Transit plans, rulemaking for carriers, and highway safety through young lens highlight July board meeting

A review of public transit planning, negotiated rulemaking for commercial motor vehicle carriers, and highway safety videos prepared by youth will be discussed at the upcoming Idaho Transportation Board meeting July 18-19, at the District 3 office in Boise, 8150 Chinden Blvd.

The board’s tour of District 3 on July 18 will focus on Ada and Elmore counties. The board will meet with local officials and the CS Beef Packers Plant Manager throughout the day.

The recently constructed CS Beef Packers Plant south of Kuna is a partnership between Caviness Beef Packers and the JR Simplot Company. The meat-packing plant was built to ensure the highest food safety and animal care possible. It receives cattle 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Safety Presentation
The agenda for the board meeting at the District 3 office on July 19 includes a safety presentation. At the Association of Idaho Cities conference last month, staff participated in the youth track. Groups were tasked with putting together public service announcements (PSA) on a specific highway safety topic. These PSAs were produced and filmed and will be shown throughout the state. Some of the youth participants will talk about their experience putting these PSAs together.

Additionally, the board will preview a new work zone safety video. This video focuses on workers in the construction zone and the preparations they take to stay safe.

Commercial Motor Vehicle Permit Rules
As a result of legislative direction, staff has been conducting negotiated rulemaking for commercial motor vehicle permitting. These rules provide the authority, process, and details for issuing commercial motor vehicle permits. The 22 rules have been consolidated into 8, resulting in fewer single and annual permits.

Staff will summarize the two statewide meetings to negotiate the rule changes, allowing stakeholders and customers the opportunity to participate and engage with the rule change process. There was also an open, public comment period on the rules. The board will have an opportunity to review the draft rules and public comments this month, before it will be asked to make a decision on advancing the formal rulemaking process at the August board meeting.

Transit Program
The board will also be asked to modify the Public Transit Program.

District 4 received two nationally competitive capital grant awards. Mountain Rides was the recipient of $500,000 and $540,000 grants. The first grant will be used to purchase heavy-duty, battery electric buses, and fast-charging infrastructure for fixed-route operations in Blaine County. Funds will help reach the goal of moving from diesel-powered buses to cleaner, cheaper, easier-to-maintain battery/electric buses. The second grant will allow the transit provider to purchase new vehicles to replace old ones that have exceeded their useful life.

District 1 and its partner Selkirk Pend Oreille Transit Authority and District 6 and the city of Driggs received $136,000 and $240,000 grants, respectively, to also purchase new transit vehicles.

 

Published 07-13-18