The Transportation Agency prepares the Regional Transportation Plan every four years, which provides a basis for actions to allocate state and federal funding to transportation projects. The Transportation Agency prepares its plan in coordination with AMBAG, which prepares a Metropolitan Transportation Plan for the three-county Monterey Bay Area in its role as the federal Metropolitan Planning Organization for this region. Transportation investments in the Monterey Bay region that receive state and federal funds or require federal approvals must be consistent with the Plan and included in AMBAG’s Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program. The Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program is a four-year program and represents the near-term commitments of the Plan.
Developing a Sustainable Communities Strategy is a newly enacted requirement of a Metropolitan Transportation Plan from Senate Bill 375. The Sustainable Communities Strategy provides linkage between greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles through integrated transportation, land use and environmental planning. As part of the planning process, AMBAG works closely with the cities and counties in the tri-county region to develop a new population, employment and housing growth forecast and land use patterns and strategies based on reasonably available revenues. The Strategy also integrates the transportation network of projects included in each county's Regional Transportation Plan. These documents are prepared in in close coordination with the region’s transit operators, local jurisdictions, Caltrans, the Monterey Bay Area Resources Board, state and federal resource agencies, local agency formation commissions and other special purpose public agencies.
These regional plans outline the tri-county priorities for meeting future transportation and mobility needs, consistent with the adopted policy goals and objectives, as well as within the constraints of transportation revenues forecast over the 20-year planning horizon of the document. AMBAG's current 2040 Plan is built on a set of integrated policies, strategies and investments to maintain and improve the transportation system to meet the diverse needs of the region through 2040, consistent with those developed within Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito County's transportation plans. The new Plan's forecast year will be 2045.
Initial activities for the 2045 Plan were kicked off in April 2019. Activities currently underway are highlighted below.
2022 Regional Growth Forecast
The first step in updating Regional Growth Forecast is establishing the regional employment, population and housing figures. The draft tri-county figures have been prepared and will be presented at the Planning Directors Forum on January 27, 2020 for review, input and discussion. AMBAG staff will be scheduling meetings with the local jurisdictions in February 2020 to discuss the draft regional numbers. The AMBAG Board of Directors will be asked to accept the regional numbers at its March 2020 meeting.
Once the regional numbers have been accepted, the draft growth forecast will be disaggregated to the subregional and jurisdiction level. Draft subregional forecast numbers are scheduled to be available in early summer 2020. The 2022 Regional Growth Forecast is scheduled to be accepted for planning purposes in October 2020.
Environmental Impact Report
AMBAG is overseeing the preparation of the joint environmental impact report for the 2045 Metropolitan Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy and the Regional Transportation Planning Agencies’ Regional Transportation Plans. The Notice of Preparation will be released in January 2020. AMBAG will host three scoping meetings to solicit input on the scope and content of the environmental impact report, as follows:
- January 22, 2020 at the Live Oak Community Room - Simpkins Center - 979 17th Ave, Santa Cruz, CA
- January 23, 2020 at the San Benito County Board of Supervisors Chambers - 481 4th Street, Hollister, CA
- January 29, 2020 at the Marina Library Community Room - 190 Seaside Circle, Marina, CA
All scoping meetings are scheduled for 6:00 – 7:30 p.m.
2045 Plan - Goals, Objectives and Performance Measures
With each Metropolitan Transportation Plan update, AMBAG starts the planning process by establishing a framework of goals and performance measures to guide the development of the Plan. This is a key first step, as it is the policy foundation for the Metropolitan Transportation Plan and identifies the “big picture” of what the agency hopes to achieve. The policy goals for the 2045 Metropolitan Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy are consistent with those proposed for the Monterey County Regional Transportation Plan, and are as follows:
Policy Goals
- Access and Mobility – Provide convenient, accessible, and reliable travel options while maximizing productivity for all people and goods in the region.
- System Preservation and Safety – Preserve and ensure a sustainable and safe regional transportation system.
- Healthy Communities – Protect the health of our residents; foster efficient development patterns that optimize travel, housing, and employment choices and encourage active transportation.
- Environment – Promote environmental sustainability and protect the natural environment.
- Social Equity – Provide an equitable level of transportation services to all segments of the population.
- Economic Vitality – Raise the region’s standard of living by enhancing the performance of the transportation system.
The 2045 Metropolitan Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy performance measures will be used to evaluate each of the policy goals have been updated and new metrics added (see Web Attachment). Performance measures are used to quantify regional goals, estimate the impacts of proposed investments, and evaluate progress over time. The Transportation Agency is also developing metrics for the Monterey County Regional Transportation Plan and may use some of the same metrics as proposed for the tri-county plan. The AMBAG Board of Directors will be asked to accept the updated performance measures in February 2020.
Transportation Project List
AMBAG will soon begin work with the Transportation Agency, transit operators, and Caltrans to update list of Monterey County projects in the 2045 Metropolitan Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy. This update will allow AMBAG and TAMC staff to be able to make changes to projects (such as cost estimates and project phasing) as well as to add new projects or delete projects that have been completed. TAMC staff will work with local jurisdictions and other project sponsors to update local project information.
Next Steps
The 2045 tri-county Plan is scheduled for adoption by the AMBAG Board of Directors in June 2022, which is the same timeline for TAMC's adoption of the Regional Transportation Plan.