GREAT FALLS — The Great Falls Metropolitan Planning Organization and the Montana Department of Transportation have complete a Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) for public review.
“Every five years we update our Long Range Transportation Plan,” said Andrew Finch, the Senior Transportation Planner for the city of Great Falls. “The plan is just a projection of the future of what our needs are going to be and how we’re going to fund and implement those needs.”
There are seven defined goals with the LRTP:
- Preserve and maintain the transportation system.
- Improve accessibility and connectivity.
- Improve reliability for efficient movement.
- Provide safe, secure, and resilient systems.
- Promote consistency between transportation improvements and growth.
- Protect and enhance the environment.
- Develop and deliver cost effective projects.
Now, a draft of the plan has been published, and the city is looking for public feedback on the plan.
“We want to know what people think about that draft,” Finch said, “If there’s anything that is glaring, if we’re going in the wrong direction, we’d love to know what people think about that plan.”
More than 75 improvement projects have been identified. 21 of them are already expected to be completed in the next few years, and the other 55 are proposed.
There are also more than 150 recommendations for non-motorized networks, such as bike lanes and sidewalks.
“It is a hefty document, and you’ll need to wade through it to figure out what’s going on and what our plans for the future are,” Finch said, “There is one of the appendices that is recommendations, so if you want to get a handle on what’s being proposed you might start with that appendix.”
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Public input is important in making sure the plan is working along with its citizens’ needs, and they need to hear your feedback before September 23.
“After that we’ll close the public comment period,” Finch said, “And then we’ll take it through … to the city and county planning board, the city and county commissions, and then some local transportation bodies for approval."
You can head to the LRTP website to learn more and read the draft yourself.
Comments can be submitted on the website, by contacting Finch with the Planning & Community Development Department with the city of Great Falls, or by contacting project manager Scott Randall at 406-447-5005 or by mail at 3147 Saddle Drive, Helena, Montana, 59601.
