After years of wrangling over transportation funding priorities, MEC and the Michigan Road Builders Association (MRBA) have joined forces to advance new road design policies in the state. Though three years ago MRBA's government and public affairs director, Gary Naeyaert, told the Detroit News "the sandal-wearing, quiche-eating freakazoids"-otherwise known as environmentalists-were "getting better at throwing themselves in front of bulldozers," he and the MRBA have since become frequent allies in the fight for increased transportation funding for all modes of travel.

Though tongue-in-cheek, Naeyaert's statement in 2000 belied a growing respect for a burgeoning citizen interest in Michigan's transportation system. This year, with the support and encouragement of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation's "People And Land" initiative, Naeyaert is helping MEC usher in a new era of road building that strongly reflects community values.

The strange-bedfellow collaboration of MEC and MRBA has brought the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), the Federal Highway Administration, the County Roads Association of Michigan, the Michigan Municipal League and others to the table and encouraged Governor Granholm to issue an Executive Directive for Context Sensitive Designs (CSD) (see related article on page 2).

Strict design standards and a paradigm that segregates transportation and land use planning into separate processes by independent agencies have stifled innovative transportation in Michigan, leading to dissatisfaction among residents and planners alike. While MDOT currently attempts to incorporate the public's input through a lengthy public hearing process, it is clear with each delayed project and hard-fought design that citizens, business interests and community leaders who may have a vested interest in the planning process often have very little buy-in when the project design hits the ground.

MEC's proposal to adopt CSD in Michigan holds the potential to change this paradigm, starting from the ground up. CSD offers an alternative to the traditional transportation planning model. It integrates five core principles into the decision-making process:

1) Transportation projects should promote safety in design, construction and maintenance;

2) Mobility for all citizens via a variety of modes of travel is a legitimate issue in all projects;

3) Projects should take full advantage of opportunities to enhance the environment;

4) Projects should protect the character of the communities they seek to mobilize; and

5) Planners should use innovative public participation to generate publicly-owned projects.

CSD involves committing to a process that encourages transportation officials to collaborate with community stakeholders so the design of the project reflects the goals of the people who live, work and travel in the area. Such collaboration results in creative and safe transportation solutions. Often referred to as "looking beyond the pavement," CSD articulates the role that streets and roads can play in enhancing communities and natural environments.

"This new approach is nothing less than visionary and a transformation of the way state transportation agencies design their facilities and conduct their business," said Tom Warne, former Executive Director of the Utah Department of Transportation and Chairman of the American Association of State Highway Transportation Official's (ASHTO) Standing Committee on Highways.

"Working with and for their customers...highway projects can be designed with imagination, creativity and collaboration to preserve and enhance the character and quality of a community without sacrificing transportation mobility and safety."