The
U.S. Department of Transportation designates areas of
50,000 urbanized populations as a Metropolitan Planning
Organization (MPO). The MPO for the Kankakee Area has
been designated as the Kankakee Area Transportation Study
(KATS), which consists of the Village of Aroma Park, Bourbonnais
and Bradley, the City of Kankakee, Kankakee County, the
River Valley Metro Mass Transit District, and the Illinois
Department of Transportation. A map of the current boundaries
of the Kankakee Urbanized Area can be found here: Urbanized
Area Map
The Chief Executive Officer (or their designee) of each agency sits on the Policy Committee of KATS, while the Engineer (or their designee) of each agency sits on the Technical Advisory Committee. A list of the current membership of KATS can be found here: Membership. The Kankakee County Planning Department functions as staff for KATS. The by-laws of the Kankakee Area Metropolitan planning Organization can be viewed here: By-Laws.
Through
contractual arrangements with IDOT, KATS receives federal
funding to conduct planning activities. Some of these
activities are annual in nature, such as the Unified
Work Program (which details the planning program
for the coming fiscal year), and the Transportation
Improvement Program (which details the expenditure
of federal funding within the Urbanized Area). Other contractual
activities include the Long-Range
Plan (which details the 25 year horizon for transportation
in the Urbanized Area), which is due on a five year cycle.
Other studies are undertaken at the direction of the KATS Policy Committee include:
Corridor Preservation - This activity has been endorsed by the KATS Committees for the past four years. The Corridor Preservation effort will designate "clear corridors" along every roadway outside of municipal boundaries within the County. New building or construction will not be permitted within these "clear corridors".
6000 N Rd. Study - Kankakee County received funding in the first year of the Illinois Tomorrow Corridor Study program to study two corridors: the corridor broadly centered on 6000 N Road, from Warner Bridge Road to Vincennes Trail, and the corridor broadly centered on Warner Bridge Road from Illinois Route 102 to Exit 308 on Interstate 57. The study began in July of 2001, and was approved by the Kankakee County Board in May of 2004. The Resolution of the County Board of Kankakee County, Illinois approving the project is attached, and the project map is also an attachment.
Washington Avenue Study - Kankakee County received funding in the second year of the Illinois Tomorrow program to conduct a Corridor Planning Study of Washington Avenue from the Kankakee River to Armour Road. The Villages of Bourbonnais and Bradley and the City of Kankakee are providing the local match for the study. The study began in July of 2002, and will be presented to the various local jurisdictions for action during 2004.
Commuter Rail Feasibility Study - Kankakee County is currently studying the possibility of extending commuter rail service to within the County.
Traffic Counting - Each year the Planning Departments staff conducts traffic counts on the roads within the MPO's jurisdiction.
Transit
Kankakee County is also Served by various forms of transit. Descriptions of these services can be found here: Transit
Documents
The various documents, studies, plans and reports created by the MPO and it's staff can be found here: Documents.
