ANNUAL REPORT

EA R A S E N I O M S DE
ITAN L O P O METR ZA I N A G G OR N I N N PL A

MPO
DES MOINES AREA

TION

Altoona Ankeny Bondurant Carlisle Clive Dallas County Des Moines Grimes Johnston Norwalk Pleasant Hill Polk City Polk County Urbandale Warren County Waukee West Des Moines Windsor Heights Main: 515.334.0075 Fax: 515.334.0098 www.dmampo.org dmampo@dmampo.org Merle Hay Centre 6200 Aurora Avenue, Suite 300W Urbandale, Iowa 50322-2866

Fiscal Year 2006 Annual Report

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Expanding horizons...

MPO
DES MOINES AREA
Polk City

FISCAL YEAR 2006

Des Moines Area Metropolitan Planning Organization

I-35

Ankeny

Johnston Grimes

Bondurant

I-80

I-35 I-80

Altoona

Urbandale

Waukee

Clive

Windsor Heights

I-235

Pleasant Hill

I-80

Des Moines West Des Moines

Polk County Dallas County

Carlisle Norwalk

Madison County

Cumming

Warren County
I-35

The Des Moines Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) membership includes fifteen cities, an associate, a non-voting city, and portions of unincorporated Dallas, Polk, and Warren Counties in central Iowa. Des Moines Area MPO member governments include: Altoona, Ankeny, Bondurant, Carlisle, Clive, Dallas County, Des Moines, Grimes, Johnston, Norwalk, Pleasant Hill, Polk City, Polk County, Urbandale, Warren County, Waukee, West Des Moines, and Windsor Heights.

The preparation of this report was financed in part through federal funds provided by the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Federal Highway Administration, and/or the Federal Transit Administration. 2006 Des Moines Area Metropolitan Planning Organization Please call (515) 334-0075 to obtain permission for use. Annual Report edited by Luke Parris.

ANNUAL REPORT Executive Directors Message

Dear Reader,

MPO
DES MOINES AREA
Executive Director Tom Kane

The Des Moines Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (DMAMPO) Fiscal Year 2006 Annual Report shares with the reader the DMAMPOs activities accomplished, initiated, or involved with during Fiscal Year 2006. As this years annual report title notes, the DMAMPO has continued to be involved with and has become more involved with important metropolitan and regional transportation planning issues and activities. The Fiscal Year 2006 Annual Report is our attempt to highlight those activities.

The Fiscal Year 2006 Annual Report touches on topics, projects, committees, subcommittees, and various and sundry activities that the DMAMPO hosts or participates in over the course of our last fiscal year. The DMAMPO repeats many of these activities annually, as prescribed by the federal transportation planning regulations. Nevertheless, many of the articles in this report touch on new or recent additions to the DMAMPOs activities list. We hope the Fiscal Year 2006 Annual Report allows the reader to discover how the DMAMPO has broadened the transportation planning topics and issues the DMAMPO is involved in, with some of those activities a bit non-traditional if you will. We would hope that the reader becomes aware of how the DMAMPO has taken on and is championing issues and projects believed to be important to this metropolitan area and to the region in the long-term, but which can offer solutions in the near term as well for ensuring that the DMAMPOs member governments provide the best possible transportation system to this communitys users of that system. We have worked to provide the reader with an annual report that highlights another successful year for the DMAMPO, particularly if one considers a measure of that success in terms of how many new projects, new players, or new issues have come to the DMAMPO for assistance, guidance, or involvement. Indeed, Fiscal Year 2006 was such a year. We have tried to capture for the reader those stories that reflect that mood. We at the DMAMPO present to you the DMAMPOs Fiscal Year 2006 Annual Report. Best wishes,

Tom Kane Executive Director

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DES MOINES AREA
Chair Geri Huser

FISCAL YEAR 2006 2006 Officers

The Des Moines Area MPO elected their Calendar Year 2006 Officers at their January 2006 meeting. Geri Huser, City of Altoona, was re-elected Chair. Angela Connolly, Polk County, was re-elected Vice-Chair. Ted Ohmart, City of West Des Moines, was selected as Secretary/Treasurer. Brian Laurenzo, City of Johnston, and Tom Hockensmith, Polk County, each were selected as At-Large Officers. Loretta Sieman, City of West Des Moines and a past chair, serves as the Ex-Officio Officer for 2006. The Des Moines Area MPO Transportation Technical Committee also elected their Calendar Year 2006 officers in January 2006. Rita Conner, City of Pleasant Hill, was selected as Chair and Gary Fox, City of Des Moines, was selected as Vice-Chair.

