MPO? TIP???? WTH??

6/28/24  #kihei

Do you know what the heck (WTH) Maui Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) and the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) are all about? Should you be concerned? We expect most of us in South Maui are very concerned about transportation,  be it safe walking, bicycling or driving, and we do not have it.

Pedestrians in North Kihei are left to walk in the roadway when sidewalk ends, because County Public Works Department did not build their portion as required

In the few locations where there is a bike lane we see dangerous impediments for cyclists

To improve this situation we need the Pi‘ilani Mauka Bypass Road; the missing segments of the North-South Collector Road completed and then extended north to North Kihei Road now

There are two upcoming events concerning this situation , the first on July 11 at noon in a virtual open house meeting.   To register for this one go to: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZErd-mtqTovHtecp4v5b0yTaLy94HeuOIFJ#/registration

The next is a specific South Maui in-person one on July 18 at 5:30 PM at the Mā‘alaea Maui Ocean Center.

Here is what Maui MPO announced:

Starting July 1, the Maui MPO will have a draft 2025-2028 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) ready for your review!

The TIP is an important document for our island—it includes all transportation projects on Maui that use federal highway or transit money or are regionally significant. By identifying our most important near-term projects in the TIP, we can receive funding for roads, bridges, bus transit, trails, paths, and sidewalks.  

We used the Hele Mai Maui Long-Range Transportation Plan 2040 (Hele Mai Maui) as the basis for this TIP update, as well as input from Maui residents through a Call for Projects. And we coordinated with the Hawai‘i Department of Transportation (HDOT), Maui County Public Works (DPW), and the County Department of Transportation (MDOT) to identify priority projects and assign them to the appropriate years. Since the TIP is fiscally constrained—with about $14 million available each year for County projects—and since federal funds cover only 80% of project costs, staying within the budget and identifying local funds to fill the gap is a tricky balancing act. 

After we receive your feedback on the draft TIP, we’ll take it to the MPO Technical Advisory Committee and the Policy Board for final review and approval in August. Then Maui MPO will submit the TIP to HDOT for inclusion in the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP). The STIP must be reviewed and approved by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) before we can receive federal funds.  

www.mauimpo.org