A "Long Range Transportation Plan" (LRTP) is a comprehensive document that outlines a region's transportation goals, policies, and planned investments over a long period. Regional LRTPs are required to cover at least 20 years and must be updated at least every five years. These plans set regional priorities for meeting future transportation needs. Potential funding for the planning period is projected, and future projects that might be considered are recommended, within available funding. Many federal and state transportation funding sources require that projects be identified in regional long-range transportation plans to be eligible for project funding.

This LRTP Update focuses on the SVMPO region which consists of the southeastern Cochise County region, in Arizona. The SVMPO encompasses the City of Sierra Vista, the Town of Huachuca City and portions of urbanizing Cochise County, in partnership with the Arizona Department of Transportation.

LRTPs are usually updated every five years. This updated plan will look at the ideas and projects identified in the last LRTP to see which projects have been not been implemented, and identify any future projects, and (re)prioritize the two.

The LRTP Update will also aid regional and local active transportation planning by:

• Getting Stakeholder Buy-In. Without building consensus among SVMPO member agency staff and elected officials, the LRTP will not be implemented. The LRTP effort will strive to build consensus on the project development and prioritization process, which will, in turn, lead to consensus on the results. SVMPO has made great progress on reframing transportation decision-making from each agency trying to get their fair share of funds to a cooperative effort helping to fund more studies and leveraging limited MPO funding to obtain much greater funds from other sources to ultimately complete more projects that benefit the entire region. This planning process will keep this momentum going through this LRTP Update with even more stakeholders from federal agencies, state agencies, and local advocacy groups.

• Making Data-Driven Decisions. Several data-driven tools were introduced to the planning process during the previous LRTP Update, including a new regional travel demand model (TDM) and a project prioritization spreadsheet tool. This planning process will update the TDM with more recent and accurate U.S. Census data to ensure SVMPO can effectively compare future travel scenarios to help SVMPO and member agencies understand where to spend their limited time and funding resources. This process will also update the spreadsheet-based project prioritization tool based on input from the SVMPO TAC and Executive Board to ensure that high-priority projects are not only supported by local agency staff and elected officials but are objectively impactful to meeting transportation goals at the regional level.

• Engaging the Public in a Meaningful Way. The last LRTP was developed amid the COVID-19 pandemic and a contentious election year, rightfully pulling focus and SVMPO’s ability to connect with the public away from the LRTP engagement opportunities. This process will leverage lessons learned from engagement efforts in the post-COVID years and engagement on the recently completed Southeast Arizona Transportation Safety Plan to get broad and meaningful input from the public. Enhanced virtual engagement tools, purchased social media advertisements, and leveraging events in the region have all proven to provide higher levels of engagement. Engagement activities will be designed to directly impact the LRTP outcomes and build momentum in investing in transportation improvements in the SVMPO region.

The completed LRTP Update will have valuable information that includes:

• Defining regional priorities

• Looking ahead at transportation funding and cost

• Defining projects and initiatives

• Determining and implementation and phasing plan

We do not have a full set of prioritized projects identified yet. We will first begin by looking at the outstanding projects identified in the last LRTP, and basing new projects off of that.

Decision-makers in all jurisdictions within the SVMPO region will be given the results and recommendations of the LRTP to help them in choosing transportation projects and prioritizing their limited funding to make a positive difference on their area’s roadways.

Information related to the 2050 LRTP can be found on the SVMPO website: https://www.svmpo.org/transportation-planning/2050-long-range-transportation-plan-update-2050-lrtp/