The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, which coordinates regional transportation planning, puts together the Transportation Improvement Plan. This document includes projects submitted by the cities, six counties and transportation agencies in Central Texas. Projects in the plan must include those receiving federal funds and those that are regionally significant.
CAMPO amends the plan twice a year to allow local jurisdictions to make changes or add projects. To be listed in the plan, funding must already be identified and construction must begin in the 2017-20 timeframe.
CAMPO’s policy board will host a public hearing Sept. 11 and then vote on amendments to the 2017-20 plan.
Active transportation plan
CAMPO is additionally seeking public input on its first ever Regional Active Transportation Plan that compiles local and regional planning work into one document and identifies other needs for better connectivity, CAMPO Regional Planning Manager Kelly Porter said.
“It’s a good idea for [residents] to see how their local plans connect into a regional big picture,” he said. “It’s also important for them to let us know if there are other things not addressed in the plan that they would like to see more of.”
Active transportation includes walking and biking facilities. Local jurisdictions will be responsible for completing any projects identified in the plan.
Residents can attend several upcoming meetings to weigh in on the plan and take a survey to make sure projects in the plan reflect community desires, said Doise Miers, CAMPO’s community outreach manager.
“This [plan] is just providing more options for people for mobility,” she said. “It’s not something people have to use every single day. It doesn’t have to be their entire commute of getting to work or getting someplace else. For some people in the region, active transportation is a necessity but for others it’s providing options for them to get around.”
The active transportation plan will help inform the agency’s next long-range transportation plan that will start development by early 2019.
More information is available on CAMPO's website.
Most amendments in the 2017-20 Transportation Improvement Program came from the Texas Department of Transportation to add projects. This interactive map shows projects in the Community Impact Newspaper area, with each county represented by a different color.
