|     facebook instagram youtube email
ph. 320-252-7568

3-C

Continuing, Cooperative, and Comprehensive: By Federal regulation the APO must follow a 3-C planning process.

ADT

Average Daily Traffic: The total number of vehicles that cross a specific point along a roadway over a number of days divided by the number of days. For example, a automated traffic counter might record the following daily traffic over three days: 10,000 on day 1; 12,000 on day 2; 8,000 on day 3. The ADT is calculated thus: 10,000+12,000+8,000=30,000/3 days=10,000 vehicles (on average) per day.

ALOP

Annual Listing of Obligated Projects: A status report on transportation projects for which funding was obligated in previous years.

APO

Saint Cloud Area Planning Organization: The organization designated by agreement between the Governor, local unit of government, and relevant agencies as being responsible for carrying out the terms of 23 USC Sec. 134. The APO is the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the Saint Cloud urban area.

ATAC

Active Transportation Advisory Committee: A sub-committee of the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) which focuses on the identifying and addressing the needs of active transportation modes such as bicycling and walking.

ATP

Area Transportation Partnership: These committees of local governments, relevant agencies, and MnDOT staff were created by MnDOT to enhance regional intergovernmental planning and increase cooperative development of the four-year State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP).

CPG

Consolidated Planning Grant: A combination of planning grant funds from the Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Transit Administration.

CSAH

County State Aid Highway: A roadway that is operated and maintained by a county but for which the county receives state aid funding. Generally, the state views these roadways as key facilities for statewide or regional mobility.

FHWA

Federal Highway Administration: The Federal administration responsible for monitoring and facilitating the construction and maintenance of the National Highway System. The APO is a recipient of an annual planning grant from FHWA.

FTA

Federal Transit Administration: The Federal administration responsible for monitoring and facilitating the operations and capital improvement of public transit providers. The APO is a recipient of an annual planning grant from FTA.

GIS

Geographic Information Systems: A framework for gathering, managing, and analyzing spatially-related data. For example, GIS can be used to map crash reports in order to determine which roadway intersections are experiencing the highest crash rates.

IIJA

The Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (public law 117-58) signed into law on Nov. 15, 2021. Part of the law establishes federal funding authorizations for surface transportation for the years 2022-2026.

MnDOT

Minnesota Department of Transportation: The State department with which the APO coordinates on transportation issues and which has oversight responsibilities for ensuring the APO complies with applicable Federal and State requirements.

MPA

Metropolitan Planning Area: The geographic area in which the APO carries out its planning activities. The MPA must include at least the US Census-defined urban area, but may also include any additional urban or urbanizing areas and/or commuter travel-sheds as deemed appropriate by the member jurisdictions of the APO.

MPCA

Minnesota Pollution Control Agency: The State agency responsible for monitoring environmental quality and enforcing environmental regulations in Minnesota.

MPO

Metropolitan Planning Organization: An organization designated by agreement between the Governor of a state, units of local governments of an urban area, and relevant agencies as being responsible for carrying out the terms of 23 USC Sec. 134. Any urban area of more than 50,000 people must have an MPO. As of 2015, there were 408 MPOs in the United States. The Saint Cloud APO is the MPO for the Saint Cloud metropolitan area.

MTP

Metropolitan Transportation Plan: The regional transportation plan with at least a 20 year planning horizon, developed cooperatively between the units of government and relevant agencies which are members of the APO.

RFP

Request for Proposals: This is a document used to procure consultant services. The RFP outlines the goals and objectives of a project or study and provides a not-to-exceed budget. Interested consultants then respond by writing and submitting a proposal to provide the required services.

SEP

Stakeholder Engagement Plan: The document that identifies when and how the APO will engage the public during the planning process. In Federal regulations, this document is called the "Public Participation Plan." The APO's SEP also includes our Title VI and Limited English Proficiency Plan.

SRTS

Safe Routes to School: A national initiative that works to make it safe, convenient, and fun for students to walk and bike to and from school.

STBGP

Surface Transportation Block Grant Program: Flexible funding from the Federal Government that may be used by states and localities for projects to preserve and improve the conditions and performance on any Federal-aid highway, bridge or tunnel project on any public road, pedestrian or bicycle infrastructure, and transit capital purchases, including intercity bus terminals.

TA

Transportation Alternatives: Funding from the Federal Government that may be used by state and localities for projects including, but not limited to, the creation of facilities for pedestrians and bicycles, environmental mitigation or habitat protection related to highway construction or operations, as well as infrastructure and non-infrastructure related to Safe Routes to School (SRTS) activities.

