FAQs
- What is a PD&E Study
- May I participate in this study
- When and where will the meetings be held
- Will I be notified of the the meetings
What is a PD&E Study?
The Project Development and Environment (PD&E) Study is an extensive study conducted by the City of North Port in order to determine social, economic and environmental impacts associated with a proposed transportation improvement project.
Project Development Process
The process used in the development of the project is made up of several components.
These include:
- Data Collection
- Development of Alternatives
- Analysis of Viable Alternatives
- Selection of Recommended Alternative
- Public Involvement
Data Collection
Data collection involves gathering the information that is needed to develop and evaluate the various improvement alternatives, including:
- Traffic counts
- Crash records
- Existing roadway geometry
- Existing land use and property information
- Planned development
- Existing drainage systems and patterns, including flooding
- Identification of wetlands
- Threatened/Endangered species habitat
- Contamination sites
- Archaeological/Historic sites
Several improvement alternatives will be developed that will meet future travel demand and attempt to minimize impacts to the community and the natural environment. These alternatives will be developed with input from the public and local government and environmental agencies collected throughout the study process. The “No Build” alternative, or the alternative to make no improvements other than routine maintenance, will remain a viable alternative throughout the study.
Analysis of Alternatives
The alternatives developed will be compared based on community and environmental impacts, costs for design and construction engineering inspection, right-of-way acquisition, construction costs, and wetland mitigation. Public comment and sentiment is also considered during this analysis. Several environmental studies are conducted and used in this analysis. These include:
- Wetlands - Finding the best way to avoid or mitigate long-term and short-term impacts to wetlands
- Water Quality - Implementing measures to prevent, reduce or eliminate pollution of ground and surface waters
- Wildlife and Habitat Impacts - Efforts are made to protect and ensure the continued existence of threatened and/or endangered species and their habitat
- Contamination - Identifying, evaluating and recommending actions concerning contamination problems within and/or adjacent to the project
- Floodplains - Efforts are made to minimize or avoid encroaching within the floodplains through drainage system design
- Archaeological and Historic Sites - Documentation is also required to protect historic and archaeologically significant places
Selection of Preferred Alternative
Once the analysis of all viable alternatives, including the “No Build” alternative, is complete and the public has had the opportunity to comment on these alternatives, a recommendation will be made.
May I participate in the study?
Yes. Everyone interested in the project is encouraged to participate. There are several ways in which you can do this:
- Visit this website for study updates and to email your comments back to us
- Attend any or all of the public meetings, discuss the project with the City, and complete comment forms and mail or email them to the project team; a court reporter will also be provided at the Initial Public Workshop to enter verbal comments into the Study's records
- Request the City to attend a meeting of a local organization to discuss the project; or;
- Call the City directly by telephone.
When and where will the meetings be held?
The times and places of all public meetings will be advertised in the local newspapers, and if you have your name added to the mailing list you will be notified by mail.
You also have the option of adding your name to our email notification system. You will then be emailed about upcoming meetings and significant project developments.
We will also be posting meeting notices on this website. There will be two public meetings during the study process. The meeting location will be announced with the meeting notice.
We plan to hold the meetings in the study area, and will make every attempt to schedule them at times convenient for the public.
Will I be notified of the meetings?
If you wish to receive a meeting notice please add your name to the mailing list on this website, add your name to our email notification system, or call the City. Once you are added to our database that you wish to be notified, you will receive all project related mailings and meeting notices.
