Blueprint 2000 has adhered to its founding principle of holistic planning, an approach where economic, environmental, and social values are complimentary and interdependent.  With this concept Blueprint converts individual projects, like the building of a road, into projects with a multi-use purpose: roads with bike lanes, sidewalks, wide medians and stormwater parks.  Under this approach, environmental considerations are an integral component of Blueprint 2000’s philosophy.  From preserving sensitive lands to creating stormwater ponds with recreational amenities, Blueprint seeks to enhance our partnership with the natural environment.  Existing and future projects include greenways, floodplain preservation, sidewalks, non-road related stormwater and water quality enhancements, bike trails, bike lanes, parks and recreation, and protection of natural areas. 

Through Blueprint’s well defined priorities and ability to leverage funds, significant and lasting contributions to the community have been achieved.  Blueprint-funded projects include corridor improvement “gray projects” and environmentally-oriented “green projects.” The current 15-year Master Plan indicates 54 percent of the program’s funding is proposed for corridor improvements and 43 percent toward environmental projects.  Corridor improvements have been directed toward widening sections of Capital Circle Southeast, Northwest, and Southwest.  These corridor projects provide environmental elements and benefits, too, including bicycle lanes, sidewalks and meandering trails.  Several stormwater ponds have been designed to provide retro-fit treatment to previously untreated stormwater runoff.  Regional Stormwater Pond 1, constructed as part of the Capital Circle Northwest widening project has been converted into Martha Wellman Park providing a walking trail, benches, lighting and landscaping. 

This split between so called “gray” and “green” shows the priority of Blueprint to build projects holistically and carry out the original vision of the Economic and Environmental Consensus Committee (EECC) who believed capital improvements were interdependent.  As you navigate our website, please note that each project page has an Environmental Information tab that we hope you will visit to learn more about how each Blueprint project is taking account for and promoting the natural environment.