IDAHO NATIONAL
Idaho
Transportation |
The Community Planning Association of Southwest Idaho (COMPASS) announces completion of the Communities in Motion: Regional Long-Range Transportation Plan 2030. Anyone interested in the vision for transportation in Southwest Idaho can pick up a copy of the plan during an event at the Best Western Vista Inn at 2645 Airport Way in Boise on Saturday (Feb. 24). “Putting Communities into Action,” a transportation planning fair, is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The event also is intended to thank the public for participating in the planning process and to share strategies for implementation, according to Terri Schorzman, COMPASS Communications Coordinator. Seventeen organizations will staff exhibit booths, and eleven presentations about transportation and planning issues will take place throughout the day. Exhibitors and presentations scheduled for Saturday include:
Excerpts from the plan’s executive summary Defining the vision: Communities in Motion (CIM) is the regional long-range transportation plan for Southwest Idaho and provides regional transportation solutions for the next twenty-plus years for Ada, Boise, Canyon, Elmore, Gem, and Payette counties. Communities in Motion evaluates projected population and employment growth, current and future transportation needs, safety, financial capacity, and preservation of the human and natural environment. Communities in Motion offers a vision for land use, known as “Community Choices” and addresses:
The CIM planning process identified a broad vision, community
goals, objectives, and measurable tasks. This was accomplished by engaging
people early in the process. Over 2000 residents, stakeholders, and
elected officials participated in developing the plan. Goals
Communities in Motion supports:
Growing our region: “Community Choices” encourages growth inside city “areas of impact,” and emphasizes higher densities and mixed uses with jobs, shopping and services closer to housing. If growth and development do not follow “Community Choices” and instead follow the current pattern (known as “Trend”), it will be possible to drive through Southwest Idaho and not be able to tell when you’ve left one town and entered another because residential growth will have blurred the boundaries. More and more people commute to Ada and Canyon counties from Gem, Payette, Boise and Elmore counties every day. For example, more than half of Boise County’s working population and 37 percent of Gem County’s commuted to Ada and Canyon in 2000 according to the U.S. Census, and the percentages keep growing. Other travel pressures exist as well. Recreational travel affects Boise County, while Payette County faces heavy truck traffic along U.S. 95. But the traffic problems of today will pale in comparison to the problems in 2030, due in part to population growth. In 2000, the six-county region had slightly over 500,000 residents; by 2030, the population may swell to nearly 1 million or more. The location of jobs to support this growing population will be critical. Growth and what it means for the future of our region is the reason for Communities in Motion. The Communities in Motion planning process looked at how our region might develop. Using input from public workshops, local governments, stakeholders, and elected officials, COMPASS developed the growth scenario – “Community Choices” – on which the plan is based. The scenario offers a vision for a more cost-effective, multi-modal transportation system. To support this vision, funding for public infrastructure must be directed to areas of growth consistent with those outlined in CIM. If done, new growth patterns will mean that our region will:
(Note: for the full executive summary of the complete plan, go to: http://www.communitiesinmotion.org/plandocuments.html Published 2-16-07 |