2050 Long-Range Transportation Plan

The County of Greenville in association with the Greenville-Pickens Area Transportation Study (GPATS), Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the Greenville and Mauldin-Simpsonville Urbanized Areas (UZAs), and designated Transportation Management Area (TMA), is requesting sealed proposals to complete the required 10-year Long-Range Transportation Plan (LRTP), in accordance with Federal Regulations.

The LRTP is a comprehensive planning document that:

• Evaluates the regional transportation systems, land use patterns, congestion, freight systems, public transportation, pedestrian modes, emerging technologies, and social and environmental issues that face the GPATS study area.
• Relates the transportation systems to the existing and future land uses, integrating with community comprehensive plans, and supports federal, state, and local transportation efforts.
• Provides for the development of safe, efficient, accessible, equitable, and cost-effective transportation systems within the GPATS region.
• Protects and improves Air Quality.

The LRTP is an essential component to the function of an MPO and establishes priorities for transportation projects through travel modeling data, performance measures, and public involvement. Projects identified through the LRTP are used in the development of transportation projects funded in the GPATS short-range Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) and the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT)’s Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP).

The GPATS MPO Study Area is comprised of urbanized portions of Greenville, Pickens, Anderson, Spartanburg, and Laurens counties, and the nine (9) municipalities contained therein: Greenville, Greer, Travelers Rest, Mauldin, Simpsonville, Fountain Inn, Pickens, Liberty, and Easley. Please visit https://gpats.org for more information on the makeup of GPATS.

The population of the GPATS MPO Study area is approximately 643,000 persons according to the 2020 Census, with an employed population of approximately 352,000 persons.

GPATS, and indeed the entire Upstate of South Carolina, continually tread the line to prevent a designation of “Air Quality Nonattainment” for ground-level ozone. Any new Environmental Protection Agency standards may significantly impact the LRTP Process if EPA and South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control make a determination that GPATS must be designated as “Nonattainment.” To this end, all planning processes will take air quality impacts into account, so if GPATS is to begin performing required “Conformity Determinations” on projects, the data has been prepared.

In recent years, public transportation through the Greenville Transit Authority has made significant strides in improving service, and efforts to improve pedestrian and bicycle transportation have yielded numerous facilities and economic development benefits. According to the USDOT mandate to “accommodate all modes of transportation in the planning process,” the LRTP will seek to identify appropriate and beneficial avenues to improve existing services and facilities and support the introduction of new ones.

The structure of GPATS relative to the LRTP is as follows:

• The GPATS Policy Coordinating Committee, the 28-member voting body, shall:
  • Participate in and guide the GPATS LRTP Steering Committee
  • Receive updates on LRTP Progress at their regular meetings and provide guidance, feedback, and direction
  • Be responsible for final approval of the completed LRTP
• The GPATS LRTP Steering Committee shall:
  • Meet regularly and interact with staff and stakeholders to ensure that the LRTP is maintaining the appropriate level of public engagement
  • Report to the Policy Committee as appropriate
  • Assist staff with public meetings, particularly in the area in which they serve
  • Provide guidance, feedback, and direction on the LRTP
• The GPATS Study Team shall:
  • Meet regularly and interact with staff to ensure that the LRTP is on-track technically and abiding by all local, state, and federal regulations and priorities.
  • Assist staff with public meetings.
  • Provide guidance, feedback, and direction on the LRTP
• The GPATS full-time Staff, as provided by Greenville County, shall be directly involved in the study and assist the selected firm in all aspects of the LRTP, consisting of:
  • One Manager
  • One Planner
  • One Transit Planner/Grants Manager
  • One Administrative Assistant