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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.

MTP

TIP

RIIP

UPWP

SEP

The APO coordinates surface transportation planning for the entire metropolitan region.

We focus upon the development of plans and programs to produce an integrated, intermodal surface transportation system that facilitates the safe and efficient movement of people and goods. The APO uses a continuing, cooperative, and comprehensive (3-C) transportation planning process among our participating agencies and jurisdictions. We do not construct projects or implement programs ourselves; instead, we rely on our participating agencies and jurisdictions to implement the recommendations from our planning efforts.

We strive to have a proactive public involvement process. There are several points in the planning process at which community member input may directly influence the outcome of planning activities. The greatest potential for influence by the public is early in the planning process, before any decisions are made. You can find more details about when and how we solicit public input in our Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP).

The APO primarily uses three documents to coordinate the transportation planning process: 1) the Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP), 2) the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), and 3) the Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP). All three documents work together to help implement the regional vision for surface transportation.

Recently, the APO decided to develop a regional document that summarizes all anticipated roadway and shared use path improvement projects regardless of funding source. The Regional Infrastructure Investment Plan (RIIP) combines the Capital Improvement Plans (CIPs) from the member jurisdictions into one document and maps the projects for easy geographical reference.

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Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP)

The MTP is a long-term vision document that outlines transportation goals, objectives, policies, and projects for the entire region. Projects that appear in the MTP are eligible for Federal transportation funding assistance. The 20-year horizon of the plan incorporates forecasted population, housing, employment, environmental, land use, and technology changes.

Based upon projected transportation needs, financial resources, and community input, the MTP identifies strategies and actions to promote the development of an integrated, intermodal surface transportation system that facilitates the safe and efficient movement of people and goods. It also identifies specific highway, transit, freight, and active transportation (i.e., non-motorized) projects that are designed to improve safety, mitigate congestion, and increase mobility for residents and visitors. The MTP is updated at least every five years.

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Transportation Improvement Program (TIP)

The TIP is a programming document that lists transportation projects that will be undertaken by one of our participating agencies or jurisdictions. TIP projects are often funded, at least in part, with federal money and/or are considered to be regionally significant.

The TIP is a short-term, four-year implementation program of surface transportation projects for public transit, highway, and active transportation (i.e., not motorized) projects. The TIP is required to be financially constrained by year and must be consistent with the MTP.

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Regional Infrastructure Investment Plan (RIIP)

The RIIP is an informational document that combines the Capital Improvement Plan (CIPs) of the APO’s member jurisdictions into one document and maps those projects so that the general public, policy makers, and planners and engineers in each jurisdiction can see the geographical location of all anticipated projects.

The RIIP is updated annually, but the public should know that CIP projects change frequently as funding and conditions on the ground change. If you have any questions about the location, scope, or timing of a project, you should contact the engineering or public works department for the relevant jurisdiction for more details.

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Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP)

The UPWP does two main things: 1) it describes and programs funding for planning studies and tasks to be undertaken by the APO, and 2) describes and programs the budgetary and staffing requirements for the APO. The UPWP shows two years’ worth of studies and budget, but it is updated annually. The second year of the UPWP is provisional and may change the following year.

The UPWP identifies transportation-related planning studies that are completed in order to investigate and better understand a specific transportation problem and to help define the best possible solution. Other planning-related tasks included in the UPWP are cross-cutting and support multiple planning studies, such as maintaining a regional travel demand model (TDM) or collecting and analyzing transportation-related performance data.

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Stakeholder Engagement Plan and Title VI Document

The SEP provides detailed information about when and how the public will be involved in the APO’s planning and programming processes, including the MTP and TIP. It also provides general public participation guidance for all other planning products completed by the APO, such as regional planning studies, corridor studies, and sub-area studies.

As part of its planning and programming process, the APO seeks to involve any citizen or other party who has an interest in the process. The goal of the APO is to ensure public input is received, documented, and considered in the planning process because utilizing public input helps to improve decision-making at all levels. The SEP provides the vision and the process for engaging the full range of constituents in regional decision-making. It also allows for addressing public priorities and concerns and improving public agency-to-community relationships.

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