Annual Presentation to the Iowa Transportation Commission

Des Moines Area MPO Chair Geri Huser made the MPOs annual presentation to the Iowa Transportation Commission on Tuesday, June 13, 2006, in West Des Moines. Chair Huser opened her remarks with a thank you to the Commission and to the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) for their support over the past year, making particular reference to the success of the Iowa DOTs Des Moines-based Transportation Management Center as part of the I-235 reconstruction project. Among Chair Husers other comments were references to the need for cooperation with the Commission and the Iowa DOT with satisfying the Federal Highway Administration - Iowa Divisions concerns about freeway interchanges in the Des Moines metropolitan area and completing a Freeway System Study. Chair Huser referenced the Interstate safety rest areas discussions that have been going on between the MPO and the Iowa DOT; commented on Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) and that the MPO is looking forwarding to working with the Iowa DOT on retaining the Traffic Management Center in the Des Moines metropolitan area; the interest in freight/ goods movement issues at the MPO; the work of the MPO in considering future regional transportation corridors, in cooperation with the Central Iowa Regional Transportation Planning Alliance; and, closed her remarks with comments on future transportation system needs versus funding available, both for the MPO and the Iowa DOT. Des Moines Area MPO Secretary/Treasurer Ted Ohmart had the opportunity to offer to the Commission a welcome to West Des Moines for its May 2006 public input meeting, on behalf of the West Des Moines City Council.

2006 Greater Des Moines Partnership Trip to Washington, D.C.

Des Moines Area MPO Chair Geri Huser and Executive Director Tom Kane joined approximately 215 other Des Moines metropolitan area representatives on the Greater Des Moines Partnerships annual trip to Washington, D.C., from June 7-9, 2006. Chair Huser and Mr. Kane were among those trip participants promoting funding of the areas transportation projects to Iowas U.S. Congressional leaders and their staffs. The Des Moines Area MPO assembled a list of fifty-one transportation projects for the trip, including eleven bicyclepedestrian facility projects, the SE connector, the I-235 reconstruction, NW Transportation Corridor Study, NW 26th Street interchange at I-35/80, NE 56th Street reconstruction, NW 100th Street interchange at I-35/80, SW connector, expansion of the Des Moines International Airport, and the construction of a transit facility by the Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority, with sponsors requesting 2007-2009 federal funding.
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ANNUAL REPORT

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DES MOINES AREA
Transportation Policy Committee
Member Altoona Altoona Ankeny Ankeny Ankeny Bondurant Carlisle Clive Clive Cumming* Dallas County Des Moines Des Moines Des Moines Des Moines Des Moines Des Moines Des Moines Des Moines Grimes Johnston Johnston Norwalk Pleasant Hill Polk City Polk County Polk County Urbandale Urbandale Urbandale Warren County Waukee West Des Moines West Des Moines West Des Moines Windsor Heights Advisory DART DMIA FHWA FTA IOWA DOT
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Des Moines Area MPO Member Government Representatives

