Overview
This annual event provides peer-to-peer learning for regional transportation planners, state DOT representatives, and their local and private sector partners.
View the final program here. (PDF)
The conference provides training and networking opportunities on a variety of rural and small metropolitan transportation topics. With hands-on workshops, best practice panels, and facilitated networking sessions that feature peer trainers and expert speakers, the conference will offer training for organizations and individuals just beginning to work in transportation, as well as those with more experience.
For more information, please contact NADO Associate Director Carrie Kissel at ckissel @ nado.org.
Feedback from last year's attendees
- I seem to pick up ideas and practices at each and every event. THANK YOU!
- This was my first NADO conference. It was a really wonderful experience!
- Always a great learning experience and way to network with peers.
- I had a great time and I feel like it was productive and inspiring for my work.
- A great conference attended by a group of people who love to share their experiences and hear from others.
Looking for information from prior conferences? Choose the event below:
- June 2016, Chattanooga, Tennessee
- December 2014, Cincinnati, Ohio
- April 2013, Greenville, South Carolina
- April 2012, Burlington, Vermont
- August 2011, Washington, DC
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Registration
Registration for the 2017 National Regional Transportation Conference will begin on March 17, 2017
Registration for this event started on March 17, 2017 and is currently Closed.
Fee Schedule:
- Early Bird Registration Rate (before May 26 ): $325
- Regular Registration Rate (after May 26 ): $350
Optional mobile workshops will cost an additional $35 to cover workshop costs.
Agenda & Presentations
Click here for a printable version of the conference program (PDF).
Wednesday, June 28
8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Conference Registration
8:45 a.m. – Noon Mobile Workshop: Improving Transportation Planning and Active Transportation through Better Community Engagement: Lessons from Golden, Colorado
9:00 a.m. – Noon Workshop: Doing Transportation and Economic Development Differently
- Dawn Espe and Staci Headley, Region Five Development Commission (MN)
- Additional wealth creation resources: www.WealthWorks.org
- Bryan Zulko, USDA Rural Development: USDA Program Matrix, Food LINC Program Flyer, Food LINC Program Overview (PDFs)
9:00 – 10:15 a.m. Session: Partnerships with State and Local Governments: RTPO Ideas that Work
- Tim Kirby, Colorado Department of Transportation
- Matt Day, Triangle J Council of Governments (NC)
- Debora Glasgow, Southwestern Oklahoma Development Authority
- Moderator: Katharine Otto, Southern Windsor County Regional Planning Commission (VT)
10:30 a.m. – Noon Session: Innovative Uses of GIS and Technology in Planning
- Chandra Ravada, East Central Intergovernmental Association (IA)
- Ian Varley, City Explained, Inc. (CO)
- Brian Morton, Center for Urban and Regional Studies, UNC-Chapel Hill
Noon – 12:30 p.m. Excellence Awards Photo Session (award winners only)
Noon – 1:30 p.m. Lunch on Your Own
1:30 – 2:30 p.m. Opening Plenary: Innovations and New Approaches Changing Transportation
- Welcome: Tom Reinauer, RPO America Chair, Southern Maine Planning and Development Commission
- Welcome: Bret Allphin, Buckeye Hills Regional Council (OH)
- Keynote speaker: Valerie Lefler, CEO, Liberty Mobility Now (NE)
2:45 – 3:45 p.m. Concurrent Session: Planning for Regional Resilience
- Rob Pressly, Colorado Resilience and Recovery Office
- Laura Blomquist Rodriguez, Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade
- Justin Fazzari, Economic Development Administration – Denver Regional Office
- Moderator: Brett Schwartz, National Association of Development Organizations
2:45 – 3:45 p.m. Concurrent Session: Achieving Safety Results by Addressing Behavioral Issues
- Nicole Waldheim, Cambridge Systematics
- Moderator: Randall Embry, Kentuckiana Regional Planning and Development Agency
4:00 – 5:00 p.m. RPO America Business Meeting and National RPO Council of Peers Meeting (all attendees are encouraged to attend)
5:00 – 6:30 p.m. Reception: Excellence in Regional Transportation Awards Showcase
Thursday, June 29
8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Conference Registration
8:30 – 9:30 a.m. Concurrent Session: Freight Planning Practices
- Andrea White, Iowa Department of Transportation
- Andrew Shepler, Ohio Department of Transportation
- Moderator: Kwentin Eastberg, Apalachee Regional Planning Commission (FL)
8:30 – 9:30 a.m. Concurrent Session: Bicycle and Pedestrian Access in a Multimodal Context
- Shari Schaftlein, Office of Human Environment, Federal Highway Administration
- More resources: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/bicycle_pedestrian
- Moderator: Evan Williams, Northwest New Mexico Council of Governments
9:45 – 10:45 a.m. Concurrent Session: RTPO Roles in Megaregion Planning and Multi-region Planning
- Scott Allen, Office of Planning, Federal Highway Administration
- Dan Landon, Nevada County Transportation Commission (CA)
- Moderator: John Marshall, Western Piedmont Council of Governments (NC)
9:45 – 10:45 a.m. Concurrent Session: Innovative Regional Transit
- Dan Blankenship, Roaring Forks Transportation Authority (CO)
