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Wasatch Front planners seek committee input on RTP 2027 active-transportation phasing criteria
Summary
WFRC staff asked the Active Transportation Committee to rank Wasatch Choice goals to shape phasing criteria for active-transportation projects in the 2027 Regional Transportation Plan, and said staff will use those priorities to assign projects to decades through 2055.
The Wasatch Front Regional Council sought the Active Transportation Committee's input on how to prioritize projects for the 2027 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP), asking members to rank Wasatch Choice vision goals that will form the basis of phasing criteria.
Jory (staff member) gave an overview of the RTP process, saying the council is developing a preferred scenario now and will decide next year which projects are needed in each decade through 2055. “We started last year by testing scenarios…this year we’re working on a preferred scenario,” Jory said, adding that phasing decisions will assign projects to near-, mid- and long-term timeframes so staff are ready to program projects next spring.
Hugh Van Wagon, staff liaison for the committee at the Wasatch Front Regional Council, described the role of the Wasatch Choice vision in screening projects and said active-transportation phasing criteria in the last plan used four of the vision’s 10 goals: safe and user-friendly streets; quality transportation choices; access to economic and educational opportunities; and livable, healthy communities. He asked members to use a live Slido poll to rank all 10 goals so staff can develop metrics tied to the committee’s priorities.
Committee members used the poll and staff reported preliminary results showing the top five priorities for this committee as: safe, user-friendly streets; quality transportation choices; livable and healthy communities; clean air; and access to economic and educational opportunities. Hugh described the plan timeline and outreach: fall preferred-scenario workshops (beginning that night in Box Elder County) and additional review with partner agencies; staff said the phasing criteria informed by today's input would be used in spring/summer scheduling and brought back to the Regional Growth Committee in January 2026 and to the council as the plan proceeds toward adoption in May 2027.
Staff emphasized the screening process: an initial, high-level screening of candidate projects, a technical screening tied to planning goals and travel-demand modeling, and an “exploratory concepts” category for projects that do not meet screening but staff want to keep under consideration. Jory and Hugh encouraged committee members and local staff to attend preferred-scenario workshops and noted continued coordination with UDOT and UTA on programming and evaluation.
The committee did not take formal action on phasing criteria at the meeting; staff asked members to continue providing input via the Slido poll and to participate in upcoming workshops.