Transportation Technical Committee
Member Representative Altoona Vern Willey Altoona John Shaw Ankeny John Peterson Ankeny Paul Moritz Ankeny Todd Redenius Bondurant Dylan Mullenix Carlisle Mark Crawford Clive Bart Weller Clive Jim Hagalie Cumming* Brad Brown Dallas County Murray McConnell Des Moines Gary Fox Des Moines Larry Hulse Des Moines Jeb Brewer Grimes Jerry Byg Johnston Gene Martens Johnston David Wilwerding Norwalk Jeff Wren Pleasant Hill Rita Conner Polk City Neal Hawkins Polk County Kurt Bailey Polk County Jacque Hibbard Urbandale Paul Dekker Urbandale Dave McKay Urbandale John Larson Warren County Steve Akes Waukee Jody Gunderson West Des Moines Larry Read West Des Moines Clyde Evans West Des Moines Kara Tragesser Windsor Heights John Weidman Representative Advisory Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority (DART) Sheri Atwood Des Moines International Airport (DMIA) Shawn Arena Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Holly Liles Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Mark Bechtel IOWA DOT Lorne Wazny * Non-Voting Membership Representative Geri Huser Skip Conkling Steve Van Oort Craig Block Carl Metzger Mark Arentsen Neil Ruddy Dan Clute Scott Cirksena Jim Gifford Mark Hansen Frank Cownie Christine Hensley Tom Vlassis Chris Coleman Bob Mahaffey Michael Kiernan Rick Clark Robert Mickle Tom Armstrong Brian Laurenzo Gerd Clabaugh Jim Lane Martha Miller Mary Burton Angela Connolly Tom Hockensmith John Forst Robert Andeweg Phil Noah Dave Mineart Bill Peard Ted Ohmart Jim Sandager Loretta Sieman Jerry Sullivan Representative Sheri Kyras Craig Smith Becky Hiatt Mark Bechtel Lorne Wazny

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DES MOINES AREA

FISCAL YEAR 2006 Des Moines Area MPO Roundtables

The Des Moines Area MPO organizes four roundtables and an advisory committee that cover a wide range of transportation interests. These roundtables provide the Des Moines Area MPO an excellent means to cooperate with and to coordinate with governments, agencies, and citizens from the Des Moines metropolitan area and from central Iowa. The roundtables are recommending bodies of the Des Moines Area MPO that provide recommendation on specific transportation concerns to the Des Moines Area MPO TPC, TTC, and Executive Committee. Information gathered at these roundtables is essential to the work of the Des Moines Area MPO.

Central Iowa Bicycle-Pedestrian Roundtable

The Central Iowa Bicycle-Pedestrian Roundtable (Bike-Ped Roundtable) continued meeting monthly in Fiscal Year 2006 with Jim Lane, City of Norwalk, serving as Chair. The Bike-Ped Roundtable represents the areas of the Central Iowa Regional Transportation Planning Alliance (CIRTPA), the Ames Area MPO, and the Des Moines Area MPO. Since the inception of the BikePed Roundtable in 2004, this group has expanded to include local government parks and recreational staff, CIRTPA representatives and staff, Des Moines Area MPO representatives and staff, Ames Area MPO staff, other organizations involved with trails, and interested citizens. The mission statement for the Bike-Ped Roundtable is: To facilitate the development, maintenance, and promotion of a world-class commuter and recreational trails system in central Iowa. Topics discussed included: Mission Statement; Trails of Regional Significance; Bicycle Racks on Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority Buses; Iowa DOTs Iowa Trails 2000 plan; Iowa Bicycle Summit; Bike to Work Week; Project List for Greater Des Moines Partnerships Washington, D.C. Trip; Communication Master Plan for the Central Trails of Iowa; Central Iowa Bicycle-Pedestrian Trail Plan; National Trails Symposium; Bicycle Ride with Congressman Leonard Boswell; Citizen Transportation Congress; federal funding for the completion of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Plan; and, Complete Streets. Bike-Ped Roundtable participants were assigned to three subcommittees to discuss various aspects of trails planning.

Freight Roundtable
The Des Moines Area MPOs Freight Roundtable continued to meet monthly in Fiscal Year 2006 with the Clive City Councils Scott Cirksena serving as Chair. Freight Roundtable participants include Des Moines Area MPO Chair Geri Huser, Carlisle City Administrator Neil Ruddy, Firestone Tires John Wahlert and Terri Carter, the Greater Des Moines Partnerships Vic Cameruci, the Iowa Department of Transportations Dale Vander Schaaf and Peggy Baer, the Iowa Motor Truck Associations Don Egli, Polk County Supervisor Robert Brownell, and former Waukee Mayor Tony Oberman. Topics discussed included: Finalization of the Goods Movement in Central Iowa and the Des Moines Metropolitan Area 2006 Update Report by the Goods Movement Study Working Group; North American Supercorridor Coalition; Foreign Trade Zones; North American Inland Port Network; Port Authority; Iowa Interstate Railroad activities; Bondurant Rail Spur; truck routes and freight inadequacies; and, the Greater Des Moines Partnership Trip to Washington, D.C.
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ANNUAL REPORT Transit Roundtable

