Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency plans meetings on future of transportation

A series of public meetings will be held next week to get input on the future of transportation in the Chattanooga area.

John Bridger, executive director for the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency, said the focus of the four meetings is listening to the public.

"We just want to hear what the problems are people have getting in and around Chattanooga," he said.

The meetings are part of a 2040 Regional Transportation Plan, which outlines all future transportation needs. According to a news release, four meetings will be held over two days on Monday and Tuesday.

Bridger said the plan is to be reasonable and land within the realms of what planners can actually do, not grandiose ideas.

"It's definitely not a wish list," he said.

He said he sees three focuses coming out of the plan -- maintaining existing roads, how to manage freight traffic in the area and identifying all the transit options available.

The final plan is slated to be completed by spring.

Bridger said the plan is conducted every four years and looks so far into the future because it takes so long to complete most transportation projects.

"It takes eight to 10 years to complete a major road," he said.