Speaking

Communities and Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) are expected to deliver long-range transportation plans that are data-informed, community-centered, fiscally realistic and resilient—often with vastly different levels of staff capacity, technical resources and local partner readiness. Identifying the right projects is the critical step that transforms a long-range plan from a vision document into an actionable investment strategy.

This session explores scalable approaches to project identification and prioritization that can be adapted for urban, suburban and rural planning environments. Through real-world examples, attendees will learn how agencies can "right-size" their planning process without sacrificing transparency, defensibility or alignment with community goals.

Speakers will walk through three practical project development frameworks. The first highlights a data-driven approach that leverages travel demand models, GIS analysis, safety data and automated screening methods to systematically identify transportation needs and candidate investments. The second presents a hybrid process that combines quantitative analysis with structured stakeholder engagement and local partner input to balance technical rigor with community context. The third demonstrates low-cost, highly adaptable methods for smaller or data-limited communities, using targeted outreach, project solicitation and survey-based prioritization techniques to build actionable project lists.

Participants will leave with practical tools, lessons learned and adaptable workflows that support healthier planning processes, stronger regional coordination and transportation investment decisions that communities can realistically advance.