The Regional Transportation Plan for Monterey County is a long range (20+ year) plan, updated every four years. The Plan forms the basis for the tri-county Metropolitan Transportation Plan prepared by the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments (AMBAG) for the Monterey Bay Area pursuant to Federal Highway Administration and Caltrans transportation planning requirements. The Metropolitan Transportation Plan, which also serves as the Sustainable Communities Strategy, will incorporate the financial assumptions and project lists included in the Regional Transportation Plans for Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties.
Pursuant to state and federal guidelines, the Regional Transportation Plan includes a countywide multi-modal needs assessment, transportation policy element, long-range funding forecast, funding-constrained project list, and a program-level environmental review document assessing the probable environmental impacts associated with implementation of the Plan. Public participation is sought after in the development of the Regional Transportation Plan for each of the project steps, and as adopted by AMBAG through the Monterey Bay Area Public Participation Plan.
Staff initiated the development of updated goals and policy objectives for the 2022 Regional Transportation Plan through an interactive survey shared with the Board of Directors at the October 2019 meeting, and a public-facing version that received 242 responses during the month it was available. Results of the survey were used to refine the the goals, policy objectives and performance measures to be more reflective of the feedback received.
Staff recommends aligning the 2022 RTP with the following overarching goals:
- Access & Mobility: Deliver a reliable and efficient transportation system for all users
- Safety & Health: Create a safe transportation system that fosters county-wide health
- Environmental Stewardship: Protect the County’s natural environment and promote resiliency of the built environment
- Equity: Promote social and geographic equity through transportation planning, engineering and design
- Economic Vitality: Foster an economically viable, sustainable transportation system that supports the regional economy
The proposed goals, policy objectives and performance measures for the Plan are in Attachment 1 to this report. Staff coordinated with AMBAG on the performance measures to promote cohesion between the agencies.
Results from the general public and the Agency's Board of Directors were similar in many ways, identifying the need for safer, accessible roadways and investment in alternative modes of transportation beyond the personal automobile, such as bus, rail and bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure. Key areas where the Agency's Board and the general public vary are on the topics of equity and economic vitality.
When asked the question about who comes to mind when you think of equity, the Board predominantly responded with "rural communities" (40%), whereas the public responded with minorities and/or low income individuals (27%) and transportation disadvantaged (26%). Many of the public also responded with a write-in answer of "all of the above."
Regarding the question about what the goal of economic vitality means to you, the Board predominantly responded with "Enhanced travel and tourism" (50%), whereas the public's response was largely "Maintenance of the existing transportation system" (~50%). A summary of results from the Board and the general public are included as web attachments to the staff report.
A cumulative comparison of the results is included as Attachment 2 to this report.