Surface Transportation Committee Meeting NIRPC Lake Michigan Room
January 3, 2019
Tom Schmitt called the meeting to order at 9:03 a.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance and self-introductions. Present were Tom Schmitt, Town of Schererville; George Topoll, Union Township Trustee; Dean Button, City of Hammond; Sarah Kobetis, City of Gary; Stephan Summers, Troyer Group.
NIRPC staff present were Scott Weber, Peter Kimball, Dominique Edwards and Candi Eklund. There was no public comment.
The discussion on the 2050 Plan Draft Strategies Identification continued for the United and Vibrant vision statements. In answer to a question by Dean Button, Scott said the Valparaiso University studies were completed and will be placed under the Connected vision.
Changes were made live as follows: United:
Technical Assistance
Policy: remove “users”
Add: Consult with LTAP to expand their resources to better elevate the position of the region. Education and Awareness
Sustained effort: Add “And small towns and unincorporated areas. Add Continue to update and review best
practices on how communities can best utilize needs of emerging communities Funding and Finance
Policy: change increase tourism to promote tourism.
Add policy: Identify emerging areas and leverage NIRPC’s data collection capability to helping growth areas emerge, as identified by NIRPC’s findings.
Partnership
Add policy: promote partnerships that would allow innovative funding and grant opportunities to best position communities for growth.
Vibrant:
Under Technical Assistance, Program/Plan: Replace “reduce” with “adjust”. Add: prioritize bicyclist and pedestrian safety and comfort when adjusting traffic speeds.
Improve road design options for areas with high crash rate.
Under Legislative Initiative, add policy: Encourage legislators and transportation agencies to explore standardization in the roadway environment to best accommodate autonomous vehicles.
Staff Updates
Household Travel Survey: The data collection was completed and results are anticipated shortly. 1700 responses were received.
Congestion Management Process: Scott Weber said data collection for the AM and PM peak travel periods in 42 corridors was completed. The data will be used as part of the 2050 Plan.
Safety Data: Data collection and mapping efforts will be improved. A crash analysis map will be provided.
Other Business
The Cline Avenue project is on track to be completed in January 2020.
On a motion by Dean Button and a second by George Topoll, Tom Schmitt adjourned the meeting at 10:49 a.m.