ITRE / News / News Archives / News Release 9-13-05

ITRE Researcher Contributes to Chicago Transportation Project

September 13, 2005

Raleigh, NC - Jud Lawrie of the Public Transportation Group, a part of the Institute for Transportation Research and Education (ITRE), completed research on a project for, “Chicago Metropolis 2020”, which led to the recent passing of a law and creation of a regional planning board that will better protect natural resources, minimize traffic congestion, and facilitate the more effective investment of both public and private transportation funds in the Chicago metropolitan area.

“Chicago Metropolis 2020” is a well-connected civic group working on regional transportation and planning issues in the seven-county Chicago metropolitan region. Lawrie advocated the combination of the transportation planning and comprehensive land-use planning agencies in the area. This was intended to strengthen the regional transportation planning process by creating a more effective single entity with the power to closely link transportation and land-use decision making.

After a long legislative process, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich signed a piece of legislation August 9 that combines two agencies and creates a regional planning board. This new planning board will direct the merger of the Chicago Area Transportation Study (CATS), which has been the region’s federally-designated Metropolitan Planning Organization since 1955, and the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission, which has been the area’s comprehensive planning agency since 1957. The new planning board will be responsible for developing and adopting a funding and implementation strategy for an integrated land use and transportation planning process for the northeastern Illinois region.

“As a result of Jud’s previous employment with Chicago Regional Transportation Authority, the Illinois Department of Transportation, and with his ITRE transit research experience, ITRE has been able to improve transportation planning and options in the Chicago area and on a national level,” said Tom Cook, Co-Director of the Public Transportation Group. To learn more about Chicago Metropolis 2020, visit www.chicagometropolis2020.org.

ITRE is a non-profit organization that conducts research, education, and technical assistance projects on a wide variety of surface transportation issues with the goals of solving problems and creating new products, better services, and smarter workers. ITRE, administered by North Carolina State University (NCSU), is located on NCSU’s Centennial Campus. For more information about ITRE and related programs, please visit our Web site at www.itre.ncsu.edu.

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