Santa Fe — The New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) is seeking continued public input on the future of transportation in New Mexico. The purpose is to help the department update its Statewide Long-Range Multimodal Transportation Plan (SLRP). The plan will provide a framework to guide the expenditure of approximately $21 billion over a 25-year time period extending from 2016 to 2040.
The project got underway at the start of this year. "NMDOT has reached out to hundreds of New Mexico residents and stakeholders to better understand our state's transportation challenges and opportunities," said NMDOT's Claude Morelli, who is managing the project. Work conducted over the last several months has focused on assessing existing conditions on the state's transportation system and identifying key transportation issues. "We've taken a multi-layered approach to gathering public and stakeholder input," Morelli said. "We've sought to engage a wide and diverse array of groups and individuals."
NMDOT's approach to public and stakeholder outreach has included:
- Setting up an interactive website (www.newmexicotransportationplan.com) and social media presence (@NMtransplan)
- Conducting a bilingual statewide survey and targeted tribal and freight surveys
- Holding stand-alone public meetings or making presentations on the plan at other publicly noticed meetings
- Holding special meetings with targeted groups such as transit operators, Main Street community leaders, bicycle riders, representatives of disabled communities and others
- Making presentations to community groups and setting up information stations at places where people gather (e.g., county fairs, conferences, etc.)
- Meeting with statewide working groups comprised of experts in particular areas like safety, public health, freight movement, visitors/tourism, economic development and others
- Meeting with regional working groups comprised of members from local and regional communities
- Meeting with plan coordinating committees made up of staff from every part of the NMDOT; planners from Metropolitan and Regional Transportation Planning Organizations; staff of other state, federal and tribal agencies; and planners from all of the state's tribal governments
Several key themes have emerged from the outreach and discussions held to date:
1. Find sustainable sources of revenue and spend funds more strategically;
2. Continue to address traveler safety needs;
3. Recognize NMDOT's important role in addressing public health concerns;
4. Improve public transportation;
5. Support economic development;
6. Provide access and mobility for everyone, everywhere;
7. Support movement of freight by all modes: truck, rail, air;
8. Protect and preserve what makes New Mexico unique;
9. Coordinate across jurisdictional/regulatory boundaries and make decisions transparent; and,
10. Improve the quality of data and information to help managers make better decisions.
Moving forward on the project, the NMDOT will be taking the input gathered since the start of the year to establish a vision, goals and objectives to guide transportation investment in the state. The department will also be gathering additional ideas about projects, policies and programs to address state and regional transportation challenges.
Over the next month, the NMDOT will be cooperating with the state's seven Regional Transportation Planning Organizations and five Metropolitan Planning Organizations to seek public input on transportation strategies to consider incorporating into the Statewide Long Range Multimodal Transportation Plan, as well as the plans that the state's five Metropolitan and seven Regional Transportation Planning Organizations are developing concurrently.
The NMDOT encourages all New Mexico residents and visitors to participate in these public input events or visit the project website to obtain more information and to submit ideas to help identify transportation priorities.
The meeting in Silver City, NM, will be:
August 26, 2014 (Tuesday) – Catron, Grant, Hidalgo, Luna counties
Public input meeting on NMDOT Statewide Long Range Multimodal Transportation Plan & Southwest Regional Transportation Plan
Location: Silver City Town Annex (1203 N Hudson St, Silver City, New Mexico 88061)
Time: Meeting starts at 1:30 p.m.
FMI: Contact Cerisse Grijalva, Southwest RTPO (grijalvac1@swnmcog.org or 575-388-1509)