What is a Comprehensive Transportation Plan (CTP)?

The Comprehensive Transportation Plan (CTP) is a multi-modal, long-range plan that identifies transportation system improvements necessary to meet future mobility demands within a community (Johnston County). The CTP is developed and continually updated through a collaborative process among residents, county officials, and the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT). It addresses highway, bicycle and pedestrian, public transportation, and rail projects over approximately 25 years, reflecting the growth and development anticipated for Johnston County.

By establishing the region's future transportation needs, the CTP offers an organized way to identify, and eventually prioritize, the transportation projects that will be built in Johnston County's communities. Local governments may use the CTP to inform local land use decision-making and transportation planning initiatives, and to communicate transportation expectations more clearly with residents, developers, and the NCDOT.

The CTP also serves as a framework for selecting future transportation projects for the Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP) in urbanized areas, such as the Capital Area MPO, which identifies transportation projects prioritized for funding over the next 20 years. Once projects are in the MTP, projects are then selected to be placed in the even shorter-term Transportation Investment Program (TIP) that the NCDOT uses to determine projects for construction.

Additional CTP benefits include:

• A response to the community's vision
• Integrated land use and transportation planning
• Consideration of all modes of transportation
• Consideration of environmental resources
• Significant public involvement
• Creation of a direct link to project development

CTP Facts

• The CTP represents a community's long-term vision for how the local transportation network should evolve to serve residents and employers in a growing region.
• The CTP includes multiple modes of transportation. It will focus on:
  • highways,
  • pedestrian facilities (sidewalks and trails),
  • bicycle facilities,
  • public transportation, and
  • rail.

  Attention to each of these transportation modes allows better provisioning for a broad range of transportation choices.

• The CTP assesses the condition of the entire transportation network and serves as the framework for transportation planning efforts at the county and regional scale.
• By including all modes of travel - not just cars - the CTP provides a comprehensive inventory of an evolving multi-modal transportation network to support Johnston County and local partners as they plan to meet the needs of a growing and diversifying population.
• The CTP does not include specific transportation projects or improvement schedules, but instead represents the status or completeness of the comprehensive transportation system that may be required to support anticipated growth and development.

The CTP Process

Figure 1. The Five Steps of the CTP Process

 

CTP Step 1: Develop CTP Vision

Establish an overall CTP Project Plan, and determine the partnerships needed, to produce community consensus on future transportation improvements that integrate fully with the community's vision, goals, and objectives.

 

CTP Step 2: Conduct Needs Assessment

Establish the current and future deficiencies for the overall (multi-modal) transportation system.

 

CTP Step 3: Analyze Alternatives

Draft strategies that address deficiencies in a way that minimizes impact on the natural and human environment, while remaining consistent with the community's vision.

 

CTP Step 4: Develop Final Plan

Complete the preparation of the CTP for adoption and/or endorsement by the local decision-makers, and complete the draft CTP documentation.

 

CTP Step 5: Adopt Plan

Complete the final adoption by the Board of Commissioners, and complete the CTP documentation.

Schedule for CTP Milestones

Figure 2. Schedule for CTP Milestones

Public Engagement

The overall purpose of public and stakeholder engagement will be to:

• guide the CTP process,
• assist with the development of the vision for the CTP, and
• produce community consensus on future multi-modal transportation improvements fully integrated with the community's vision, goals and objectives.

Public Meetings

There will be three public meeting opportunities as described below:

1. Project Overview and Considerations
2. Alternatives Evaluation and Recommendations
3. Present Draft CTP

How are Changes Made to the CTP?

The CTP is a dynamic plan for the long-term future that will evolve over time to reflect changing conditions, such as a new street segment or sidewalk, or local plan and policy changes. Future amendments to the CTP will be made in coordination with Johnston County and the NCDOT, through a mutually agreed upon process.