Purpose

The Regional Transportation Program defines the transportation planning activities conducted by the Purchase Area Development District (PADD) in partnership with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC). The program provides a regional framework for identifying transportation needs, coordinating public involvement, and developing transportation priorities that support Kentucky’s statewide transportation planning process. Through collaboration with local governments, transportation providers, regional stakeholders, and the public, PADD helps ensure that regional transportation needs and priorities are communicated to KYTC for consideration in statewide planning and programming decisions.

Kentucky has maintained a statewide transportation planning program through its Area Development Districts (ADDs) since the 1970s, with the planning process evolving over time to reflect changes in federal transportation policy and planning requirements. Today, the program is carried out under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), and guided by KYTC’s Strategic Highway Investment Formula for Tomorrow (SHIFT). SHIFT is the Commonwealth’s performance-based project prioritization process, which uses objective data, technical analysis, and public input to identify, evaluate, and prioritize transportation investments based on factors such as safety, congestion, asset management, economic growth, freight movement, resiliency, and multimodal accessibility.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s Division of Planning, KYTC Highway District Offices, Area Development Districts (ADDs), and Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) share responsibility for Kentucky’s statewide transportation planning process. ADDs coordinate transportation planning activities in rural areas outside Kentucky’s nine metropolitan planning areas, while MPOs lead transportation planning within their respective urbanized areas. PADD works closely with the Paducah-McCracken County MPO and KYTC District 1 to coordinate transportation planning across jurisdictional boundaries and ensure regional priorities are appropriately represented.

As part of the Regional Transportation Program, PADD conducts transportation studies, collects and analyzes transportation data, facilitates public involvement, assists in identifying and prioritizing transportation needs, and supports the development of regional and statewide transportation plans. PADD also provides technical assistance to local governments in pursuing state and federal transportation funding opportunities, including programs such as the Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP), and assists with traffic studies, grant applications, and other transportation-related requests. The overall goal of the Regional Transportation Program is to promote a safe, efficient, resilient, and multimodal transportation system that supports economic development and enhances the quality of life throughout the Purchase Region.

History

Kentucky has maintained a statewide transportation planning process since the 1970s through the 15 ADDs. In 1995, Kentucky expanded and formalized public involvement in its statewide transportation planning in response to ISTEA directives. This process was expanded to include more comprehensive public involvement, in line with TEA-21 directives. 

The statewide transportation planning process is accomplished through a cooperative program with the KYTC’s 12 Highway District Offices, 15 ADDs, Regional Transportation Committees, local officials, and public involvement committees.

Documents

Regional Studies

Meetings

For more information, please call 270.247.7171 or email us.