Blogs (Weekly Updates)

Posted on February 09, 2009 4:55 AM
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Weekly Update, 1/9/09


Randy Blankenhorn

Randy Blankenhorn
CMAP Board and committee meetings. The CMAP Board will meet at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, January 14, 2009. Click here for the agenda and materials. Prior to the Board meeting, both Coordinating Committees will meet at 8:00 a.m. Click here for the Programming materials. Click here for the Planning materials.  At 11:00 a.m. or immediately after the Board meeting, the Executive Committee will meet. All of the meetings are in the CMAP offices, Suite 800 of Sears Tower, 233 S. Wacker Drive in Chicago.  

MPO Policy Committee.  The committee met this week and discussed a draft of the recommended revisions to the CMAQ selection process to create a more effective programming process to assure that the region gets the congestion reduction and air quality improvements of projects more quickly and does not have a large amount of unobligated funding in danger of being lost to the region.  The committee will be asked to endorse a final revision at its March meeting.  The committee was also briefed on the CMAP Board’s deliberations and the STB’s final ruling regarding the acquisition of the EJ&E by the CN.  Additionally, the committee reviewed and discussed a set of principles, passed by the CMAP Board, that would guide the implementation of a federal economic recovery package.  With regard to the EJ&E acquisition and the possibility of a federal recovery package, a lively discussion ensued among the committee members concerning the role of CMAP and the desire for the agency to play a stronger role in these matters.  All agenda materials can be found here and the next meeting is March 12, 2009.

Congestion data visualizations.  CMAP has posted some fascinating data and images describing congestion patterns on the region's freeways and tollways. The congestion scans and data were compiled through our Congestion Management Process.  Based on the latest data (from 2007), they show basic congestion, travel time, and travel time reliability information for Chicago-area expressways and tollways that have sufficient instrumentation to calculate average travel speed.  Although the information we posted on the web is of general interest, we can make additional graphic information available on request for use by traffic operations staff and highway engineers.  Please contact Tom Murtha (312-386-8790 or tmurtha@cmap.illinois.gov) for more information.

HSIP/HRRRP workshop.  From 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on January 29, 2009 in DeKalb, Illinois, a Local Agency Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) workshop will be held in the Illinois Room, Holmes Student Center, Northern Illinois University, 201 Carroll Avenue in DeKalb.  The workshop is intended to assist local agencies with the HSIP and High Risk Rural Roads Program (HRRRP) application process.  Local agencies from IDOT Districts 1, 2, and 3 are encouraged to attend.  For more information and to register, see the IDOT Local Roads Circular letter at http://www.dot.il.gov/blr/manuals/infocirculars/CL2008-17.pdf.  

CMAP Diversity Workshop. On Monday, February 9, 2009, in partnership with the state and local Black and Hispanic Caucuses, CMAP is holding a Diversity Workshop designed to promote awareness of the GO TO 2040 planning process in the African American and Latino/Hispanic communities of northeastern Illinois. The workshop is free and is an interactive event where CMAP staff will provide an overview of the planning process, provide an opportunity to discuss issues, and encourage involvement in the process as CMAP nears the release of the regional plan in 2010.  The event is 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, 230 S. LaSalle St., Chicago, IL 60604.  For more information or to register, please contact Jamie Krell at 312-386-8658 or jkrell@cmap.illinois.gov.

GO TO 2040 Community Conversations. Please see http://www.goto2040.org/conversations.aspx for an updated list of Community Conversations that CMAP has scheduled for residents to discuss the GO TO 2040 campaign. Next week, we will host the following meetings:
  • Warren Newport Public Library (224 N. O'Plaine Rd., Gurnee) on Wednesday, January 14, 2009 from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. and again from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. (Please contact Diana Torres for more information at 312-386-8774 or dtorres@cmap.illinois.gov.) 
  • Faith In Place (Unity Temple, 875 Lake Street, Oak Park, IL 60301) on Thursday, January 15, 2009 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (Please contact LynnToi Lawson for more information at 312.386-8782 or llawson@cmap.illinois.gov.) 


Blog entries. The first of two new posts from CMAP's Lindsay Banks describes the new teaming of CTA and I-GO, a car-sharing that CMAP has partnered with for the past year.  And the other post is a reminder to register early for Bike the Drive, which happens on May 24 and benefits the Active Transportation Alliance (formerly the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation).  And new CMAP staffer Anne Holub made her first post about how to donate your expired Christmas tree to the fish in DuPage County tomorrow (Saturday, January 10) from 8:00 a.m. to noon at Northern Harrier Lake in Pratt's Wayne Woods Forest Preserve near Wayne.

http://www.goto2040.org/images/getinvolved_button.jpgSPECIAL REMINDER. Don't forget to join CMAP's GO TO 2040 Partners Program! Please complete our simple partnership form. We'll send you a Partnership Kit with materials and a DVD to help you and your organization get involved in the region's first truly comprehensive plan. See our growing list of partners who have made the commitment to planning for a better future.
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