The 2035 Long Range Transportation System Plan for Palm Beach County is a 25-year forecast based on regional needs identified through the process of forecasting travel demand, evaluating system alternatives, and selecting those options which best meet the mobility needs of the county considering financial, environmental and social constraints. It includes a multi-modal approach, integrating all transportation modes within the area, including highway, bicycle and pedestrian facilities, public transportation (i.e. PalmTran and Tri-Rail) and intermodal facilities such as airport and seaport sites. It takes into consideration such components as high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes, interchanges, Intelligent Transportation System (ITS), and freight mobility. The Plan serves as the preliminary tool used for transportation planning in Palm Beach County.
The previous adopted Palm Beach 2030 LRTP Project involved the development of a public involvement plan, the creation of community definitions, the development of a community data repository, and the development of the Palm Beach Transportation Models for the Palm Beach MPO. The approach to the project included developing public involvement procedures and a plan to be utilized throughout the project, collect and analyze area-wide information in order to identify and define the various communities and define the boundaries of all communities in Palm Beach County. Based on concentrations of citizens of similar characteristics, the consultant team developed profiles summarizing information for each community in a variety of formats that can be easily used in the transportation planning process. These community profiles serve as the basis for the public involvement efforts for the 2035 Plan, as well.
In addition, the 2035 Plan includes a series of public outreach meetings throughout the county to seek input in the development of a Vision Plan for the area. The Vision Plan is a result of ongoing statewide and regional efforts. Specifically, the activities are in response to the Florida Century Commission looking 50 years in the future, 1000 Friends of Florida with 2060 development scenarios and the regional planning councils conducting a 2060 visioning exercise. The 2060 Palm Beach Vision Plan will also guide the 2035 Long Range Plan and subsequent future planning efforts within Palm Beach County.
As part of the Regional Long Range Transportation Plan, the travel demand model utilized for the 2035 Palm Beach Long Range Transportation Plan is the Southeast Regional Planning Model (SERPM version 6.5), which also includes Broward and Miami-Dade Counties. The transportation model development begins with a review of socio-economic data for each of the three counties and leads to the development of a Base Year (2005) and Future Year Transportation Models (i.e. Years 2015, 2020, 2025, 2030, and 2035). The Long Range Transportation Plan Model serves as the basis for the development of transportation improvement projects for the future. The ultimate goal of the 2035 Plan Update process for Palm Beach is to identify a 2035 Cost Feasible Plan and Interim Year Cost Feasible Plans for transportation movement within the County, while recognizing regional travel within the entire Southeast Florida area.