Active Community Environment Update

It’s all about team building and the “Collaboration Multiplier”

The South Portland Team at Work This team meets at 7:30 a.m. and has nearly 100% attendance!! (note: some team members are hiding out of the picture) This team meets at 7:30 a.m. and has nearly 100% attendance!! (note: some team members are hiding out of the picture)

South Portland Examples Casco Bay Bridge Signs Broadway Streetscape Plan

Meeting at a Portland school to receive comments and suggestions about Portland’s first “Neighborhood By-Way” project.

Portland’s Neighborhood By-Way Portland’s already active Bike and Pedestrian Committee helped develop a bicycle boulevard project based on what was learned from a Portland Oregon initiative. The concept was expanded and re-branded as a Neighborhood By-Way system to incorporate all users of the system.

The minds behind the project If Windham High School receives a state grant, the section of the Stadium Drive behind the school athletic complex is slated to get new sidewalks that will make the area less dangerous to pedestrians, officials say. Working on the project are, from left, Dwight Anderson of DeLuca-Hoffman Associates, a civil engineering firm in South Portland; Bill Hansen, director of facilities for RSU 14; Stephanie Joyce, RSU 14 school nutrition supervisor; and Martin Shuer, chairman of the Windham Active Lifestyles Coalition. (from the Lakes Region Weekly) (from the Lakes Region Weekly) And; And; The Windham Center Road road-widening project, which will add 4-foot shoulders, was hailed by members of the Windham Bicycle/Pedestrian Trails Committee who lobbied on behalf of the project. “I want to thank you guys for your consideration on adding the shoulder to Windham Center Road,” said committee member Paul Jacques, of Farm View Drive, just before the vote. W A L C Windham Active Lifestyles Coalition

Town of Freeport Active Living Task Force The Charge: “To assess Freeport’s existing walking, biking and hiking infrastructure and develop an active living plan that supports the Town’s Comprehensive Plan and considers resource constraints. The target for the plan’s completion is June 2013”. This team was formed in August of 2012 and has met regularly eighteen times. They are working towards contracting a consultant and/or PACTS with the This team was formed in August of 2012 and has met regularly eighteen times. They are working towards contracting a consultant and/or PACTS with the purpose of; … …developing an Active Living Plan that supports the Town’s Comprehensive Plan and fosters an atmosphere that supports an active vibrant community where Freeport residents live, work and play.…

PACTS as Maine’s largest MPO (Metropolitan Planning Organization) represents MPO’s and RPC’s (Regional Planning Commissions) on the CTG Leadership Team, the ACE Workgroup, the Cumberland County CTG Oversight Committee. Statewide Outreach

Regional Planning Organizations Metropolitan Planning Organizations (Four in Maine) Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) are federally designated planning organizations responsible for carrying out a continuous, comprehensive, and cooperative transportation planning process for urbanized areas with populations of 50,000 or more. RPC Network (Eleven in Maine) MaineDOT actively supports Maine’s Regional Planning Commission Network (RPC). These regional groups help coordinate with local governments and play a direct role in rural transportation planning. MaineDOT financially supports and partners with the RPCs to provide outreach and work with local communities and officials on planning activities. Regional Planning Organizations are poised to assist in collaborating, communicating and implementing many of the tenants of Active Community Environments.

Nationally Even FHWA, that’s “Highway” explains and emphasizes the need to make progress in this area of transportation and health and explains how the MPO’s fit in as follows: “Livability is about tying the quality and location of transportation facilities to broader opportunities such as access to good jobs, affordable housing, quality schools, and safe streets. This includes addressing safety and capacity issues on all roads through better planning and design, maximizing and expanding new technologies such as ITS and the use of quiet pavements, using Travel Demand Management approaches to system planning and operations, etc.”

It’s all about partnerships