The Gaston-Cleveland-Lincoln Metropolitan Planning Organization (GCLMPO) opened a 15-day public comment period, beginning Friday, July 26, 2024, requesting public input on the next stage of developing future Regional Impact transportation projects for Gaston, Cleveland, and Lincoln Counties. The process to develop the GCLMPO’s 2026-2035 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) is administered by the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) and is called “Prioritization 7.0” or “P7.0”.

Transportation projects are represented on the draft list and map proposed for Regional Impact local input point assignments, and can be found on the GCLMPO website at www.gclmpo.org. Beginning in October 2024, GCLMPO will open a separate public comment period for the Division Needs projects.

NCDOT has scored projects submitted by MPOs, Rural Planning Organizations (RPOs) and NCDOT Divisions according to formulas established under the Strategic Transportation Investments (STI) law. GCLMPO has 1,900 local input points to allocate to projects for local prioritization in the Regional Impact tier and an additional 1,900 local input points to allocate in the Division Needs tier. The STI legislation specifies that MPOs, RPOs and NCDOT Division offices must adhere to their adopted local input point methodologies to the greatest extent possible when assigning local input points. GCLMPO’s adopted Local Input Point Methodology for P7.0 can also be found on the website.

The public comment period will conclude on Friday, August 9.

The public may also provide comments during the GCLMPO TCC Meeting on Wednesday, August 14, 2024 at 10:00 am and the Board Meeting on Thursday, August 22, 2024 at 6:30 pm.

Written comments may be sent by mail, email, or fax to the following address: Gaston-Cleveland-Lincoln MPO, Attn: Tori Dellinger, Principal Transportation Planner, PO Box 1748, Gastonia, NC 28053, tori.dellinger@gastonianc.gov, FAX: 704-869-1960

All comments must be received by Friday, August 9, 2024. Additional information can be obtained by contacting GCLMPO staff at 704-854-6631.