Ike Planning Program. The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity has opened applications for the
Illinois “Ike” Disaster Recovery Planning Program. DCEO will host
workshops and teleconference calls to inform local governments about this program. On February 28, a workshop will be held at the Lincoln Library (326 S. 7th Street, Springfield) at 1:30 p.m. Teleconference calls will be held on February 23 at 10:00 a.m. and March 7 at 2:00 p.m. Counties, municipalities, and multijurisdictional groups of local governments are eligible to apply for funding from the program to support planning activities that address hazard mitigation and are comprehensive in nature. CMAP encourages communities to pursue multijurisdictional applications and will offer assistance to applicants seeking to do this. Interested local governments should contact Stephen Ostrander at 312-386-8696 or
sostrander@cmap.illinois.gov.
Other News and Announcements
- The Village of Westchester is creating its first comprehensive plan in 55 years. Last week, CMAP and the Village hosted two public meetings attended by 180 residents to discuss the strengths, issues, and challenges that should be addressed by the plan. Residents can continue to provide input on the plan on-line.
- The Village of Carpentersville is developing an Old Town Area plan, and nearly 100 residents, business and property owners, and elected officials viewed four preliminary concept plans at an open house this week. Comments received at the open house and on-line will be presented to the Village's Planning and Zoning Commission next week.
- The Village of Oak Park is creating its first water conservation and efficiency plan. Last week, 25 residents and community stakeholders gathered to discuss water programming and saving techniques with Oak Park water staff. A public open house will be held in April.
- The City of Chicago is developing a Green Healthy Neighborhood Plan for the neighborhoods of Woodlawn, Washington Park, Greater Englewood, New City, and Greater Grand Crossing with LISC Chicago. Eighty community stakeholders met to discuss active zones of development and community revitalization while identifying areas for future revitalization on January 28. The next public meeting will be held on March 31.
- The Village of Elmwood Park is updating its comprehensive plan and will host its second public meeting on March 1 at the Elmwood Park Recreation Center Gym (2 Conti Parkway) from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
LTA in the news. The
Daily Herald wrote about Algonquin’s work to create a new downtown plan. CMAP is funding this project with a $90,000 grant through the RTA/CMAP Community Planning Program. The Southtown Star wrote a
supportive editorial to follow up on last week's
coverage of the new “
Homes for a Changing Region” policy plans for the south Cook communities of Hazel Crest, Lansing, Olympia Fields, and Park Forest. These
plans give analysis and recommendations for future housing demands and supply trends. In related news, the State of Illinois and Cook County launched the
Illinois Building Blocks Pilot Program to address foreclosures through rehabilitation of vacant homes and increasing affordable housing with a $55 million commitment for six Cook County communities, including three involved in Homes for a Changing Region.
IL Route 53/120 design workshop. Yesterday, CMAP hosted a day-long design workshop for the
Illinois Route 53/120 Blue Ribbon Advisory Council. Approximately 100 attendees learned about the project's options and trade-offs, then the participants worked together to develop a vision for the corridor based on common themes from instant polling on leading concepts. Workshop materials are
available on-line.
New CAF exhibits. On Wednesday, February 15, the Chicago Architecture Foundation (CAF) will launch a
new exhibit, "Loop Value: The How Much Does it Cost? Shop," from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Another new exhibit, “The New Navy Pier,” which features the projects of five finalists’ competing to redesign Navy Pier’s outdoor spaces, will also debut. RSVP by February 7 to
rsvp@architecture.org or
312-922-3432 x228. Don't forget about CAF's
lunchtime lecture series on Wednesdays at Lecture Hall Gallery (224 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago) from 12:15 to 1:00 p.m.
NU Transportation Center Executive Education programs. The Northwestern University Transportation Center is offering two courses through their Executive Education program.
Freight Transportation and Logistics: Delivering Results in a Volatile Environment will run from May 14 to 16 and the
Pricing Highway Infrastructure Executive Program will run from May 21 to 23.
Congestion report highlights GO TO 2040. The Securing America’s Future Energy (SAFE) “
Congestion in America: A Growing Challenge to U.S. Energy Security” report highlights congestion and parking pricing strategies included in GO TO 2040. CMAP is mentioned on page 20 as an example of the nationwide need to implement comprehensive policies addressing congestion.
