Stop and go

When it comes to where and how road construction should be done, everyone's a backseat driver.

But David Freidenfeld and the folks who make up Odessa-Midland's regional transportation planning group don't mind being told what to do.

Freidenfeld is project manager for an 18-month consultant study that will develop a long-range transportation plan for the Odessa-Midland area.

It will analyze the need for new roads and maintenance of existing ones, the need for alternative transport and how each city will handle growth during the next 25 years.

Results will help the Midland-Odessa Metropolitan Planning Organization decide which construction projects get funding first.

"Primarily we'll be grounded upon looking at future growth patterns, development and how the transportation system can support a desired development pattern," Freidenfeld said.

Odessa-Midland's metropolitan planning organization works through a nine-member board to prioritize funding for highway, transit and land-use plans. There are metropolitan planning organizations nationwide, and all have to submit a long-range transportation plan to the federal government every five years to make sure gas tax dollars keep flowing for construction projects. 

The local metropolitan planning organization has been developing long-range transportation plans for decades, but Freidenfeld said this year's go round is a lot different.

"There's a new process in transportation planning called community visioning," he said. "The Federal Highway Administration is encouraging us to look at things differently. They want us to engage the public to get what they want to see Odessa-Midland look like."

That includes not only roads, but things like bike trails, public transit parking stations, parks and retail development.

"It's much more of a pro-active outreach to the community," said Melba Owens, the Odessa-Midland metropolitan planning organization executive director.

Owens said the study's first step is an online survey at www.motormpo.com/survey. It takes about 15 minutes to fill out, and participants could win one of five $100 gift cards to Wal-Mart or Target. The survey asks how residents would like to see tax dollars spent on transportation, how satisfied they are with the area's current infrastructure and what they envision for the future.

A series of public meetings will begin this fall.

Marwan Khoury, Odessa Planning and Development Director, recently recommended that the city hold off on updating its comprehensive growth plan until after the metropolitan planning organization study is complete.

"It'll impact almost every section of the comprehensive plan," Khoury said. "It affects zoning."

Freidenfeld said it's too soon to tell what Odessa's traffic-improvement priorities will be in the next couple of decades, but he'll be paying special attention to how the city might grow.

"There's a suburban sprawl issue," he said. "One of the things we might look at is denser, more diverse land development - a more walkable environment. That's one of the things that's becoming more ideal."

AT A GLANCE

>> What: Odessa-Midland long-range transportation plan. This plan, due to the Federal Highway Administration in December 2009, will look at the area's transportation needs through the next 25 years.

>> When: It'll take about 18 months for the whole plan to be developed. The online public survey will be available until Sept. 29.

>> Why: The Federal Highway Administration mandates that metropolitan long-range plans be turned in every five years. This guarantees federal funding for construction and maintenance from gas tax dollars.

>> How: The first step in the process is the online survey. A series of public meetings will be held this fall, and consultants will be working well into next year.