The Regional Planning Organization met Monday to discuss what factors should go into the county’s next transportation plan.
The RPO is part of the Mountainland Association of Governments, a state organization that carries out projects in Summit, Utah and Wasatch counties. Leaders including Midway, Heber, and county government representatives attended Monday’s discussion.
Senior planner Bob Allen said often, transportation infrastructure is planned based on existing traffic problems. But he said leaders might want to consider factors like economic vitality and transit needs as well.
“Transit, you know, it’s only been around two or three years now,” he said. “This is maybe a step back to say, ‘OK, are there big changes that we want to make? Are there big investments that we want to make into transit in the future?’ And if there are, let’s talk about it and figure out how we can do that.”
He said leaders can work with High Valley Transit to understand the region’s needs, whether that’s bus lanes or rapid transit routes.
Tourism in the area is another factor to consider, according to Allen – especially with a future Olympic Games likely on the horizon for 2034.
The group drafts a new transportation plan every four years; the next one will be for 2027. Allen said any Olympic considerations should be taken into account for the 2027 plan so there is enough time to complete the work.
Environmental impact and resiliency to natural disasters and climate change are other factors Allen brought up.
He said thinking about more elements of what makes transportation work well can make a difference in the county’s planning.
“This chart takes us from a Ford Escort to, like, a very nice car,” he said. “It doesn’t get us the Ferrari version, maybe, but we might be in the Lincoln Navigator realm. This is really moving our process forward.”
Allen said over the next four years, MAG representatives will continue to refine priorities for the next transportation plan and continue to update local governments on their progress.
