Guide to Transportation Decision Making

What is MARC's role? What is the process? Who are the key players? How projects are developed How is transportation funded How you can get involved

What is MARC’s role in transportation?

The Mid-America Regional Council (MARC) is a nonprofit association of city and county governments and the federally designated metropolitan planning organization (MPO) for the nine county, bistate Kansas City region. MARC works with state departments of transportation, transit agencies, local governments, the private sector, aviation interests and the region’s residents to plan coordinated transportation systems that move people and goods affordably, efficiently and safely.

Read about our role

What is transportation decision making?

Many pieces work together to make up the transportation system that moves people and goods around and through the metro area — including people, cars, buses, roadways, bridges, sidewalks, rivers, railways and traffic signals.

Transportation planning is the process of identifying opportunities to improve the mobility of everyone that accesses the transportation system, while avoiding future problems. This includes identifying improvements that are efficient, safe, cost-effective, and preserve the natural environment. This also involves understanding where people live, work and play.

Transportation planners are professionals that plan not only for today, but for decades from now. To identify the best options and opportunities for the region, we work with many different public and private groups that provide jobs, education and community resources to develop plans.

Transportation decision-making brings communities together to identify transportation issues, solutions and opportunities for improvement. Public participation is a critical part of decision-making at every level, and this process often includes opportunities for involvement in a variety of settings.

Civil rights law states that federal programs may not discriminate against minorities or people with low incomes or people with disabilities. Many transportation projects are federally funded, so transportation planners must ensure that projects do not impact these populations more than others. Transportation planning must reflect solutions that benefit all people and communities in the region.

Who are the key players?

Federal government

Distributes federal Highway Trust Fund dollars annually on a formula basis to every state. Congress can also pass legislation to allocate funds for specially designated projects needed by local congressional districts. The federal government administers laws and regulations to ensure national standards are being met during a project’s planning and construction phases.

State departments of transportations (DOTs)

Responsible for building and maintaining our highway systems and, are the main recipients of Federal Highway Administration dollars. Some state DOTs also support public transit, ridesharing, and bicycle and pedestrian facilities. State DOTs set transportation goals for their state by working with both public and private transportation agencies, other state agencies, MPOs, local governments and others.

Local governments

Develop comprehensive plans that lay out long-term visions and plans for transportation in their jurisdictions. They also carry out transportation-planning functions, such as scheduling improvements and maintenance for local streets and roads. When a pothole needs to be fixed on a neighborhood street, it is usually the responsibility of the local government.

Other organizations

Metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) are required by the U.S. government for urban areas larger than 50,000 people to spend federal highway or transit funds. MPOs develop region-wide plans through intergovernmental collaboration, analysis and consensus-based decision making. MARC is designated as the MPO for Greater Kansas City by the governors of Kansas and Missouri, in agreement with local governments. MARC’s Total Transportation Policy Committee sets the agenda and develops policies for regional transportation investments.

Transit agencies are public or private organizations that provide transportation services to the region’s residents. This may include buses, paratransit vans, trolleys, streetcars, light rail, commuter rail, monorail, inclined railways, subways, passenger ferryboats and trams. The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority, Johnson County Transit, Unified Government Transit, city of Independence and Kansas City Streetcar Authority are major public transit operators in the Kansas City region.

What is the process?

Transportation planning at the local, regional, and state levels is cyclical, and the decisions made at each of these levels of government have implications for the others. Public involvement is a key component to identifying solutions to the issues facing the community and is encouraged throughout the entire transportation decision-making process. However, your input is most effective during a few specific stages.

Step 1: Develop vision and goals

Transportation investments are most effective and have the strongest community support when they are built on a shared idea of what the region aspires to be. It is important to have a vision that lays out broad goals and identifies what role the transportation system should play in achieving the vision. Example goals may include decreasing the use of fossil fuels, creating quality public spaces or preserving existing infrastructure.

Step 2: Develop a Metropolitan Transportation Plan

The Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP) serves as a long-range blueprint for managing, operating and investing in a transportation system over a period of 20 to 30 years. The plan considers projected population growth and economic changes, multimodal transportation needs, safety concerns and environmental issues. The plan includes strategies and major projects to help make progress toward the region’s vision and goals and MARC updates the plan at least every five years, using an extensive public participation process with local communities.

Step 3: Identify projects in the Transportation Improvement Program

Every two years, MARC works with Kansas and Missouri DOT, local governments and public transit agencies to update the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) for Greater Kansas City. The TIP puts the metropolitan transportation plan into action by documenting the federal, state and local funds for major transportation investments that support the region’s vision and are planned to happen over the next five years. State DOTs develop similar Statewide Transportation Improvement Programs (STIPs). At the local level, cities develop Capital Improvement Programs (CIPs).

