CATS TO AIR DRAFT TRANSPORTATION PLAN RECOMMENDATIONS ON WJYS-TV
CHICAGO – The Chicago Area Transportation Study (CATS), the metropolitan planning organization for northeast Illinois, will air a television program April 10-16 on draft recommendations for the Shared Path 2030 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP), according to Executive Director Aristide Biciunas.
CATS has been working with citizens, local officials and transportation providers such as the Illinois Department of Transportation, the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority, the Regional Transportation Authority, the Chicago Transit Authority, Metra and Pace over the past year to develop draft RTP recommendations for an integrated transportation system.
The 30-minute program, "Traveling to 2030," is being broadcast to foster public understanding and gain public input. "We want residents of the region to tell us how well the draft plan recommendations meet their needs for highway, rail, bus, freight, bicycle and pedestrian modes of transportation," Biciunas said.
The program will air on WJYS-TV on broadcast Channel 62 and on all cable and satellite system channels listed in the CATS Shared Path 2030 newsletter (see attached). The program also will be carried over-the-air on W34CK, Channel 34, between 6 and 8 p.m. on April 10, 11, 13, 14 and 15. Viewers may call 800/227-0971 24 hours a day, seven days a week to comment on draft RTP recommendations.
In addition, CATS will hold community meetings from April 21 to May 1 to further public understanding of the planning process and transportation strategies and to gain preliminary comment on the draft RTP recommendations. CATS must receive comments before May 9. See the enclosed newsletter, pages 2-3, for a schedule of the community meeting times, locations and for a variety of ways to submit comments.
The CATS Shared Path 2030 regional transportation planning process establishes guidelines for long-range transportation improvements, Biciunas said. It also sets the priorities for obtaining federal funding for system maintenance, improvement and expansion.
"Securing the funds to provide a safe, coordinated and well-maintained system, as well as capital improvements that take into account our environment, community needs, available resources and costs over the next three decades means developing well-integrated draft plan recommendations now," he added.
The draft RTP recommendations address three areas:
- Regional strategies governing how all parts of the transportation system will be managed and operated to improve efficiency and how the entire system interacts with the need for different land uses and environmental protection.
- Strategies and policies for maintaining and improving different types of transportation systems: arterial (large through-roads that connect communities and counties), transit, freight, bicycle and pedestrian.
- Specific major capital transportation projects focused on accommodating growth and change in the region by expanding existing highway or rail capacity or constructing new regional routes.
Citizen comment on the planning process is vital, Biciunas said. "Draft RTP recommendations will affect all of us -- the way we live, how we get to work and how we pursue leisure activities." After reviewing public comment on the draft RTP recommendations, CATS will prepare a final draft RTP that will be available for public review this summer.
For more information, log on to the CATS web site at
www.catsmpo.com, e-mail CATS at SP2030@catsmpo.com or call the CATS SP2030 hotline at 312/793-3466.CATS will hold three press conferences on April 7, 2003, to detail draft 2030 Plan recommendations. Press conferences will be held at the following locations:
· The Chicago Area Transportation Study, 300 W. Adams St., 2nd Floor, Chicago, at
10 a.m.· The Arlington Heights Village Board Chambers, 33 S. Arlington Heights Rd., Arlington Heights, at 1 p.m.
· The Matteson Village Council Chambers, 4900 Village Commons (205th and Cicero), Matteson, at 1 p.m.