- Dave Doran, Southeast Idaho Council of Governments
- Moderator: Thomas Logan, Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Commission (TX)
11:00 a.m. – Noon Concurrent Session: Aligning Transportation and Economic Development Plans and Measuring Progress
- Mary Rump, East Central Iowa Council of Governments
- Charlie Baker, Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission (VT)
- Justin Fazzari, Economic Development Administration – Denver Regional Office
- Moderator: Jeff Hagan, Eastern Upper Peninsula Regional Planning and Development Commission (MI)
11:00 a.m. – Noon Concurrent Session: Mobilizing Support for Transportation Solutions
- Kathleen Osher, Transit Alliance (CO)
- Rachel Beyerle, Easterseals Transportation Group (DC)
- Moderator: Chris Zeilinger, Community Transportation Association of America
Noon – 1:30 p.m. Plenary Luncheon: Innovative Transportation Practice in Colorado
- Mike Lewis, Deputy Director, Colorado DOT
- Moderator: Michael Parks, RPO America Vice Chair, Brazos Valley Council of Governments (TX)
1:45 – 5:30 p.m. Mobile Workshop: Building Back Better: Flood Recovery and Economic Development in Longmont, Colorado
1:45 – 4:00 p.m. Workshop: Public Engagement through Storytelling
- Cindy Vong, Orton Family Foundation
- Jennifer Henninger, AICP, RG and Associates, LLC
- Tommy Butler, City of Cortez, Colorado
- Presentation
1:45 – 2:45 p.m. Session: Data and Tools for Regional Planning
- Penelope Weinberger, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
- Moderator: Vicki Eggers, Northern Oklahoma Development Authority
3:00 – 4:00 p.m. Session: Minnesota’s Highway 169: A Case Study in Innovative Transportation and Economic Development
- Nicole Griensewic Mickelson, Region Nine Development Commission (MN)
- Moderator: Jill Cornett, Harry S Truman Coordinating Council (MO)
Friday, June 30
7:30 – 11:00 a.m. Conference Registration
7:30 – 8:00 a.m. Networking Breakfast
8:00 – 10:15 a.m. Regional Transportation Planning Organizations’ Peer Exchange
10:30 – 11:45 a.m. Closing Plenary: Federal Agency Update—What’s Happening Now, and What’s Next?
- Shari Schaftlein, Office of Human Environment, Federal Highway Administration
- Scott Allen, Office of Planning, Federal Highway Administration
- Darin Allan, Region 8, Federal Transit Administration
- Cindy Edwards, Economic Development Administration – Denver Regional Office
- Moderator: Carrie Kissel, National Association of Development Organizations
~ Please note this schedule is subject to change ~
Travel & Venue
Grand Hyatt Denver
1750 Welton St
Denver, CO 80202
(303) 295-1234
Room Rate: $178 single/double
Room block deadline: May 26
Click here for a direct link to the Hyatt reservation page to secure your hotel room reservation today!
The host city sees 300 days of sunshine a year! With thriving arts and cultural venues, nearby mountains, active sports scene, and one of the largest city park systems in the country, Denver will provide attendees with many opportunities to enjoy the conference setting during mobile workshops that take the learning out of the hotel, in the evenings during the conference, or before or after the event dates.
Learn more about visiting Denver here, and about the hotel here.
~ Some or all of this information was provided by the hotel/venue ~
Denver is served by the Denver International Airport (DEN). Visitors can take the A Line light rail from the airport to Union Station. Purchase an airport/regional Day Pass for about $9. A short walk from Union Station, visitors can take the Free MallRide shuttle along the 16th St Mall, which is closed to vehicular traffic other than the shuttle, to reach destinations downtown. To reach the conference hotel on the MallRide, take the shuttle to Welton Street, and walk 1.5 blocks to the Grand Hyatt. Cabs offer another option to transport visitors from the airport to the hotel, or from Union Station to the hotel.
If you will need a rental car while in Denver, you can reserve a car through Avis at a discounted conference rate by calling 800.331.1600 and providing the Avis Worldwide Discount (AWD) number T530199, or by reserving online here. The discounted rate is good for seven days before through seven days after the conference.
Sponsors & Exhibitors
Special thanks to our event co-sponsors! This conference is sponsored by the Appalachian Regional Commission, Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations, Development District Association of Appalachia, Economic Development Administration, Federal Highway Administration, NADO and the NADO Research Foundation, and RPO America.
Each year, this conference is attended by 125 - 150 individuals, most of whom are regional planning practitioners working on transportation, economic development, and other planning in rural and small metropolitan regions around the United States. State agency staff and other planning partners also attend. Sponsorship is designed to allow for optimal interaction with these audiences of attendees, as well as NADO's greater membership of regional planning and development organizations and their partners.
Click here (PDF) to check out our sponsor rates and complete a sponsorship interest form. Contact NADO Associate Director Carrie Kissel for more information, at ckissel @ nado.org. Other custom sponsor levels are also available.
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