From the Desk of...
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FROM THE DESK OF MIKE DEARING, MANAGER OF THE INDIANAPOLIS MPO

I know I'm preaching to the choir when I speak to the need for an extraordinary effort by all of us in the public sector when it comes to our public involvement / participation / information processes. Whether we are working in the transportation, land use, or comprehensive planning arenas (as they are all dependent upon each other), it is critical to the success of the planning process to involve all sectors of the public no matter their income, race or any other demographic heading you care to name.

The Indianapolis MPO has committed a good deal of time and 20 percent of our Metropolitan Planning (PL) funds to our Public Involvement Program that includes our teMPO newsletter, a quarterly Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) and our ongoing Student Involvement Program that was cited as a best practice by the U. S. Department of Transportation. We are continuing to identify ways to improve the process by adding new opportunities for the public to participate that includes two new CAC sub-committees. One sub-committee that formed this week will involve representatives from established neighborhoods and strive to find answers on noise abatement in the vicinity of high volume corridors including I-465 and local jurisdiction arterials. A second sub-committee will involve representatives from the ever-growing population of senior citizens.

Although all of us will continue to work with a static staff size and an expanded geographic area of responsibility, we should continue to look for new opportunities such as the ones I've shared with you today. Maybe we can all brainstorm on this topic at one of group meetings sometime soon. I know I welcome your thoughts on this topic. I hope to see you all at the MPO conference in October.