Posted on March 16, 2012 2:53 PM
CMAP Weekly Update, 3-16-12
Highlights from CMAP executive director Randy Blankenhorn's Weekly Update include an update on federal transportation reauthorization; a series of Policy Updates on an international report on economic factors shaping the tri-state area of northeast Illinois, northwest Indiana, and southwest Wisconsin; and more. Subscribe to get Weekly Updates by e-mail.
Table of Contents
Board meeting recap. The Board met this week and voted to approve Susan Campbell as one of its Vice Chairs, filling the vacancy left by Joe Deal. Other highlights of the agenda included a staff recommendation on priorities to pursue with regard to work in State and Local Tax Policy and a summary of relevant bills that CMAP is tracking in the State legislature. The Board approved the semi-annual GO TO 2040 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) Conformity Analysis and TIP Amendment. Finally, the Board also heard staff updates on the Energy Impact Illinois (EI2) and our Future Leaders in Planning (FLIP) programs.
Transportation reauthorization update. By a vote of 74 to 22 on March 14, 2012, the U.S. Senate passed Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21), its 1.5-year transportation reauthorization bill. MAP-21 now moves to the U.S. House of Representatives, which is in recess this week for a district work period. Read more in our
Policy Updates blog.
Policy Updates. This week we began a series of Policy Updates on the Territorial Review report conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on the tri-state region that includes northeast Illinois, northwest Indiana, and southeast Wisconsin.
GO TO 2040 was an influential starting point for the team's efforts, and CMAP provided a large amount of data, policy guidance, and other input for the report. The first post in our series looks at the
assets and challenges of our tri-state region, the second focuses on
workforce development, and the third focuses on
transportation and logistics. Next week we will focus on the report's innovation, green jobs, and governance chapters. Read more from the
Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce and
Northwest Indiana Times.
Retirement. Our friend John Swanson, executive director of the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission, has
announced his retirement at the end of this year. We'd like to thank John for his service to both that region and ours. We wish him well in his retirement.
Other News and Announcements
Planning in Detroit. As you may recall, CMAP's Pete Saunders recently wrote for
Urbanophile about the need for planning in his hometown of Detroit. Today the
Detroit Free Press ran Pete's essay, which continues to prompt discussion there.
CMAQ in the news. Two projects partially funded by our
Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) program were in the news this week: the Bloomingdale Trail (
ABC Chicago,
Chicago Sun-Times,
Fox Chicago,
NBC Chicago, and
CBS Chicago) and Chicago's new bike sharing program (
Chicago Tribune and
Chicago Sun-Times).
EI2 in the news. Energy Impact Illinois (EI2) also received some local coverage as
Oak Leaves wrote about a March 21 workshop in Oak Park to help individuals learn how to reduce home energy consumption. The
Rockford Register Star and
Rock River Times wrote about new rebates available for Rockford homeowners. On newsstands now,
Chicago Magazine described ways EI2 can help residents make their homes more energy efficient.
CMAP media tip sheet. Our latest
tip sheet for reporters includes information on the OECD report; Moving Forward: 2010-11, the first annual GO TO 2040 implementation report; the latest details on transportation reauthorization; a new energy calculator for commercial building owners; and more.
Featured case study. In the Village of Old Mill Creek, three-way stops on rural roads were causing frustrating traffic back-ups. To keep traffic flowing and reduce crashes,
Lake County's Division of Transportation proposed an unfamiliar roundabout solution and conducted public outreach to make it work. If you know of an exemplary project for the
GO TO 2040 case study library, please contact Lindsay Banks (
lbanks@cmap.illinois.gov or 312-386-8826).
Public Rights-of-Way guidelines seminar. On March 21 the Chicago Metro Chapter of the American Public Works Association, in conjunction with the IDOT Technology Transfer Center, will offer a day-long seminar on the U.S. Access Board’s proposed Public Rights-of-Way Accessibility Guidelines. Read more about the seminar in our
Soles and Spokes blog.
Lawn to Lake workshops. The
Lawn to Lake program is partnering with CMAP and other national and regional experts to offer several workshops on natural lawn care. On March 21 and 22, the Safer Pest Control Project will host
two workshops on natural lawn care in northwestern Indiana. Also on March 21, a
webinar will be held for those unable to attend the workshops.
Transportation conformity workshops. From April 24 to 26, the National Transit Institute will hold a
training course on transportation conformity at CMAP's offices (233 S. Wacker Drive, Suite 800, Chicago). It is free for public agency employees.
