Pinyon was the environmental and planning task lead for this multi-modal Planning and Environment Linkages (PEL) of State Highway (SH) 119 between the cities of Boulder and Longmont, Colorado. The study began as an Environmental Assessment (EA) for Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) on SH 119; however, during project development the vision for the corridor evolved to a multi-modal study that identified ways to improve mobility (i.e., conversion of general purpose travel lanes to BRT, business-access only lanes, widening of SH 119 to include a BRT managed lane, several new park-n-rides, expansion and/or enhancements at nearly two dozen existing stations and stops, a separated bikeway, and grade separation of two intersections in Longmont). Not all elements of the multi-modal vision were in a fiscally constrained plan; therefore, a NEPA decision document could not be completed. However, the local, state, and federal agencies along with the traveling public were committed to using the information and analyses completed to advance the multimodal vision.

Upon confirmation of the recommended alternative with agencies and public stakeholders, Pinyon quickly convened the agencies involved and developed a process to complete the project as a PEL Study. This documentation captured the project’s Purpose and Need Statement; alternatives’ analyses; environmental impact assessment and identification of environmental mitigation strategies; and an outline of next steps needed to obtain environmental clearances and permits to implement each multi-modal element individually or packaged with other elements. The PEL Study was adopted by RTD, Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), and Federal Transit Administration (FTA).