Iowa's Living Roadways Community Visioning

Iowa's Living Roadways Community Visioning is sponsored by Trees Forever. This program provides planning and design services to encourage visionary and strategic thinking about transportation improvements in Iowa communities, which can include aspects of tree planting and green infrastructure.

Iowa’s Living Roadways Community Visioning – Trees Forever Iowa’s Living Roadways Community Visioning A Transportation Enhancement Program Community Visioning is a process that encourages visionary and strategic thinking about transportation improvements in smaller Iowa communities.

The centerpiece of this process is the development of conceptual plans that graphically illustrate the vision of the community for an improved transportation system.

Participants in the program will: Identify and prioritize community needs based on participatory community assessments Develop community vision concept plans for transportation projects Identify potential funding sources for implementing concept plans Initiate the first phase of project development What support is provided? What products does the community receive? What contribution is expected from the community?

Communities selected for Community Visioning agree in writing to commit $2,000 toward implementation of a project proposed through the visioning process. A steering committee that represents the community, including a local government partner, is required to attend a day-long workshop at the beginning of the process and an annual meeting at the end.

The steering committee works closely with the Trees Forever field coordinator to plan and advertise meetings and workshops during the process. The committee maintains an active role in fostering meaningful community participation by involving others in the community assessments and goal setting and by keeping the media informed of program developments, committee activities and other information regarding the process.

How do we engage community residents? Iowa communities eligible for the Iowa’s Living Roadways Community Visioning Program must have populations under 10,000 residents. Priority is given to communities that lack planning resources within the city government.

Volunteers, government representatives and interest groups of all kinds are strongly encouraged to work in cooperation with one another for successful completion of the visioning process. Communities that are interested in making enhancements connected to surface transportation may benefit from the Community Visioning Program.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) defines surface transportation as all elements of the intermodal transportation system excluding aviation and including water.

To qualify for federal funding, enhancements must meet one of the following needs: Provide facilities for pedestrians and bicycles Provide safety and educational activities for pedestrians and bicyclists Acquire scenic easements and scenic or historic sites Preserve historic sites and routes Rehabilitate and operate historic transportation buildings, structures or facilities Convert unused rail corridors to trails Address other transportation enhancement needs as defined by FHWA Communities in need of transportation enhancement planning assistance and with populations of fewer than 10,000 residents are eligible to participate in the Community Visioning Program.

Successful communities have volunteers, government representatives, and interest groups that collaborate to complete the visioning process. For a more information on what the program does for communities and what types of communities should apply, download and review the Information for Applicants file below.

Community-Visioning-Information-for-Applicants Download Step 2: Form a Steering Committee Communities interested in applying for the program should form a steering committee of committed residents who represents a cross-section of the population, including youth. Steering committee members are expected to spend approximately 100 hours over the course of 11 months on the Community Visioning process.

Use the template below to identify your committee members. Visioning-Committee-List-Template Download Step 3: Prepare Application Materials Gather the information needed for the application. To ensure your application is complete and ready for submission, download and review the application checklist below.

Visioning-Application-Checklist Download Information about your community and the names of any firms that have completed comprehensive planning to date. Phone numbers and e-mail addresses for a primary contact person, a local media contact, and eight committee members. A project proposal, not to exceed 7,000 characters.

A description of desired outcomes for transportation enhancements, not to exceed 3,500 characters. Issues/opportunities in your community that Community Visioning can address, not to exceed 3,500 characters. Separate file uploads, not to exceed 5 MB each, of the following: 1.

Letter from the entity committing to the $2,000 cash or in-kind match. 2. Letter of support from the city government.

3. Letter(s) of support from local businesses and/or organizations. 4.

Photos of any areas of concern that Community Visioning may address. Step 4: Submit Your Application below! We will notify successful applicants by late September to allow the steering committee members time to prepare to attend the Iowa’s Living Roadways Annual Celebration, held each November at the Gateway Center in Ames.

Application: Community Visioning Project Name (Required) Include name of Community in the Project Name. Max 80 characters. Organization/Committee Name (Required) Organization(s) and/or local government entity providing the $2,000 cash match: (Required) Has the community worked with any planning, design or engineering consultants in the past five years for any of the following services?

If yes, please list the firm name, if no, simply leave blank. Comprehensive planning? Firm name: Roads and trails engineering or planning?

Engineering firm name: Streetscaping, including lighting, decorative paving? Streetscape firm name: Stormwater, flooding or other surface water related projects? Water Management firm name: Other planning, design or engineering related to transportation?

Transportation Engineering firm name: Community Contacts and Volunteer Committee Visioning requires volunteer involvement on a steering committee of at least eight (8) people who represent a broad cross-section of the community. Youth participation on the committee is encouraged.

Primary Contact Person (Required) Name, Occupation, Address, Email and Phone Local Media Contact (Required) Name, Occupation, Address, Email and Phone Committee List (Required) Upload your full committee list using the template provided. For each person include first and last name, occupation, mailing address, email, and phone number.

Describe local transportation systems (Required) Describe how local transportation systems – including sidewalks, trails, Main Streets, as well as local streets – enhance or detract from local residents’ and visitors’ use and enjoyment of services and amenities your community offers.

We would like to know information such as whether these systems allow good access to important services, promote healthy lifestyles, and enhance the natural environment. Do all residents, including youth, and the elderly and disabled, have access to desired destinations? Does the visual quality of the system support use and reflect community identity?

(7,000 character limit) Describe transportation enhancements (Required) Describe transportation enhancements the community would like to explore and the outcomes these enhancements are intended to promote. (3,500 character limit) Describe other benefits and changes (Required) What other benefits and changes would you like to bring about by participating in this program?

For example, overcoming communication gaps between volunteer groups, getting more people involved in community improvement, building a coalition for healthy lifestyles, taking steps to increase habitat and water quality, accessing outside expertise to create opportunities or to solve other persistent problems.

(3,500 character limit) Upload cash commitment letter (Required) Upload a one-page letter from the organization(s) and/or local government entity providing the $2,000 cash commitment to a future project. The letter should demonstrate assurance that at least $2,000 will be used to achieve the community’s first project.

Upload city support letter (Required) Upload a one-page letter of commitment from the city government demonstrating it is aware of the program purpose and benefits, why it supports this effort, and what it will do to help make the visioning process a success.

Upload local support letters (Required) Upload additional one-page letters from supporting and partnering organizations, businesses, clubs, etc., demonstrating they are aware of the program purpose and benefits, why they support this effort and what they will do to help make the visioning process a success. Upload photos Please show photos of areas of interest or concern in your community.

Terms and Conditions Acceptance and Digital Signature (Required) To the best of my knowledge and belief, those listed as committee members are committed to fulfilling their responsibilities as participants in the visioning process if we are accepted as a visioning community. This application has been duly authorized by the government unit of the applicant community with full understanding of the program requirements.

I agree to the terms and conditions.