Our Approach to Transportation Planning
Transportation planning is a critical discipline that Red Plains has specialized in for decades. Whether you are a Tribal government working with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) or the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), a municipality serving the public, a regional or urban transportation planning organization, or a State Department of Transportation (DOT), Red Plains is your trusted partner for responsible, data-driven planning.
In today’s transportation industry, every dollar must be strategically allocated to maintain, expand, and improve transportation infrastructure. Effective planning not only optimizes resources but also fosters collaboration among agencies, ensuring seamless coordination and long-term sustainability. A well-developed transportation plan reduces future jurisdictional conflicts, streamlines engineering efforts, and improves overall efficiency.
At its core, transportation planning involves assessing the current system’s functionality and conditions relative to both present and future needs. Our approach actively engages stakeholders and the public to identify quantifiable priorities and develop a forward-thinking strategy. Many agencies approach transportation planning as a one-time exercise, merely “checking the boxes.” However, we believe in an ongoing, dynamic planning process that remains adaptable to shifting priorities, emerging funding opportunities, and evolving transportation demands.
Transportation infrastructure—whether roads, trails, transit systems, or multimodal networks—connects people to goods and services. Thoughtful planning ensures its long-term viability and effectiveness.
Key Elements of a Transportation Plan
1. Defining the Transportation Agency and Service Area: A transportation plan should establish the agency’s role, jurisdiction, and service area responsibilities.
2. Assessing Existing Infrastructure: A clear understanding of current multimodal transportation conditions is essential for responsible decision-making. Maintaining an up-to-date asset inventory—preferably within a Geographic Information System (GIS)—enables agencies to make data-driven programming and prioritization decisions.
3. Identifying Ownership, Responsibilities, and Agreements: Transportation systems often involve shared ownerships, interagency agreements, and overlapping responsibilities. A plan must clearly define these relationships to streamline operations and ensure accountability.
4. Measuring System Usage: Usage levels should be assessed through:
Traffic counts & Average Annual Daily Traffic (AADT) analysis
Level of Service (LOS) evaluations (measuring how effectively roads, trails, and intersections manage trips)
Traffic modeling (analyzing origin-destination patterns and system capacity)
5. Identifying Gaps and Inefficiencies: The plan should pinpoint congestion points and infrastructure gaps that require improvement.
6. Evaluating Safety Performance: Analyzing crash data—including severity, frequency, and contributing factors—helps agencies develop targeted safety improvements. As vehicles and driver behaviors evolve, transportation safety measures must continuously adapt.
7. Forecasting Future Needs: Short-term (1-5 year) and long-term (5-20 year) forecasts should be based on:
Population growth trends
Trip generation & distribution modeling
Planned developments and their impact on traffic patterns
8. Establishing Core Principles and Decision-Making Criteria: A strong transportation plan defines the agency’s mission, standards, and guiding principles. A transparent decision-making framework ensures that projects are prioritized based on lifecycle analysis, system conditions, and strategic need.
9. Developing a Prioritized Project List: A transportation plan should include a comprehensive project list—ranging from immediate needs to long-term aspirations. Even projects that may not currently have funding should be documented, as new funding opportunities can emerge unexpectedly. A well-prepared agency is ready to act when grants or investments become available.
10. Creating a Transportation Improvement Program (TIP): A TIP translates planning into action by aligning prioritized projects with available funding. It should outline planned expenditures for the upcoming fiscal year, including:
Agency administration costs
Planning, design, and construction efforts
Routine and major maintenance
Specialized services (e.g., transit, community outreach, safety campaigns)
11. Implementing and Updating the Plan: While the TIP is the actionable component of a transportation plan, a clear implementation strategy must also be established. Planning methodologies such as SMART goals and SWOT analysis can guide implementation efforts, ensuring that expectations are realistic, measurable, and adaptable.
Most importantly, transportation planning should never be static. A successful plan includes a schedule for regular updates, ensuring that evolving conditions, funding opportunities, and system demands are continuously reassessed.
Why Choose Red Plains?
The scope and complexity of a transportation plan should be tailored to the unique needs of the agency it serves. Whether you need assistance meeting regulatory requirements or developing a comprehensive, forward-thinking strategy, Red Plains brings decades of experience to the table. Our team has successfully completed hundreds of transportation plans, helping agencies scale their efforts into actionable, effective solutions.
Let’s work together to create a plan that strengthens your transportation network for the future.