The first three years of highway commission involvement in Wisconsin 701 planning for communities of less than 50,000 population are reviewed. Initial policies and procedures are outlined and modifications are suggested based on the review of intervening experience. An examination of the positive results indicates highway planning benefits to be gained from local plan review and joint state-local plan endorsement. Working directly with state planning agency staff in preparing some of the smaller plans has provided educational experience for highway commission personnel. Another beneficial side effect of highway commission involvement has been the development of a close working relationship between commission urban planning personnel and local planning commissions and legislative bodies. Analysis of current problem areas highlights cost limitations inherent in 701 plan programs and associated problems of program definition. The conclusion offered is that highway commission participation must be increased to insure success of the 701 planning efforts. This involves participation in pre-contract conferences with the community, careful review of the need for costly traffic analyses, encouraging more reliance on state highway commission traffic forecasts, suggesting more ways of using available highway planning data, and scheduling of follow-up design investigations. /author/.
Samenvatting