Transportation Planning

Transportation Planning at CDOT

I-70 Signs & Mountains

CDOT conducts a continuing, comprehensive, and cooperative (3C), performance-based, multimodal transportation planning process in accordance with federal and state requirements.

Our Partners in Planning

CDOT works closely with many planning partners throughout the state, including local officials in the ten rural and five metropolitan Transportation Planning Regions (TPRs). The Regional Planning Commissions (RPCs) in these fifteen regions meet regularly to plan for their areas. The Statewide Transportation Advisory Committee (STAC), comprised of representatives from each of these planning organizations, meets monthly to advise the Department and the Transportation Commission on the multimodal transportation matters of the state. Transportation stakeholders are also represented on other statewide planning bodies including the Statewide MPO Committee, Transit and Rail Advisory Committee (TRAC), and the Freight Advisory Council (FAC). 

The Products of Planning

Transportation planning is an ongoing process that periodically culminates in the development or update of several required planning products including a Statewide Transportation Plan (SWP), Regional Transportation Plans (RTPs), and a Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP). These products include:

  • Performance objectives with both short-term and long-term goals for the multimodal transportation system,
  • Strategies to achieve these performance objectives, and
  • Priorities for investment in transportation programs and projects.

The most recent transportation legislation requires a performance-based approach to planning. Colorado’s multimodal transportation planning process reflects this performance-based approach to planning by incorporating extensive use of research, data and analysis to inform decision-making, including the establishment of goals and performance objectives, distribution of resources, and project selection.

Planning Coordination at CDOT

The transportation planning process is coordinated by the Multimodal Planning Branch (MPB) in the Division of Transportation Development (DTD), in conjunction with the CDOT Engineering Regions. It is a multimodal planning process that includes extensive coordination both internally at CDOT and externally with statewide stakeholders. Primary internal partners include: DTD's Performance and Asset Management Branch (PAMB), and Information Management Branch; Division of Accounting and Finance (DAF), Division of Maintenance and Operations (DMO); and the Division of Transit and Rail (DTR). External coordination involves regional planning partners and organizations, other key stakeholder groups and the general public. The MPB coordinates planning activities, integrates planning products from different CDOT Engineering Regions and Divisions, incorporates input from the various stakeholders, and provides analysis and policy development support based on a comprehensive, statewide, multimodal perspective.