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City outlines 2026 Transportation System Plan update and highlights civic academy youth engagement

Joint meeting of the Albany School Board and Albany City Council · December 9, 2025

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Summary

City staff said a Transportation System Plan update will begin in 2026 (consultant expected by spring) and that the TSP will feed the Capital Improvement Program; city communications staff also summarized a 6-week Civic Academy that produced youth recommendations on engagement and a planned staff proposal.

Stacy Belcastro, city engineer, told the joint meeting that the Transportation System Plan (TSP) will be updated beginning in 2026, with a consultant expected to be under contract by spring. She said the TSP, updated roughly every 10–15 years, will identify future transportation projects that feed into the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) and that ODOT will cover most of the update cost while guiding alignment with state and local codes. Public engagement and a stakeholder group will be part of the process, Belcastro said.

Belcastro and Kristen Preston (public works operations manager) emphasized how the TSP and CIP affect where people live and where the school district may consider future school locations. Preston described an existing intergovernmental agreement under which the city provides routine maintenance for a sewer lift station serving West Albany High School, and she offered that public works can host field trips and sometimes provide limited funding for bus transportation and substitute teachers to support school field trips.

Separately, Matt Harrington (communications and engagement manager) summarized the city’s first annual Civic Academy: a six-week program run with Portland State University’s National Policy Consensus Center that drew double the applicants of available spots. Participants — including two current South Albany High School students — researched youth engagement and presented recommendations to the city council on Nov. 19. Harrington said staff (Harrington and Kinsey McIntosh) will distill those recommendations into an actionable plan and coordinate with the district in the next school year.

Next steps: the city expects a public website and engagement opportunities for the TSP update; staff will return proposals for youth engagement derived from the Civic Academy.