Action required:

All students, faculty, and staff must register for Microsoft Entra before Tuesday, November 11 to continue accessing university systems. Register today!

Skip to main content

COMPASS Idaho

About

Compass Community Planning Association of Southwest Idaho Logo

The Community Planning Association of Southwest Idaho (COMPASS) is an association of local governments working together to plan for the future of the Treasure Valley. The agency is a voluntary, member-based organization. Learn about the benefits of being a member of COMPASS.

COMPASS is governed by a Board of Directors who represent COMPASS member agencies. The Board is comprised mainly of local elected officials, such as mayors, city councilmembers, and county and highway district commissioners.

The Board serves as a regional forum for making decisions about transportation and related planning and sets priorities for spending federal transportation funds. Each member agency has a voice in the decision-making process and has access to the people and technical resources that inform that process.

COMPASS staff use state-of-the-art technology and work closely with member agency staff to collect data, analyze regional trends, and develop recommendations for the COMPASS Board of Directors.

COMPASS provides a variety of services to its members. Learn about membership services here.

Services

Compass venn diagram
Venn diagram with three circles. Circle one: Idaho Transportation Department – manages state roadways. Circle two: Land use agencies – manage land use (e.g., cities, counties). Third circle: Local transportation agencies – manage public transportation and local roads. The word compass takes up the overlapping areas of the venn diagram.

COMPASS serves as the metropolitan planning organization, or MPO, for Ada and Canyon Counties. An MPO is a regional planning entity responsible for transportation planning and distribution of federal transportation funds for designated urbanized areas. All urbanized areas over 50,000 in population must have an MPO if local or state transportation agencies spend federal money on transportation improvements.

Practitioners

  • Austin Miller

    Austin Miller

    Planning Team Lead

    Manage the planning team. Our primary deliverable is the regional long-range transportation plan, Communities in Motion (CIM). CIM looks 20+ years into the future to help ensure the system of roads, bridges, and transportation services in Ada and Canyon counties are ready to support a healthy and vibrant region. CIM focuses on integrating four transportation components (bicycle/pedestrian, freight, public transportation, and roadways) so they work together to form a complete, efficient transportation system. Additionally, COMPASS planners develop the demographic and jobs forecasts for the Treasure Valley out to 2055.

    COMPASS

    Manage the planning team. Our primary deliverable is the regional long-range transportation plan, Communities in Motion (CIM). CIM looks 20+ years into the future to help ensure the system of roads, bridges, and transportation services in Ada and Canyon counties are ready to support a healthy and vibrant region. CIM focuses on integrating four transportation components (bicycle/pedestrian, freight, public transportation, and roadways) so they work together to form a complete, efficient transportation system. Additionally, COMPASS planners develop the demographic and jobs forecasts for the Treasure Valley out to 2055.