Abstract:
This report was prepared at the completion of Phase I of the Strategic Transportation, Environmental and Planning Process for Urbanizing Places (STEP UP) environmental streamlining pilot project. This project was initiated by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and the North Front Range Metropolitan Planning Organization (NFRMPO) to evaluate procedures and tools that would result in improved transportation, land use and environmental planning. The report documents the efforts conducted under Phase I and provides recommendations for Phase II. As part of the project, a new model planning process was developed to incorporate environmental data and agency review at the earliest stages in transportation planning. An application was designed to provide a user-friendly interface to accomplish each step in the modified process and produce a reusable database of projects and environmental data. All environmental data should be based in a geographic information system (GIS) for display on maps within the application. A web-based collaborative application and statewide environmental database will be required in order to support the model planning process. Implementation of the STEP UP process will require short-term steps to test the model planning process and long-term steps to successfully implement the overall program at a statewide level. The outcomes from this process can be used by local, regional, state and federal agencies in their respective planning activities.
