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Commissioners press WSP for technical data on countywide transportation master plan
Summary
Consultants reported outreach and modeling progress on the countywide transportation master plan, but commissioners demanded corridor maps, wait-time metrics and modeling inputs and asked staff to return with technical data before final decisions or revenue proposals.
Consultants for the countywide transportation master plan presented a progress report highlighting outreach, initial modeling tasks and a June adoption target, but commissioners said the briefing did not include the corridor-level technical detail they need to evaluate mitigation and funding options.
Mariah Deacol of WSP told the board the consulting team collected about 1,500 public surveys, performed a sentiment analysis with Google, and is developing modeling for conditions to 2050 and corridor/subarea analyses. "We collected about 1,500 surveys in total," Deacol said, and the firm is drafting goals, criteria and corridor-level recommendations.
Commissioners repeatedly pressed for empirical measures: current wait times at prioritized intersections, the trip-generation assumptions the model uses, hot-spot maps by corridor and the meeting-level sample sizes that produced the outreach charts. Several commissioners said the public-facing slides emphasized sentiment and did not supply the technical outputs that would support policy choices on phasing, mitigation or a dedicated funding source.
Claudia Blotto, the project's project manager, who joined remotely, said the technical data and corridor analyses exist and have been shared with the technical advisory committee; she offered to bring more detailed materials and in-person technical briefings to the board. "We do have all of the things you're talking about," she said, and committed to provide the modeling inputs and maps requested by commissioners.
The board asked staff to schedule a follow-up briefing where the consultant and county transportation staff will present corridor maps, modeling assumptions (including the land-use scenarios used for 2050), and performance metrics (wait times, delay, and projected vehicle trips). Commissioners also discussed, and several said they opposed, placing a transportation surtax on the 2026 ballot this year; staff said clarity is needed before committing to a ballot measure.
The countywide master plan will continue through the modeling and corridor-prioritization process. Consultants told the board they are aiming for an adoption timeline that currently targets June but acknowledged the schedule is compressed; commissioners agreed to reconvene for a data-rich briefing before committing to specific policy or funding decisions.
