CAMPO visits Lockhart to talk long-range transportation needs

The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) on Tuesday will host two open houses in Lockhart to educate the public about its strategy to keep up with long-range transportation needs in Central Texas.

Events are being held at the Dr. Eugene Clark Public Library and Chaparral Coffee. Both will run from 4-7 p.m.

The two open houses will include information on the CAMPO Regional Transit Study and the 2045 Regional Transportation plan.

The 2045 plan involves addressing transportation needs over the next 25 years in Bastrop, Burnet, Caldwell, Hays, Travis and Williamson counties and includes cycling, driving, walking and emerging technologies.

Every five years, metropolitan planning organizations are required by federal law to adopt a long-range transportation plan, commonly known as the Regional Transportation Plan, or RTP.

Information from individual studies and plans will help comprise the 2045 Regional Transportation Plan. Those plans include:

• The Regional Active Transportation Plan: A blueprint for a safe and easy-to-use active transportation network of trails, sidewalks, bike lanes, and streets for the six-county CAMPO Region. The final Regional Active Transportation Plan is now available.
• Regional Arterials Concept Inventory: Provides mobility choices that are safe, convenient, reliable, and efficient. Arterials are roadways that connect to freeways, local streets, and destinations. This inventory builds on local planning efforts and takes a regional focus on these roadways that serve as major corridors and a vital role in connecting people and places.

• Regional Incident Management study: Assesses the various responses to traffic incidents, such as crashes and stalled vehicles, within the six-county CAMPO region. This study also develops a strategic incident management plan designed to minimize traffic congestion created by such incidents by improving first-responder response times, traveler notifications, and coordination among jurisdictions.
• CAMPO Regional Transit Study: Examines transit needs in the six-county region, excluding the Capital Metro service area, and provide guidance to transit providers and local governments about how to meet future transit needs. This study will consider current and projected travel patterns, population and employment growth, and activity and employment centers to determine where transit connections should be prioritized to create a seamless, well-connected regional transit network.
• Regional Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Plan: In partnership with Movability Austin, this plan looks at alleviating congestion during peak travel times using a variety of strategies. These strategies focus on commuter behavior choices, technology, and options provided by employers or government entities, rather than solely focusing on infrastructure changes, to relieve congested transportation networks.

Public outreach on the individual plans that comprise the 2045 plan began in 2017 and is still ongoing. CAMPO is inviting people to share input on existing conditions and future needs by taking a survey at https://neighborland.com/campo2045 through Nov. 30, 2019.

A second round of outreach is set for spring 2020 before the adoption of the plan, which CAMPO expects will culminate in May 2020.

To read more, visit https://www.campotexas.org/regional-transportation-plans/2045-plan/