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14 <br /> 1 <br /> 2 BACKGROUND: The Comprehensive Transportation Plan (CTP) is a document prepared at the <br /> 3 Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) level and identifies roadway, transit, bicycle, and <br /> 4 pedestrian infrastructure improvements for future implementation. The North Carolina <br /> 5 Department of Transportation requires MPOs to produce a CTP; these plans are often the <br /> 6 product of a joint planning effort between MPO planning staff, North Carolina Department of <br /> 7 Transportation (NCDOT) Transportation Planning Branch staff, and local planners. Once <br /> 8 adopted, the CTP will replace County and local community thoroughfare plans. <br /> 9 <br /> 10 CTP Purpose <br /> 11 The purpose of the CTP is to identify a universe of potential future highway, transit, pedestrian, <br /> 12 and bicycle infrastructure projects for the MPO's planning area, based on identified needs. <br /> 13 CTPs typically have a horizon year, or year of proposed full implementation, of more than 20 <br /> 14 years into the future and are fiscally unconstrained. Using the Triangle Regional Model (TRM), <br /> 15 the travel demand model for the Triangle region, a deficiency analysis is conducted on the <br /> 16 current roadway network to better understand where and how future growth in employment and <br /> 17 population will affect the transportation network. The deficiency analysis also examines metrics <br /> 18 for transit, bicycling, and walking. <br /> 19 <br /> 20 CTPs are adopted by the MPO Board as well as by the North Carolina Board of Transportation. <br /> 21 Once adopted, CTPs represent the mutual vision on the part of the State, local jurisdictions, <br /> 22 and the MPO for future transportation needs. The presentation, provided in Attachment 1, will <br /> 23 provide more information about the CTP, its relationship to other plans, and its importance with <br /> 24 respect to reserving right-of-way. <br /> 25 <br /> 26 Relationship to Other Plans <br /> 27 The CTP is the overarching transportation plan for the DCHC MPO. As a State requirement, the <br /> 28 CTP replaces the Thoroughfare plans that have been conducted in North Carolina since the <br /> 29 1950s. With a focus on multi-modal transportation, the CTP is designed to work within a <br /> 30 planning framework, which includes the Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP) and the State <br /> 31 Transportation Improvement Program (STIP). <br /> 32 <br /> 33 Projects included in other Orange County transportation plans, including the Orange County <br /> 34 Bus and Rail Investment Plan, must be included in the CTP. While CTPs are not regularly <br /> 35 updated, they can be amended. If local projects and priorities change and projects are <br /> 36 specifically removed from local plans, the CTP can be amended. It is, however, important to <br /> 37 note that the CTP represents an aspirational, non-fiscally constrained, long-range <br /> 38 transportation network and includes all possible transportation improvements. While some of <br /> 39 these transportation improvements may never come to pass based on funding or feasibility, this <br /> 40 plan indicates a long-range vision that supports a robust multi-modal transportation network and <br /> 41 provides a diversity of projects for programming in subsequent fiscally constrained plans and <br /> 42 funding programs. <br /> 43 <br /> 44 Products <br /> 45 The final CTP will contain two distinct elements, the CTP Maps (Attachment 2) and the CTP <br /> 46 Study Report. The CTP Study Report contains a great deal of background information including <br /> 47 problem statements for specific projects and a summary of the CTP process. The Highway <br /> 48 Minimum Problem Statements document is provided as an example (Attachment 3). The entire <br />