By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
The Missouri Department of Transportation is seeking public input on how people get back and forth to their destinations.
MoDOT Deputy Director Eric Schroeter says the long-range transportation plan helps MoDOT understand people's vision for the transportation system
"We do this about every five years roughly, and we want to make sure as we're planning projects and working with our planning partners and the elected officials, that we're actually working on a system that builds towards the vision of what Missouri has for the transportation system," Schroeter tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. "And some of the things people have told us in the past, some of the guiding goals we've used, first they've told us take care of what we have."
Schroeter says the department wants to make sure it is taking care of and building the transportation system the way Missouri sees it
"That's where getting everybody's input (is important), everybody is a user of the transportation system, whether you drive or not, the products you buy, the places you go, people who come to you, all of it depends on a transportation system," Schroeter explains. "So, everybody has an important vision of this, and we want to make sure we're getting it from all of Missouri."
Schroeter says having data from this survey helps the department when planning out projects
"What can we do as we're planning out projects to make sure we're using dollars to have a better connection to transit? Or is there a desire in a community to have better access for pedestrians to have a more walkable community? What can we do as we're doing projects to make sure we're doing that?" Schroeter says.
"So, it's really using this information to make sure as we plan future projects that we're working towards things that communities desire in Missouri."
The survey can be filled out by visiting the department's website. Schroeter says the survey is just phase one, and soon MoDOT will hold regional public input sessions to hear more.
You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.