The Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission is seeking the public’s help in shaping the region’s future.
NIRPC is updating its NWI 2050+ plan, which sets goals to accomplish by the year 2050.
A survey seeking feedback for the plan is live at nirpc.org.
The agency has been at various events, including the Porter County Fair. It also plans a pop-up event at the Lake County Fair.
Director of Environmental Programs Kathy Luther walked NIRPC’s Environmental Committee through the process Thursday.
NIRPC is gathering public input and stakeholder feedback through November. Then begins work on plan recommendations, including updating the Transportation Improvement Plan, which looks at major road and transit projects in Lake, Porter and LaPorte counties and identifies funding for them. The transportation plan sets a timeline for which projects will be funded when, to keep planning and construction on track.
Director of Transportation Tom Vander Woude is leading the transportation plan work, which is underway.
In some areas, NIPRC’s transportation, economic development and environment focus areas intersect.
“There is extensive emphasis on transit-oriented development,” Luther said.
With the South Shore Line’s Double Track NWI and Monon Corridor projects up and running, there are transit development districts around train stations intended to promote transit-oriented development.
In Hammond, The Banc is an apartment building, having converted the former Calumet Bank building downtown into residential use. The downtown train station within easy walking distance is expected to be completed next year.
In Michigan City, a symbiotic residential building is attached to the 11th Street Station. The Franklin is expected to be ready for occupancy soon.
Those are two examples of what transit-oriented development aims to accomplish.
Many of the goals of the existing NWI 2050+ plan will remain the same, but others are being updated to reflect progress already made.
One goal deals with communities adopting climate action plans. Gary already has one in place. Greenhouse gas inventories are already completed for all three counties and 15 municipalities, so NIRPC’s share of the work is completed, with local government expected to do the rest of the work.
Luther shared a draft of the climate and environment section.
“In going through the worksheet, I’ve identified some strategy gaps,” she said.
“There’s nothing in there specific to brownfields, although there are things in there about infill and development,” Luther said.
Notably, the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Commission recently set up the Local Development Entity, which is hiring a director to lead the LDE in addressing those issues. The LDE aims to help assemble parcels for redevelopment and help identify funding for cleaning up environmental issues as well as ownership tangles.
Among the other NWI 2050+ goals is to have 95% of the NWI fleet be electric vehicles by 2050. Accomplishing that requires adding EV charging stations at public facilities, increasing the number and percentage of EVs in municipal fleets and boosting the number of EV public transit vehicles.
Drive Clean Indiana is working to help municipalities find funding for vehicles with cleaner emissions.
The existing NWI 2050+ is online at nirpc.org. The revised version will be ready for another round of public comments next spring.
Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
