2023 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP)
DRAFT 2023 RTP Amendment No. 2 – Posted for public review 7/3/25
Final Addendum to the 2019 PEIR
Final 2019 Programmatic Environmental Impact Report (PEIR)
The 2023 RTP is the region’s long-range (2023-2045) plan and Sustainable Communities Strategy (SCS). The RTP provides a collective vision for the region’s future balancing transportation and housing needs with social, economic, and environmental goals. The Plan identified and tested growth scenarios to accommodate the coming 42,000 new people, 18,000 new homes, and 18,000 new jobs. The plan helps guide future planning efforts and policy decisions that affect transportation, including its relationship with housing and land use that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions in our region. The 2023 RTP provides recommendations to help our cities and the County of San Luis Obispo make important decisions about transportation, housing, and land-use. The 2023 RTP provides forward looking recommendations out to 2045 because many of our local government decisions will influence the region’s long-term growth and development over the coming decades.
Our newest tool accompanies this Plan. The Regional Transportation Outlook Project Map offers a snapshot of past SLOCOG investments in our community, statistics about each of our cities and communities, and current projects in the RTP – both constrained (fundable) and unconstrained. This tool also offers an illustrative picture of investments (locations and deliverability) if supplemental funding was available in our region similar to those in Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, Monterey, and San Benito regions. This RTP has financially-constrained the projected $3.1 billion from Federal, State, and local revenues and identifies the list of investments within a multi-modal strategy including: Highways, Streets & Roads, Bicycle & Walking, Public Transit and more. However, the estimated budget is short from the projected transportation needs by approximately $2.3 billion. This projected shortfall is due, in part, to losses from the gasoline taxes collected (with higher MPG and electric vehicles), and from inflation (weakening purchasing power). Basic transportation improvements such as fixing potholes, implementation of Safe Routes to School programs, and road and highway updates are all affected by this lack of funding.
Over several years, the RTP development process engaged a broad and diverse cross-section of the San Luis Obispo region’s public in the development of the plan. Obtaining this input was critical to creating a plan that reflects the varied needs and interests of San Luis Obispo County’s residents and businesses.