Moving Forward
Creating a Comprehensive Transportation Plan for the City of Norman
One of the many dictionary definitions for the word plan is a scheme of action or a procedure. A plan, or planning, involves looking ahead and trying to address future perceived needs, circumstances, or goals with coherent strategy or strategies assuring that the resources needed are identified and available and intelligently applied, when needed. Planning is the process by which a community assesses what it is and what it wants to become, and then decides how to make that happen. A transportation plan addresses the relationship between transportation and land use and helps implement community values and the ability to connect neighborhoods to destinations.
The City of Norman is embarking on a multi-year process to develop a Comprehensive Transportation Plan (CTP) for our community called “Moving Forward”. The CTP will identify future transportation needs for the area, goals and policies, and short-term and long-term capital investments for improvements to existing roads, construction of new roads, bicycle, pedestrian, and transit facilities. It will provide a framework for a balanced transportation system that offers choices in how people travel, supported by a realistic approach to fund improvements.
The development of a CTP follows a multi-step planning process that allows for the identification of a wide range of interconnecting issues that might affect an urban area. While the individual steps in the process are often seen as independent, there is significant public involvement in each step. For the eventual CTP to be developed for the City of Norman, a conscious decision was made to undertake, first, a scoping effort. This will give the City the best opportunity to achieve buy-in for the issues to be addressed and the goals that will be developed for the ultimate plan.
The first step is to achieve familiarity with the study area and the Stakeholders that will provide guidance in the CTP development. The second step is a visioning process where a series of public meetings will identify the issues to be addressed and the goals to be achieved by the CTP. Completion of these two key steps will allow the development of a full CTP to move forward. Hence, “Moving Forward” is the name given to the City of Norman CTP currently in the initial stages of development.
The “Moving Forward” Plan will serve as Norman’s long-term vision for a range of transportation options and accommodations including vehicles, bicycling, walking, and public transit services. The process of preparing the “Moving Forward” Plan is currently in the initial stages consisting of community dialogue and listening to residents and key stakeholders. Community input provided during the fall of 2011 helped to provide direction for preparing goals and policies and serves as the foundation and vision for drafting the City’s CTP, which is expected to be launched in 2012. The initial visioning phase has concluded.
Two groups were appointed to guide the development of the scope for the ultimate CTP for Norman. It is expected that these groups would lead future phases as well. These include a Citizens Visioning Group and a Steering Committee. In order to develop a CTP, the planners must have vision. The Citizens Visioning Group assist the planners in developing a mental picture of what residents want Norman to look and feel like in the future. The Steering Committee serves as the liaison to the Norman City Council and keeps the decision-makers in step with the plan as it progresses. These two Committees provide recommendations and help guide the community listening process and the preparation of goals and policies for the CTP.
The Citizens Visioning Committee is comprised of the following members: Chris Applegate (Red Earth Group, Sierra Club), Roger Brown (Norman Public Schools), Teresa Capps (Chair--Social and Voluntary Services Commission), Nick Hathaway (OU Vice President for Administration and Finance), Harold Heiple (Norman Developer's Council), Marion Hutchison (ONTRAC Board), Doug Myers (Direction--CART), Chris Nanny (Chair--CART Disability Advisory Committee), Janice Oak (Progressive Independence), Renee O'Leary (United Way--Senior Council/Positive Aging Influence), Helen Robertson (Representative--Bicycle Community), Tom Sherman (Chair--Chamber Transportation Committee), Joe Sparks (Chair--Norman Convention and Visitors Bureau), Walt Strong (Administrator--Westheimer Airport), Chuck Thompson (Chair--Central OK Regional Advocacy Alliance), Larry Walker (Chair--Public Art Board), and Brad Worster (Commercial Realtor/Norman Next).
The Steering Committee is comprised of members of the Council’s Community Planning and Transportation Committee. These Council members include Carol Dillingham, Tom Kovach, Linda Lockett, and Roger Gallagher.
The City hired the consultant firm H.W. Lochner, Inc., (Lochner) to lead the community listening process which resulted in a series of community transportation planning goals and policies. This information will be used for the next phase of planning to prepare the CTP. Lochner is a national transportation, planning, and engineering firm founded in 1944 providing services nationwide through offices in Oklahoma and 17 other states, and has a nearby local office in Oklahoma City. The firm has assisted cities in the planning and preparation of community plans, transportation plans, and infrastructure design for over 50 years.
The City of Norman and Lochner hosted a series of community listening sessions about the future of transportation and transportation investments in Norman. A series of community listening sessions were conducted in Council Wards around Norman during late October and early November of 2011 to obtain input from residents and stakeholders in the community in an effort to establish goals and priorities for preparing the City’s CTP.
These Ward meetings involved listening, conversation, and deliberation in exploring transportation options necessary to accommodate future growth and enhance the quality of life in Norman. Community input helped provide policy direction for decisions related to planning transportation facilities in the City. The primary goal of this process was to plan for a well-balanced transportation system that offers choices in how people travel and is supported by a realistic plan to fund these improvements.