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BOOK 97. PACE 819 Eo- gather public input. Aware of the need for discussion of sidewalks and bikepaths near schools, staff scheduled two of the meetings at local schools (Oslo Middle School and Sebastian River High School) . About 50 people attended these workshops and provided MPO planning staff with comments concerning the need for facilities. In addition, a public comment survey was recently printed in the newspaper, and copies of that survey have also been distributed. To date, numerous surveys have been received by staff, and more are being solicited. The MPO's public workshops and surveys are being conducted at the beginning of the plan update process so that the Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee has ample public input on which to base later phases of the plan's development. Therefore, there will be numerous additional opportunities for public input. Each meeting at which the bicycle/pedestrian plan is discussed will be open to the public, and those who attended the workshops or who submit requests for notification will be sent notices of MPO Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee meetings. Prior to the beginning of the Bicycle/Pedestrian Plan, the MPO and the. MPO Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee held a joint meeting to discuss the direction of the plan. At that August 9, 1995 joint MPO/MPO BAC meeting, MPO and MPO BAC members heard public comment concerning the need for sidewalks near schools, and the MPO discussed a plan by the Indian River County Public Works Department to accelerate the construction of sidewalks and bikepaths near schools. To ensure that the need for bikepaths and .sidewalks near schools is reflected in the bicycle and pedestrian plan update, MPO staff and the MPO's consultant have coordinated with the Indian River County School District concerning bikepath and sidewalk needs. The School District has provided extensive data for the plan, and MPO staff and the MPO's consultant have interviewed school principals for an in-depth study of the needs of the two schools within critical needs areas identified by the School District. During development of the plan, the MPO governing board will be given status reports and will review interim work products. After staff and the MPO BAC complete the draft plan, the MPO will review the plan prior to its approval. The review and approval of the plan by the MPO governing board, which consists of local elected officials, allows for the needs of the entire community to be considered. In addition, the scope of work for the MPO bicycle/pedestrian plan calls for coordination measures to be developed by which the plan will be implemented by the county and its municipalities. Given the MPO's level of public involvement in planning, county staff feel that public input regarding sidewalk and bikepath needs should be directed to the MPO Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee so that those needs may be considered in the on-going plan update. In so doing, the county is ensured that the MPO plan will reflect input by all citizens of the county. . RECOI94ENDATION Staff recommends that the* Board public input regarding bicycle and use in the bicycle/pedestrian plan 12 APRIL 16, 1996 of County Commissioners direct pedestrian needs to the MPO for update.