ACTION REQUESTED: Approval
Preliminary Household Travel Survey Results.
Congestion Management Program Update.
Unified Planning Work Program Tasks
The next Surface Transportation Committee meeting is scheduled for August 6, 2019 at 9 a.m. in the Lake Michigan Room at the NIRPC office.
SURFACE TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE
NIRPC Lake Michigan Room April 2, 2019
Minutes
Jeff Huet called the meeting to order at 9:05 with the Pledge of Allegiance. In attendance were George Topoll, Union Township Trustee; Dean Button, City of Hammond; Dennis Cobb, First Group Engineering; Jeff Huet, Town of Schererville; Mark O’Dell, Town of Chesterton; David Wright, Gary Public Transportation Corp.; Don Oliphant, CBBEL and Christopher Murphy, Structurepoint.
NIRPC staff present were Trey Wadsworth, Scott Weber, Peter Kimball and Mary Thorne. There was no public comment.
The minutes of the February 5, 2019 meeting were approved on a motion by Dean Button and a second by Mark O’Dell.
NWI 2050 Plan - Scott Weber presented the draft NWI 2050 Plan which is out for public comment through April 30. The Plan examines trends and influences of the future including economy and place, environment, mobility, and people and leaders. It identifies strategies to pursue, investments to make, and progress to measure to achieve the vision for the region. This plan provides sixteen critical paths of action to be prepared for Northwestern Indiana’s future. The Plan is online at
https://www.nirpc.org/2040-plan/transportation/2050-plan/. Information includes the Plan Storybook, the Plan in PDF format, a link for comments and information on the open houses and public hearings which will be held during the last full week of April.
Jeff Huet asked if there were any changes to show the importance of surface transportation in the Plan. Mr. Weber replied that the NWI 2050 Plan appropriately puts surface transportation in the context of the 16 critical paths. Our Unified Planning Work Program will look at best allocation of resources based on feedback received. Denny Cobb suggested that information be reiterated in the public forum.
Trey Wadsworth added that the public comment report will be completed after the close of the comment period as part of the approval process as described in the Public Participation Plan. Staff will recommend whether a comment warrants a major or minor revision. If the comment warrants major changes, we would stop the process and take it out for another comment period. The comment report and the Plan will go before the Technical Planning Committee at its meeting on May 14 followed by the adoption of the NWI 2050 Plan by the Full Commission at its meeting on May 16.
2020-2024 Transportation Improvement Program - Scott Weber presented on the FY 2020-2024 Transportation Improvement Program which is also out for public comment until April 30. It includes projects from the 2018-2021 TIP as well as projects from the last NOFA and INDOT. It is on the NIRPC website at under the Transportation/2020-2024 TIP dropdown. All input from the public and the topical committees will be presented in a public comment report.
Transportation Conformity Determination for the NWI 2050 Plan and 2020-2024 Transportation Improvement Program. - Scott Weber said the conformity determination can be found on the NIRPC website under the Environmental - Air Quality drop down. It is also open for public comment through April
30. The determination shows that the regionally significant and non-exempt projects in the NWI 2050
Plan and the TIP do not cause air emissions to exceed motor vehicle emissions budgets in the Indiana State Implementation Plan. The analysis was based on travel demand modeling which showed projected amounts. The conclusion was that the transportation conformity determination process completed for the NWI 2050 Plan and the Fiscal Year 2020 to 2024 Transportation Improvement Program (2020-2024
TIP) demonstrates that these planning documents meet the Clean Air Act and Transportation Conformity Rule requirements for the applicable National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).
There was no other business.
The next Surface Transportation Committee meeting is scheduled for June 4 at 9 a.m. at NIRPC. Mr. Weber noted that NIRPC is trying to arrange topical committee meetings to four per year. George Topoll conveyed a message from the Transportation Resource & Oversight Committee that it wishes to have monthly meetings of that committee. Mr. Huet added that other comments made were that while the frequency of meetings would be less, it would not diminish the importance of the topical committees but was not the preferred direction of the membership of the committees.
On a motion by George Topoll, seconded by Mark O’Dell, Jeff Huet adjourned the meeting at 10:00 a.m.