The Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission (NIRPC) adopted today the 2040 transportation plan for the Lake, Porter and LaPorte County region.

Guided by the Growth and Revitalization Vision with an emphasis on reinvestment in the lakeshore communities and a strong traffic congestion management process, this plan will help to steer transportation network investments to manage and operate the existing system and expand the network in strategic corridors to maintain and enhance the mobility for the citizens of the region," NIRPC said in a statement released this morning.

NIRPC also adopted the 2012 to 2015 Transportation Improvement Program, reflecting the regional decisions on the use of federal transportation dollars for the implementation of projects in the region over the next four years.

The plan and program used a new system to prioritize these investments based on mobility, land use compatibility, safety, environmental protection, and quality of life factors and a multiplier to focus to the extent possible on reinvestment in the lakefront communities and livable centers, NIRPC said. Both the plan and program "were determined to be compatible with the state's plan to maintain our region's compliance with the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. With an unprecedented effort to reach out to environmental justice communities, the plan includes robust analysis and has determined that the benefits and burdens will be shared fairly among all ethnic and income groups."

"NIRPC is committed to plans and projects that enhance our transportation and mobility systems," NIRPC said. "This plan and program continue to support the enhanced access to Lake Michigan, balanced with improvements in other corridors to reduce travel times between communities. Given the uncertain resources to maintain the public transit services in the region, the plan provides the goals for transit service that will require new resources to attain. The plan also includes some bold transportation ideas that would require new funding sources to achieve, such as the Broadway corridor rapid transit between Crown Point and Downtown Gary. The adoption of the plan and program today will be followed by updates in coming years to maintain the plans relevance and respond to new challenges and opportunities."

Posted 6/23/2011