Scenario Planning

The TPB launched the Regional Mobility and Accessibility Scenario Study in 2001 to examine the impacts of alternative transportation and land use scenarios. Phase I of the Scenario Study has examined five scenarios that shift future jobs and households and add extensive networks of new public transit facilities, to see if these scenarios point to actions the region's leaders might take to better meet the objectives of the TPB Vision.

TPB members and staff have started to investigate how to integrate the study into the development of the TPB's Constrained Long-Range Transportation Plan (CLRP) and into planning efforts at the state and local levels. The TPB's study of land use and transportation scenarios will not produce a magic formula to solve congestion, but it will inform a growing public discussion on the direction and shape of future development. Implementing the TPB Vision—including the goals of reducing per capita driving, increasing transit use and promoting regional activity centers—formed the context and motivation for the Scenario Study. At the end of the day, regional leaders hope the results of the study will help steer the region closer to this vision.

More information about the Scenario Study , including details about the different scenarios and their potential effects, is available on the TPB website and in the 2006 scenario planning summary brochure, What if the Washington Region Grew Differently?

For more information on how the TPB is working to assist municipalities in moving forward with these scenarios, please visit the home page of the TPB's Transportation/Land-Use Connection Program.