Community Forum and Land Use News
Inspiring Smart Growth in the Rogue Valley
From Nathan Broom, RVTD Transportation Options Planner, 2/3/12:
I want to call your attention to Oregon’s new carpool matching database, Drive Less Connect. Find the tool at www.DriveLessConnect.com. This free database helps connect people making similar trips so they can share the ride. It also connects bike commute partners and lets users track their savings online. Employers can create their own networks in the system to promote carpooling among their employees, and can use the system to run alternative commute promotions and incentive campaigns. RVTD administers the system in SW Oregon, and I’m happy to field any questions and help groups start using the tool.
Nathan Broom
RVTD Transportation Options Planner
3200 Crater Lake Ave, Medford, OR 97504
From Rogue Valley Transportation District:
New Evening and Saturday service starting April 2nd!
RVTD will expand service into the evening and on Saturdays beginning Monday April 2, 2012. This service is funded in part by a 3-Year grant through 2015. Hours of operation are limited due to the amount of funding. RVTD is taking public comment at a hearing scheduled for January 25th and February 22nd at the RVTD Board meetings about the service changes. Comment can also be provided through an online comment form.
Learn more from RVTD here.
Ashland seeks 'pedestrian-friendly' designs
ASHLAND — The City Council has approved concept designs for making three intersections in town more pedestrian-friendly.
In most cases, the concepts are voluntary and don't force property owners at the intersections or developers to build in a certain way, city staff said.
In fact, the concepts offer more flexibility by allowing buildings to sit closer to the sidewalk and to be built at a greater density to accommodate housing, shops and other uses, city staff said. . .
Read more here.
Regional planning initiative approved by county
October 20, 2011
After 11 years of often spirited debate in countless meetings, the Jackson County Board of Commissioners unanimously has approved a Regional Problem Solving plan to guide urban growth for the next half-century.
After a three-hour session Wednesday afternoon, the commissioners voted to approve slightly more than 8,500 acres of urban growth reserves in the county, roughly half of which includes parcels on the edges of Medford, the county's largest community. . .
Read more here.
Don't stop now
Mail Tribune - editorial board
The Jackson County commissioners are tantalizingly close to making history by adopting a land-use plan for future urban population growth. The commissioners should not let last-minute changes derail the effort.
The Regional Problem Solving process has been under way for a decade. It is based on the premise that the county's population — now about 200,000 — will double by 2060. . .
Read more here.
