Moving forward
By Larry Meyer — Argus Observer
Thursday, September 6, 2007 10:02 AM PDT
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| Mel Whitmore, lead driver with Malheur County Special Transportation, completes a stop to pick up a rider on the east side of Ontario Wednesday. Whitmore said he supported the transit plan, which was before the Malheur County Court Wednesday. |
VALE — The Malheur County Court Wednesday adopted the first phase of a bi-county transit plan that proposes to provide public transportation in Malheur and Payette counties.
The plan calls for service between Ontario and Payette/Fruitland initially with expansion into other communities a goal for the future.
The transportation blueprint — dubbed the Malheur/Payette Coordinated Transit Plan — was the subject of a public hearing before the court unanimously gave its approval.
Brian Cole, the consultant writing the plan, briefed the court before the public hearing. Cole told the court the general public responded in 660 surveys regarding the transportation plan. The response, Cole said, indicated there is significant interest in public transportation. He said there are two transportation providers able to provide expanded services and have shown a willingness to work together.
The plan was developed with a committee of professionals and volunteers in a planning process that identified current transportation services and transportation service gaps and developed recommendations for improved service.
“Compared to similar-size counties in Oregon and Idaho, Malheur and Payette counties generally have less transportation planning and transit delivery,” Cole said the study found.
The plan recommends a transportation system and routes be established by early 2008 to serve Ontario, Payette and Fruitland, and service the more rural portions of the two-county area, including Nyssa and Vale, by 2009.
Specifically, the plan recommends Treasure Valley Transit, an existing service based in Nampa, provide the service and that the Malheur Council on Aging and Community Service — which operates Malheur County Special Transportation Services, under contract with the county — continue to offer and expand its “Dial-a-Ride” or demand-response service.
Also, an umbrella organization structure should be developed that coordinates the two services, the plan says.
“ODOT is anxious to see it move forward,” Cole said of the plan. “People have responded and they would use them if there were more services out there.”
Speaking as chairman of the Malheur Council on Aging and Community Services, Mike Kee, who is also the Ontario Police Chief, said he was enthusiastic about the his agency working with Treasure Valley Transit.
“I think it will be a great partnership. It’s going to be a challenge,” he said, during the public hearing on the plan. “We have the capacity. We have the assets. We are going to need help,”
His board wants to do this, he said.
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