects that influences a particular transportation system. In these cases, a community or communities may want to conduct a corridor study or a special research study. These studies help a community or communities plan for a larger area and deal with many aspects of transportation planning instead of planning and developing a single project.
Description
A Corridor Study is one that usually involves several communities along a specific corridor. These studies can be conducted by the Department of Transportation or solely by NCC, with the help of the communities along the corridor. A corridor study would examine traffic patterns, abutting land use, access points, and other aspects that may contribute to the development or stress related to the corridor. Special Planning and Research (SPR) is a type of grant available through DOT for special transportation projects. This funding can be used for corridor studies or for more specific transportation related planning, such as an access management plan for a community, a transit oriented design charrette for a corridor, or a greenway plan for a subregion. SPR projects take the involvement of NCC and the community or communities in the project area to be successful.
Timeframe
Corridor Studies, depending upon the length of the corridor, the number of communities involved, and the extent of work needed for the project, vary in duration. Typically one year for a minor corridor study is ample time but for larger studies, it could take up to two years to complete. Some studies require additional work after the study is complete either by forming an implementation committee or communities working on changes to their Master Plans and zoning based on recommendations in the Corridor Study. SPR projects last one year. The application process usually begins in the spring and the applications are sent to DOT in the summer. By fall, DOT has decided which projects to fund and notifies the applicants.
Associated Costs
Typically a Corridor Study requires a match at the local level and all SPR projects require a match. The match for SPR is 20% of the total project costs. Total project costs are usually around $20,000 - $30,000 so the match would typically be $4,000 - $6,000. If three communities were working together on an SPR, they would split the match and typically in-kind matches are allowed for SPR, meaning if NCC is the applicant for an SPR, the time the community members put into meetings and research can be counted for the match.
Related Services
SPR projects are related to many different transportation projects NCC is currently involved in, including:
The Transportation Committee
TIP & TE
Traffic Counts and Road Inventories
Scenic Byways Program