The Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission planned today to release a draft of its NWI 2050+ report. The draft reflects 16 months of input from stakeholders in Lake, Porter and La Porte counties.
The 2050+ draft report builds on NWI 2050, “a comprehensive metropolitan transportation plan that focuses on the growth and care of the transportation system in Lake, Porter and La Porte counties,” according to the NIRPC website. The draft plan takes a closer look at five issues: active transportation, freight, land use, transit, and roadways and highways.
The NWI 2050+ plan focuses on connecting goals on the local, state and federal level with regional economic, environmental and development initiatives.
In 2011, NIRPC developed a 2040 Plan, which guided land use and transportation development. In 2019, the NWI 2050 Plan envisioned four key elements for the Region's development: “connected, renewed, united and vibrant.”
NWI 2050+ emphasizes four areas:
- Preserving the existing transportation systems
- Planning for safety of all transportation system users rather than just increasing the speed of cars and trucks
- Connecting people to jobs, educational opportunities, shopping and recreation
- The efficient movement of freight to support the Region's economy
Upcoming opens houses to discuss and ask questions are as follows:
- Wednesday, April 5: 4 to 6 p.m., Dean & Barbara White Community Center, 6600 Broadway, Merrillville
- Monday, April 10: 4 to 6 p.m., Purdue Northwest (student union library room 321), 2233 173rd St., Hammond
- Wednesday, April 12: 4 to 6 p.m., Michigan City Public Library, 100 E. 4th St., Michigan City
- Thursday, April 13: 4 to 6 p.m., Porter County Government Center, (commissioner main meeting chambers), 155 Indiana Ave, Valparaiso
The report will be available to review on the NIRPC website and at the open houses starting April 5. Public comments will be taken through May 5.
NIRPC is a regional council of local governments, organized under that state, that addresses transportation, environment and economic development issues.
