PUBLIC INVITED TO HELP PLAN KERN REGION’S ENERGY AND TRANSPORTATION FUTURE
For more information, contact Kern Council of Governments (Kern COG) at (661) 861-2191
Kern COG is asking the public to help shape how more than $5.3 billion in anticipated transportation and energy-efficiency projects will be developed over the next 28 years. A series of 14 public workshops is scheduled from March through June to garner public input on these vital public issues.
More than 70 major highway, road maintenance, public transit, pedestrian, bicycle and energy-efficiency improvements are projected to be funded throughout Kern County over the next three decades. Kern COG’s Directions to 2050 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) and the accompanying community Energy Action Plans detail how our region will spend federal, state and utility transportation and energy dollars over the long term.
Directions to 2050 will contain an ambitious program of roadway corridor, public transit, bicycle, pedestrian and energy-efficiency improvements designed to keep the regional economy moving over the next 28 years. The findings from the community workshops will help the region foster growth to improve energy efficiency, provide more housing choices and improve mobility. Input gathered at the community workshops will inform which policies, programs, and projects will be prioritized and when they will be implemented in the next three decades.
Many of the proposed projects already have funding dedicated to early phases, such as planning or engineering. Others expected to be carried out more than 20 years from now do not have identified funding sources but would be eligible should new revenue streams become available.
Specific improvements spelled out in Directions to 2050 do not include projects that each of Kern’s 11 cities or the county may choose to complete with their own general funds.
Kern COG will host a Directions to 2050 public workshops at the Shafter Veterans Building on Wednesday, April 11, 2012, from 6-8:30 p.m.
This program is funded in part by California utility ratepayers and administered by Southern California Edison under the auspices of the California Public Utilities Commission. Kern COG provides major funding for this project to encourage activities that would lead to long-term, sustainable changes. SCE funds the Kern Region Energy Action Plans (REAP) program, which promotes long-term energy efficiency efforts.