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DES MOINES AREA

Chaired by West Des Moines City Council Member Loretta Sieman, the Des Moines Area MPOs Transit Roundtable met nine times in Fiscal Year 2006. Frequent participants in the Transit Roundtable meetings include the Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority, the Heart of Iowa Regional Transit Agency, the Transportation Management Association, Polk County Adult Services, Polk County Health Services, The Greater Des Moines Partnership, Warren County, Iowa Department of Transportation, HomeCare Services, Eastern Seals, West Des Moines Human Services, Link Associates, Greyhound Bus Lines, Burlington Trailways, TransIowa (Capital and Yellow Cab Companies), and several interested citizens. Topics discussed included: Intermodal Transit Facility; Bus Rapid Transit Development Plan, Governors Task Force on Disabilities; DART 2030 Strategic Plan Update; Bicycle Racks on DART Buses; United We Ride Conference; Project List for Greater Des Moines Partnerships Washington, D.C., Trip; Coordination of Iowa Transportation Providers; Passenger Transportation Development Plan; Iowa Mobility Action Planning Workshop; Downtown Transit Hub Study Project; and, Citizen Transportation Congress. The Transit Roundtable also hosts the Transit Action Group. The Transit Action Group is assisting the Transit Roundtable in preparing and in completing a variety of transit-oriented plans, such as the Passenger Transportation Development Plan. The Traffic Management Advisory Committee (TMAC) met monthly in Fiscal Year 2006. Windsor Heights Police Chief Gary Walters served as Chair of TMAC and Bart Weller, Clive Public Works Director, served as Vice-Chair. In FY 2005, the former Metro Traffic Management Team and three Iowa DOT Intelligent Transportation System working groups merged to form the TMAC. Topics discussed by the TMAC included: Construction Updates, Diversion Routes; Camera Access, Traffic Flow Incidents; Evacuation Plans for downtown Des Moines; MICRON Radios; Emergency Management; Traffic Management; and, Iowas Crash Mapping and Analysis Tools Software Training.

Traffic Management Advisory Committee

Regional Planning Committee

The Des Moines Area MPO created the Regional Planning Committee (RPC) in response to the FHWA recommendation for the MPO to look beyond its Planning Area boundary and year 2030, and to address future regional transportation corridors to serve the transportation needs of the greater metropolitan areas future. Des Moines Area MPO Secretary/Treasurer Ted Ohmart chairs the RPC. Other voting members of the committee included representatives from Dallas County, Polk County, Madison County, Warren County, City of Johnston, City of Des Moines, and the Central Iowa Regional Transportation Planning Alliance (CIRTPA). The RPC began work toward completing Phase 1 of the Full Build-Out Transportation Plan. Phase 1 consists of the identifying widely-defined corridors within the Regional Planning Boundary for further study. During Phase 1, the RPC expanded the committee to include representatives from CIRTPA, the eight county Regional Planning Association for central Iowa. The committee included these representatives to ensure a regional context to the work of the RPC. Phase 2 consists of an in-depth analysis of the corridors identified in Phase 1.
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DES MOINES AREA

FISCAL YEAR 2006 ITS Policy Subcommittee

The Des Moines Area MPO reconstituted the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) Policy Subcommittee in Fiscal Year 2006. Carlisle City Administrator Neil Ruddy serves as the ITS Policy Subcommittees chair, with six other Des Moines Area MPO representatives serving on the subcommittee. Other representatives include: Steve Van Oort, City of Ankeny; Chris Coleman, City of Des Moines; Jim Lane, City of Norwalk; Bob Andeweg, City of Urbandale; Bob Parks, City of West Des Moines; and, Jerry Sullivan, City of Windsor Heights. The ITS Policy Subcommittee will be working with the Iowa DOT on determining the future of the Iowa DOTs Traffic Management Center within the metropolitan area and the future role of the Transportation Management Association (TMA) for the metro area. Meetings will involve representatives from the Des Moines Area MPOs Transportation Technical Committee Engineering Subcommittee, Des Moines Area MPOs Traffic Management Advisory Committee and from the Iowa DOT, from the TMA, and from interested parties.