AMPO conference. The 2012 Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations (AMPO) Annual Conference will be held September 11-14 in Saratoga Springs, NY. The deadline to
submit presentation proposals for the Conference is in three weeks, Friday, March 2. For more information, contact Maria Staunton (
mstaunton@ampo.org or
202-296-7051 x4).
Expressway history. ABC-Channel 7 will run a series next week on the history of the expressways, including naming and how they were built. The series runs Monday through Friday at 6:00 a.m.
Data Depot
Opportunity for MetroPulse input and site enhancements. We’ve improved the
MetroPulse homepage to make navigation easier and have a new 30-second user input survey to get your input (see top right corner). Those who opt in will be contacted by CMAP or Pathfinder Software to schedule a 30-minute interview to provide feedback on your experience with MetroPulse. Watch a
brief video to learn more.
Transit Indicator. CMAP recently used
new 2010 data to update the MetroPulse regional indicator for "transit passenger miles per vehicle revenue hour." One highlight of 2010 data is that, despite curtailed service, Chicago Transit Authority rail travel increased to 372.6 passenger miles traveled per vehicle revenue hour in 2010 from 321.8 the previous year. This indicator is tracked because it is sensitive to both operational efficiency and passenger travel. Read more on our
Green Signals blog.
Fact of the week. Based on data from the
2010 American Community Survey, about 51 percent of Chicago area residents reported being married, 35 percent reported never having been married, and about 9 percent were divorced. In the U.S., median length of first marriages ending in divorce was eight years, and median time between divorce and a second marriage was just shy of four years. The
U.S. Census Bureau website offers more analysis on marriage and divorce statistics.
CMAP Blogs
Water 2050 update. Among numerous topics, our water newsletter describes the completion of the Fox River Watershed Restoration and Education report, a new conservation code being developed for the Village of Orland Park, and a new tool to measure water pollution in the waterways.
Policy Updates. In addition to posts about federal transportation reauthorization, we also described a new report from Metropolis Strategies on green economic opportunities in the region, as well as new guidelines passed by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago to allow the use of green infrastructure in its Sewer Permit Ordinance.
Soles and Spokes. CMAP’s bike-ped planning blog featured the 2011 Illinois Safe Routes to School program award recipients and pointed readers to an analysis of the awards in our region. We also announced the call-for-projects of IDOT’s 2012 Transportation Enhancement Program (ITEP), in which approximately $50 million will be available for eligible projects. Finally, we highlighted the Alliance for Biking and Walking’s 2012 Benchmarking Report, which compares safety data, mode share, investments, and levels of bicycling and walking generally in cities and states around the country.
Reminders
Comment on TIP amendments. The CMAP Transportation Committee has released a conformity amendment to the FFY 2010-2015 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). This amendment is open to public comment for 30 days, from January 20 to February 20, 2012. Conformity analysis is part of the transportation modeling process that evaluates the impact of projects on air quality. On-road vehicle emissions are reviewed in certain years (currently 2016, 2020, 2030, and 2040) to determine that the region will reach national air quality goals. Please review the cover memo and list of conformity amendments. Comments can be mailed to CMAP, ATTN TIP amendments, 233 South Wacker Drive, Suite 800, Chicago, IL 60606, or submitted by e-mail or phone 312-454-0400.
Case study library. CMAP has created a web database of completed local projects that reflect recommendations of the GO TO 2040 plan. If you know of an exemplary project that should be included, please contact Lindsay Banks (lbanks@cmap.illinois.gov or 312-386-8826).
Events
Illinois State Rail Plan public information meeting
February 22, 2012
3:00 to 6:00 p.m.
CMAP Offices: 233 S. Wacker Drive, Suite 800, Chicago
Hosted by the Illinois Department of Transportation
February 22, 2012
6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Orland Park Public Library: 14921 Ravinia Avenue, Orland Park
Hosted by the Village of Orland Park and CMAP
March 20 to 21, 2012
9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Cook County Sheriff's Policy Training Academy: 2000 N. 5th Avenue, Building R, Room 304, River Grove
Hosted by Grant Writing USA
Blogs (Weekly Updates) 