TAC

Technical Advisory Committee: The TAC is a committee of planners and engineers representing the local member governments and relevant agencies which is responsible for providing technical advice and guidance to the Policy Board and APO staff.

TAZ

Traffic Analysis Zone: A geographic area used in the Travel Demand Model (TDM). TAZs are assigned socio-economic attributes such as population, number of households, square feet of commercial space, and other data relevant to trip production or attraction.

TH

Trunk Highway: A major roadway connecting two or more cities that is operated and maintained by the State Department of Transportation and is the recommended or preferred route for long-distance and freight trips. In Minnesota, Trunk Highways are numbered, such as TH-15 or TH-23 and they may also be designated as MN-15 or MN-23.

TDM

Travel Demand Model: A computer model used to forecast traffic and traffic congestion under a variety of land use and roadway network conditions.

TPMR

Transportation Performance Monitoring Report: An annual report on how the transportation networks are functioning relative to the APO's adopted performance measures. The TPMR is a product of the APO's Transportation System Performance Monitoring (TSPM) program.

TIP

Transportation Improvement Program: The document that programs Federal funding for surface transportation projects within the MPA.

TSPM

Transportation System Performance Monitoring: An APO program in which staff collect and analyze transportation performance data in order to discover problem areas and help prioritize the programming of transportation improvement projects. The Transportation Performance Monitoring Report (TPMR) is a product of the TSPM.

UPWP

Unified Planning Work Program: A Federally required statement of work identifying the planning priorities and activities to be carried out by the APO staff. The UPWP includes the APO's annual budget and it identifies any special studies and consultant contracts for the fiscal year.

DOCUMENTS & RESOURCES

sidebar-icon

 

MINNESOTA STATEWIDE PLANS

URBAN BELT LINE PLANS

SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL PLANS

Summary

This page contains brief descriptions of studies and other resources that are still relevant to the regional transportation goals and objectives. Older and/or obsolete documents may be found on the ARCHIVES page. Click on the title of the document to see the document or (for plans completed by other entities) see the webpage for that plan . The plans are listed in alphabetical order:

Active Transportation Plan (2022):

The regional Active Transportation Plan is intended to be a deep dive into the specific and sometime peculiar barriers and opportunities that face this particular form of transportation. The goal of the plan is to identify specific projects or policies that will help improve the active transportation environment throughout the region and facilitate convenient and safe active trips for all needs and purposes.

ADA Transition Plan – Benton County (2019):

Benton County conducted a self-evaluation of its facilities within public rights of way and developed this transition plan detailing how the county will ensure that all of those facilities are accessible to all individuals.

ADA Transition Plan – Stearns County (2017):

Stearns County conducted a self-evaluation of its facilities within public rights of way and developed this transition plan detailing how the county will ensure that all of those facilities are accessible to all individuals.

Bicycle (On-Road) Facilities Report (2016):

This report assists regional cities and counties in identifying, planning and implementing their own on-the-road bicycle connections within their respective communities. It is meant for informational and advisory purposes and is currently not tied to any future projects, improvements, or funding.

CSAH 1 (River Ave North) between CR120 and 9th Avenue in Saint Cloud (2023): 

The pavement in the study area is in bad condition and roadway needs to be rebuilt. In addition, major utilities underneath the road also need to be replaced. This study asked the question: should we rebuild the roadway as it currently is, or should there be changes/improvements made? The locally preferred alternative would rebuild the roadway as a three-lane cross-section with a multi-purpose trail on the side closest to the Mississippi River.

CSAH 75 Corridor Study between I-94 and 36th Street in Saint Cloud (2018):

This study was developed to better understand the existing and future traffic operations along County State Aid Highway (CSAH) 75 corridor between I-94 north to 36th Street South. The main questions in the study include: 1) Where should the corridor accommodate future full access points, knowing that 40th Street South will be connected someday as an east/west corridor between Trunk Highway (TH) 15 and CSAH 75, and 2) What other corridor improvements may be necessary along the corridor to provide acceptable traffic operations?

CSAH 75 Pedestrian Crossing Study in Saint Joseph (2017):

The purpose of this study was to understand existing conditions and to evaluate the feasibility of various ways to improve safe pedestrian and bicyclist crossing of CSAH 75 between CSAH 2 and 20th Avenue SE in Saint Joseph.

CSAH 133 Alignment Study (2022):

This study examined possible alignments for Stearns County Road 133 between 6th Street and 2nd Street in Sartell.

