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Colorado Department of Transportation
Scope of Work for Rural Transportation Planning
Task 1 - Project Organization
Purpose: This task will identify the key participants in the planning process and will establish the relationship between these participants. In this initial stage, a final approach to the work tasks will also be agreed upon.
1.1 Establish a Working Group (WG) including members of the Regional Planning Commission (RPC), and at least one technical staff member from each participating county, municipality and the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT).
1.2 Develop operating procedures for interaction between the consultant, the WG and the main body of the RPC.
1.3 Review and discuss any unclear or unresolved work tasks, technical approaches, or work products with the RPC/WG, Finalize and agree upon the work plan before proceeding.
1.4 Clarify and agree upon all expectations of the RPC/WG members regarding provision of data or assistance to the consultant.
Task 2 - Public Participation Process
Purpose: The public participation component of the regional transportation plan provides the opportunity for citizens to become more involved and understanding of the process used in the development of transportation projects, both in their region and the state. Early identification of issues and problems and cooperative solution-building efforts can reduce the potential for conflict later in the transportation planning process. The consultant, following existing state and federal laws, rules and regulations and the Public Participation section in the Colorado Regional Transportation Planning Guidebook, will develop a public participation process consistent with the above in the development of the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP).
2.1 Develop and document a process that allows for citizens of the region to be kept informed and involved on a continual basis and a process that facilitates cooperation and consensus building in the development of the RTP.
2.2 Document public meetings, prepare minutes, and a roster of attendance of all meetings relating to development of the RTP.
Task 3 - Regional Values, Vision, Goals, Objectives and Strategies
Purpose: This task will result in an agreed upon list of transportation goals and objectives for the RPC. These goals and objectives will be used to evaluate transportation alternatives being considered in the development of the RTP.
3.1 Work with the RPC/WG to incorporate "5 Themes" underpinning development of the State 2020 Plan.
3.2 Work with the RPC/WG to develop an initial "vision" of the future of the region.
3.3 Work with the RPC/WG to identify a list of the issues with which the region will need to deal with in order to achieve its "vision". Categorize these issues into general groups by level of significance to the region.
3.4 Work with the RPC/WG to prepare a series of transportation goals and objectives for the region.
3.5 Present these preliminary lists of issues and goals in the first series of public workshops and revise accordingly.
3.6 Present and discuss these lists of issues and goals with the RPC and finalize the lists with their input.
Task 4 - Inventory of Existing Transportation System
Purpose: This multi-modal inventory will serve as a baseline survey of all existing transportation facilities and services in the region. It will delineate the existing transportation services provided to the area. This existing transportation network will serve as a base for projecting future transportation investments to the system. Most of this information should be available from the Transportation Planning Data Set or from ongoing and recently completed CDOT studies.
4.1 Compile existing roadway inventory data. Such data shall include roadway miles, traffic volumes (passenger/truck), volume/capacity relationships, traffic composition, accident histories, surface conditions, and bridge structure conditions. A review of existing functional classification maps will be performed. If information gaps are identified, the counties will be asked to supplement this information as much as possible from their data sources.
4.2 Gather data on the public transportation services provided in the region. This information shall include detailed information on the operating and physical characteristics of the fixed route and special service providers within the Transportation Planning Region (TPR). The resources of the CDOT Transit Unit and the Colorado Association of State Transit Agencies should be used in developing the public transit profile.
4.3 Bicycle facilities of all types will be inventoried. These will include bike lanes, bike routes and other popular on-street facilities, as well as off-street bike paths. This information will be compiled from local plans, the CDOT bicycle coordinator and from bicycle organizations in the area.
4.4 Rail infrastructure, including type and condition of rail and service frequency (passenger/freight) in the region, will be surveyed and documented. Issues concerning abandonment’s, mergers and alternative transportation uses of existing rail lines should be identified. Primary contacts should include the CDOT modal branch, railroads that are currently or anticipating providing service within the state.
4.5 The Division of Aeronautics will provide financial, operating and physical data on the airports within the region. This information should include at a minimum the location of aviation facilities, level of commercial and private air service provided and passenger boardings and arrivals. If the Division is unable to provide this information, it will be gathered through direct contacts with management of all of the airports.
Task 5 - Socioeconomic and Environmental Regional Profile
Purpose: This task will develop a population, employment, and environmental profile of the region that will be used as the basis for projecting future travel demand and potential environmental concerns. CDOT will provide U.S. Census Bureau and State Demographic information in the Transportation Planning Data Set.
5.1 Compile the most current and future population, household, employment and other pertinent data from federal, state and local sources.
5.2 Gather all other available socioeconomic reports and studies for the region. These reports and studies should include both public and privately funded documents that reflect existing and future regional population growth and economic development. At a minimum, these should include regional, county and local comprehensive plans, regional overviews and reports produced by federal and state agencies and privately produced documents that relate to population and regional economic growth. This information will be reviewed for consistency by the RPC/WG and a composite set of projections will be developed for the RPC for use in plan development.
5.3 Identify all major activity centers in the region and compile characteristic data on these Centers. Such centers could include major shopping areas, employment centers, distribution centers, higher education centers, health care facilities, government centers, national, state and local parks, and correctional facilities etc., Identification of these centers may be a critical component of the travel demand forecasting methodology.