Citizen Transportation Congress

The Des Moines Area MPO staff held semi-annual Citizen Transportation Congresses on October 25, 2005 and May 4, 2006, in the Roosevelt High School Library, Des Moines. The purpose of the Citizen Transportation Congress was to allow the public to comment on any transportation issue of concern. Issues discussed at the October 25, 2005 meeting included: Bicycle and pedestrian accommodations on roadways; Adding societal and ecological impacts to the analysis in the long-range transportation planning process; Improving transit service, including adding bus/high occupancy vehicle lanes and increasing transit rider ship; Interstate interchanges and freeway expansion; New location of the Iowa DOT Drivers License Station in Ankeny; and, Representation on the Des Moines Area MPO. Issues discussed at the May 4, 2006 meeting included: Identification of bicycle commuter routes; Transit service for commuters from Ankeny to downtown Des Moines; Public involvement in the planning process; Concerns over urban sprawl; and, Concerns with wetlands in the northwestern portion of the metro area. The Des Moines Area MPO already has implemented several suggestions or challenges offered at the Citizen Transportation Congresses. The Des Moines Area MPO staff will continue to hold the Citizen Transportation Congress on a semi-annual basis to obtain this important public input.

ANNUAL REPORT Research On Metropolitan Rest Areas

The Des Moines Area MPO staff began working with several Des Moines Area MPO member governments, the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT), and the Federal Highway Administration in February 2005 to address issues with two Interstate rest areas. The Des Moines Area MPO staff completed the Research On Metropolitan Rest Areas study in December 2005.

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DES MOINES AREA

The planned Interstate interchanges at 36th Street and I-35 in Ankeny and at 105th Street (Alices Road) and I-80 in Waukee/West Des Moines are located in close proximity to Interstate rest areas. These interchanges will most likely require land within the rest area or will create problems with merging along the Interstates, which means the Ankeny and the Waukee rest areas will need to be closed to accommodate the Interstate interchanges. Research On Metropolitan Rest Areas attempts to answer whether or not the local governments need to fund the construction of the rest areas somewhere else on Iowas Interstate Highway System to replace a closed rest area. Through the evaluation of multiple studies, reports, and guidelines, the study addresses the issues of distances between rest areas, truck parking spaces, information centers, rest area abandonment, and other services offered at rest areas. The Research on Metropolitan Rest Areas study concluded that the rest areas located on I-35 near Ankeny and I-80 near Waukee will not need to be replaced in order for the Iowa DOT to maintain an adequate Interstate rest area system.

2005 Travel Time Survey

The Des Moines Area MPO staff conducted the annual travel time survey in October 2005. The survey covered five routes in the Des Moines metropolitan area. The staff observed the following average speeds for the five routes surveyed: Route 8 Douglas Avenue, Martin Luther King, Jr. Parkway, and 19th Street 9 Euclid Avenue/NE 14th Street 11 Ankeny Boulevard/NE 14th Street 15 SE 14th Street/Army Post Road 19 State Street/ 2nd Avenue *mph = miles per hour Morning Peak 23.56 mph 23.76 mph 31.92 mph 31.63 mph 33.28 mph Afternoon Peak 18.62 mph 20.72 mph 30.33 mph 28.08 mph 34.42 mph

The surveys purpose is to monitor travel times and average speeds on designated routes. The Des Moines Area MPO staff collects travel time data during morning and afternoon peak travel periods, using Global Positioning System (GPS) equipment. The MPO staff also surveyed a test midday route, Merle Hay Road. More detailed information on is available in the 2005 Travel Time Survey report.
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FISCAL YEAR 2006 Goods Movement 2006 Update Report

