Cape Cod Commission unveils draft 2024 Regional Transportation Plan and opens public survey
March 21, 2023 | Cape Cod Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), West Chatham, Town of Chatham, Barnstable County, Massachusetts
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The Cape Cod Commission on a virtual public meeting presented a draft 2024 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP), outlined seven draft goals for a 25‑year vision to 2050 and opened an online survey and mapping tool for public comment.
Commission staff framed the RTP as the region’s long‑range, multimodal plan that will prioritize projects and programs eligible for federal funding over the coming decades. “The Cape Cod Metropolitan Planning Organization, informed by public input, envisions a multimodal transportation system that supports the environmental and economic vitality of the region through infrastructure investment that focuses on safety, livability, sustainability, resiliency, equity, and preservation of the character that makes our special place special,” said David Nolan, senior transportation planner at the Cape Cod Commission.
Why it matters: the RTP guides which projects become eligible for regional federal dollars and sets measurable goals and objectives for safety, climate resilience, multimodal access and system preservation. Staff said the plan will inform spending decisions that affect roadways, sidewalks, bike paths, ferries, transit and potential passenger rail service across the 15 towns of Barnstable County.
Key facts from the presentation: staff said Cape Cod contains about 3,700 miles of roadway (about 77% locally owned), roughly 106 miles of paved multi‑use paths, about 277 miles of sidewalks, approximately 54 miles of rail line (used mainly for freight and occasional summer passenger service), and an earlier RTP allocation of roughly $1.1 billion for regional projects. The plan’s draft goals are safety; environmental resilience and climate mitigation; livability and economic vitality; multimodal and healthy transportation; congestion reduction; system preservation; and freight mobility.
Staff highlighted specific initiatives and project types that the RTP could prioritize, including Vision 88 — an 88‑mile continuous off‑road bike path plan from Woods Hole to Provincetown — Route 28 corridor improvements, Route 6 Mid‑Cape interchange work, rotary retrofits (including the Mashpee rotary study already underway), repair and replacement of structurally deficient bridges such as the Bass River Bridge, and potential fleet electrification and service expansion by the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority (RTA).
On tradeoffs, resident Stephen Buckley asked whether reducing congestion might unintentionally encourage more visitors or second‑home growth that could change the Cape’s character. “If you could get your transportation engineers’ wish and make all the congestion go away, it certainly would be more attractive for people to come to Cape Cod…Isn’t there a point at which…there’s too many people?” Buckley asked. Colleen Medeiros, transportation program manager, responded that the RTP and related state bridge projects are intended to focus on regional bottlenecks — not to build capacity for peak July traffic everywhere — and that staff aim to strike a balance between reducing dangerous congestion at pinch points and preserving the region’s character and environmental objectives.
Public input and next steps: staff demonstrated the RTP survey and an online mapping tool that allow respondents to provide comments in English or Portuguese, select project priorities (safety, transit, bike/pedestrian, climate adaptation, etc.), and place location‑specific points on a shared map with descriptions and suggested solutions. Staff said a draft RTP is targeted for release for public comment in May, the comment period will last 21 days, and the Cape Cod MPO will consider potential approval in June. The Commission will continue outreach in multiple towns and virtual sessions between March and May.
What’s next: the Commission urged residents, visitors and workers to complete the survey and use the mapping tool to help staff prioritize projects for federal funding. The RTP draft and meeting recording will be posted on the Commission’s RTP webpage for those who missed the virtual presentation.
Commission staff framed the RTP as the region’s long‑range, multimodal plan that will prioritize projects and programs eligible for federal funding over the coming decades. “The Cape Cod Metropolitan Planning Organization, informed by public input, envisions a multimodal transportation system that supports the environmental and economic vitality of the region through infrastructure investment that focuses on safety, livability, sustainability, resiliency, equity, and preservation of the character that makes our special place special,” said David Nolan, senior transportation planner at the Cape Cod Commission.
Why it matters: the RTP guides which projects become eligible for regional federal dollars and sets measurable goals and objectives for safety, climate resilience, multimodal access and system preservation. Staff said the plan will inform spending decisions that affect roadways, sidewalks, bike paths, ferries, transit and potential passenger rail service across the 15 towns of Barnstable County.
Key facts from the presentation: staff said Cape Cod contains about 3,700 miles of roadway (about 77% locally owned), roughly 106 miles of paved multi‑use paths, about 277 miles of sidewalks, approximately 54 miles of rail line (used mainly for freight and occasional summer passenger service), and an earlier RTP allocation of roughly $1.1 billion for regional projects. The plan’s draft goals are safety; environmental resilience and climate mitigation; livability and economic vitality; multimodal and healthy transportation; congestion reduction; system preservation; and freight mobility.
Staff highlighted specific initiatives and project types that the RTP could prioritize, including Vision 88 — an 88‑mile continuous off‑road bike path plan from Woods Hole to Provincetown — Route 28 corridor improvements, Route 6 Mid‑Cape interchange work, rotary retrofits (including the Mashpee rotary study already underway), repair and replacement of structurally deficient bridges such as the Bass River Bridge, and potential fleet electrification and service expansion by the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority (RTA).
On tradeoffs, resident Stephen Buckley asked whether reducing congestion might unintentionally encourage more visitors or second‑home growth that could change the Cape’s character. “If you could get your transportation engineers’ wish and make all the congestion go away, it certainly would be more attractive for people to come to Cape Cod…Isn’t there a point at which…there’s too many people?” Buckley asked. Colleen Medeiros, transportation program manager, responded that the RTP and related state bridge projects are intended to focus on regional bottlenecks — not to build capacity for peak July traffic everywhere — and that staff aim to strike a balance between reducing dangerous congestion at pinch points and preserving the region’s character and environmental objectives.
Public input and next steps: staff demonstrated the RTP survey and an online mapping tool that allow respondents to provide comments in English or Portuguese, select project priorities (safety, transit, bike/pedestrian, climate adaptation, etc.), and place location‑specific points on a shared map with descriptions and suggested solutions. Staff said a draft RTP is targeted for release for public comment in May, the comment period will last 21 days, and the Cape Cod MPO will consider potential approval in June. The Commission will continue outreach in multiple towns and virtual sessions between March and May.
What’s next: the Commission urged residents, visitors and workers to complete the survey and use the mapping tool to help staff prioritize projects for federal funding. The RTP draft and meeting recording will be posted on the Commission’s RTP webpage for those who missed the virtual presentation.
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