The municipality is looking for some public feedback when it comes to shaping transportation in Chatham-Kent.
Residents are invited to attend the Transportation Master Plan Public Information Centre on Saturday in Chatham. The plan acts as a best practice guideline for future planning and development of all things transportation within the municipality.
In June 2018, the municipality issued a request for proposal to secure the services of a transportation engineering consultant to work on the plan. BT Engineering was awarded the contract and Saturday's information centre will be a chance for the public to see what is being included in the plan so far.
"We'll be setting up a table in front of the Civic Centre... we'll have display boards showing some information regarding the transportation master plan, we'll have a list of items that are currently being in consideration for inclusion in the transportation master plan... and we'll also have an opportunity for the public to provide additional feedback regarding the information," explained Mark Ceppi, engineering technologist with the municipality.
The plan focuses on a variety of different items including road networks and infrastructure, existing and future transportation needs, parking, transit and different transportation methods such as railways and airports. The last transportation plan was completed a decade ago and according to Ceppi, the new plan will update the previous plan by taking into consideration things such as current traffic conditions, policies and government legislation. He said it will also be a chance to for the municipality to include items that weren't at the forefront the last time the plan was put together.
"A couple of newer items would be revolving around trails and that type of thing that weren't really as popular the last time the transportation master plan was put together back in 2007, 2008," he said.
Ceppi explained that the plan is about midway through the completion process and is currently entering the vital stages of getting resident feedback.
"At this public information centre, the transportation master plan is still at a very rough draft stage," he said. "After this session, we will be putting together a final draft and then at that time we will go out one last time for a public information centre and after that, it would proceed onto council for approval."
The Transportation Master Plan Public Information Centre will be held on June 22 from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the front doors of the Civic Centre in Chatham, to coincide with the RetroFest Classic Car Show. Ceppi said by holding it during a busy popular event, they are hoping to get as much exposure as possible.
"A lot of what this document is doing is going to be planning transportation needs for people of the municipality," Ceppi explained. "So we need to know what concerns are out there or what interests are out there for inclusion in this document."
Similar sessions will be held at the Blenheim Cherryfest on July 20 and in Wallaceburg on August 10 during the WAMBO in Wallaceburg.
