The Billings Urban Area Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) is a fiscally constrained plan and framework to guide the continued development and implementation of multimodal transportation system projects for the Billings urban area. The LRTP is updated every five years, and the previous iteration was completed in 2018. This LRTP assesses today’s (2023) land use and transportation conditions to forecast the future (year 2045) conditions, which aids in identifying and strategizing transportation improvements for the region.This Draft 2023 LRTP includes updates to current transportation conditions, forecasts future population impact on the transportation system, models future traffic volumes to 2045, and includes transportation project priorities.  The Plan also complies with the Federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) requirements to ensure the community qualifies for Federal Transportation funds.  The Billings MPO is required to update this plan every five years. In addition to being compliant with federal regulations it must also meet state and local requirements. 

For this LRTP, a Project Oversight Committee (POC) was formed to assist staff and the consultant with transportation project review and consultations with stakeholder organizations. The POC included local representation from the Board of County Commissioners, City Council, City Engineering Division, Planning Division, MET Transit, and County Public Works. In addition, extensive coordination with the Montana Department of Transportation, Billings Department of Aviation and Transit, Bike/Pedestrian Advisory Committee, The Federal Highway Administration and City and County Public Works was conducted to ensure the most up-to-date information was included in the plan.  

Attached to this report are the final draft plan itself and also an executive summary which provides an overview of the purpose and intent of the document and generalizes outcomes. This can be used as a quick reference for the plan. 

At this meeting, the Planning Board will receive a formal presentation from the consultant (Andy Daleiden, and staff) on the contents of the updated Transportation Plan.  The Board will hold a Public Hearing and make a formal recommendation to the Billings PCC for formal adoption of the Plan at its June 27th meeting.  The adoption schedule is as follows: TAC - June 8; Yellowstone County Board of Planning - June 27; Billings City Council - June 26; Yellowstone County Commissioners - June 27; Policy Coordinating Committee - July 18.

Staff recommends the Planning Board hear a presentation on the Final Draft 2023 LRTP and conduct a Public Hearing at this meeting. The Board will make a formal recommendation of the document to the PCC at its June 27th meeting.

The Planning Board will hear a presentation at this meeting on the LRTP and conduct a public hearing for community input. The Board is scheduled to take actoion and make a recommendation to PCC at its June 27th meeting.