Freight Framework (2018):

This review includes an assessment of freight activity in the Metropolitan Planning Area (MPA), a summary of the existing freight networks, and a proposed network of local roads to be designated as key links in the regional freight network.

Household Travel Survey (2021):

This comprehensive survey of 866 households in the region was designed to uncover important insights about trip-making behavior to help inform the APO’s transportation planning process.

LeSauk Drive Corridor Study (2015):

The purpose of this study was to document existing and forecast conditions and evaluate the feasibility of alternatives to improve traffic flow, safety, and operations along LeSauk Drive/Dehler Drive and Stearns County State Aid Highway (CSAH) 1.

LeSauk Townline Road Feasibility Study (2015):

This study evaluated various alternatives for pavement maintenance and rehabilitation of Townline Road from Stearns CSAH 4 in the City of Sartell to Stearns CSAH 5 in the City of Saint Stephen. Pavement inspections were performed and the resulting pavement ratings were utilized in considering various improvement options along the corridor. Cost estimates were also prepared for the recommended improvements and potential funding options were explored.

Mayhew Lake Road Corridor Study (2022):

This corridor plan identifies a future vision for Mayhew Lake Road from 35th Street North to MN-23. Due to file size limits, the document linked above does not include the technical appendices for the plan, but you may request them by contacting the APO.

Metro Bus Long Range Transit Plan (2015):

This document establishes a menu of future service and capital expansion options for Metro Bus.

Mississippi River Bridge Study (2023):

This study was an update of a 2007 effort to find a locally preferred alignment for a potential new bridge across the Mississippi River at 33rd Street South in St. Cloud, and the corridor connecting it to US-10.

Multimodal Transportation Operations Supplemental Data and Analysis (2018):

This report summarizes an investigation of performance measures for the APO in advance of the update of the 2045 Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP).

Opportunity Drive Corridor Study (2022):

This planning study examined current and future transportation needs for Opportunity Drive and the I-94 industrial park.

Pavement Data Collection and Pavement Management Study (2015):

The APO conducted a Pavement Management Study to help meet performance-based planning requirements regarding pavement condition. The study created a baseline for tracking pavement conditions and helped inform investment decisions to maintain the system in a state of good repair.

Pavement Condition Report (2019):

This report documents and maps the pavement condition for major roadways across the region.

Transportation Coordination Council (RTCC) Phase I Planning (2019):

This effort attempted to define the form and function of an RTCC to improve coordination between various transit service providers and to improve mobility for everyone.

Regional 2045 Population Forecasts (2017):

This memorandum provided an overview of current growth and population, a breakdown of the population forecast methodology, descriptions of forecast results, and a brief discussion of important considerations and next steps.

Return on Investment for Performance Measure for Transportation Projects (2019):

This report investigates the potential to define a return-on-investment performance measure for surface transportation projects within the MPA.

Saint Cloud Downtown Streetscaping Plan (2016):

This plan establishes a consistent design and character for public design elements in order to support continued downtown vibrancy and economic vitality.

Sartell 15th Street North Corridor Study (2016):

Part of the city’s future transportation network includes the extension of 15th Street North between Pinecone Road and 30th Avenue North (Townline Road/75th Avenue). This study was a proactive measure to better understand the feasibility of the extension.

Shared-Use Path Pavement Condition Report (2020):

This report documents the pavement roughness for the regions shared-use paths and maps the pavement condition by jurisdiction.

Southwest Beltline Corridor Study (2021):

This study identified a locally-preferred alignment for the southwest portion of the beltline arterial corridor.

Transportation Performance Monitoring Report (2021):

This annual report documents how the region’s transportation systems are performing relative to selected measures of performance.

Travel Demand Model Calibration Report (2022):

This memorandum describes the process used to recalibrate and validate the APO’s travel demand model (TDM) to year base year 2020.

Travel Demand Model Improvements (2020):

This document is a combination of 8 different technical memos summarizing changes and improvements made to the APO’s regional travel demand model.

Trunk Highway 15 Corridor Study (2020):

This study examines current operational issues on TH-15 between 2nd Street South and 12th Street North in St. Cloud and identifies three technically feasible solutions.

US-10 Pedestrian Crossing Report (2016):

As part of an effort to increase the amount of community involvement in the design phase of state highway construction, MnDOT asked the APO to assist in identifying issues and starting conversations at the local level about current and potential future bicycle and pedestrian movements in and around the future US-10 and TH-23 interchange reconstruction project.