Board approves 'Larimer on the Move' transportation master plan, sets long-term funding challenge

The Larimer County Board of County Commissioners on July 28 voted 3-0 to approve the county’s updated transportation master plan, branded “Larimer on the Move,” and directed staff to forward the plan with a recommendation for adoption by the Larimer County Planning Commission.

Senior civil engineer Eric Tracy and consultant Stephanie Ball presented the plan, which combines a transportation master-plan update with an incorporated safety action plan and sets a vision and goals through year 2050. The plan recommends projects across roadways, multimodal facilities, transit coordination and safety actions, and provides planning-level cost estimates for prioritization.

The plan’s technical assessment and public engagement identified a set of roadway, shoulder, intersection and paving projects and a suite of nonfixed-route transit tools for smaller communities. Ball said the plan identified approximately $840 million (2025 dollars) in transportation investment needs through 2050; current annual funds available to Larimer County for transportation projects are roughly $7 million, which staff said would cover about 20 percent of the projected needs at current funding levels.

Tracy and Ball described the plan’s implementation approach as goal-driven and flexible. Projects will be evaluated against goals including safety, resilience, travel choice, efficiency, equity, regional connections and funding; prioritized projects will be moved into the county capital improvement program, which is updated annually. Ball noted the plan includes a prioritization tool informed by technical data and community input; the plan also preserves the option to update the plan if travel patterns, development, or other conditions change before 2050.

Commissioners commended the engagement process and the plan’s level of detail. Commissioners asked clarifying questions about the plan’s transit recommendations (including “premium transit” definitions carried over from regional plans), last-mile connections for potential future passenger rail, and how emerging conditions (such as natural disasters or partnership opportunities) would be integrated into the plan’s capital project prioritization.

Commissioner Jody Shannock McNally moved for approval; the motion passed 3-0. Planning Commission consideration and the county’s continuing work on identifying dedicated transportation funding were noted as next steps.