The Des Moines Area MPOs Freight Roundtable formed the Goods Movement Study Working Group (GMS Working Group). The GMS Working Group provided an update to the 2002 Goods Movement in the Des Moines Metropolitan Area study (2002 GM Study). Former Waukee Mayor Tony Oberman chaired the GMS Work Group that included participants from several companies that rely on freight movement and from freight transportation companies. The purpose of the Goods Movement in Central Iowa and the Des Moines Metropolitan Area 2006 Update Report (2006 GM Update Report) is to provide updated information and analysis that complements the 2002 GM Study. However, the 2006 GM Update Report does not replace the 2002 GM Study, but specifically focuses on intermodal and international freight movement. Having gained an understanding of the goods movement industry in central Iowa in 2002, the Des Moines Area MPO recognized the need to address the changes, the need for improvements, and the needs of the goods movement industry within central Iowa. The 2006 GM Update Reports study area includes the eight central Iowa counties composing the Central Iowa Regional Transportation Planning Alliance (CIRTPA): Boone, Dallas, Jasper, Madison, Marion, Polk, Story, and Warren Counties. The Des Moines Area MPO Planning Area is located in the center of these counties and overlaps portions of Dallas, Madison, Polk, and Warren Counties. A couple of snapshots of freight movements for all modes of transportation in central Iowa are: over 84 million tons of freight, valued over $65 billion, used central Iowas transportation system in 2001; about 94% of the freight tonnages were moved on the highway system, 6% on the rail network, and less than 1% on the aviation system, a ten-year forecast for freight flows indicates that there will be a 21% increase in tonnage, which correlates consistently with the national trend which is expected to almost double in the next twenty years. Undoubtedly, freight movement is making a significant impact on the transportation system and the economy in central Iowa. The 2006 GM Update Report suggests that, in response to increasing freight traffic, the Des Moines Area MPOs new vision be more aggressive, both on pursuing an efficient freight transportation system and in promoting economic development and trade using that freight system. According to the 2006 GM Update Report, the Des Moines Area MPO should promote:

A greater recognition of freight and its transportation needs; Economic diversity to support freight movement; A Port Authority; Coordination across jurisdictional boundaries; Finding solutions to freight transportation inadequacies; Collaboration between the Des Moines Area MPO and the Greater Des Moines Partnership; and, Funding stream coordination.

Freight issues are going to be a contributing factor in the updating the Des Moines Area MPOs long-range transportation plan. Given the need for infrastructure improvements, the Des Moines Area MPO must step out and take the lead to implement strategies in its planning process for freight transportation investments, in cooperation with Iowa DOT and with the private sector
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ANNUAL REPORT

U.S. 34, U.S. 63 and Iowa 163 Freight Corridor Study

The Des Moines Area MPO began working on the U.S. 34, U.S. 63, and Iowa 163 Freight Corridor Study as a joint planning effort involving the Area 15 Regional Planning Commission, the Central Iowa Regional Transportation Planning Alliance, the Southeast Iowa Regional Planning Commission. The study area includes any county that intersects the 210 mile stretch of the U.S. 34, U.S. 63, and Iowa 163 corridor from Des Moines, Iowa to Galesburg, Illinois. The studys goal is to increase the awareness of and use of the U.S. 34, U.S. 63, and Iowa 163 corridor as a viable transportation corridor for moving goods in west central Illinois and southeastern and central Iowa.

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DES MOINES AREA

The Des Moines Area MPO staff worked on subjects such as report cover design, creating maps, and writing the connectivity, traffic condition, freight condition (truck freight movement and freight generators), travel time estimation, and performance measures sections of the report. The Des Moines Area MPO staff forwarded files to the other two planning agencies for final report formatting. The Des Moines Area MPO staff anticipates the completed U.S. 34, U.S. 63, and Iowa 163 Freight Corridor Study to be released in FY 2007, with a stakeholder meeting to be held afterwards.

Regional Economic Model, Inc.

