The mission of IDOT is to encompass both connectivity and quality of life for communities. Issues such as traffic congestion, suburban sprawl, preservation of scenic landscapes and historic neighborhoods, and the ability to use our transportation system to walk, bike, and access public transit are now high priorities in terms of what people expect from transportation policy. Context Sensitive Solutions aim at addressing these new concerns, and making sure that our transportation projects are designed to improve the quality of life for all who have a stake in the system. Context Sensitive Solutions is an approach that uses many tools with one goal in mind: plan and design transportation projects that “fit” into their surroundings – what is known as “context.” It is an approach that incorporates the need to:
 

• Involve stakeholders in the decision-making process early and continuously, throughout the development of the project.
• Address all appropriate modes of transportation in the plan and design of the project, including motor vehicle, pedestrians and bicyclists.
• Use all appropriate disciplines to help plan for and design the project.
• Apply the flexibility inherent in the design standards to fit the project into its surroundings.
• Incorporate aesthetics as part of basic “good design.”

Through early, frequent, and meaningful communication with stakeholders, and a flexible and creative approach to design, the resulting projects should improve safety and mobility for the traveling public, while seeking to preserve and enhance the scenic, economic, historic, and natural qualities of the settings through which they pass.

Click here to access IDOT’s Context Sensitive Solutions website.