SLOCOG Visioning Workshops
Evaluation of regional land use and transportation alternatives using a suite of Smart Growth analysis models

The council of governments for San Luis Obispo County (SLOCOG) held a series of public workshops to develop a long-term vision for how the county should accommodate growth without compromising either the natural beauty of their coast and wine-growing areas or the small-town atmosphere that attracted new residents. One key issue was the growing traffic problem on the County’s sparse road network. Fehr & Peers developed a streamlined version of SLOCOG’s traffic forecasting model that enabled workshop participants to try out various land use configurations and get forecasts for the corresponding traffic volumes in just fifteen minutes.  This was the first time that the general public had access to the same tools as professional city planners and attempted to face the same issues of managing growth within a set of realistic constraints. Participants quickly learned the importance of Smart Growth principals in reducing travel demand and the importance of local jobs/housing balance in reducing the need for inter-town travel.

---
A multimedia presentation will appear above. If you don't see it loading or playing, please download the free industry-standard player by clicking the link below.