The Des Moines Area MPO worked with the Iowa DOTs Office of Systems Planning to obtain access to the Regional Economic Model, Inc. (REMI) software that the Iowa DOT has a license to use. The Des Moines Area MPO paid $35,000 to have data compiled for the five county (Guthrie, Dallas, Polk, Madison and Warren Counties) Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area as extracted from the REMI model used by the Iowa DOT. Using the REMI model in conjunction with and in coordination with the Iowa DOT has several benefits. Growth forecasts made from the same model source both for Iowa and for this metropolitan statistical area would promote consistency between statewide and regional planning efforts. The REMI model allows the Des Moines Area MPO member governments, participating agencies, and staffs to concentrate on the economic forecasts rather than on developing unique forecasting methods for this metropolitan area. Additionally, the REMI model would be available to the Des Moines Area MPO at any time and for other projects such as policy analysis.

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DES MOINES AREA

FISCAL YEAR 2006 Safe Routes to School

Safe Routes to School (SRTS) is an international effort to increase safety and promote walking and bicycling to school through the 5 Es: engineering, education, enforcement, encouragement, and evaluation. The SRTS purpose is to enable and to encourage children, including those with disabilities, to walk and bicycle to school; to make walking and bicycling to school safe and more appealing; and to facilitate the planning, the development and the implementation of projects that will improve safety and will reduce traffic, fuel consumption, and air pollution in the vicinity of schools.

The SRTS program resulted from enactment of the latest federal transportation bill the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU). SAFETEA-LU included a new SRTS federal funding source of $612 million, over five years, for both infrastructure and non-infrastructure reimbursement grants. SRTS requires that projects applying for funding be listed in a local metropolitan planning organizations Transportation Improvement Program and in the states Statewide Transportation Improvement Program. The Des Moines Area MPO works closely with SRTS project sponsors to ensure support and consistency with the Des Moines Area MPOs planning efforts.

Complete Streets
Complete Streets is a term commonly used to describe the creation of streets that are safe and compatible for all users. Complete Streets may involve construction of facilities such as bicycle lanes, multi-use trails, sidewalks, or crosswalks; however, all streets that are complete will not necessarily look the same. Pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists, and bus riders of all ages and abilities are able to safely move along and across a complete street. The most efficient and least costly method to implement improvements is for the governing body to require that their transportation planners and their engineers design every road and transit project to be complete - safe and convenient for bicycling and walking. This decision will institutionalize bicycle and pedestrian planning and a "bicycle network" will emerge. As an advisory group to the Des Moines Area MPO, the Central Iowa Bicycle Pedestrian Roundtable formed the Complete Streets Subcommittee to review and to discuss incorporating Complete Streets concepts into Des Moines Area MPO planning documents.
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ANNUAL REPORT SAFETEA-LU Legislation

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DES MOINES AREA

President George W. Bush signed the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act - A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) federal transportation legislation into law on August 10, 2005. The SAFETEA-LU legislation replaces the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century legislation, which expired September 30, 2003. SAFETEA-LU is a five-year (2005-2009), 835-page transportation bill, outlining, among many other items, the planning requirements for metropolitan planning organizations, transportation grant programs, and transportation project earmarks. The Des Moines metropolitan area was fortunate to receive special funding for several projects through SAFETEA-LU:

Ankeny - I-35 Interchange Expansion at E 1st Street, $7,100,000; Ankeny/Polk County - Ankeny to Woodward Rail Trail, $5,520,000; Bondurant - Rail Spur Project, $1,000,000; Carlisle - Scotch Ridge Environmental Center, $2,022,000; Carlisle/Des Moines/Warren County - Connection of Summerset Trail with Des Moines Riverwalk, $650,000; Clive - University Boulevard/NW 86th Street Widening Improvements, $1,020,000; Des Moines - SE Connector, SW 2nd Avenue to SE 14th Street, $15,200,000; Des Moines - I-235 Reconstruction, $9,720,000; Des Moines - Drake University, 28th and Carpenter Streets, $1,500,000; Des Moines - Principal Riverwalk, $5,100,000; Des Moines Area MPO - Regional Multi-Use Trails Plan, $100,000; Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority - Purchase of Heavy Duty Buses, $836,000; Grimes - Iowa 44, Iowa 141 west to Grimes City Limits, $3,020,000; Johnston - NW 70th Avenue, NW 86th Street to NW Beaver Drive, $7,100,000; Polk County - I-35/80, NW 26th Street Interchange, $1,020,000; Polk County - NE Polk County Beltway Corridor Study, $510,000; Polk County - NW Madrid Drive, $1,020,000; Polk County/Altoona/Pleasant Hill - NE 56th Street Reconstruction, $1,020,000; Polk County/Grimes/Johnston/Urbandale - I-35/80 at NW 100th Street Interchange, $1,020,000; Polk County/Polk County Conservation Board - Neal Smith Trail, $3,672,000; Warren County - Great Western Trail, $25,000; Waukee/West Des Moines - I-80 at Alices Road (105th Street) Interchange, $3,000,000; and, West Des Moines - Southwest Connector, Army Post Road Northeast to Iowa 28, $5,040,000.

