The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) is an agency that integrates land use planning and transportation planning for the counties of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will in northeastern Illinois. CMAP and its partners aim to remove barriers to cooperation across geographical boundaries and subject areas such as land use, transportation, natural resources, housing, and economic development.

CMAP's goal is to coordinate the efforts of the multitude of local governmental agencies and supply them with the best technical assistance and analysis to improve land use and transportation decision-making for the region.

Contents 1 History 2 Responsibilities 3 Current Projects 4 Notes 5 External links

[edit] History

Public Act 094-0510, signed by Governor Rod Blagojevich in the summer of 2005,^[1] called for the merger of the Chicago Area Transportation Study (CATS) and the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission (NIPC). CATS was the federally designated Metropolitan Planning Organization for the Chicago region, responsible for regional transportation planning. NIPC was the comprehensive planning agency for the six county region. Kendall County was not part of the NIPC jurisdiction, but now falls under CMAP's jurisdiction.

[edit] Responsibilities

The legislation that created CMAP gave the agency the task of integrating the previously separate topics of land use and transportation into one agency that would protect natural resources, improve mobility, and minimize traffic congestion in the seven-county region. Under SAFETEA-LU legislation, CMAP is responsible for creating a regional comprehensive plan by fall of 2010 that integrates land use, transportation, and economic development. This plan must be updated every four years, use visualization techniques, engage the general public, and include a separate Transportation Improvement Program document. ^[2]

[edit] Current Projects

In addition to developing the first integrated land use and transportation comprehensive plan for northeastern IL, CMAP's FY09 work plan includes projects that span the divide between addressing neighborhood planning issues and creating wide reaching policy initiatives and legislation. One example of how CMAP assists small organizations is the Full Circle program, whereby community volunteers use hand-held wireless devices to record and transmit parcel-by-parcel data to a central server. Participants are able to view the changes they make immediately online and develop detailed maps of their neighborhood based on the data they collect. In addition, CMAP assists local governments with issues such as economic development, plan-making, data development and analysis, green initiatives, and more. Examples include help with address-canvassing required by the US Census Bureau and assistance with lake restoration and protection (see the Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program coordinated by the IL EPA). CMAP also facilitates public discussions (and occasionally takes public positions^[3]) on important regional issues such as the proposed capital planand EJ&E acquisition.

[edit] Notes

1. ^ Blei, Alex (2005). "New Regional Planning Board to Consolidate Existing Agencies, Coordinate Development, Transportation in Region". Campaign for Sensible Growth, Legislative Briefs. http://www.growingsensibly.org/news/briefDetail.asp?objectID=1989. Retrieved 2007-09-26. 
2. ^ US DOT, FHWA. Fact Sheets on Highway Provisions. http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/safetealu/factsheets/mp.htm. Retrieved 2007-10-03. 
3. ^ CMAP Executive Director Randy Blankenhorn's 2006 comments about IL's need for a new capital plan can be seen here

[edit] External links

• Official website
• Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission
• Chicago Area Transportation Study