Wasatch Choices 2040

Abstract

Wasatch Choices 2040 was a partnership between Envision Utah and the two major metropolitan planning organizations along Utah's Wasatch Front. The purpose of the partnership was to involve the public through a scenario planning process and to consider the role of land use in developing the region's long-range transportation plan. Through 13 public workshops and 5 open houses held in 2005, members of the public expressed their preferences for transportation and land use in their communities. The input from the public informed the development of regional growth principles that have since been adopted by elected officials and will guide transportation and land use decisions in Wasatch Front communities. In addition, results from the public process were used to create four regional transportation and land use scenarios that ultimately led to the creation of a regional vision. Each scenario was tested by using the CentreSim forecasting model, and a vision scenario was created to depict one version of how the Wasatch Front could develop if guided by regional growth principles. Modeling of the regional vision demonstrates that it performs significantly better than the existing long-range plan for several quality-of-life measures, including traffic congestion. This process proved groundbreaking by reminding both land use and transportation professionals that futures cannot be planned in isolation. Transportation affects land use just as much as land use affects transportation. It is a circular relationship that must be accounted for. This process focuses on bringing all interests to the table concurrently to plan for a better future.