Gregory Nadeau and Therese McMillan
U.S. Department of Transportation
From mass transit projects to new highways, bridges, sidewalks and hiker/biker trails, effectively addressing transportation needs in communities across the nation shares one common foundation —good planning.
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced recipients of the biennial 2015 Transportation Planning Excellence Awards to local leaders who are sponsoring forward-thinking transportation projects that deliver lasting benefits to the public.
From Roanoke, Virginia, to Mt. Hood, Oregon, we selected eight projects based on their successes in forging partnerships in the community and developing creative, effective solutions with long-term benefits. Each project also addresses more than one form of transportation.
In Reno, officials are expanding Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service, building new bike lanes, and improving sidewalks on a major downtown street to provide better connections and improve quality of life in an area where more than half of households report annual incomes below $20,000. Funded by a $16 million DOT TIGER grant, the 4th Street/ Prater Way BRT Project is expected to spur economic development and connect residents to the University of Nevada-Reno and a community college.
The Colorado Springs regional transportation plan is another awardee with high expectations. The plan even includes several outside-the-transportation-box goals like preserving habitat, reducing air pollution, and improving water quality.
Motorists traveling across a snowy, 70-mile highway over Oregon’s Mt. Hood will benefit from safety and congestion-reducing measures made possible by new intelligent transportation systems, a bike-ped bridge, and increased daily express bus service.
And Pennsylvanians living near the Delaware River will enjoy wider sidewalks, new bike paths, upgraded trolley tracks, and public art in the highway underpass as part of an award-winning, I-95 interchange reconstruction plan.
Other winning projects include upgrading bus stops and improving pedestrian accessibility in Roanoke, VA; creating an innovative framework for a 2040 Regional Transportation Plan in Chattanooga; developing a new way of setting priorities to bridge a $12 billion transportation funding gap in Minnesota; and developing a package of transit improvements that include new park-and-ride lots, express routes, bus rapid transit, and local bus service in Austin, TX.
The Winners
The Transportation Planning Excellence Awards Program (TPEA) is a biennial awards program developed by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and co-sponsored by the American Planning Association. The program provides a unique opportunity to recognize and celebrate the outstanding transportation planning practices performed by planners and decisionmakers in communities across the country.
An independent, expert panel of judges reviewed each nomination, and identified eight Award Winning projects that went well beyond standard practice to demonstrate an exceptional level of innovation and creativity.
We recognize all applicants for their efforts in applying to the program and appreciate the work that is being done to advance transportation planning across the county. The following list of award winners represent excellence in transportation planning and may serve as models for their peers.
Award Winners Include:
- Moving Forward Update 2035 Regional Transportation Plan Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments, Colorado Springs, Colorado
- Mt. Hood Multimodal Transportation Plan Oregon Department of Transportation, Portland, Oregon
- Bus Stop Accessibility Study Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission, Roanoke, VA
- Humanizing Infrastructure: Design for the Replacement of I-95 Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania
- 4th Street/ Prater Way Bus RAPID Transit Project Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County, Reno, Nevada
- Chattanooga-Hamilton County/North Georgia Transportation Planning Organization Community-Sensitive Performance-Based Planning Chattanooga, TN
- Minnesota’s 20-Year State Highway Investment Plan Minnesota Department of Transportation, St. Paul, Minnesota
- Project Connect North Corridor: Taking Transit Where No Transit Has Gone Before! Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Austin, Texas
Honorable Mentions Include:
- 2035 Regional Transportation Plan - Pocket Booklet Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County, Reno, Nevada
- Connect Livingston: Linking Our Communities Livingston County Planning Department, Geneseo, NY
- Excellence in Regional Cooperative Multi-Disciplinary Planning Evansville Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), Evansville, IN
- Herding Cats and Wrangling Wild Horses: Bicycle Planning in the West Cheyenne Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), Cheyenne, WY
- PPACG and City of Colorado Springs Wildfire Evacuation Plan Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments, Colorado Springs, CO
- Southwest Johnson County Area Plan Kansas Department of Transportation, Topeka, KS
- Tri-Rail Coastal Link Station Area Analysis South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, Pompano Beach, FL
- WalkBikeNC North Carolina Department of Transportation, Raleigh, NC
Learn more about the program here.