Stanislaus COG outlines 25-year regional transportation plan and outreach in Hughson

Chris Clarkston of the Stanislaus Council of Governments told the Hughson City Council that the region’s federally required regional transportation plan (RTP) and sustainable community strategy (SCS) covers a 25-year horizon through 2049 and must be fiscally constrained and consistent with federal and state air-quality goals. "This is a 25-year plan going through the year 2049," Clarkston said, adding that the plan addresses all transportation modes — biking, transit, airports — and shows how land use drives transportation needs.

Clarkston outlined four scenarios the agency is analyzing: a business-as-usual baseline, two mixed-use scenarios that concentrate growth near existing and planned transit, and a dispersed growth scenario emphasizing accessory dwelling units. He said the scenarios differ mainly in assumptions about transit and active-transportation investments; all assume the same roadway assumptions. "There’s a real focus on matching bicycling with transit in scenario B," he said, and scenario C ties bike and transit investments to job centers to reduce vehicle-miles traveled (VMT).

The presentation explained that projects placed in the RTP must have identified funding sources — federal, state or local — and that an environmental impact report will accompany the plan. Clarkston said StanCOG partners with the University of the Pacific for demographic projections used in the RTP.

Council members asked logistical and substantive questions. One councilor asked about where to submit written feedback; Clarkston said surveys, an interactive map and materials are available on the project website and that many outreach materials are available in Spanish. Another council member raised the long‑standing desire to extend ACE service over the Altamont corridor to Modesto, noting Union Pacific’s ownership of key rail real estate; Clarkston acknowledged the route is in the plan and called it a StanCOG priority but said details about executing such projects vary and can be complex.

Why it matters: the RTP and SCS shape land-use and transportation decisions that affect travel options, air quality and where housing is built. Clarkston said StanCOG will select a preferred scenario, present it to the policy board, hold public draft reviews in June and August, and aim for plan adoption in August 2026.

What’s next: StanCOG continues pop-up outreach and city council briefings through May; the agency will release the draft plan for public review in June and August before adoption proceedings later this summer.