For the first time, as part of the region’s 2040 Long-Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) process, HRTPO staff is utilizing the HRTPO Project Prioritization Tool to evaluate and score ‘Active Transportation’ candidate projects. The term “active transportation” refers to all forms of human-powered transportation modes, most notably walking and bicycling.

Over the last year, project suggestions received from Hampton Roads locality staff and through citizen comments were used to generate a list of candidate active transportation projects for the 2040 LRTP. From there, HRTPO staff began working with planners from each locality to gather data on bicycle and pedestrian facilities already existing on the ground. The goal was to create a regional map of existing active transportation facilities to help evaluate each project’s utility, i.e. how well proposed projects would improve system continuity and connectivity.

In particular, staff assigned higher scores to those projects which provided: access to transit, and local or regional destinations; connections to existing bicycle/pedestrian facilities; elimination of barriers to major destinations; and a high degree of regional significance through connecting multiple localities. By using the HRTPO Project Prioritization Tool, staff is able to objectively evaluate and recommend active transportation project priorities for the upcoming 2040 LRTP. 

Draft scores for all 2040 LRTP Candidate Projects were presented to the HRTPO Transportation Technical Advisory Committee (TTAC) on January 7, 2015 (Click here for table of Draft scores). Final scores for 2040 LRTP projects will likely be presented to the TTAC as early as the April 1, 2015 meeting. The final project list will also undergo a two-week public comment period at that time.