Public Meetings to Collect Public Input for Connect Columbus Transportation Plan to Begin This Week
Public meetings to gather input from residents, businesses
and other stakeholders for the creation of Connect Columbus, the City’s
long-range multimodal transportation plan, will begin this week. Connect
Columbus will serve as a guide for future construction on City streets.
The plan will emphasize improved safety and reduced congestion, and will
promote economic development and a healthier, greener city that will continue
to be competitive, attracting residents, employers and visitors.
A series of open houses, workshops and community events will
be held during the course of the project, focusing on three themes:
Vision and Goals; Generating New Project Ideas; and Evaluation of
Projects. The first set of meetings will focus on the plan’s Vision and
Goals. The schedule for these meetings includes:
- Tuesday, March 31: 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.; Christ
Memorial Baptist Church; 3330 East Livingston Avenue
- Wednesday, April 1: 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.; and
6 p.m. to 8 p.m.; Columbus Urban League; 788 Mount Vernon Avenue
- Thursday, April 2: 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.;
Downtown High School; 364 South 4th Street
Residents will be asked to comment on community goals that
should be accomplished through the plan. The discussion will start with
the following draft goals:
- Health and Safety: Promote health, safety and welfare in Columbus
neighborhoods
- Access: Increase
mobility options for residents, employees and visitors
- Equity: Provide transportation choices that are
equitable for all citizens
- Sustainability: Reduce resource consumption and promote
sustainable and renewable transportation options
- ·
- ·
- ·
- Placemaking:
Invest in transportation as a driving force for community development and
placemaking. Placemaking is a multi-faceted approach to the planning, design and management of public
spaces.
An online survey will be available at www.columbus.gov/ConnectColumbus
for anyone who wants to complete the survey or is unable to attend any of the
above meetings.
Additional public meetings will be scheduled in the
future. Public comment will be incorporated in the Connect Columbus final
plan which will produce policies, guidelines and plans that will help define,
prioritize, and guide Columbus to implementing realistic goals and projects.
The plan will influence how local transportation dollars are invested in
transit, pedestrian, bicycle, and roadway infrastructure. The Connect
Columbus planning process will also complement COTA’s Next Generation plan and
MORPC’s Metropolitan Transportation Plan.
The Connect Columbus planning process will be a two-year
effort. Residents are encouraged to visit an online forum, www.columbus.gov/ConnectColumbus
to comment and for current information about Connect Columbus.
Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates, the firm contracted to
help lead the Connect Columbus planning effort, began gathering data for the
planning process in December 2014.