The following report is an evaluation of the use of the Transportation for Communities — Advancing Projects through Partnerships (TCAPP) in carrying out the Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments (PPACG) 2035 long-range transportation planning effort, called the 2035 Moving Forward Update(hereafter PPACG planning effort). TCAPP provides a framework for improving how to develop, prioritize, and inform transportation plans and projects incorporating economic, community, and environmental interests. PPACG’s planning process included creative ways to engage resource agencies that was respectful of their time and budgets, and conscious of each participant’s preferred communication style. The desired outcome of this enhanced, long-range planning process was to identify and address complex dilemmas as early in the planning process as possible and to ensure that decisions were supported through programming and project development. Under the C18 project, which is funded by the Transportation Research Board’s second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP2), PPACG tested whether or not utilization of the TCAPP website-tool met the above desired outcome. Although this evaluation includes specific recommendations related to the use of TCAPP, it also includes overall recommendations about the use of the guidance and methods that are embodied in TCAPP. This distinction is important because the benefits and deficiencies in the TCAPP website versus the content it embodies may require different responses to build on the benefits or address any deficiencies. The Udall Foundation’s U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution completed a separate, independent evaluation that focused on the collaborative aspects of PPACG’s planning effort utilizing TCAPP. The following evaluation will focus on the procedural and technical aspects of utilizing TCAPP in carrying out the PPACG planning effort. This evaluation was done by conducting a series of verbal interviews and requests for written comments from several leading individuals involved in the planning process. It also includes observations by lead planning staff. Input was received from the following entities: PPACG, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Colorado Natural Heritage Program (CNHP), and Placeways. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting