Why Update a Transportation System Plan?

Plot a clear course for your community

People waiting at bus stop in front of business

Show how your transportation goals meet the goals and needs of planned land uses

Bicyclist and roller skater approaching car at intersection

Determine where planned transportation improvements should be located and what right-of-way needs to be protected

Provide rationale for making prudent transportation investments and land use decisions

Identify and advocate for projects and services the community would like, but cannot fund within the planning horizon

Work toward shared goals

Your TSP tells others how transportation policies and investments support your broader community and regional goals. Being able to see where these goals overlap with those of other agencies opens valuable opportunities for collaboration.

Venn diagram showing overlapping goals for a local TSP and other local agency plans, including a Parks Plan, a Safety Plan and a Transit Plan.

Attract and secure funds

Not only does a TSP provide a necessary linkage to the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program to secure funding, it also provides the policy foundation and documentation of need to support other transportation funding decisions and requests.

TSP encompassing moneybags representing funding sources including Oregon STIP, Grants, Proposed Fees, and Tax Initiatives

Getting results

Read how TSP updates have helped communities fund system investments, coordinate with other jurisdictions and agencies, and deliver projects.

Increase potential funding

The Wilsonville TSP Update, funded through the Oregon Transportation and Growth Management program, will help the city pursue funding for projects on the state system. Adding these projects on the state system to the city's TSP will allow them to be added to the Regional Transportation Plan, a critical step in increasing their potential for funding.

See "I-5/Wilsonville Road interchange discussed by Wilsonville council" from the Portland Tribune.

Support transportation decisions

As part of its Transportation and Growth Management-funded TSP update, the City of Ashland examined a road diet on North Main Street (OR 99) which would reduce the number of lanes from four to three, providing room for bicycle lanes. North Main Street is an alternative route to I-5, so ODOT's Commerce and Compliance Division was brought in. After extensive consultations between the city and state and a major public involvement effort, the city proceeded with a one-year pilot project to restripe North Main Street. After the one-year pilot period, the city council voted to make the road diet permanent.

See the excerpt from TGM Tangibles Volume II.

Make major improvements through small, affordable steps

The City of Newberg was awarded an Oregon Transportation and Growth Management grant to prepare a pedestrian and bicycle plan, with a special emphasis on identifying a critical core network of Americans with Disability Act, or ADA accessible routes. Rather than wait until funding can be secured to construct improvements along an entire corridor, the plan identifies spot improvements that can strategically and affordably remove barriers along a route quicker and for a fraction of the cost. This plan resulted in an amendment to the City's TSP updating the bicycle and pedestrian elements to include the critical routes and improvements.

For more information on plan implementation, see the excerpt from TGM Tangibles Volume II.

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