RE: [CTPP] UZA's, UC's and Functional Classification

Would "smoothing" include eliminating the "holes" in doughnuts?? In SC, where sprawl is rampant, we have several instances where either 1) the urban area extends as narrow strips along several highway corridors and completely encloses a rural area; 2) two urban areas are separated by a very narrow strip of less than a mile (Greenville and the new "Mauldin-Simpsonville" UA); 3) urban areas or urban clusters are separated by a narrow gap (<1 mi.) in a major highway corridor. If the "smoothing" doesn't address all of these, we'll wind up with functional classifications that bounce repeatedly between urban and rural over a relatively short distance. John Gardner SCDOT Office of Planning -----Original Message----- From: Gorman, Robert <FHWA> [mailto:Robert.Gorman@fhwa.dot.gov] Sent: Thursday, May 16, 2002 2:05 PM To: ctpp-news(a)chrispy.net; millef1(a)mail.modot.state.mo.us Subject: Re: [CTPP] UZA's, UC's and Functional Classification Our office has not developed a timetable for completing the functional reclassification. But now that the maps are available states should begin working on it. We do not intend to modify the Census boundaries. However, states and locals could propose smoothing the boundaries (provided that it includes everything that Census has included). We also provided some flexibility in our Addendum to the Functional Classification Manual to allow states to make the urban rural changes at the nearest logical point (road intersection) rather than between intersections. Now that we have new urbanized boundaries, does FHWA have a timetable for updating functional classification of roadways? Beyond the shift of the arterials between urban and rural, we have rural minor collectors that may need to be reclassified as an urban collector (and urban collector could easily be a rural major collector). Will FHWA modify the census definition of urban for functional classifications? I haven't seen a map or our areas yet, but I'm guessing there will be roadways with the urban-rural boundary split down the middle of the road. There are also areas with a very urban character that will likely be designated rural because there is no population density. Frank Miller Missouri Department of Transportation - District 8