Step 4: Determine project details and environmental analysis

Once the STIPs, TIPs or CIPs are approved, the next step in the planning process is to determine who will implement specific transportation projects, develop project details — such as location, features, financial costs — and evaluate possible impacts to the community.

The National Environmental Policy Act, enacted in 1970, requires all projects using federal dollars to undergo an environmental analysis of potential impacts before construction occurs. This requires agencies that use federal funds to evaluate and address social, economic and environmental concerns.

Step 5: Implement projects

After visioning and project development have taken place, a project sponsor has been identified, and funding sources are secured, then projects can move on to construction.

Step 6: Monitor and evaluate

Performance measures are a very important part of the transportation planning process. Local and state governments, transit agencies and MPOs must make sure that their projects connect back to the larger transportation vision for their jurisdiction. The MTP for the Kansas City region includes performance measures that help MARC evaluate how well transportation investments are achieving the region’s transportation goals. Monitoring and evaluating progress helps us recognize problem areas in the transportation system early on so that adjustments can be made to future plans.

How projects are developed

Federal planning requirements and regional policies influence the types of projects that are developed and submitted by states and local jurisdictions. However, project development typically occurs at the state and local levels.

After transportation planning is complete, the next step is the project development process. Project development occurs on individual projects, ranging in size from small to very large. Regardless of the project size, projects are listed in the TIP and/or STIP, the public must have an opportunity to review and comment on the projects, and the projects must be approved by transportation officials. The project development process is critical because it links the planning process with the actual project location, designs, construction, and operations.

Identifying needs

New transportation projects can arise from simple citizen suggestions or from years of complicated technical analysis. A variety of plans, studies and other mechanisms are used to identify and prioritize project needs throughout the region.

Transportation projects are often first identified through local planning, which is performed by county or city governments. Local comprehensive plans usually include a transportation element that identifies specific projects that a jurisdiction has determined will be needed during the period of the plan. State DOTs have methods for identifying projects needed to maintain the transportation system, enhance safety or improve mobility or accessibility. Transit agencies also regularly assess the needs of the public transportation system and identify system enhancements.

MARC is often asked to participate in transportation studies that span multiple jurisdictions and look at a variety of solutions and specific needs. At the regional level, MARC helps identify problems and needs by monitoring current travel conditions and forecasting future travel demand. MARC also studies how travel might be affected if we changed current land-use patterns and transportation investments.

How is transportation funded

Icons of how transportation is funded: fuel, vehicle fees, transit fares and sales and property taxes

Just as an individual would budget money for short-term family and household expenses, MPOs, states and local governments allocate funds from various sources for specific transportation projects that help meet their goals. These are the sources:

Fuel taxes
Vehicle registration fees
Transit fares
Sales and property taxes

As a part of the transportation planning process, planners must consider all projects and strategies proposed for funding by federal, state, local and private resources, including expenditures, revenues, and the costs to maintain and operate the existing transportation system.

How you can get involved

A room full of people viewing a presentation on the update to Connected KC 2050 by Martin Rivarola

MARC has a Public Participation Plan that guides how the organization involves residents and others in the transportation decision-making process, and how the public can influence planning and investment choices. Ideas and input from the public give state and local governments a clearer understanding of evolving community needs and goals, which can help lead to better transportation solutions.

Here are some ways you can become more informed about — and involved in — transportation decisions that are made in the Kansas City region.

Get informed
Follow transportation issues in the media. Search the Internet or monitor websites of transportation organizations for information about projects and plans. Sign up to receive newsletters or regular updates on the transportation planning process by placing your name on mailing or email lists or following social media.

Talk with decision makers
Contact elected officials or the staff at transportation agencies to request information about projects or plans. Find out how citizens can play a role.

Join a group
Join an organized group that is promoting a special transportation project or advocating broad policy changes for transportation investments in your community or across the region.

Attend public meetings
Attend public community meetings on transportation projects or plans. These sessions are often advertised in local papers or posted online by local or state agencies. Be sure to ask questions and contribute thoughtfully with the good of your community in mind.

Provide input
Provide input in the transportation-planning process by expressing yourself on record. Citizens have the opportunity to make statements and provide testimony at a number of venues, including formal public hearings and information-sharing meetings on projects and plans as well as online. The MTP and TIP are excellent opportunities to make your voice heard. Send a letter or submit a written statement to key decision makers.