§ 25-349. Issues and concerns.

Early in the planning process, the project team met with the community to hear firsthand, their issues and concerns about the current state of affairs in the parish. This process occurred over the course of eight (8) planning district meetings held between January and March 2002.

At each meeting, the community participated in a general discussion session oriented to identifying existing problems, possible solutions and perceived barriers. Data collected through a twenty-five-question survey measured individual attitudes relative to transportation and land use, neighborhood design, quality of life and government involvement in planning.

The Regional Planning Commission's Transportation and Community and Systems Preservation (TCSP) Program Notebook was the model used to guide this effort. Rather than focusing on transportation as an isolated element, the purpose of TCSP is to integrate transportation initiatives with a community's land use, development pattern, environment and economics (access to jobs and markets).

Note— Transportation and Community and Systems Preservation Program Notebook, Burk-Kleinpeter, Inc., December 2001.

The majority of the issues and concerns identified by the community focused on three (3) transportation modes covered in this plan: Roadways, public transit (buses and light rail) and pedestrian/bikeways system. comments and issues relating to the remaining modes (freight rail, ports/maritime, and airport) only appeared in planning district meetings where facilities associated with these modes were located.

The techniques or methods utilized in the TCSP program are facilitation, interactive visual presentation, and citizen surveying.

Note— Ibid, Tab. 1, page 3-2.

Comments received through the facilitation exercise and interactive presentation fell into three (3) general categories: specific issues or concerns, potential transportation project concepts or perceived impediments. Refinements to this initial breakdown included classification of comments into district-specific issues or parish-wide issues.

Tabulated data from the citizen survey identified an overall ranking for a question based on the distribution of the responses. This formed the basis for understanding citizen opinion on the relationships between land use decisions and transportation, as well as identification for the planning team of those concepts and/or principals, which should be emphasized in the transportation plan's recommendations.

Additionally, comments to a series of open-ended questions allowed the planning team to determine which core elements of an individual's planning district or neighborhood area appeared to be strengths, weaknesses or opportunities worth addressing through the land use and transportation planning elements. Tracking of responses in ten (10) categories allowed the planning team to assess the general nature of those elements that appeared in the survey responses. These categories include:

• Neighborhood components;

• Environmental issues;

• Infrastructure quality;

• Public safety;

• Transit and transportation;

• The people;

• Neighborhood specific issues;

• Access and design;

• Land use and proximity;

• Miscellaneous.

(Ord. No. 21939, § 1, 8-6-03; Ord. No. 22933 , § III, 12-13-06)

Editor's note

See editor's note to § 25-343.