Cheyenne MPO’s Connect 2050 recommended to Laramie County commissioners

The Laramie County Planning Commission voted to recommend the Cheyenne Metropolitan Planning Organization’s Connect 2050 long-range transportation plan to the Laramie County Board of Commissioners. Jennifer Corso, representing the Cheyenne MPO, described the plan during the commission’s public hearing and presentation.

Corso said Connect 2050 updates the previous Connect 2045 horizon year and lays out a 25-year strategy for roadways, transit, bicycle and pedestrian improvements. "We do this every 5 years," she said, and noted the plan is federally required to keep the region eligible for federal funding. The MPO developed the plan with input from Laramie County, the City of Cheyenne, WYDOT and the public, and worked with consultants from Kimley-Horn.

The presentation identified a list of potential projects and how they were prioritized. Corso said project development identified about 104 potential roadway capital projects, categorized by needs such as bridge and drainage work, access management, reconstruction, intersection improvements, new connections and widening. Projects were prioritized using performance measures — safety and security, operational efficiency, preservation and resiliency, economic growth and multimodal integration — with different weightings for urban and rural areas. Corso said the recommended projects were then sorted by current and projected funding availability.

She said about 42 active-transportation projects were also prioritized, including new greenways, sidewalks and bicycle-pedestrian enhancements, using criteria such as how many facilities or crossings would be improved, how projects fill gaps and the propensity for active transportation. On transit, Corso highlighted a proposed South route realignment to serve Laramie County Community College, rehabilitating the building at 1800 Westland Road for a permanent transfer center within a year, evaluation of future intercity bus service between Laramie and Cheyenne, and a recently completed rail site-selection study that identified two candidate locations (Old Cabby Jack and Reed) for a future Front Range passenger-rail station.

Commissioners asked whether the Board of Public Utilities had been part of the steering committee; Corso said BOPU was not on the steering committee but had the document for review and is involved as projects advance. On funding, Corso said the MPO (using federal planning funds) covers roughly 90% of planning expenses for the MPO, with the city and county contributing about 5% each to MPO funding; she said funding for actual projects is handled separately through the appropriate agency or by developers.

Following the presentation and a public-hearing period with no public commenters, Commissioner Casey moved to recommend approval of Connect 2050 to the Laramie County Board of Commissioners; the motion was seconded and approved by roll call.

The commission’s vote sends the plan to the Board of County Commissioners for final adoption consideration; commissioners and staff said public input will be incorporated into the final version before the board acts.