Transportation and Land Use Scenario Planning Workshop

Clark County’s rapid population growth is quickly outpacing the capacity of its transportation infrastructure. The need to provide for transportation mobility between growing, outlying areas of the county and the increasing travel demand between Oregon and Southwest Washington demonstrate the need to identify and plan for potential new, regional transportation corridors within the county, as well as across the Columbia River.

Agenda (PDF)

Workshop Convenes

Welcome and Introductions (PDF)

Larry Smith, Vancouver Mayor Pro Tem, and Jack Burkman, RTC Chair and Vancouver Councilmember, will welcome participants, provide an overview of the day’s agenda, and introduce the workshop's key speakers.

Overview of Scenario Planning: A Process to Help Communities Envision Their Future (PDF)

Staff from FHWA Headquarters, the FHWA Resource Center, and the USDOT’s Volpe Center will introduce scenario planning, provide an overview of FHWA’s scenario planning program and current initiatives, and describe examples of noteworthy practices.

Using Scenario Planning to Chart a Community’s Path Forward; Benefits of Scenario Planning (PDF)

Alan Matheson, Executive Director of Envision Utah, will provide an overview of Envision Utah’s scenario planning efforts, emphasizing the value of scenario planning and illustrating some of its results and outcomes.

Questions and Answers

Break

Transportation and Land Use Trends in Clark County (PDF)

RTC staff will illustrate patterns in growth, employment, and other trends, as well as their relationship to transportation system investments. Staff will also discuss conditions that create future uncertainties.

Community Values, a Starting Point for Future Prosperity (PDF)

Alan Matheson will describe Envision Utah’s processes for identifying community values and how these contributed to achieving the effort’s goals.

Working Lunch

Brian Betlyon, Metropolitan Planning Specialist at the FHWA Resource Center, will introduce an exercise to help participants consider connections between Envision Utah’s effort and the Vancouver region.

• • What are the top three ideas most relevant to Clark County that you learned from Envision Utah’s values presentation?
  • What values might guide future land use and transportation planning in Clark County?

What Did We Learn About Identifying Community Values

Brian Betlyon will facilitate a discussion with all participants to discuss key themes identified from the lunch exercise.

Getting Started with Scenario Planning

Alan Matheson will highlight first steps in scenario planning and share information on Envision Utah’s lessons learned and critical success factors.

How Scenario Planning Might Work in Clark County / Discussion of Next Steps

Brian Betlyon will facilitate a small group breakout exercise to explore potential next steps to moving forward with scenario planning in Clark County.

• • Based on what you know about scenario planning so far, what about it do you think would be most useful to Clark County, and what about it might be challenging?
  • If this region were to move forward with scenario planning, who might be the core stakeholders and local champions?
  • How might scenario planning work within existing planning processes (e.g., regional planning)?
  • What resources do we already have for scenario planning and what resources might we need?
  • How could scenario planning be successful in the current local political/social context?

Questions and Answers; Wrap Up

This session will provide an opportunity for participants to ask questions and identify key points/highlights that emerged from the day. Molly Coston, Washougal Councilperson and previous RTC Chair, will start the wrap-up with her observations on the day.