No matter what happens in the future, we need to make sure
Kansans can travel safely.
While there were many issues discussed at the Southeast region’s
Local Consult Round 1: Visioning
Transportation Futures meeting on Wednesday, participants made it clear that
finding ways to improve safety should be a top priority and they were open to
multiple approaches for how to do so.
“The city of Caney believes that
passing lanes are alternatives that need to be considered.”
-
Fred Gress, City Administrator
for the city of Caney
About 155 Southeast Kansans, the largest crowd this week,
participated in a scenario planning exercise and provided input on how
transportation investments could best serve their communities in the
future. There was a noticeable
pragmatism and collaborative spirit among participants. For example, they noted that while 4-lane highways
are ideal, it’s not always fiscally feasible to expand highways and pointed out
that constructing passing lanes or adding/expanding shoulders can improve
highway safety at a much lower cost. These approaches will allow for more needs
to be met across the region, they noted.
Similar to previous local consult
meetings this week, Southeast Kansans stressed the importance of expanding broadband
access across the state. However, they
added that cell phone reception in the region needs to be improved too.
To address growing concerns with
resiliency of our transportation system, attendees noted that recent weather
events have opened consideration for a new approach for rebuilding
infrastructure. Participants noted the challenge of resources if we keep rebuilding
in the same places that are continually flooded, for example.
-Chanute Resident
As they worked through three
distinct future scenarios, participants noted that collaboration between urban
and rural areas would be important in any scenario. While rural and urban areas may have
different challenges or expectations – they need to work together for our state
to move forward successfully, participants stressed.
They also noted that while
technology will bring new opportunities - such as to telework – that will not be
feasible for every profession. In
particular, hands-on jobs that provide essential services, like road
construction and electricians, will still exist and need to be factored into
decision-making too, they said. And many
important components of the region’s economy are location specific, such as
construction aggregates or oil and gas, which should be accounted for when
making future investments.
One future scenario places an
emphasis on regional hubs (smaller cities) in rural areas and participants saw
a lot of value in making investments in hubs.
They noted, though, that hubs should not strictly be defined by retail
as there are other smaller hubs that provide a lot of value to the region’s
economy. For example, Sedan, while not a major retail center, serves a lot of
traffic related to the oil and gas industry in the area. They noted that areas that serve natural
resources will always be important and the State should prioritize the routes needed
to transport those materials to markets.
The conversation was not limited to
highways as several people voiced support for short-line rail networks and
mentioned that they can play a valuable role in reducing the toll heavy trucks
can place on our highways. Participants
also voiced support for the new transload facilities in the state and that
they’d love to see more of these facilities across the state.
When making modal investments, they
stressed the importance of prioritizing services that allow people to access
jobs. This is critical for growing the
economy and allowing more young, talented Kansans to be able to stay in or
return to their hometowns.
Many participants remarked that
they’ve missed regular local consult meetings with KDOT, they appreciate the
opportunity to provide input and look forward to the next round of local
consult later this year.
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