Public meetings scheduled

Boulder County, Colo. – In partnership with local municipalities and transportation agencies, Boulder County is in the process of developing the first-ever countywide Transportation Master Plan.

The TMP will outline what travel will look like for those who live, work, shop and recreate in Boulder County 25 years from now.

“We are excited about this planning effort,” Boulder County Transportation Director George Gerstle said. “While the county has many plans in place for the development of its roadway, bicycle, pedestrian, trail and transit networks, we do not have one that looks at the multimodal transportation system as a whole. The TMP is an important tool in helping to identify programs, services, and facilities for public investment.”

Public feedback is critical to the one-year planning process and opportunities to provide input into the draft plan will take place throughout 2011, with the first series of meetings scheduled in January:

• Thursday, Jan. 13
Boulder County Transportation Department
Large conference room, second floor
2525h St., Boulder

• Wednesday, Jan. 19
Centaurus High School
Student Center
10300 South Boulder Road, Lafayette

• Thursday, Jan. 20
Longmont Public Library
Meeting rooms A & B
409 Fourth Ave., Longmont

All meetings will be held from 5-7 p.m., with a presentation beginning at 5:30 p.m. The Jan. 13 meeting in Boulder will focus on transportation issues in the western portion of Boulder County.

For more information, please contact Transportation Planning Manager Julie McKay at 720-564-2662 or jmckay@bouldercounty.org.

Background
Last summer, the Boulder County Consortium of Cities convened the Sustainable Transportation Task Force to guide the master planning process. The stakeholder group – which consists of staff representatives from the communities within Boulder County, adjacent counties, and transportation agencies – has since started to identify the key issues for travel throughout the region. The TMP is unique because, while all of the cities and towns within Boulder County have their own plans, it will provide a picture of travel throughout the region. This includes travel between communities within Boulder County and between Boulder County and neighboring counties.

“Travel largely begins and ends in places other than the unincorporated areas of Boulder County, but the county plays a central role in facilitating travel from place to place,” Gerstle said. “At the same time, decisions that affect how people access and use the transportation system are often in the hands of others.”

State and regional agencies – such as the Colorado Department of Transportation and Regional Transportation District – fund, implement and manage many of the essential elements of Boulder County’s transportation network.

“Given these complexities, our relationship with all of the agencies represented on the task force is very important,” Gerstle said. “We need strong partnerships in order to effectively provide services and leverage the county’s transportation dollars.”

Feedback from the January public meetings will be considered by the task force and presented to the Boulder County Planning Commission and Consortium of Cities in February.