Littleton board sets July deadline to shape 2026 transportation master plan update; staff proposes education and study sessions

City transportation staff asked the Transportation Mobility Board to identify priorities by July to help shape the scope of work for the Transportation Master Plan (TMP) update, which the city anticipates kicking off in January 2026.

The memo to the board explained staff needs an agreed set of board priorities in mid-summer so the city's Request for Proposals can reflect the board's technical interests and bring the right consultant expertise. "If there's special things in there that we want as a board, if they make their way into the RFP, then we'll get a better team," a staff presenter said during the meeting.

The nut graf: the TMP update will guide the city's transportation investments and policy for the next planning horizon; the board's input at the RFP stage will affect consultant selection and the emphasis of analysis and outreach.

Staff proposed a staged approach: an educational "TMP 101" session for board members to explain how the TMP is used in project and development decisions; a short list of comparable TMPs for members to review (staff cited Burlington, Vermont and St. Louis Park, Minnesota as earlier outreach examples); and follow-up study sessions to divide the work into focused subtopics (for example, active transportation, freight/auto, transit, complete network and implementation). The board generally supported the approach and suggested that the initial education session be scheduled before in-depth review so members could read the plan with a clearer sense of priorities.

Board members emphasized three priorities for the update: (1) demonstrating the TMP's effect on day-to-day decision-making and development approvals, (2) presenting clear before-and-after evidence from pilot projects (for example, traffic-calming pilots) so citizens can judge effectiveness, and (3) ensuring the update identifies funding and maintenance responsibilities so recommendations are implementable. Staff said they would supply comparative TMP examples, draft a one- to two-page set of priority items for the RFP, and circulate draft speed and pilot data already in development.

Staff provided a conservative timeline presented at the meeting: circulate board priorities by July (to feed the RFP), select a consultant in late 2025, and launch consultant-led work in January 2026. The board discussed several procedural options for executing its review: dedicate multiple full meetings to the update, create subcommittees to review sections in parallel, or hold a series of study sessions with staff and consultants for deep dives. Several members favored an early multi-hour workshop to cover TMP basics, then smaller working groups to prepare focused recommendations.

Ending: staff said it will compile example TMPs and prepare the educational session materials; the board asked staff to schedule study-session time in March and to circulate draft pilot data and the city's multimodal impact-fee accounting so members can ground recommendations in current funding and workloads.