By Scott Harvey
Commerce – The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is seeking feedback on a long-range plan for the state during the second series of public meetings in August. TxDOT held the first series of meetings in May.
The agency's 25 districts will each host a meeting. TxDot's Paris District Office, which covers nine counties in the region, will hold its meeting from 4-7 p.m. on Tuesday, August 10 at the Sam Rayburn Student Center on the A&M-Commerce campus.
The Statewide Long-Range Transportation Plan addresses future multi-modal transportation needs for Texas, including transit, rail, highways, bicycles and pedestrians.
This statewide plan is also the basis for a number of other TxDOT planning efforts such as the Texas Rail Plan, the 2011-2015 Strategic Plan and corridor-related initiatives.
In addition, the plan provides direction to make it easier for all of these different efforts to work in coordination. It also assures the state's goals are consistent with federal priorities and guidelines.
TxDOT spent the last six months analyzing system changes that have taken place in the last 20 years and, based on this information, the agency has forecast anticipated changes for the next 25 years.
Citizens will have an opportunity to comment on this analysis at the August meetings.
A final public hearing is tentatively scheduled for October 2010 in Austin.
Citizens who cannot attend the meeting may send written comments to Peggy Thurin, P.E., Project Manager, Statewide Long-Range Transportation Plan 2035, 4544 Post Oak Place, #224, Houston, Texas, 77027. Comments may also be made online or by calling the toll-free number 1-888-TX-PLAN (1-888-589-7526).
Persons with special communication or accommodation needs may contact Tray Turner @ 903-737-9213. Requests should be made no later than three days prior to the open-house style public meeting. Every reasonable effort will be made to accommodate the needs.
The Texas Department of Transportation is responsible for maintaining nearly 80,000 miles of road and for supporting aviation, rail and public transportation across the state.