2040 Regional Transportation Plan Vision, Goals & Strategies

A vision statement and a set of goals are fundamental parts of strategic planning. They define a direction and guide decision making on allocating resources to pursue the strategy.

Vision

In the year 2040, our region will have a multimodal transportation system through coordinated investments that supports a desirable quality of life, enhanced economic vitality and increased safety, access and mobility.

Goals

The goals presented below lay the foundational components intended to help achieve our vision. For more information see Appendix E.

Improve Safety

Safety is a top regional priority. Although motorists are the largest group of system users injured or killed in crashes, pedestrians and cyclists are also at risk. Addressing this goal will not only benefit regional health, but the community’s quality of life, and economic competitiveness. A safe regional transportation system operates reliably, delivers goods and services on time, and returns users home at the end of their trip.

Manage and Mitigate Congestion

Economic growth, especially in freight-intensive sectors such as energy and manufacturing, is increasing traffic and overall travel demand on the roadway and rail system. The ability to manage and reduce congestion will help sustain the regional economy—and better position us to maintain our status in the future. Successful implementation of this goal will ensure that residents will be able to travel and work reliably via whichever mode of transportation they desire.

Ensure Strong Asset Management and Operations

In light of declining resource availability, the region must ensure optimal system performance, maintain an acceptable state of repair for system assets, and consider replacement costs for aging facilities. Promoting and sustaining asset management and operations activities can expedite the movement of people and goods by accelerating project completion, reducing regulatory delays in project delivery, and promoting a state of good repair for our region’s transportation assets.

Strengthen Regional Economic Competitiveness

An efficient, reliable, and safe system is critical to ensuring the region’s economic competitiveness. Addressing freight mobility needs and allowing the region to remain attractive to a high-skilled workforce will ensure that the region continues to remain an attractive place for businesses to thrive.

Conserve and Protect Natural and Cultural Resources

Significant impacts to natural and cultural resources are often a consequence of economic growth and travel demand such as those experienced in our region. Identifying these potential impacts and supporting the conservation and enhancement of natural and cultural resources will promote a higher quality of life and help reduce project development delays and costs. This goal also addresses the need of individuals to lead a healthy lifestyle, enjoying clean air and water by promoting opportunities for active transportation.

Performance Measures

The 2040 Regional Transportation Plan tags each goal with performance measures, which are quantifiable, and can provide clear indicators of the region’s progress in this pursuit over the life of the 2040 plan.

Goals & Performance Measures

1. Reduce Crash Rates
2. Increase Reliability, Increase Bus On-time Performance
3. System Condition, Incident Response
4. Truck Congestion Costs, Incident Response
5. 8-hr Ozone Design Value, Reduce Impacts Requiring Mitigation

The performance measures were crafted in light of the recent passage of federal transportation legislation Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century, or MAP-21. However, federal regulators have not yet released guidance regarding the adoption of official, national performance measures. These measures are interim indicators while awaiting final ruling. Reasoning in support of the selection of each performance measure and their recent trends are available in Appendix E.

Strategies

The 2040 Regional Transportation Plan employs four strategies as implementation tools in order to realize the goals:

Improve System Management and Operations

Maximizing reliability and efficiency of existing assets through Intelligent Transportation Systems, Traffic Incident Management, crash avoidance technology, etc.

Enhance State of Good Repair

Leveraging facility maintenance or scheduled replacement and with opportunities to improve facility design or operations

Expand the Multimodal Network

New or expanded facilities and services

Coordinate Development

Proactively planning for public/private partnerships advancing multimodal investments such as regional extension of light rail, thoroughfare development, and a regional hike/bike trail system