Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa Long Range ...

The Sac and Fox Tribe established a transportation planning committee to guide the
development of the plan and individual plan components. Coordination and cooperation
among Indian Tribal Governments, local, State, and Federal transportation agencies can
produce many benefits to the participants in the transportation planning process.
Cooperation and coordination are key aspects of a successful transportation planning
process. They offer the opportunity for Indian Tribal Governments to exercise their
sovereignty through government-to-government relationships. They are necessary if
other issues that exist between Indian tribal and non-tribal governments are to be
resolved. In addition, coordination and cooperation among these groups provide the
opportunity to access other funding sources. The transportation committee coordinated
with the following entities:
Sac and Fox tribal government operations
Meskwaki Casino
Tama County Engineering Department
Region 6 Planning Commission
Iowa Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Clapsaddle-Garber Associates
Project Approach
The project approach used in this study is comprised of four phases: collection of existing
data; collection of new data; data analysis; and plan development. This approach requires
that both transportation data as well as socio-economic and environmental data be
investigated simultaneously during the data collection and analysis phases of the project.
Each of the four phases of the project approach are described below:
Collection of Existing Data
This phase of the Study involved collecting existing data from State and local
governments, the BIA and tribal sources. On the transportation system side, information
was gathered on system administrators, operators and users. The data collected includes
previous planning studies, existing inventory data, travel demand and traffic counts,
accident data, and maintenance data. The information accumulated on the environmental
and socio-economic side includes data such as existing land use activities, economic
development plans, demographics, cultural information, housing, infrastructure and
environmental concerns.
Collection of New Data
This phase involved collecting new data pertinent to the study area. The information on
the transportation system side includes data gathered during the road inventory, traffic
counts, updated accident data. Other new data for consideration includes proposed
economic development and other land use developments; population projections are