Binghamton, NY (WBNG Binghamton) A final draft of the BMTS transportation plan, Transportation Tomorrow:2035 ~ Creating a Sustainable Future remains available for public comment on the BMTS website at http://bmtsonline.com/bmts/long-range-plan-2035 .
Print copies may also be obtained by request from the BMTS office, which may be contacted at 778-2443. The public is encouraged to review the draft plan and submit comments.
BMTS is required by Federal law to develop a regional transportation plan with a horizon of at least twenty years, and to update it every five years. The current plan, Transportation Tomorrow:2030~Placemaking for Prosperity, has guided BMTS in its investment of Federal transportation funds over the past five years.
The 2035 Plan is focused on sustainability. Beginning with transportation’s role in petroleum-based energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, this plan seeks to answer a bigger question: “What will make Greater Binghamton a sustainable region? How can we use transportation investment to help reverse trends of population loss and diminished economic activity, while improving the environment?”
The new Plan continues much of the 2030 plan. Typically, only the highest priority actions move toward implementation in the first five years; because of funding challenges, even many of these recommendations have been waiting.
Retained and restated from the existing plan is a policy to spend at least 75% of available funds for system preservation – maintaining our bridges, pavements, and transit fleets in a state of good repair. This policy recognizes that a sound regional economy requires a sound transportation system.
Similarly, there is a continued focus on safety, both in correcting known problems, and in being proactive in terms of pedestrian safety. Projects that are carried over include rebuilding Main Street, and restoring projects on the Vestal Parkway and Front Street to their original scopes, which have been reduced because of financial constraint.
In addressing sustainability, this plan recommends strategic actions ranging from providing transportation support to economic development proposals in the urban core and making freight movement more efficient; to making the region more livable by reducing dependence on the automobile by increasing transit service, building sidewalks, and partnering with local governments to redevelop downtowns and create town centers.
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