Contact:	Amy Goodin or Amelia Rouse, 277-1099 Laurie Mellas-Ramirez, 277-5915
April 19, 2002 UNM INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY ORGANIZES TRANSPORTATION PLANNING 'CITIZEN CONFERENCES' ACROSS STATE State and local governments short on budgets for road repair and other travel-related issues will have the opportunity to learn about citizen's preferences and priorities for transportation projects at statewide meetings held in May and June. The New Mexico State Highway and Transportation Department (NMSHTD) has contracted with the University of New Mexico Institute for Public Policy (IPP) to hold seven public meetings called "Citizen Conferences." The institute is a non-partisan forum for social scientific research and education located on the main campus. There are roughly 87,000 miles of public roads in New Mexico, according to the NMSHTD. Of those, the state manages approximately 12,000 miles, including U.S. interstates and state highways. The majority of the state budget is committed to road maintenance and the numbers are set through 2005. However, the department has an additional $40 million for each annual budget from 2005 to 2020 and seeks input through these conferences on how to spend the total of $600 million over 15 years. About 10-12 randomly selected adults with diverse views and demographic backgrounds will be recruited from throughout the state by IPP to take part in the daylong meetings. Participants will receive an honorarium for their time and effort. Each of the conferences begins at 9 a.m. with a question and answer period for citizen advisors who will address questions to a panel of transportation experts. The panels are composed of highway department district engineers, transit managers, transportation planners, among others, from around the state. The citizen advisors will then deliberate and develop a list of recommendations for transportation planning throughout the state. A trained moderator from the IPP will facilitate the process. The citizen advisors will present their recommendations to the expert panel and the Highway Department at 4 p.m. The public is invited to attend this session and will have an opportunity to join the discussion at an informal public meeting that immediately follows the presentation and runs until 6:30 p.m. Following are the dates and locations of the conferences: · Thursday, May 2, in Taos at the Convention Center · Tuesday, May 7, in Tucumcari at the Convention Center · Wednesday, May 15, in Gallup at the UNM-Gallup campus · Wednesday, May 22, in Carlsbad at the Pecos River Village Conference Center · Wednesday, June 5, TBA · Tuesday, June 11, in Silver City at Western New Mexico University · Thursday, June 13, in Truth or Consequences at the Civic Center. For more information, call the UNM Institute for Public Policy, 505-277-1099. ###

The University of New Mexico
Public Affairs Department
Hodgin Hall, 2nd floor
Albuquerque, NM 87131-0011
Telephone: (505) 277-5813
Fax: (505) 277-1981