Planners seek ideas for 2040 Northwest Arkansas transportation plan

FAYETTEVILLE -- Planners are imploring Northwest Arkansas residents to tell them what transportation improvements are needed in the region.

The Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission is updating its long-range transportation master plan, and planners want to hear what residents have to say at meetings the next two Thursdays in Bentonville and Fayetteville.

The 2040 Metropolitan Transportation Plan will replace the 2035 NWA Regional Transportation Plan. The plan provides a long-range, comprehensive look at transportation needs and implementation strategies for highways, transit, bicycle and pedestrian paths.

"What we're trying to accomplish this next round is to get another take from the public on what's been done in the last five years and what they want to see in the future," said John McLarty, senior planner. "The 2035 plan relied heavily on public comment. The public needs to come out and give us their thoughts and recommendations again. It's really important."

Regional planners adopted the 2035 Plan on April 7, 2011. The plan is updated every five years. McLarty said a remarkable number of the 2035 goals have been met with regard to transportation design, bicycle and pedestrian facilities, intermodal facilities, transit, transportation alternatives and highway priorities. Specific examples include opening the Northwest Arkansas Razorback Greenway, adding additional lanes and safety devices to Interstate 49 and making Arkansas 265 an eastern north/south corridor.

"We want to improve our transportation system without destroying what makes Northwest Arkansas attractive," McLarty said. "We want to protect the uniqueness of each city."

McLarty said it is anticipated the population of Benton and Washington counties will be about 750,000 by 2040.

"One of our challenges is to have a transportation system that is ready for it," McLarty said.

Tim Conklin, transportation projects manager, said planners want to know where people want to live and how they want to get to work so the transportation system can be designed and built to accommodate those desires. The idea is to look at the projected population and design to that goal, looking at where roads, schools, hospitals and infrastructure will be needed.

"Over the next 20 years we're going to have all these pieces of the puzzle," Conklin said. "The challenge is to make sure we work as a region to provide the infrastructure to support the expected growth. And, it's not just the big four or five that are involved, it's the Johnsons and Greenlands and Lowells, too."

Conklin said input during various studies for roads, trails, transit, open space and the like have shown residents want multi-modal alternatives in addition to improvements to Interstate 49 and corridors such as Arkansas 265, Arkansas 112 and U.S. 412.

"As cities have grown together it's even more important to coordinate to plan those corridors between municipal jurisdictions," Conklin said. "There has to be an overall regional approach to moving people and goods throughout the region."

And, it's not just highways that now cross the region. The Razorback Greenway links all the cities in the metro area as do rail lines.

"Trails don't just end in Fayetteville," Conklin said. "They go to five or six cities and beyond, same with transit and highways."

Celia Silkwood, a regional planner, said the plan is a tool the various cities can use to make sure they're on the same page going forward.

"We hope all these jurisdictions are looking at the 2040 Plan and are planning their projects accordingly," Silkwood said.

Another important part of the plan is the region's Transportation Improvement Plan and prioritizing the list of projects that are expected to be paid for with the region's share of federal highway money. McLarty said highway safety ideas, especially on higher speed roads, are expected to be a big part of the new plan.

The 2040 planning process will highlight the current plan's recommendations, arterial network and regional trail system among other displays.

Residents with an opinion on the region's current and future transportation matters or concerns are urged to attend. Surveys and comment cards will be available as will a link to an interactive, public comment map on which participants can post comments and ideas. Staff will be on hand to answer questions.

NW News on 05/18/2015