Transportation Planning Toolkit

Throughout this Transportation Planning Toolkit series we will be centering our conversations around the Idea-to-Improvement process. These are the five major steps that all projects have to pass through in order to become a reality, and in each module we’ll zoom in on one of them to better understand what’s included, why we do it, and most importantly what is your role.

Please continue to scroll down through this website to better understand each step by exploring presentations, fact sheets, and additional materials.

For more detailed overview of the entire transportation planning process please download your own copy of the CDOT Planning Manual 

Step 1: The Idea

The first step in the transportation planning process – the idea – a problem that needs to be addressed, a new solution to an old problem, or an emerging issue that we need to get ahead of.

Step 2: Planning

The second step - planning - is essential to making sure that the community has developed a unified vision of the idea, followed a proper public process to make it a priority, and worked together to define the scope, timeline, budget, and other important technical details.

Step 3: Funding

The third step is to identify funding – what sources are available, what partnerships can be developed, and when can these resources be dedicated to make the project happen.

Step 4: Selection

The fourth step is selection – comparing the project to other potential ideas and funding priorities, measuring their potential costs and benefits of completing the project, and making a collective decision about which should be funded in what order.

Step 5: Improvement

The final step is the improvement itself – which could be the construction of physical infrastructure or expansion of a transit service, an innovative technological or operational fix, a behavioral approach focused on mode shifts or travel demand management, or some mix of all of the above.

Elective Topics

Environment

Bicycle and Pedestrian

Tools

Economic Vitality 

Transit

Equity