REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION PLANNING

The Planning Department is playing an integral role in the development of the Connections 2030 Transportation Plan, which will guide major road, transit, and bike/pedestrian planning in Lake, Porter and Laporte Counties. Major initiatives at stake for the Gary community include:

• reducing urban sprawl in the Gary/Hammond metropolitan area. The increase in low-density land development in the outer suburbs of the northwest Indiana region, with little thought to infrastructure needs (i.e. roads), will drain resources from urban areas, and make it more difficult to redevelop Gary.



• reconstructing major streets. The Planning Department staff will be there to assure that, as regional planners create criteria to select the most-needed improvements to the roadway system, the needs of the road network in the City of Gary will be taken into consideration.



• taking land development decisions into account. The City has been a proponent of making sure that development and redevelopment occurs where there is access to roads and transit. The transportation system is more efficient if we continue to develop in places with existing infrastructure, so less money is needed for more roads at the expense of the existing roads. And the option of public transit should be made available to more development, for those without cars.



• planning a more defined bike and pedestrian network. As the quality of life improves in Gary's neighborhoods, it becomes important to improve the safety and access to routes in the city for walking and bike riding. The city is paying close attention not only to the bike trails planned here, but is considering how our trails will connect to others in the region.

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