State of the System Report created to help Transportation Master Plan update

This content was originally published by the Longmont Observer and is licensed under a Creative Commons license.

Boulder County Transportation has created a State of the System report as part of Boulder County’s Transportation Master Plan (TMP) update.

The State of the System Report summarizes the current conditions facing our transportation system, outlines work that has been completed since the initial TMP was completed in 2012, and summarizes future projects that can help meet identified needs. View the report by visiting www.BoCoTMP.com.

The State of the System Report provides:

• An overview of current travel patterns;
• A look at current funding sources and levels; and,
• A summary of projects and programs identified in other studies and planning efforts.

Work identified in the report include 5 Year Capital Improvement Program projects, Sales Tax projects, and priority regional commute corridor projects, such as State Highway 119 (the Diagonal Highway), State Highway 7 (Arapahoe Avenue), and State Highway 287. Sufficient funding is forecasted to be unavailable to complete these projects, and the current transportation funding shortfall is expected to grow due to cost increases exceeding available revenue.

Information from the State of the System Report will be used as a baseline to identify priorities and develop funding strategies to be included in the TMP update. The primary purpose of the TMP update effort is to review the original TMP, to ensure it is still relevant given new and developing transportation-related technology, changes in demographics, land use, travel patterns, opportunities for infrastructure and economic resiliency, and funding challenges and opportunities.

“Much has changed in the past five years for transportation in Boulder County,” said George Gerstle, Transportation Director. “We are completing our flood recovery efforts, more people are commuting from further away at increased cost in order to find more affordable housing, we are getting older, and automotive technology is changing rapidly. In addition, more people are using shared ride and mobility as a service, and automated vehicles will be available in the next five to ten years. This can all work to make mobility better, and it can present new challenges. It is time to take a fresh look at how we connect our communities throughout the county in light of all these changes.”

Visit www.BoCoTMP.com to stay up-to-date and to register for the project email list so you can receive timely information on the effort to help make Boulder County an even better place to live, work, and play.

Three public meetings have been held to kick-off the update. Additional public meetings will be scheduled in early 2019.

The TMP update will include updates to the key strategies identified in the current plan, based on recent travel patterns, demographics, technology, and updated revenue and project cost estimates. In addition, the update will also take a deeper look at:

• Performance metrics - How to best measure our progress
• Safety improvements - Identify and prioritize areas of safety concern
• Low-stress bicycle/pedestrian access - How to provide a safe bicycle and pedestrian system
• Family and school transportation needs - congestion and safety concerns around schools
• Affordable living - How to address longer commutes to affordable housing
• Technology - How to integrate new technology in our transportation system
• Resiliency - What have we learned from the 2013 Flood and how should we prepare for the next event

For more information, contact Stacey Proctor, project manager, at 303-441-1107 or via email.