Thanks to everyone who entered the Communities in Motion 2040 youth art contest. Scroll down to see the winners. Congratulations!
Click here for information on creating a vision for the Treasure Valley for 2040 (growth scenario planning) and public input into growth scenarios.
COMPASS develops, or updates, a regional long-range transportation plan for Ada and Canyon Counties every four years. These plans look 20+ years into the future to help ensure our roads, bridges, and transportation services (buses, etc.) are ready by helping prioritize projects based on public input and how the region is likely to grow.
Communities in Motion 2035 is the current regional-long range transportation plan. It was adopted by the COMPASS Board in September 2010; it must be updated no later than September 2014. For more information on Communities in Motion 2035, contact Charles Trainor, 208/475-2243. Previous plans (prior to 2010) are located in the Archives.
The process to update the current plan is underway. Communities in Motion 2040 (CIM 2040) is scheduled to be complete by September 2014. For more information on CIM 2040, contact Liisa Itkonen, 208/475-2241. The updated plan will build upon the current Communities in Motion 2035 plan, but will have some new features as well. Highlights of CIM2040 and the planning process include:
- Will plan to the year 2040
- Will plan for Ada and Canyon Counties
- Will begin with a scenario planning process (last done in 2004) to develop a region-wide “growth scenario” for the future of the valley.
- Will move beyond a traditional long-range transportation plan to become a regional long-range transportation and sustainability plan. CIM 2040 will look at three sustainability-related issues in addition to transportation: housing, healthy living, and community infrastructure.
Link to the scope of work for developing Communities in Motion 2040.
THE PLANNING PROCESS
Updating a long-range transportation plan takes most of the four years of a plan’s life. Public participation and outreach will continue throughout the planning process, while data analysis, modeling, mapping, and actually writing the plan are happening behind the scenes.
2011:
Get organized; begin public involvement |
2012:
Scenario planning, continue public involvement, gather/analyze data |
2013:
Develop draft plan; continue public involvement |
2014:
Public comment on draft plan; present plan to COMPASS Board for adoption |
2015 and Beyond: Implement plan and begin grant program |
The planning process will be lead by a Planning Team and a Leadership Team. The Planning Team will provide technical oversight of the planning process and recommend actions to the Leadership Team, who will in turn act on recommendations made by the Planning Team and recommend policy-level actions for COMPASS Board approval.
Data Management
Developing a two-county, 26-year plan requires a significant amount of data. This is particularly true for CIM 2040, as the addition of housing, healthy living, and community infrastructure elements will require additional data beyond what COMPASS has or has used in the past. COMPASS is developing a data management plan to facilitate the sharing and analysis of data for the plan. For more information, contact Charles Trainor.
Mapping
It is often easier to visualize future changes – and current conditions – by seeing them shown on a map. COMPASS will be developing maps throughout the planning process to illustrate issues such as current and future projected population and job locations, locations of sensitive environmental areas, and more. You will find most COMPASS maps online.
SCENARIO PLANNING
To develop a plan for the future, we first need to know what we want that future to be. We know the population of the Treasure Valley will grow, but questions center around where the growth will occur and what the ramifications will be.
COMPASS is undertaking a year-long process between September 2011 and September 2012 to help answer those types of questions. The end result will be a “preferred growth scenario” – a vision of what Treasure Valley residents want the valley to look like in the year 2040.
The vision will be developed by you – Treasure Valley residents – through a three-step process:
- Facilitated workshops (February 29, March 1, and March 2, 2012)
- Public participation and comment (early May through mid-June 2012
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- COMPASS Board adoption of preferred scenario (August/September 2012)
To learn more about the scenario planning process click here.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION AND OUTREACH
Public participation is a key component of the planning process. CIM 2040 will help shape how the Treasure Valley – your home – will grow. It’s important that the people who live here and whose lives will be affected by what’s in the plan be a part of developing it.
COMPASS has developed a public involvement plan that will guide how we work with you to ensure everyone has a chance to be heard and involved.
The COMPASS Board approved the CIM 2040 public involvement plan on October 17, 2011. Link to that plan here.
Communities in Motion 2040 Youth Art Contest
What do you think your community will look like in 25 years? That is the question COMPASS asked elementary age children in the Treasure Valley as part of the Communities in Motion 2040 Youth Art Contest.
Thank you to everyone who entered. COMPASS received many creative entries showing a variety of different views of our future.
Congratulations to our winners! Watch for the winning entries at COMPASS events, at the COMPASS office, on ValleyRide buses and elsewhere! Click on the images below to view larger pictures.
