Bi-State Regional Commission

Details

Written by: interGen support

Category: Transportation and Mobility

Published: 08 September 2022

Hits: 528

 Link to traffic counts and other relevant webpages, road/bridge interactive map for Region 9

Details

Written by: interGen support

Category: Transportation and Mobility

Published: 13 November 2012

Hits: 13438

Purpose. The Drug and Alcohol Testing Consortium (DATC) was formed to offer drug and alcohol testing services to member employees in the Bi-State Region.  It applies to employees covered under the U.S. Department of Transportation requirements implementing the Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act of 1991 and the laws of the states of Iowa and Illinois.  Federal Transit Administration and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration establish regulations that require commercially licensed (CDL) drivers to participate in drug and alcohol testing to promote traffic safety in the transportation industry.

Membership. Each entity must sign a resolution and agree to adhere to the cooperative agreement and by-laws that apply to the Consortium.  It is mutually understood and agreed that the Consortium members wishing to take part in this program must agree and adhere to the policies and procedures established by the Consortium as a condition of their membership in the Consortium. 

Services. Each participant receives initial and pre-employment  testing, post-accident testing, random testing, reasonable suspicion testing, return-to-duty testing, and  follow-up testing.  The Consortium functions to coordinate goals in fulfilling the federal/state regulations, provide a sampling pool for covered employees, purchase required services jointly, coordinate and share administrative activities, and maximize the available resources in the Iowa-Illinois Bi-State area to meet these federal requirements.

Meetings.  DATC meets at least once per year to review the contracted testing services, and more frequently with renewal of services contracts.  Bi-State Regional Commission provides staff to monitor the random draws and provide information on the program, training opportunities, and updates in regulations as available.  A DATC chair and vice-chair aid in the administration of the program and preside over the meetings.

Participants.  DATC participants include municipalities, counties, townships, public school districts, public transit systems, and not-for-profit corporations that provide transportation in the geographic area of Muscatine and Scott Counties, Iowa and Henry, Mercer, and Rock Island Counties, Illinois.  Two members have business addresses within this coverage area but are providing services outside the Bi-State Region.

Current DATC members include:

Details

Written by: admin

Category: Transportation and Mobility

Published: 13 November 2012

Hits: 40213

Bi-State staff provide assistance to member governments in the area of trails and pedestrian planning.  Previous work done by Bi-State includes trail master plans, staff assistance to various bicycle and pedestrian initiatives, greenway planning, and grant application preparation.  Bi-State staffs the Bi-State Regional Trail Committee, which meets every other month to act as a forum for coordination and communication for local governments and trails stakeholders.  Periodically, special meetings and webinars are hosted on topics involving bicycles and pedestrians, such as active transportation and Complete Streets.  The Bi-State Regional Commission adopted the Quad Cities Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Complete Streets Policy in 2008, which states that a balanced approach in roadway design to accommodate all modes of transportation will be a standard practice in the Quad Cities Region.

Bi-State also administers a trail counting program to collect user estimates of area trails.  Since 2013, data has been collected around the Quad Cities and shared with municipalities for their transportation planning and recreation activities and for grant preparation.  Data is also used to inform long-range transportation and recreation planning in the region.

Bi-State has also partnered with the Quad City Health Initiative to create a “one-stop shop” for non-motorized trails.  The interactive website, QCTrails.org, contains information on a multitude of local and regional trails, bikeways, walking paths, and water trails.  The website was made possible with funding provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Partnerships to Improve Community Health (PICH) Grant, in support of the Be Healthy QC project administered by the Quad City Health Initiative.  QCTrails.org encourages users to explore area trails and to track trail usage through the ability to earn badges as trail segments are completed.

The Quad City Riverfront Council provides an opportunity for civic organizations and local governments to exchange information on community planning, recreational amenities, industrial and commercial development, and aesthetic enhancement in the Quad Cities Region.

For more information on Bi-State's multi-purpose trail planning initiatives, please contact Bryan Schmid.

Rent a Bike
Explore the Quad Cities’ great trails on either side of the Mississippi River!  For more information on bike rentals see Visit Quad Cities.

Trail Guides Available
In 2019, Ride Illinois updated its guides to bicycling in the metro Quad Cities, the Grand Illinois Trail and the Mississippi River Trail.  Visit the website to download the map and guides in PDF format.

Details

Written by: admin

Category: Transportation and Mobility

Published: 13 November 2012

Hits: 22025

Bi-State Regional Commission represents the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for urbanized area transportation planning in the Quad Cities, Iowa/Illinois and Region 9 rural planning for Scott and Muscatine Counties, Iowa. Transportation planning provides a coordinated and continuing process to assist communities in the implementation of transportation improvements. This planning is required before federal funds can be spent on projects. Planning before implementation has the added benefit of providing a technical means of ranking transportation needs and prioritizing available funding. Roadways, transit, railroads, waterways, airports, trails and intermodal facilities are all considered in the planning process.

Local, state, and federal jurisdictions work together with support from Bi-State staff to develop planning and programming recommendations for transportation improvements. In the Quad Cities Urbanized Area, recommendations are considered by the Transportation Policy Committee composed of chief elected officials of cities and counties, Illinois and Iowa State Departments of Transportation, and the Illinois Quad Cities transit district. In Region 9, recommendations are considered by the Region 9 Transportation Policy Committee composed of the chief elected officials from the City of Muscatine, Scott and Muscatine Counties, a small community representative from the Iowa region, and an official from the Iowa Department of Transportation. Programs and services involved in the transportation planning process include:

General Technical Assistance provides for the preparation of grant applications, including RISE and ICAAP in Iowa and Enhancement applications in both states, among others. Conducts corridor, capacity and/or accident analysis, transit analysis, signage studies, air service initiatives, air quality assistance, etc.