Mad River Valley Planning District director Josh Schwartz confirmed that each town ultimately decided against pursuing CMAQ funding at Town Meeting this year.
VERY UNLIKELY
"The towns aren't applying for the CMAQ funding. In the summer GMTA stated that they would support a ballot measure for Town Meeting. Then, GMTA representatives did some research that made the potential for funding seem very unlikely.... GMTA's lack of confidence in securing a grant had the result of putting the kibosh on a CMAQ grant request, resulting in no match and no related ballot measures," Schwartz said.
Representatives from GMTA met with select board members from Warren, Waitsfield and Fayston last summer to discuss options for local service. The CMAQ application requires a 20 percent local match, approximately $30,000 to be split among the three towns. GMTA representatives said the $30,000 needed to be approved on Town Meeting Day.
NO GUARANTEE
GMTA senior transit planner Meredith Birkett responded, "While the GMTA board has not yet picked or prioritized the projects for which we'll seek CMAQ funding, any project for which we seek CMAQ funds will require a 20 percent local match.... It is important to note, however, that is it up to the GMTA board to select what service(s) we seek CMAQ funding for and a vote to approve the $30,000 does not guarantee that GMTA will submit a CMAQ application for the MRV Commuter."
In October GMTA returned, per the select board member's request, with an analysis of ridership and routes in The Valley, and the potential for year-round commuter services to either Montpelier or Waterbury. It was determined, per their investigation, that the estimated ridership numbers would fall below the Agency of Transportation benchmarks.
ESTIMATED RIDERSHIP
Aaron Frank, director of planning for GMTA, and Birkett provided a summary of their findings regarding potential year-round commuter service in a memo dated October 1, 2008.
"The ridership estimated for a year-round commuter route from the Mad River Valley, whether it serves Waterbury or Montpelier, indicate it would carry fewer passengers than GMTA's existing Route 100 Commuter or Waterbury Commuter. With a smaller ridership market than the Route 100 Commuter, it is likely that an MRV Commuter would fall below performance benchmarks set by the agency of transportation. Therefore, it is unlikely that a MRV Commuter route would receive grant funding under the state's CMAW New Start process since routes are evaluated based on ridership and compared against the state's performance benchmarks."
INTEREST IS HIGH
Their recommendations continue, "Nonetheless, interest in year-round service in The Valley is quite high and has increased as fuel prices have gone up. The Agency of Transportation's new vanpool program is one potential alternative approach to meet some of the commuter demand between The Valley and Waterbury or Montpelier. If multiple vanpools were establish and proved successful in either or both of these corridors, it would suggest that a commuter route might exceed the state's performance benchmarks and would provide support for a financial commitment to a commuter bus route."
The Mad River Valley Planning District (MRVPD) has been serving as a liaison between The Valley and VTrans for the launch of the new Go Vermont program. A vanpool/carpool rider database is expected to be released in March. For more information on Go Vermont visit www.connectingcommuters.org, and for more information on GMTA bus routes and service visit www.gmtaride.org.
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