What’s your priority?
A little-known part of the process that decides what transportation projects get built — or not
As federal gas tax revenues have lagged due to more fuel-efficient hybrid and electric cars and a federal gas tax of 18.4 cents a gallon that hasn’t been increased since 1993 despite rising construction costs, there has been a years-long trend by the federal government to shift the burden for investing in transportation infrastructure to state and local governments. That means that it’s more important than ever to pay careful attention to how the state spends its scarce transportation dollars and how transportation investment decisions are made.
The average resident of Maryland has probably never heard of a priority letter, but in the transportation planning process, this document is as influential as it is unknown. Now, one jurisdiction in the region, Howard County, is opening up about its priority letter and letting the public finally have a voice.
First, some background. Each year, the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) creates the Consolidated Transportation Program (CTP), a six-year capital budget for transportation projects throughout the state. The budget includes projects for all MDOT’s agencies, including the State Highway Administration, the Maryland Transit Administration, the Maryland Transportation Authority, the Maryland Port Administration, the Maryland Aviation Administration, and the Motor Vehicle Administration. The most recent CTP, which covers Fiscal Years 2018–2023 adds up to $14.8 billion dollars of transportation projects.
MDOT has a year-long development process it goes through for creating each new CTP. Below is that process as shown in the introduction to the CTP. I have circled the step in the process where counties submit their priority projects to the department each year.
As you can see, beyond the counties submitting their priority letters there are very few avenues for anyone outside of MDOT or state government to engage in the process. One exception is the September to November time frame when the “Secretary visits each county to present the Draft CTP”. These visits are referred to as the CTP Tour, the Transportation Investment Tour, or simply The Road Show. These meetings are open to the public and, ostensibly, are an opportunity for anyone to comment on the draft program. However, the reality is that this is far from meaningful public engagement. Many jurisdictions schedule these meetings during weekday work hours when it is difficult for average citizens to attend. And there is no established mechanism for MDOT or the local jurisdiction to accept and respond to any feedback at these meetings. The priority letter stands out as the one officially sanctioned and effective way for anyone outside state government to influence which transportation projects move forward to construction.
Once priority letters are submitted, MDOT makes them available on its website. You can view current and previous priority letters for each county here: http://www.mdot.maryland.gov/newMDOT/Planning/County_Priority_Letters/Letters.html. But, to our knowledge, Howard County is unique in making a draft of its priority letter available for public comment before submitting it to MDOT.
Howard County has created a web page with a map to show the public what the county government is proposing to include in its priority letter. It has also provided a table of the proposed projects and created a survey to gauge public opinion on the projects. Or you can email project ideas and comments directly to staff. The deadline for completing the survey or submitting comments is Friday, February 9.
If you plan to review and comment on projects in Howard County’s priority letter, it’s important to keep in mind that not all requests in the letter are equal. In the introductory language to the CTP, MDOT lays out eight criteria it uses to identify which projects it will fund. One of the criteria is related to priority letters and says that a project must be the “single top priority” in the letter.
Screenshot of the criteria from the CTP:
If MDOT is indeed strictly enforcing this requirement then it is especially important to focus on what is being proposed as the top priority. The top ranked priority is what the county is truly pushing for and the rest of the letter is more of a wish list. According to Howard County’s project table, the proposed number one priority, as it has been since the county’s 2013 priority letter, is widening US 29.
The Transportation Alliance has taken the opportunity provided by Howard County to submit our own comments and we encourage county residents to weigh in with their own comments, too. If you live in another county or Baltimore City, ask your local elected officials to follow Howard County’s example and give the public an opportunity to review and comment on the jurisdiction’s priority letter before it gets sent to MDOT.
