Boulder County, Colo. - The Board of County Commissioners approved the recently updated Boulder County Transportation Master Plan (TMP) at a public hearing held on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020. View the technical report and summary on the Transportation Master Plan webpage.

“A lot has changed in Boulder County since the TMP was last updated in 2012 - including increasing commuter traffic and air quality concerns - which is why a fresh examination of this document was so important,” said County Commissioner Elise Jones. “We have a clear understanding of the work we need to do thanks to the invaluable collaborative efforts and these updates are a crucial part of the county’s plans for addressing the climate crisis.”

The TMP update process began in August 2018. Initial activities included developing a State of the System report, kick-off public meetings, and an online survey to understand the priorities of the community. Initial activities also included data analysis such as a Bicycle Level of Traffic Stress analysis, crash data, traffic pattern data, and forecasting data.

In March 2019, draft recommendations based on the community’s input and the results of the data analysis were released for public review. Several public meetings were held at this time to get input from the public and other stakeholders on the draft documents. In October 2019, additional draft documents were released for review and comment.

At the Planning Commission’s Dec. 18, 2019 session, the Planning Commission unanimously recommended that the Boulder County Board of County Commissioners adopt the Transportation Master Plan.

Key additions of the 2019 TMP include:

• Inclusion of a Vision Zero policy and goal of achieving zero deaths or serious injuries that are the result of traffic crashes by 2035.
• Updated demographic, land use, and travel patterns; Includes current data as well as projections to 2040.
• Considerations for advanced mobility technology, such as autonomous vehicles, electric bicycles, electric vehicles, and ride-hailing service.
• Inclusion of Performance Metrics to track progress towards TMP goals.
• A goal to develop a network of multiuse paths that provide off-street bicycle connections between regional destinations in Boulder County.
• Strategies to increase mobility options between Boulder County and counties with increasing commuters, such as Weld and Larimer counties.

"We have big transportation challenges in Boulder County including roads, buses, and rail. This Transportation Master Plan update provides the vision and steps to meet this challenge,” said County Commissioner Matt Jones.

The TMP’s recent efforts includes updates to five key strategies, including planned and conceptual projects, travel patterns, and project cost estimates. The five key strategies are based on the vision and goals from the Boulder County Comprehensive Plan:

1. Develop a multimodal transportation system
2. Create a complete trip
3. Invest in key transportation corridors
4. Increase accessibility
5. Enhance mountain-area connections

Now that the TMP is complete, Boulder County will begin developing an implementation plan. Anticipated TMP implementation priorities for 2020 include:

• Sharing the TMP vision with the community.
• Exploring options to increase funding to complete projects identified in the TMP.
• Evaluate opportunities to expand partnerships to improve existing and future transit service throughout Boulder County, including regional Bus Rapid Transit corridors and Northwest Rail.
• Developing Vision Zero Action Plan.
• Creating baseline measurements for Performance Measures.
• Incorporating safety, resilience, equity, performance measures into project prioritization and planning processes.
• Updating the Multimodal Transportation Standards.

“As we move into the implementation phase of the updated TMP, we look forward to continued input from the community,” said County Commissioner Deb Gardner. “As always, we look to our residents for their knowledge to help inform our engineers, planners, and leadership on how Boulder County can continue to improve.”

For more information, contact Stacey Proctor, project manager, at 303-441-1107 or at sproctor@bouldercounty.org.