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FISCAL YEAR 2006 STP and STP TE Project Funding Awarded

The following projects were allocated Surface Transportation Program or Surface Transportation Program Transportation Enhancement Funds for Federal Fiscal Year 2009 at the Des Moines Area MPOs March 16, 2006, meeting: AnkenyN Ankeny BoulevardN 36th Street to N 54th Street$1,200,000; AnkenyNeal Smith Connector Recreational Trail S Ankeny Boulevard to SW State Street$150,000; Des MoinesIndianola BoulevardSE 14th Street to Army Post Road$1,200,000; Des MoinesEaster Lake Drive-Over Branch of Easter Lake$245,000; Des MoinesTraffic Signal UpgradeCrocker Street at 5th Avenue/6th Avenue/7th Street $150,000; Des MoinesEaster Lake Trail SystemIndianola Avenue and U.S. 69 to SE corner of Easter Lake $99,665; Des MoinesBeaverdale Village Streetscape ProjectBeaver Crest Drive to Adams Avenue $89,000; Iowa DOTIA 28 (Merle Hay Road) - Madison Avenue to I-35/80$431,000; DARTPurchase of 3 Fixed-Route Buses $520,000; Pleasant HillPleasant Hill BoulevardOakwood Drive to Fairview Drive$213,093; Polk CountyNW 26th Street Interchange @ I35/80$1,200,000; Urbandale100th Street and Douglas Avenue $222,000; Urbandale86th Street and Meredith Drive $112,275; UrbandaleRaccoon Valley Regional Trail ConnectionDouglas Parkway to Raccoon Valley Regional Trail$75,000; WaukeeSugar Creek Recreational AreaTrail connecting Warrior Park, Centennial Park and Sugar Creek Golf Course$90,000; and, West Des MoinesGrand Avenue NorthRailroad Avenue to Raccoon River Park Entrance$526,625.

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ANNUAL REPORT Des Moines Area MPO Staff

Executive Director Tom Kane Transportation Planners Adam Noelting Nokil Park Hsin-I Yu Luke Parris Dylan Mullenix Zac Bitting

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DES MOINES AREA
Secretary Jenna Good Administrative Assistant Cheri Carr

Staff Changes
The MPO experienced several staff changes in FY 2006. Kristin Nanke left the MPO in November 2005 for a position as Executive Director of the Heart of Iowa Regional Transit Agency. In January 2006, Oksana Sidarovich joined the MPO as an intern and returned to Iowa State University to finish her degree in the Fall of 2006. Loretta Kuhlman left the MPO in April 2006 for a job in the private sector. Jenna Good joined the MPO in April 2006 as a Secretary. In July 2006, Andrew Jensen left the MPO to pursue a Masters degree at the University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign. Luke Parris joined the MPO in June 2006 as a Transportation Planner.

Office Construction
The Des Moines Area MPO signed a new lease agreement for office space at the Merle Hay Centre. This new lease allowed the Des Moines Area MPO staff to remain at the same office location, but with added space for a larger conference room, additional storage areas, and more staff work area. The office expansion was completed in April 2006.

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Phone: 515.334.0075 Fax. 515.334.0098 E-mail: dmampo@dmampo.org
If you have questions, comments, concerns, or requests regarding any article found in this Annual Report, please contact the Des Moines Area MPO staff at the information above.

Merle Hay Centre 6200 Aurora Ave. Suite 300W Urbandale, IA 50322-2866

FISCAL YEAR 2006 ANNUAL REPORT