Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is the California Transportation Plan?
The California Transportation Plan (CTP) is developed on behalf of the Governor and the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency. The CTP is a statewide, long-range policy plan that offers a vision for California’s transportation system and outlines the goals, policies, and strategies to achieve that vision. It provides a framework to guide transportation decisions and investments that enhance our economy, support our communities, and protect our environment. The CTP addresses mobility in all its forms—the mobility of people, goods, services and information across all transportation modes, including biking, walking, driving, transit, railway, ferries, ships, aviation, and electronic communications.
2. Why develop a California Transportation Plan?A state transportation plan gives Californians the opportunity to look at the “big picture” and understand the transportation system on a statewide basis. The statewide planning process also provides a framework to consider the future of transportation in the context of broader economic, environmental and quality-of-life goals.
3. How frequently is the state transportation plan developed?Federal regulations require each state to periodically develop a comprehensive, statewide transportation plan. However, the regulations do not specify the frequency. We anticipate updating the plan every four years.
4. When was the last plan adopted?California ’s most recent comprehensive transportation plan was adopted in 2006. The plan was updated by an addendum in 2007 to comply with new federal planning requirements. The currrent plan, CTP 2030, is now being updated for a 2035 planning horizon.
5. Who is involved in developing the California Transportation Plan?Caltrans develops the CTP in collaboration with transportation stakeholders, including governmental agencies, transportation providers and decision makers, advocacy groups and transportation system users.
6. What is the schedule for developing CTP 2035?The 2035 update began with a Futures Symposium in September 2008 and will conclude with approval of the plan by the Governor or the Governor’s designee in September 2010. As more events are scheduled they will be posted on this website under “Upcoming Events.”
7. How can the public get involved? >There are several ways the public can influence the current update of the CTP. In the Summer or Fall of 2009 we will be holding several public workshops throughout California where input can be made in person.Additionally, this website provides a variety of ways to stay informed and provide feedback, including:
- Posting a comment about transportation in California (“Leave a Comment”)
- Sending an email with a question or comment (“Contact Us”)
- Signing up for RSS feeds to receive updates when new information is posted to the website Accessing detailed information about the workshops and other public involvment opportunities (“How to Get Involved”)
After incorporating the comments received during the public review and comment period, the CTP will be submitted to the Governor or the Governor’s designee for approval.
9. What is the role of the Department of Transportation (Caltrans) in developing the CTP?Caltrans develops the CTP on behalf of the Governor and the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency. Caltrans collaborates with governmental agencies at all levels, transportation providers and decisions makers, and the transportation system users to develop a plan to serve all Californians.
10. What does “multimodal” mean?The term “multimodal” refers to the collection of different modes, or means of transportation. It describes the different ways that people, goods and information can get form one point to another. Modes include:
- Public Roads: freeways, highways, local streets and roads
- Rail: freight and passenger heavy rail, urban and commuter rail
- Air: public-use airports, including commercial passenger and cargo services, and municipal airports
- Transit: bus, trolley, commuter and urban rail Water: ports and navigable waterways, ferries
- Walkways: pedestrian facilities
- Bikeways: bike lanes and separate bicycle paths
- Communications: telephone lines, high-speed data networks, wireless communications systems
- Pipelines: Transmission of gas and oil
Transportation modes also require support systems, such as transit stations, system management, vehicle maintenance, security and safety systems, freight transfer facilities, material supply depots, etc.
11. How does the CTP relate to regional transportation planning documents?
Federal and state regulations require regional transportation planning agencies and metropolitan transportation organizations to develop long-range, multi-modal transportation plans for their jurisdictions. These plans are called Regional Transportation Plans (RTPs). Like the CTP, RTPs provide a vision of the regional transportation goals, policies, objectives and strategies. Unlike the CTP, the RTPs also list specific projects intended to meet local and regional transportation needs.
The RTP development guidelines state that RTPs will promote “consistency between the California Transportation Plan, the regional transportation plan and other transportation plans developed by cities, counties, districts, private organizations, tribal governments, and state and federal agencies in responding to statewide and interregional transportation issues and needs.”
Conversely, the CTP considers the content of the RTPs. Caltrans collaborates with regional transportation planning agencies and tribal governments and consults with federal agencies, transportation providers, cities, and counties to develop the CTP.
There are two primary reasons why the CTP does not contain specific projects. First, California Government Code specifically prohibits identifying transportation projects in the California Transportation Plan.
Additionally, the regional tansportation plans developed by the 43 regional transportation planning agencies, as well as the Interregional Transportation Strategic Plan developed by Caltrans, present specific transportation projects. These documents are consistent with the CTP, and serve as an additonal resource for long-term, state-wide planning efforts.
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