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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.

DOCUMENTS & RESOURCES   //  ARCHIVES

ARCHIVES

Previously approved planning and programming documents produced by the APO

Documents

Active Transportation Planning

Metropolitan Transportation Plans

Transportation Programs

APO Budgeting Documents

Transportation Performance Monitoring Reports

Public Engagement Documents

Corridor Planning Efforts

Archive Documents

The following is a list of previous plans and documents that have been created by APO staff. Note, the documents contained on this page have been superseded. The contents of these documents can be used as references to help inform current planning documents. For current documents/plans please consult the respective webpages.

Active Transportation Planning

Active Transportation refers to any form of human-powered transportation such as walking, bicycling, skateboarding, rollerblading, electric bikes/electric scooters, and using mobility assistive devices like wheelchairs. Active transportation also encompasses those who use transit services since every transit trip begins and ends using some form of active transportation (arriving to and leaving a bus stop).

The APO conducts a number of planning and reporting efforts related to active transportation including the Regional Active Transportation Plan, Regional Evaluation of Counts for Active Planning (RECAP), and Safe Routes to School plans for various schools across the planning area.

For the most up-to-date information on Active Transportation Planning Efforts, visit the Regional Active Transportation Plan page or the Safe Routes to School page.

Safe Routes to Schools Plans

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Metropolitan Transportation Plans

The Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP) is a long-range, multimodal, surface transportation plan that identifies a regional vision for transportation and the steps necessary to achieve that vision. By federal regulation, MTPs must have a planning horizon of at least 20 years, and must be updated no less than every five years.

MTPs are a joint product of all individual agencies (such as transit and the State department of transportation) and jurisdictions within the region, and so represent a singular agreed to vision for the future of transportation within the region. Goals and objectives are defined for the transportation system, as well as individual strategies, policies, and transportation projects to help achieve those goals and objectives. A transportation project listed in the MTP is eligible for federal transportation funding.

To view the currently approved MTP (Looking Ahead 2050), please visit the Metropolitan Transportation Plan page.

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Transportation Programs

Transportation Improvement Programs

The Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) is a multi-year program of transportation improvements for the Saint Cloud Metropolitan Planning Area (MPA). Decisions about transportation investments require collaboration and cooperation between different levels of government, neighboring jurisdictions, and agencies. As a document, the TIP reports how the various jurisdictions and agencies within the Saint Cloud MPA have prioritized their use of limited federal highway and transit funding.

To view the currently approved TIP (FY 2026-FY 2029), please visit the Transportation Improvement Program page.

Archived TIPsArchived TIPsArchived TIPs
FY 2015-2019FY 2016-2019FY 2017-2021
FY 2018-2021FY 2019-2023FY 2020-2023
FY 2021-2024FY 2022-2025FY 2023-2026
FY 2024-2027FY 2025-2028

Regional Infrastructure Investment Plans

The Regional Infrastructure Investment Plan (RIIP) is a collection of approved transportation infrastructure Capital Improvement Plans (CIPs) from the APO’s member jurisdictions, including the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) District 3’s 10-Year Capital Highway Investment Plan (CHIP).

This document serves as a companion to the APO’s Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) which lists surface transportation projects utilizing federal or state funding. By contrast, the RIIP shows all anticipated projects regardless of funding source.

To view the latest version of the RIIP, please visit the Regional Infrastructure Investment Plan page.

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APO Budgeting Documents

Unified Planning Work Programs

The Unified Planning Work Programs (UPWP) is a federally-required statement of work identifying the planning priorities and activities to be carried out by APO staff. This document also serves as the APO’s annual budget and it identifies any special studies and consultant contracts for the fiscal year.

Each UPWP covers a two-year period, however, the UPWP is developed and approved annually. The second year of the two-year period is provisional only and is used to help the APO and its members understand upcoming projects and budgetary needs.

To view the currently approved UPWP (FY 2025-2026), please visit the Unified Planning Work Program page.

Archived UPWPsArchived UPWPsArchived UPWPs
FY 2017-2018FY 2018-2019FY 2019-2020
FY 2020-2021FY 2021-2022FY 2022-2023
FY 2023-2024FY 2024-2025

Unified Planning Work Program Performance Reports

The Unified Planning Work Program End-of-Year Report is designed to 1) provide a public record of the performance of the APO; 2) provide a financial summary of budgets and expenditures for the purpose of financial transparency and future budgeting; and 3) provide a management tool for the development of subsequent work plans.

UPWP End of Year ReportUPWP End of Year ReportUPWP End of Year Report
201720182019
202020212022
2023

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Transportation Performance Monitoring Reports

The Transportation Performance Monitoring Report (TPMR) is a yearly document produced by APO staff to track the region’s progress towards achieving various transportation goals. This report serves as an annual snapshot of the region to help the APO and its planning partners better understand current and anticipated performance of the transportation system and how well it is moving toward achieving the visions outlined in the Metropolitan Transportation Plan.

To view the most recent TPMR, please visit the Transportation Performance Monitoring Report page.

Previous TPMRsPrevious TPMRsPrevious TPMRs
201720182019
20202021

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Public Engagement Documents

Stakeholder Engagement Plans

The Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP) is important to ensuring the tax-paying public is given ample opportunity to access, review, and comment on plans, studies, and other documents as they are being developed. The SEP helps members of the public and affected organizations understand how to participate effectively in the APO’s planning processes.

The SEP helps the APO meet federal rules related to public involvement, Civil Rights, and language access by combining three required documents (Public Participation Plan, Title VI Plan, and Limited English Proficiency Plan) into one.

To view the current SEP, please visit the Stakeholder Engagement Plan page.

Stakeholder Engagement Plan Annual Reports

The Stakeholder Engagement Plan Annual Report (SEPAR) serves as an annual assessment on the effectiveness of the APO’s public input processes. By conducting an annual review, APO staff will use the information gathered to help improve upon current public outreach strategies to ensure they are relevant and convenient for the public and ultimately yield more and better feedback.

Previous SEPARsPrevious SEPARsPrevious SEPARs
201920202021
20222022 Mid-Year Report2023

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Corridor Planning Efforts

A corridor study is a planning project that works to define the relationships between a roadway and its adjacent land uses. In addition, these projects are also used to understand both existing and future conditions of the roadway being studied.

Below is a list of older and/or obsolete planning efforts facilitated and/or funded by the Saint Cloud APO. For a current list of various studies, please see the Documents & Resources page.

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