Salida transportation plan meeting

Dear Editor,

Did you get frustrated the last time you tried to drive from one end of the city to the other?  To travel by car from the hospital parking lot to Sonic off Highway 50 in the most direct route you would have to make 5 right turns, 4 left turns, 6 stops and go over two dips.  This is an inefficient way to get from one end of town to the other.

If you would like to help avoid poor transportation designs in the future, please join us for a public meeting Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. at the Salida SteamPlant in the Riverside Annex building.  The City and County are working together to create a transportation plan for the area around Salida so that as we grow, we ensure quality, well-connected transportation infrastructure is constructed.

Creation of a regional transportation plan is the first project of the recently formed six-member Salida Regional Planning Commission (Salida RPC).  This commission includes three members and an alternate from both the Salida and County planning commissions.  The Salida RPC was created to consider land use and related issues in the municipal services and growth areas around Salida.

The Salida RPC would like input from all stakeholders as we consider the best routes for future roads, locations of bicycle trails and stops for public transportation.  We need your ideas on how to improve problem intersections and how to move cars through while maintaining safe speeds in neighborhoods.

Transportation affects everyone from emergency service providers to bicycle commuters, to parents with school age kids and seniors who rely on public transportation and walkable streets.  We all have to get from point A to point B and most of us want to do so in a safe, easy and efficient manner.

By planning now, we can facilitate future development that provides needed transportation connections not only for the new development but also for existing and future residents.  Landowners and developers will know how their project fits into the plan for the area, if they choose to develop their property.  Perhaps most importantly we can avoid making bad or short sighted decisions that can be costly or impossible to fix after new development has occurred.

If you don’t think you need to come to this meeting take a few minutes to try to figure out the best route from the airport to the smokestack in Smeltertown or try walking or riding your bike to Walmart and you may change your mind.  That smokestack does not look so far away when you are standing at the airport.

Please join us at the SteamPlant, 220 W. Sackett on Tuesday, December 9^th at 6:00 p.m.  Light refreshments will be provided.

Dara MacDonald