5.4 Perform an environmental scan to identify all environmentally sensitive areas including wetlands, air quality non-attainment areas and historic and archeological sites that potentially could be adversely impacted by future proposed transportation investments in the region.
Task 6 - Mobility Demand Analysis
Purpose: In this task, the consultant will estimate future travel demand in the region based on anticipated growth. The methods that could be used in developing travel demand are briefly discussed in the Regional Transportation Planning Guidebook. While the development of a full scale transportation forecasting model is an option, it is believed that a less costly and more cost effective method should be used to estimate travel demand in the rural Transportation Planning Regions.
6.1 An estimate of future traffic volumes on the regional highway system will be made. The use of CDOT’s 20-year expansion factors should be used to establish the base case to determine if a more sophisticated technique for developing travel demand should be used.
6.2 Future travel demand for alternative modes of travel will be developed on the basis of previous user levels on comparable systems in the region or on the basis of similar services in other communities in Colorado or other locations. For example, transit systems and small airports in other regions of the state should be used as measures to develop preliminary patronage figures. Where appropriate, the Colorado Passenger Rail Feasibility Study and the Colorado Transit Needs and Benefits Study should be consulted.
Task 7 - Alternatives Analysis
Purpose: This task will identify and analyze the various modal options and all cost associated with their development for meeting the mobility demand of the TPR.
7.1 In each corridor identified as needing capacity improvements, an analysis should be done to determine the potential for mode or modal combinations to address corridor and regional mobility needs. The analysis should, at minimum, evaluate capacity, roadway geometry, passenger/freight carrying capacity and safety issues for each alternative.
Task 8 - Preferred Plan
Purpose: The Result of this task will be an identification of the elements of a preferred 20-year transportation plan for the region. These transportation projects will be chosen on the basis of need and each project's ability to achieve the desired goals and objectives of the regional transportation plan.
8.1 Work with the RPC/WG in the development of the needs by mode for the TPR.
8.2 Assess alternative transportation solutions to meet these needs in a systems context.
8.3 Based on the above assessment, work with the RPC/WG to identify all transportation projects that makeup the TPR's preferred Colorado 20-year Transportation Plan (2001-2020).
8.4 Identify local needs, not specific projects, and express those needs in terms of total dollars for the TPR as described in the Colorado Regional Transportation Planning Guidebook.
Task 9 - Prioritization Process
Purpose: Since the preferred project listing will far exceed existing and future revenues, it is important that the RPC have a method to compare projects objectively in developing a financial constrained transportation plan. Working with the RPC/WG, the consultant will develop a list of relevant technical transportation and transportation related criteria to aid in objectively ranking the projects identified in the region's preferred regional transportation plan.
9.1 Work with the RPC/WG to establish criteria for ranking proposed transportation projects. It is important that early development and acceptance of criteria be established so that all projects are assessed in a consistent manner. However, it is also important for these criteria to be somewhat general in nature so that they have the ability to relate across modes of travel.
9.2 Work with the RPC/WG to establish a ranking of the proposed projects in relation to how they best meet the objectives of the region (a suggested prioritization process is included in Step IX of the Colorado Regional Transportation Planning Guidebook).
Task 10 - Financially Constrained Transportation Plan
Purpose: It is important that Colorado's 20-Year Transportation Plan and each RTP realistically recognize the likely funding levels from all sources that will be available to implement the plan. The purpose of this task will be to modify the preferred RTP to reflect those elements of the plan that could be implemented within the anticipated funding availability over the plans 20 year time frame.
10.1 To realistically assess potential revenues from state and federal sources, obtain from CDOT an estimate of the CDOT regional allocation that may be available to the entire CDOT region over the 20-year period.
10.2 Identify any additional sources of funds which may be available and determine whether they can be included as potential revenue available to the region. These other sources could include private revenues or a best estimate of future local government contributions.
10.3 Work with the RPC/WG in the development of a constrained RTP based on Step X of the Colorado Regional Transportation Planning Guidebook.
10.4 Present both the preferred transportation plan and the constrained transportation plan in a series of public workshops.
Task 11 - Draft Regional Transportation Plan
Purpose: The purpose of this task is to develop a Draft RTP following the guidelines set forth in the Colorado Regional Transportation Planning Guidebook.
11.1 Prepare a preliminary version of the Draft RTP and 30 photo copies of the Draft RTP for review to the RPC by no later than July 1, 1999.
11.2 Obtain review comments of Draft RTP and finalize the Draft RTP before submitting the document to the RPC and CDOT.
Task 12 - Final Transportation Plan
Purpose: This task will result in the Final RTP and the TPR's component of Colorado's 20-Year Transportation Plan. The Final RTP will reflect reviews made by the RPC, the Public, CDOT and the State Transportation Advisory Committee and where appropriate, including those suggested changes to the RTP.
12.1 The consultant, within sixty days of submitting the Draft RTP, will incorporate all comments and submit the Final RTP to the RPC.
12.2 The consultant will provide 30 copies of the Final RTP and the camera ready art work to the RPC.
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