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TAC approves set‑aside policy amendments after debate over signal‑spacing eligibility

Denver Regional Council of Governments Technical Advisory Committee · March 26, 2026

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Summary

DRCOG staff presented amendments to the TIP set‑aside policy. Committee debated and ultimately approved a modification to remove a sentence requiring RTOT projects to be on segments with average signal spacing of no more than 1/2 mile, after concerns it could exclude many corridors. The motion to recommend the amended policy passed. (Discussion led by Josh Wenck, with Zeke Lynch proposing the change.)

DRCOG senior planner Josh Wenck presented a redlined amendment to the 2024–2027 TIP set‑aside policy that the board had previously extended by a year. Wenck said changes clarify contracting, eligibility, scoring, and reflected lessons from recent calls for projects.

A key point of contention involved the regional transportation operations and technology (RTOT) set‑aside: the draft included a sentence requiring funded projects to be on roadway segments with average signal spacing of no more than a half‑mile. Douglas County representative Zeke Lynch argued that the sentence would exclude many corridors in his jurisdiction and others in South Metro where access management results in wider spacing, preventing worthy projects (such as transit signal priority) from qualifying. Staff and Greg McKinnon, the RTOT set‑aside manager (participating remotely), said the spacing language originally targeted benefits of signal coordination in urban corridors and was not intended to exclude projects that provide other technological benefits.

After discussion and offers to reframe the language to allow prioritization rather than categorical exclusion, Douglas County moved to strike the signal‑spacing sentence. The committee agreed to the modification and voted to recommend the amended set‑aside policy to the RTC/board. Wenck noted additional clarifications to contracting (TDM contracting handled through DRCOG) and eligibility updates to other set‑asides were included in the redline.

The committee’s approval included direction to staff to carry forward the modification and to continue refining language on eligibility and prioritization.