Protecting and Enhancing the Environment
Preserving Existing Systems
The wise planning of transportation facilities will be a major challenge in the years ahead. Coordinated transportation and land use planning will also be an important element in formulating approaches to mitigation of environmental impacts created by transportation system enhancement and expansion. Effectively meeting these challenges provides opportunities to promote energy conservation and quality of life by decreasing drive times and the resulting automobile emissions. Deliberations regarding transportation improvement decisions must reflect consideration of environmental hazards, environmentally sensitive features, water resources, air quality, and agricultural, historical and cultural resources.
Using the existing transportation system to the maximum benefit will help ensure quality service to the existing community and minimize future transportation investments. Effective maintenance programs will help preserve existing service levels. Infill and redevelopment of central city areas would take advantage of existing systems and could reduce investments in future transportation extensions to peripheral areas. More compact development could also reduce future investments required for transportation systems. Thus, emphasis should be placed on factors that will help preserve the existing transportation system. The SAFETEA-LU planning factors described above were major considerations in formulating the regional transportation strategy summarized in this chapter and presented in more detail in the Long Range Transportation Plan 2035 (McLean County Regional Planning Commission).
Enhancing System Integration and Connectivity Enhancing the integration and connectivity of the region's transportation system across and between modes for people and freight will be another major challenge of the twenty-first century. The implementation of effective strategies to accomplish this will be an important factor in meeting other transportation challenges as well. Promoting Efficient Management and Operation Without efficient management and operation, many of the region's strategic transportation advantages would be lost. Therefore, every effort must be made to promote efficient management and operation. These efforts should include the pursuit of land use and transportation relationships that maximize the use of different modes of transportation and contribute to the local quality of life. Encouraging efficient management and operation also requires planning for the costs incurred. Consequently, the transportation planning process in Bloomington-Normal will reflect the budgetary demands of managing and operating all facets of the transportation system.
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McLean County Regional Comprehensive Plan
Resources The region has many important transportation resources. First and foremost is the system of facilities described above that make it possible for the region to take advantage of its geographic location and that contributes to the region's high quality of life. Other resources include the high degree of planning and cooperation that exists among area governments. These resources will help the region to take advantage of opportunities in meeting the transportation challenges ahead. STRATEGY The following goal, objectives, policies and actions comprise the strategy for transportation. The elements of the strategy, and the plan maps presented in this chapter, provide the framework for evaluating and implementing major transportation projects in the region. Additional guidance on specific technical issues in transportation planning may be found in the Long Range Transportation Plan 2035 cited above.