Town of Archer Lodge Developing a Comprehensive Transportation Plan (CTP)
The Town of Archer Lodge is partnering with the UNC Master’s of City and Regional Planning Program to develop a Comprehensive Transportation Plan (CTP) for the town. One of the goals of Archer Lodge’s recently-adopted Comprehensive Land Use Plan update included a goal of “Facilitating Infrastructure Improvements”. One of the long-term actions planned for this goal included the development of a Transportation Plan for the town.
A Comprehensive Transportation Plan (CTP) is a long-range strategic document that outlines a community's vision for its future transportation network. Unlike short-term construction schedules, a CTP serves as a blueprint for how various modes of travel—including cars, public transit, bicycles, and walking—will evolve over the next 20 to 30 years to support anticipated population growth and land development.
The Town of Archer Lodge has engaged the University of North Carolina’s Master’s of City and Regional Planning Program to aid staff in the development of a CTP and Road Inventory. Under the guidance of Town Staff and UNC Program professors, student teams have been assigned objectives/sub-objectives to complete towards inclusion in the final CTP. This project will span multiple semesters, and its success will rely on the communication and shared vision of all parties.
Public Engagement Is Key to CTP Development – Public engagement is important for a comprehensive transportation plan because it ensures the system meets the actual needs of the community. Residents share local problems like troublesome intersections, needed sidewalks, or other items that data might miss. The town will utilize multiple strategies to get public and stakeholder feedback, which will help create an impactful CTP including:
• Public Survey
• Public Meetings
• Stakeholder / Steering Committee Meetings
The public survey is currently in development.
The first public meeting will involve a “Drop-In” Public Input Session on Tuesday, September 29th from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. in the Jeffrey D. Barnes Council Chambers at the Archer Lodge Town Hall. With a “Drop-In” Input Session, participants can attend anytime between 5:30 p.m. at 7:00 p.m. to provide their thoughts about their transportation concerns, and staff will try to answer any transportation-related questions they have. The public is invited and strongly encouraged to attend. A second public meeting is tentatively planned for mid-November. 2026
Initial stakeholder engagement is tentatively planned for mid-October 2026. The town will engage a group of stakeholders to act as a Steering Committee to help guide the direction of this plan. Additionally, input from the community / public is important to help identify issues, concerns, and opportunities.
Benefits of a Comprehensive Transportation Plan – Taking from the NC Department of Transportation Guidance Manual for the CTP process (2015), there are many benefits that a CTP could provide to the municipal planning process:
• It supports community-adopted vision and goals by integrating land use and transportation planning.
• It allows communities to consider all modes, not just road improvements, for the future transportation system.
• It is more environmentally sound through the early and explicit consideration of environmental resources.
• It is more efficient for the MPOs and NCDOT by tying the state CTP and federal MTP processes together in MPO areas.
• It is more accountable to the public through the formal public involvement process.
Finally, the CTP process has been designed to provide a direct link to project development. Once a project is funded in the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP or TIP), it must go through an extensive project development process, including environmental review under NEPA/ SEPA. Relevant transportation, environmental and community information collected and analyzed during the CTP process can supplement or replace information needed during project development. This should save time and money in getting projects planned, designed and implemented.
