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New Year’s resolutions are about the changes and commitments we set out to make for the year ahead. Thanks to the great team at the MPO, there is little to improve upon, but we still have goals to meet. 2024 will be an exciting year for the Broward MPO because we have major projects wrapping up and planned projects starting, and, as always, we are prepared for the unexpected. 2024 will bring about the final phases and adoption of Route to 2050, the Broward MPO’s Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP). This federal Core Product sets the tone for the investments in our transportation system for the next 25 years. Our federal partners have considered the Broward MPO an industry leader in this area, and I look forward to maintaining that status.
This year will also see the Broward MPO take major leaps to a Vision Zero Broward. Vision Zero fosters the goal of not having any road fatalities, and we are working with our partners to deliver on that promise. The $5 million federal Safe Streets and Roads for All Grant kicks off in January to explore low-cost, high-impact safety solutions throughout all of Broward County. Additionally, this coming spring, the Broward MPO, joined by Broward County, Brightline, and the cities along the eastern rail corridor, will install $19 million in safety upgrades along the tracks.
Growth and improvements are not just for our roads. The Broward MPO is leading several educational training initiatives to advance the knowledge and skills of our transportation professionals. The federal Thriving Communities Grant will provide stakeholders with the tools needed to develop multimodal neighborhoods in the parts of the county that need them the most. We are also launching our first annual Transportation Academy, designed to advance the transportation planning profession through our elected officials. We will close out winter with the Safe Streets Summit in Miami, where we bring together transportation professionals to share best practices. And finally, to wrap up the year, we will host our annual State of the Region Awards, which honor leaders in the transportation industry.
The Broward MPO will continue to support our partners at the seaport, airport, and Broward County Transit, each of which is expanding its operations to provide more transportation options to Broward County’s two million residents along with the millions of tourists who visit each year. Finally, I hope to have more good news to share as we have two grant applications outstanding with the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT). A SMART Grant will fund the creation of a “digital twin” to allow real-time modeling to support decision-making. We also applied for a PROTECT Grant to conduct a county-wide climate vulnerability assessment. 2024 will be busier than 2023. Thankfully, 2024 is a leap year, so we get an extra 24 hours to make Broward even better!
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