Human Services Transportation Plan

Human Services Transportation Plan for
Clark, Skamania and Klickitat Counties (December 2010)
and Project Priorities for the 2011-2013 Biennium

Background

The RTC Board adopted the region's first Human Services Transportation Plan (HSTP) for Clark, Skamania and Klickitat Counties in January 2007. Development of an HSTP was first required by the federal transportation act, SAFETEA-LU (2005), with the intent of identifying transportation needs and solutions and thereby improving transportation services for people with disabilities, seniors, and individuals with lower incomes as well as those in rural locations who cannot provide transportation for themselves. Development of a Human Services Transportation Plan can help to ensure communities coordinate transportation resources provided through multiple federal and state programs. A coordinated plan can help to enhance transportation access, minimize duplication of services, and encourage the most cost-effective transportation possible. Development of the Human Services Transportation Plan brings together service providers, agencies that distribute funds, service users, and the community at-large to improve special needs transportation throughout the region. The current Human Services Transportation Plan for Clark, Skamania and Klickitat Counties was adopted by the RTC Board of Directors on December 7, 2010.

Human Services Transportation Plan and Funding Programs

Development of an HSTP is a condition for receiving funding through WSDOT's statewide competitive Consolidated Public Transportation Grant program. WSDOT created a Consolidated Grant application process in 2003 to combine applications for state and federal public transportation grants. Applicants for WSDOT's public transportation grant program are required to participate in the HSTP planning process with their local Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO). Through the consolidated program, WSDOT distributes a variety of state and federal grants to support public transportation programs. These programs are:

• Federal Transit Administration:
  
  • Section 5310 Special Needs of Elderly & Individuals with Disabilities,
  • Section 5311 Rural,
  • Section 5316 Job Access and Reverse Commute, and
  • Section 5317 New Freedom to support new public transportation services and transportation alternatives for individuals with disabilities. New Freedom funds should be used for transportation services beyond those required by the Americans with Disabilities Act.
• State Rural Mobility Competitive
• State Paratransit/Special Needs Competitive for non-profit agencies.

From the needs identified in the HSTP process, human services transportation providers develop projects to submit to WSDOT for funding consideration through the state’s consolidated grant program.

RTC, as the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the Clark County region and Regional Transportation Planning Organization (RTPO) for the three-county region of Clark, Skamania and Klickitat, works with local stakeholders and human service transportation providers to develop the HSTP for the region and to identify project priorities. Development of the Human Services Transportation Plan was coordinated through stakeholder groups in each county, and through the Klickitat County Transportation Policy Committee, Skamania County Transportation Policy Committee and the Regional Transportation Advisory Committee in Clark County.

Human Services Transportation Plan: Outline

The Human Services Transportation Plan for each of the three counties in the region includes the following elements to meet state and federal requirements:

• Description of Stakeholder Groups
• Data and Information
• Identification of Unmet Transportation Needs
• Development of Transportation Alternatives

Plans for each of the three counties are incorporated into the Human Services Transportation Plan for Clark, Skamania and Klickitat Counties.

Project Priorities

Following identification of transportation needs in the HSTP, service providers define projects to meet transportation needs. On November 17, 2010, transportation stakeholders and project sponsors convened to consider project priorities for the three county region for funding consideration through the state’s consolidated grant program. The state’s grant process requires each RTPO region to prioritize projects. The region’s ranking counting for up to one-third of the total possible value of the states competitive process. The state’s ranking process allows the RTC region to submit:

A = top 5 projects (50 percentile points)
B = second 5 projects (25 percentile points)
C = third 4 projects (12 percentile points)
D = remaining projects (0 percentile points)

Recommended RTC project priorities for the 2011-2013 biennium are described in RTC Board Resolution 12-10-25 at the beginning of the Human Services Transportation Plan for Clark, Skamania and Klickitat Counties (RTC, December 2010).

Final Report

The final report has been prepared for download, as an Adobe PDF (v7) file. It is 123 pages long, and 2.8 Mb in size.