St. Clair County Transportation Study (SCCOTS)

About Us

Formal transportation planning began in St. Clair County in 1981. The 1980 decennial census designated Port Huron an Urban Area (population greater than 50,000). The Port Huron Urban Area Transportation Study (PHUATS) was formed in accordance with the 1962 Federal Highway Act, which requires there to be a Continuing, Coordinated and Comprehensive (3-C) planning process operating in all urban areas. PHUATS represented the urbanized portion of St. Clair County.

The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA) enabled the inclusion of the entire County in the study area. With that expansion, the name of the organization was changed to the St. Clair County Transportation Study (SCCOTS), and the transportation planning process became integrated as a program area withn the St. Clair County Metropolitan Planning Commission.

Currently, federal laws, executive orders and the policies of the United States Department of Transportation have brought the issues of environmental justice, civil rights, public involvement, safety, air quality, livability, freight planning, and congestion reduction to the forefront of transportation planning.

The SCCOTS program provides participating local units of government and transportation agencies access to “pass-through” federal and state transportation funds. Other services offered to local governments, transportation agencies, and the citizens and businesses they serve include assistance, advice and education on particular transportation issues, projects, and programs. The SCCOTS program is also involved with transportation issue advocacy at the regional, state and national levels.

The service description of each program element takes into account the clientele of SCCOTS programs and whether they directly or indirectly benefit from the program. These clients include:

  • St. Clair County government;
  • Local units of government (cities, villages and townships);
  • Public and private transportation providers;
  • Federal, state, and regional regulatory agencies (FHWA, FTA, MDOT, SEMCOG, etc.);
  • The general public;
  • The business community; and
  • Transportation system users.
Committees

  • Metropolitan Planning Commission
    The St. Clair County Metropolitan Planning Commission (MPC) serves as SCCOTS Policy Committee, administers the SCCOTS program and decrees transportation planning policy. The St. Clair County Board of Commissioners appoints the eleven-member commission, comprised of eight commissioners appointed by representation categories (i.e. finance, local government, recreation/tourism, etc.), two commissioners appointed at-large, and one St. Clair County Commissioner.

  • St. Clair County Transportation Study Advisory Committee
    The function of the SCCOTS Advisory Committee (SAC), in addition to taking official action as Federal Aid Committee (FAC) for St. Clair County, is to make recommendations to the MPC on each transportation issue that comes before it. SAC membership is open to all St. Clair County local units of government (e.g., cities, villages and townships), the County Board of Commissioners, the MPC, other transportation-oriented agencies such as the Blue Water Area Transportation Commission (BWATC), the St. Clair County Road Commission (SCCRC), the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), as well as interested civic groups. SCCOTS encourages members of the general public to participate in the meetings and activities of the SAC.
    LINK TO PACKET (monthly meeting)

  • St Clair County Transportation Study Technical Subcommittee
    The SCCOTS Technical Subcommittee (STS) is responsible for analyzing technical issues at the request of the SAC. One of the Technical Subcommittee’s principal activities is the development of priority lists for the inclusion of projects in SCCOTS and SEMCOG’s Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). The membership of the STS is comprised of SCCOTS Advisory Committee members that represent Act 51 agencies (villages, cities, SCCRC, BWATC, MDOT and SEMCOG). All decisions made by the Technical Subcommittee are forwarded to the Advisory Committee for action.