The public is invited to weigh in on their priorities for the statewide transportation network.

A public survey is being conducted by the Iowa Department of Transportation that will inform the development of the state’s long-range transportation plan.

Click here to take the survey.

A safe and efficient multimodal transportation system is critical for the State of Iowa. It is important for the Iowa Department of Transportation to periodically review the anticipated social and economic changes likely to occur in the coming decades, and craft a framework for planning efforts and programming decisions that will support the transportation system that is necessary for Iowa’s future.

This is codified in 23 CFR § 450.214(a), which states “The State shall develop a long-range statewide transportation plan, with a minimum 20-year forecast period at the time of adoption, that provides for the development and implementation of the multimodal transportation system for the State.”

The Iowa DOT kicked off work on the 2045 update to the state transportation plan in the fall of 2015, and anticipates completion by spring of 2017. This planning process and document will address federal requirements and serve as a transportation investment guide for the department’s staff and Commission.

The most recent plan, adopted in 2012, focused on policy issues and not on specific, actionable items. The goal with the new state transportation plan will be to provide specific strategies and improvements that will be implemented and revisited over time. The plan will include some notable enhancements from the 2012 document, including the following.

• Extensive internal and external stakeholder and public input efforts throughout the plan development process.
• An action plan with specific strategies and improvements that will be implemented and revisited over time. This could include short-term, long-term, and ongoing strategies, study corridors, and potential future improvements.
• Performance measures to help the department track and monitor performance in key areas over time.

Stakeholder and public engagement

Internal discussions are already underway, and a major public input effort is anticipated to begin in February 2016, aimed at gathering feedback on what the public feels are long-term needs of the transportation system and appropriate strategies to address those needs. The anticipated timeline for the planning process is:

• February – March 2016 — Online public input gathering
• April – June 2016 — Targeted external stakeholder exercises and in-person public input
• Spring/summer 2016 — Refinement of vision and action plan
• Late summer 2016 — Possible second round of online public input gathering
• Fall/winter 2016 — Finalize draft document
• Spring 2017 — Approve final document

Presentations and materials from stakeholder and public engagement activities are linked below.

MPO/RPA Quarterly Meeting, September 15, 2015
MPO/RPA Quarterly Meeting, December 1, 2015
Commission Workshop, January 12, 2016

– See more at: http://www.iowadot.gov/iowainmotion/index.html#sthash.j7jnPzln.dpuf