Mayoral water conservation challenge. From March 30 to April 30, mayors can pledge to conserve water and cut pollution in the third annual National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation. CMAP encourages mayors in our region to participate in this challenge and is willing to offer assistance where needed. Contact Hala Ahmed (312-386-8800 or hahmed@cmap.illinois.gov) and read more at American City & County.
Data Depot
MetroPulse 1.3 released. Thanks to feedback gained through user experience interviews, CMAP has released a new iteration of the MetroPulse website at www.metropulsechicago.org. Design modifications include simplified navigation, greater emphasis on indicator descriptions, and increased screen real estate devoted to visualizations. Learn more in a brief video.
Transit ridership. Increasing transit ridership to keep pace with and exceed population growth is an important strategy for sustaining reliable public transit, which results in more efficient and environmentally sound travel choices by both residents and visitors. You can use MetroPulse to track per capita transit ridership in metropolitan Chicago.
New Data on Race and Ethnicity. Yesterday, the U.S. Census Bureau released detailed demographic information from 2010 Census Summary File 2 for up to 331 race and ethnic groups down to the census tract level for Illinois. Visit American FactFinder and select “Race and Ethnic Groups,” then “Population Group Type."
CMAP Blogs
Green Signals. CMAP’s transportation operations blog informed readers about an upcoming benefit-cost analysis for operations webinar.
Soles and Spokes. CMAP’s bike-ped planning blog featured a press release from Chicago's transportation department highlighting its accomplishments from the past year in constructing, striping, and restriping bikeways and other on-street bicycle-friendly facilities and treatments. We also wrote about recent bicycle planning efforts of the Northwest Municipal Conference (NWMC).
Reminders
GO TO 2040 implementation report web page. We've created a web companion to the Moving Forward: 2010-11 report on implementation of GO TO 2040, which highlights projects from the full report. For copies of the report or the summary poster-brochure, please contact Hillary Green (hgreen@cmap.illinois.gov or 312-386-8619).
Ike Planning Program. The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity has opened applications for the Illinois “Ike” Disaster Recovery Planning Program. CMAP encourages communities to pursue multijurisdictional applications and will offer assistance to applicants seeking to do this. Interested local governments should contact Stephen Ostrander (312-386-8696 or sostrander@cmap.illinois.gov). Applications are due March 30, 2012.
Watershed meetings. CMAP and The Conservation Foundation will co-facilitate meetings of the Blackberry Creek Watershed Coalition on March 20 and the Ferson-Otter Creek Watershed Coalition on March 27. The meetings for these newly formed groups will focus on implementation of their recently completed watershed plans, which were drafted by CMAP with input from stakeholders.
FLIP application. The 2012-13 application is now available for CMAP’s Future Leaders in Planning (FLIP). Selected high school students from around the region meet one Saturday a month and go behind the scenes to learn about what keeps our region strong, safe, healthy, and moving. Any freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior in the CMAP region is eligible to apply. For more information, contact Ricardo Lopez (rlopez@cmap.illinois.gov or 312-386-8766).
Chaddick Municipal Development Control Award. DePaul University's Chaddick Institute requests nominations for its 2012 Municipal Development Award. Applications are due March 23. To learn more, contact Marisa Schulz (312-362-5731 or MSCHULZ2@depaul.edu).
Events
Joliet redevelopment recommendations presentation
March 19, 2012
6:00 to 7:30 p.m.
Joliet Historical Museum: 204 N. Ottawa Street, Joliet
Hosted by the City of Joliet, Urban Land Institute, and CMAP
More information
Park Forest open house
March 20, 2012
6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Dining on the Green: 349 Main Street, Park Forest
Hosted by the Village of Park Forest and CMAP
More information
Grant Writing Class
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
More information
Fox River Ecosystem Partnership meeting
March 21, 2012
1:00 to 2:00 p.m.
Historic Kendall County Courthouse: 110 W. Madison Street, Yorkville
More information
Orland Park planning meeting
March 21, 2012
6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Orland Park Public Library (14291 Ravinia Avenue, Orland Park)
Hosted by the Village of Orland Park and CMAP
More information
Riverside planning meeting
April 11, 2012
7:00 to 8:30 p.m.
Riverside Township Auditorium: 27 Riverside Road, Riverside
More information
Chicagoland Green Collar Jobs Summit
April 12, 2012
8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Arturo Velasquez Institute: 2800 S. Western Avenue, Chicago
Hosted by the Illinois Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council
More information
Blogs (Weekly Updates) 
