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New Mexico

The Rural Context For Transportation Consultations

New Mexico is the 5th largest state in the U.S. in land area, 15th smallest in population, and 6th least densely populated. Approximately 60 percent of New Mexico's population and jobs, and 99 percent of the land, is non-urban. About 95 percent of its roads are rural. Federally owned lands amount to just over 34 percent of the state's land area.

New Mexico is a moderately growing state, as measured by population, with a slowly declining rate of employment. The portion of the state's jobs that are in the uniquely rural agriculture and mining sectors is fairly small (both 5 percent). Most jobs in New Mexico's rural areas are in sectors also common in urban areas: construction, transportation & utilities (15 percent); manufacturing (8 percent); business & trade (25 percent); and services & government (43 percent).

Demographically, New Mexico's non-urban population is predominately white (88 percent) and Native American (9 percent). The proportion of New Mexico's non-urban adult population who did not graduate from high school is relatively high (16th highest) and the proportion that did graduate from college is also relatively low (18th lowest). The 24 percent of New Mexico's non-urban population who are poor is 3rd highest of the states. About 44 percent of the state's non-urban population is in non-working age groups (34 percent 18 years or younger, and 11 percent 65 years or older).

Governmentally, New Mexico has 33 counties, a fairly manageable number compared to many other states. The state also has 102 municipalities, but no towns or townships. This is the 7th lowest number of local governments among the states. New Mexico also has 23 federally recognized Indian tribes. In addition, New Mexico is one of six states that do not have independent special-purpose districts with transportation responsibilities. However, New Mexico has 17 public transit providers serving rural areas and an additional 53 organizations that provide specialized transit services to elderly and disabled populations in those same areas.

New Mexico has 7 regional councils that cover approximately 100 percent of the state, and 4 MPOs. These regional units help to coordinate the other local governments and play a direct role in rural transportation programs as described below.

Of New Mexico's 87,967 miles of roads, approximately 19 percent are state-controlled, while 7 percent are federal. Of the total miles of non-federal rural roads, 23 percent are state, 76 percent are county, none are township, and less than one percent are municipal and other.

Processes For Consultation And Cooperation With Local Officials In Non-Metropolitan Areas

The New Mexico State Highway and Transportation Department (NMSHTD) develops both the Long Range Comprehensive Transportation Plan and the STIP. The New Mexico State Highway Commission oversees NMSHTD. In response to requests from public entities to participate in transportation planning, the state created Regional Planning Organizations, based on the MPO model. This was done several years prior to the 1991 enactment of ISTEA. RPOs solicit, evaluate, prioritize and recommend projects; final project decisions are made by the Commission.

There are seven RPOs, which are coterminous with COGs, and cover all non-metropolitan areas in the state. NMSHTD has contracted with 4 COGs and an association of eight Pueblo Councils to administer their respective RPOs; the remaining two are staffed by NMSHTD. RPO members include local government agencies, primarily municipalities, counties and Tribal governments; state agencies, including the NM State Land Office; federal land management agencies; and others. The RPO policy committee members are elected officials of the entities they represent. The NMSHTD Public Transportation Program Bureau uses the RPO process to coordinate rural public transit and human services transportation planning. Although the consultative process primarily addresses transportation issues, it includes project-related, non-transportation issues, such as land use, economic development, and tourism.

Rural elected officials and staff from developing portions of the MPO areas are involved in the planning process. In one case, the COG serves as both the MPO and RPO, with representatives of local governments, government agencies and Pueblo governments adjacent to or part of the urbanizing area included as members of the policy board. Two cities have established Extra-territorial Zoning Authorities (EZAs). MPO staffs make recommendations to the EZA on the impacts of planned and existing transportation infrastructure and programs.

The state has taken steps to increase involvement by Tribal governments. As part of the Middle Rio Grande Major Transportation Study the state sought input by all affected Pueblos. This sparked requests by other Pueblos to be involved in planning, leading to a statewide "Tribal Transportation Summit" in the fall of 1999. The goal was to focus on development of policies and processes that will lead to better working relations between Tribes and the state, as well as methodologies to resolve basic programmatic transportation needs. As a result of the Summit, the department and the twenty-three tribes within the state signed a Memorandum of Agreement to establish "action groups" to further communication, cooperation and coordination. Additional parties to this agreement include the Governor, Attorney General, BIA, FHWA and DOE. An executive committee meets routinely and future summits and workshops are planned.

The long-range plan update involves local officials in several ways. For the 1999 update, the Citizen's Highway Advisory Taskforce, created in 1995, held 17 meetings around the state attended by more the 700 people, including local elected officials. NMSHTD also held informal meetings with trucking firms, transportation organizations, and economic development groups from the smaller communities to discuss transportation issues, from alternative transportation facilities to air service. Additionally NMSHTD conducted a telephone survey of a sample of residents, held six regional "Citizen Conferences," and solicited input from 400 members of special interest groups, local government officials, and other state and federal agencies who were requested to provide responses on various possible scenarios. Finally, copies of the draft long-range plan were provided to all seven RPOs for review and comment. The 2003 update will include development of regional long-range plans by the seven RPOs.

The STIP is revised annually. The first step is a series of RPO meetings held with all local, tribal, state and federal government entities, and other interested parties. Current program rules and transportation issues are discussed. Next, each RPO solicits project proposals, which are reviewed by the respective NMSHTD District Engineer before being formally submitted to the RPO. RPOs then prioritize projects for Regional Transportation Improvement Program Recommendations (RTIPRs). The STIP is developed by NMSHTD in coordination with each of the districts; the districts are not coterminous with RPOs. Therefore, the RPOs within each district meet to develop District RTIPRs. Public transportation projects are reviewed and prioritized by RPOs also. The NMSHTD then develops a draft STIP that is reviewed by RPOs and the districts. The STIP is then finalized and approved by the Highway Commission.

Rural transportation is supported by federal, state, and local funds. The State Road Funds and federal funds are generally used to improve and maintain the State Highway System. The Local Government Road Fund, comprised of dedicated tax revenues, provides support to counties, municipalities, school districts, and other entities for developing projects, and improving and maintaining local roads. This support is distributed to local entities by statutory formula. BIA and FHWA directly administer some rural transportation funds. Counties and municipalities receive dedicated revenues from the state legislature, some dedicated for roads and streets and some for general use.

New Mexico uses these practices:

State Processes to Compile Transportation Needs: RPOs solicit project proposals and regional and district recommendations are developed.
State Processes for Interactive Exchanges of Views with Local Officials: RPOs hold meetings early in the STIP process; various meetings are held in preparation of the long-range plan.
Roles of RPOs: They cover the entire state not included in MPOs.
State Policy-Making and Advisory Bodies: State Transportation Commission; Citizen's Highway Advisory Taskforce.
Other Practices: State conducted telephone surveys, solicited responses to "scenarios,' and circulated draft long-range plan for public comment.

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