Third Grade:
First Place |
Second Place |
Third Place |
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Artist:
Avery Scanlon
Hunter Elementary
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Artist:
Third Grade Student
Andrus Elementary
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Artist:
Brent Wheeler
Hunter Elementary
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Fourth Grade:
First Place |
Second Place |
Third Place |
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Artist:
Delaney Salisbury
Prospect Elementary
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Artist:
Rachelle Cecil
Hunter Elementary
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Artist:
Fourth Grade Student
Hunter Elementary
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Fifth Grade:
First Place |
Second Place |
Third Place |
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Artist:
Olivia Christensen
Hunter Elementary
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Artist:
Fifth Grade Student
Hunter Elementary
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Artist:
Fifth Grade Student
Hunter Elementary
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Questions? Contact Walt Satterfield at wsatterfield@compassidaho.org or 475-2237.
Coming in fall 2012: video contest for teens.
Why Should You Care?
This update of Communities in Motion will plan to the year 2040. Looking nearly 30 years into the future can seem overwhelming and, given the volatility of our current economy, it may be hard to concentrate on anything beyond tomorrow and what it may bring. However, long-range planning, and your involvement in it, helps steer the future of our valley.
Each quarter we’ll highlight a reason why COMPASS thinks you should care – ways that this plan will affect you. These will be listed below; hover over each “reason” and the full text will pop up.
However, we’d also like to hear from you – why do you care or why do you think others should care? If you have a reason to share, email it to aluft@compassidaho.org and write “Why I Care” in the subject line. Each quarter we’ll compile the reasons we receive and post them on the COMPASS blog; we may even use your reason in our quarterly list below.
Quarterly Email Updates
Each quarter, COMPASS will send an email update to interested parties. The updates will discuss both public participation opportunities and behind-the-scenes planning work. Each will focus on what has happened since the last update and what is planned before the next one. All email updates will be posted below and will also contain a “why should I care” section as described above.
If you would like to be added to the email list, contact aluft@compassidaho.org.
Public Involvement Opportunities
We welcome your questions and comments on CIM 2040 and the planning process at any time. However, at certain times during the development of CIM 2040 we’ll be specifically asking for your input.
Those involvement opportunities – ranging from online surveys to open houses and other events – will be listed here. From here you’ll be able to link to copies of the materials that will be presented, opportunities for online comment if you can’t attend an event, and, following the event, a summary of what you told us, along with an explanation of how that information will be used.
Scheduled Public Involvement Opportunities:
- Scenario Planning Workshops, February and March 2012. Learn more.
Opportunities to Learn More
- Presentations. COMPASS staff are available to give presentations on Communities in Motion to your group or club. Email aluft@compassidaho.org to schedule.
- Education Series. COMPASS brings expert speakers from around the region and the country to discuss topics related to Communities in Motion and transportation in general. Generally these presentations occur January – May, though occasionally we bring speakers in at other times of the year. Visit our public events page and click on “education series” for the current year to learn more.
- Email updates. In addition to the quarterly email updates discussed above, COMPASS also sends emails regarding other transportation-related topics. If you’d like to be added to our email list, email aluft@compassidaho.org . If you have a particular area of interest or group you represent (e.g., biking, real estate) please let us know that too.
- “Like” COMPASS on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/COMPASSIdaho.
- Read the COMPASS Executive Director’s Blog at www.compassidaho.blogspot.com.
THE PLAN
CIM 2040 will be a broad plan and cover many topics, as listed below. More information on each topic will be added as the planning process progresses. In the meantime, if you have questions about any of the topics or issues, please contact the COMPASS staff person listed below.
PLAN IMPLEMENTATION
Updating Communities in Motion by September 2014 is a large task, but completing the update is really only the beginning of the process. A plan that sits on a shelf and gathers dust will not serve our valley. For the plan to truly have meaning, it must be implemented.
Performance Monitoring Reports
COMPASS has been developing annual performance monitoring reports since CIM 2030 was first adopted in 2006. The reports evaluate factors to depict progress on meeting goals of Communities in Motion. Click here for more information and links to all Communities in Motion Performance Monitoring Reports.
Grant Implementation Program
The COMPASS Board has initiated a grant implementation program to assist member agencies in funding projects that support the goals of CIM 2040. COMPASS has begun setting aside “seed money” in its budget for this purpose. The details of the grant program will be developed over the next three years so that it will be ready to launch when CIM 2040 is adopted in 2014. Check back for more details as we approach 2014 or contact Don Matson for more information.
