The Mat-Su Borough Planning Department will take comments on the draft Coordinated Human Services Transportation Plan Update through May 15.
According to Mat-Su Borough Planner Maija DiSalvo, the plan is updated every five years to meet federal funding requirements. Meant to improve and ensure transportation access to all, the plan identifies a need for more robust public transit options to serve rural communities.
DiSalvo says that updates to the plan are important to capture the changes happening throughout the Borough.
“One of the most significant things about updating this plan on a regular basis is that the demographics in our region are changing. We’re growing pretty significantly. So having a regular schedule to be able to incorporate changing needs in the community is really important.”
Sunshine Transit is one of the only alternative transportation options available to upper Susitna Valley residents. Serving Sunshine, Trapper Creek, and Talkeetna, Sunshine Transit shuttles residents between the communities and as far as Wasilla. DiSalvo says that the updated plan will look at the Borough as a whole, but will include rural areas.
“We don’t want to exclude the more rural areas. One of the strategies that’s proposed is to pursue a transit development plan that would take a broader look at the Borough and what the overall transportation needs are and how we can connect rural communities with the core area as well.”
Sunshine Transit did provide input for the Plan. With additional funding, Sunshine Transit indicates that more routes could be added, providing more service to residents. DiSalvo says that funding is a priority throughout the Borough.
Public comment will be accepted through May 15. DiSalvo says the team will update the plan based on those comments. Tentatively, the draft plan will go to the Planning Commission for public hearing on July 17th and to the Assembly on August 8th.
The public can provide comments to the plan on the Borough website. The Borough also welcomes comments at the public hearings in July and August.
