- Updated Wasatch Front Households & Jobs Forecast (2023-2050)
- Government Affairs Update
- TLC-Funded “Make Ogden Downtown Plan Implementation Ordinance” Adopted
- Public Comment Continues: WFRC’s Draft 2024-2029 Transportation Improvement Program and Public Participation Plan
- On the Horizon
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Updated Wasatch Front Households & Jobs Forecast (2023 - 2050) | |
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On occasion, we take over this Map of the Month section to briefly present an important GIS map data topic. This is one of those occasions, so get ready!
In a nutshell, with each four-year adoption cycle of the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) – which happened for the WFRC area this past May – a new updated Household and Jobs Forecast GIS dataset becomes official. Accordingly, if you or your colleagues are users of the regional forecast data, we encourage you to consider updating to the latest version (links below).
The regional forecast is the default starting point for analysis using the Wasatch Front Travel Demand Model and for other general planning work. It projects population (pictured above), household, and employment counts and their densities across the Wasatch Front's 3,500 traffic analysis zones for each year from 2023 to 2050. The forecast is also available at a 'city area' level.
You can view the latest forecast in the Wasatch Front Household and Job Forecast web map. If you want to work with the information in your own software, you can download the latest statewide forecast datasets here. Note that the forecast data is official for the WFRC (Brigham City to Draper) and Mountainland Association of Governments (Lehi to Santaquin) areas, and in final--but not yet official--draft for other areas of the state.
Our projections work greatly benefits from the county-level forecasting performed by the University of Utah Gardner Policy Institute, in addition to valuable feedback received from cities and other regional stakeholders. Thank you very much to all who partnered to support this forecasting effort and, of course, please let us know if you have any questions (analytics@wfrc.org).
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State & Local
The Utah Legislature did not convene in interim meetings this month as they took a summer break from meetings. However, their next scheduled interim meetings will be held August 8th and 9th to continue studying various policy and funding issues prior to the 2024 Legislative Session.
Similarly, the Unified Economic Opportunity Commission (UEOC) did not meet during July, but its dozens of working groups and subgroups, including the Growth and Transportation working group that WFRC is engaged in, is working diligently to prepare recommendations to present to the UEOC at the upcoming August 30th meeting. These recommendations which will be presented to the UEOC are intended to be considered in the Governor’s budget, and for legislative action.
Current Federal Funding Opportunities
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Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods (RCN) provides capital construction grants and community planning grants in effort to improve access to daily needs such as jobs, education, healthcare, food, and recreation. Projects may include reconnecting communities by retrofitting, removing, or mitigating highways or other transportation facilities that create barriers to connectivity. Applications are open until September 28th.
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Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, and Cost-Saving Transportation Program (PROTECT) grants are intended to ensure resilience to natural hazards like climate change, extreme weather events, and other natural disasters. The grants awards both for planning activities, like the creation of a resiliency strategic plan, and resilience project improvements including roadway, bike/ped, and transit projects. Applications are now open, and due no later than August 18, 2023.
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Multimodal Discretionary Grant Program (including MEGA, INFRA, and Rural): The MDGP program uses a combined application for the three programs. The deadline for applications is August 21, 2023.
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MEGA (known statutorily as the National Infrastructure Project Assistance program) supports large, complex projects likely to generate national or regional economic, mobility, or safety benefits. These may include highways, bridges, freight, passenger rail, etc. Projects are generally between $100 million+ and $500M+.
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INFRA (Infrastructure for Rebuilding America) supports multimodal freight and highway projects to improve safety, accessibility, efficiency, and reliability of the movement of freight or people.
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Rural Surface Transportation Grant supports rural areas with projects to increase connectivity, improve safety, and generate regional economic growth.
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Rural and Tribal Assistance Pilot Program: For communities in the WFRC region that are considered “rural”, this program provides local governments with grants to support transportation project development. The grants can fund/assist feasibility studies, project planning, revenue forecasting, preliminary engineering and design work, cost-benefit analysis, and other functions. Grant applications must be submitted no later than September 28, 2023.
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TLC-Funded “Make Ogden Downtown Plan Implementation Ordinance” Adopted
In 2021, Ogden was awarded technical assistance from the Transportation and Land Use Connection (TLC) program to prepare a land use development ordinance that would implement their Make Ogden Downtown Plan. Over the past couple of years, the City worked with the consultant team and WFRC to engage the community as well as Ogden’s planning commission and city council. The resulting ordinance will create a more walkable downtown with increased housing and employment opportunities. The code also changes parking requirements, increasing pedestrian connections and enhancing the quality and scale of development. In April of this year, this code was officially adopted and is now in effect.
These recent changes to Ogden’s downtown code will soon be followed by an update to their city-wide ordinances. This past spring, a subsequent TLC project kicked off to update the development code throughout all of Ogden which will further the positive change occurring in the downtown core.
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Public Comment Continues: WFRC’s Draft 2024-2029 Transportation Improvement Program and Public Participation Plan | Two days remain to provide input on WFRC’s Draft 2024-2029 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) wfrc.org/tip-2024-2029-comment-map via an online interactive map and corresponding air quality conformity determination (Memorandum 41a). The TIP is a six-year program of roadway, transit, and active transportation projects funded by federal, state, and local revenues in Salt Lake, Davis, Morgan, Tooele, and Weber counties, as well as the urban portion of Box Elder County. The TIP is developed in close collaboration with local governments, UDOT, UTA, and other community stakeholders. Major capacity projects in the TIP are selected from Utah’s Unified Transportation Plan. | |
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Additionally, WFRC continues to accept public comment on its revised Draft Public Participation Plan. Comments can be provided via webform, emailing communications@wfrc.org, mailing comments to WFRC, as well as providing comments in person. Comments are being accepted now through August 8, 2023.
Pictured: WFRC’s Ben Wuthrich addresses the media
during a TIP Open House at Salt Lake Central
Station. Click here to watch the clip.
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