What do you want your town to look like in the future?

Do you see yourself living in the Treasure Valley in the year 2040? What about your children or grandchildren? Do you see them living here?

What do you want for your future, or theirs? This is your chance to have a say; COMPASS is looking for your help in defining what the future of the Treasure Valley should look like.

Your input will help COMPASS select a vision for the future that will be the basis for Communities in Motion 2040, the next regional long-range transportation plan for Ada and Canyon Counties.

To develop a long-range plan, COMPASS first needs to know what type of future it should plan for. To do this, COMPASS is undertaking a year-long process to develop a vision, or “growth scenario,” of what Treasure Valley residents want the valley to look like in the year 2040.

In February and March, through a series of three, day-long workshops, COMPASS worked with over 170 Treasure Valley residents to begin to develop potential future growth scenarios. From that work, we now have four potential growth scenarios that we are looking for your feedback on. 

All four scenarios include a projected population of 1,022,000 people and 466,000 jobs by year 2040. However, each potential scenario is distinct, with different goals and with growth focused in different areas.

Please take a few minutes to learn about the scenarios and submit your comments. There are several opportunities to comment and become involved. A list of these, as well as the opportunity to comment online, can be found on the COMPASS website at www.compassidaho.org (click on “Link to submit comments on Communities in Motion 2040 growth scenarios”).

We’ll be asking you not only which scenario(s) you prefer, but also about the values and issues you care about as we plan for the future. That information will help the COMPASS Board as they deliberate different options and adopt a preferred growth scenario in September.

Public comment is being accepted through Sunday, June 17. Please take a moment to have your say in the future.

Communities in Motion: Why Do You Care? Part II

If you’ve been reading my blog, then you probably have seen my post from January (below) about why people care, or should care, about long-range transportation planning in general and Communities in Motion in particular.

We have been asking people for their reasons for caring and I have committed to sharing those reasons with you each quarter in my blog. This is my second installment.

Why people care about Communities in Motion 2040, as submitted by you:

• It’s important to get people to think about what kind of community they want theirs to be.
• People care about transit.
• Participating in developing the plan is more interesting than watching reality TV.
• Things are constantly changing and the valley is constantly growing. We need to plan to get ahead or at least keep up.
• It affects our children’s future.
• It’s important to plan ahead, just in the case the world really doesn’t end on December 22, 2012.

While a few of these are somewhat “tongue in cheek,” the underlying message is still clear – people care about their communities and recognize the importance of being involved in defining what the future of those communities could, or should, look like.

To share why you think Communities in Motion 2040 is important ― why you care ― email aluft@compassidaho.org and we’ll post your ideas here. Thanks for caring and sharing!

The future through the eyes of our children

Late last fall, COMPASS launched an art contest for elementary aged children. We asked children to draw a picture of what they think their neighborhood or town will look like in 25 years.

This was part of an effort to help get youth – and their teachers and parents – involved in and thinking about Communities in Motion 2040. After all, it is today’s youth who will be the adults when the plan reaches its “horizon year” of 2040.

Thank you to all of the students who entered the contest. All of the participants in the contest clearly put a great deal of thought and care into their artwork.

While I wasn’t one of the contest judges (the COMPASS Public Participation Committee did that), I did get a chance to review the artwork.

As I looked through the entries, I was surprised by how many of them focused on themes that we will be looking at in Communities in Motion 2040 – emerging transportation technologies, changing populations, energy and environmental issues, open space and farmland, and more. I found it quite remarkable that these children, who were only given the very broad theme of “what the future may look like,” focused on many of the same issues we are discussing. These children – some of them quite young – clearly have insight and perception into the world and issues around them.

Take a moment to check out the winning artwork on the COMPASS web site. I think that like me, you will be intrigued and impressed by what you see.

Look to the future and tell us what you see

In my November 7 blog, I wrote about the COMPASS art contest to get children’s perspective on what their communities will look like in 25 years. You’ll hear more on that from me later as we choose our winners.

Now it’s your turn to share your perspective.

What do you think the Treasure Valley will look like in the future? Even more importantly, what do you want it to look like? We know we will grow. Where will that growth go? What infrastructure do we need to accommodate it?

We are undertaking a process to help answer these types of questions. The end result will be a "preferred growth scenario" — a realistic vision of what Treasure Valley residents want the valley to look like in the year 2040.

This vision, or scenario, will be developed by you, Treasure Valley residents, and must be adopted by the COMPASS Board. The scenario will be the basis for Communities in Motion 2040, the regional long-range transportation and sustainability plan.

As a first step in developing a growth scenario, COMPASS will hold three all-day, hands-on workshops (February 29, March 1, and March 2, 2012) to engage community leaders, elected officials, and stakeholders (you!) to develop a common set of goals and identify three to four potentially desirable growth scenarios that could occur. With others at your table, you’ll be able to literally map out what you want the future to look like. Those scenarios will then be presented to the broader public for their review and comment before a final scenario is presented to the COMPASS Board for their consideration.

Would you like to participate in one of these workshops to share your vision for the future? Learn more by clicking here, then fill out an online self-nomination form by Friday, January 20, 2012. You can access the form from the link above. You’ll be asked to tell us why you want to participate, what types of interests or groups you represent or belong to, what unique perspectives you bring to the table, and which workshop(s) you could attend. Space is limited, so there may not be room for everyone who self-nominates. Self-nominees will be chosen to include a broad cross-section of interests and opinions. You will be notified in late January if you have been selected to participate.

If you are unable to participate in one of the workshops, there will still be plenty of opportunity for you to participate in the process. After the workshops, the potential scenarios will be presented for review and comment by the public. Everyone will be invited to weigh in on which scenario best represents their vision for the future of the valley and why.

Developing Communities in Motion 2040 will be a long process. While developing a preferred growth scenario is just one step in this process, it is an important one...perhaps even the most important one, as it will set the stage for the rest of the plan and the future of the Treasure Valley. I encourage you to be involved.

Communities in Motion 2040: Why Do You Care?

One of the most common questions we hear about long-range planning, is “why should I care?” It can be hard to get excited about a plan that looks so far into the future when today’s issues are pressing on us.

So, on the COMPASS web site and in our quarterly email updates about Communities in Motion 2040, we share reasons why COMPASS thinks people should care about Communities in Motion 2040 ― the regional long-range transportation and sustainability plan that will look nearly 30 years to the future.

However, even more important than why we think you should care is why you do care. So, we are asking people why they care, or think others should. We promised to share the reasons submitted to us quarterly; this is the first installment.

Why people care about Communities in Motion 2040, as submitted by you

• The long-range plan is the ground work for growth and projects in the future.
• It helps the individual agencies (cities, counties, highway districts, transit authority) grow as a region.
• I can actually make a difference by being educated and involved!
• There is not enough money to fund our needs. We need innovative ideas to plan for the future.
• There is controversy over which is the driver of economic development… land use or transportation. Which comes first?
• We need new jobs and Communities in Motion can help plan for the needs of those jobs.

To share why you think Communities in Motion 2040 is important ― why you care ― email aluft@compassidaho.org and we’ll post your ideas here. Thanks for caring and sharing!