It’s hard to think of any one piece of our infrastructure puzzle that is more important to successful economic development in Fairbanks than our transportation system.

That’s why all of us should fully participate when an opportunity like Thursday’s Fairbanks Metro 2035 Open House comes up. The Long-Range Transportation Plan, a regional plan for optimizing our transportation system, is updated only once every four years. And now is that time.

On Thursday between

4 and 7 p.m., the Fairbanks Metropolitan Area Transportation System will host an open house at the JP Jones Community Development Center at 24th Avenue and Rickert Street in South Fairbanks. There, the staff and consultants working on the plan update will be available to listen to public concerns and ideas to address the deficiencies in our existing transportation system.

The planning area boundary for the new Metropolitan Transportation Plan is roughly equivalent to the urbanized area, as defined by the last census. The mayors of the Fairbanks North Star Borough and the cities of Fairbanks and North Pole, as well as Alaska State Department of Transportation and Public Facilities senior staff are all members of the FMATS Policy Committee, which sets the transportation policy that guides the work of FMATS. For a busy business owner, the most efficient way to influence the long-term planning process for each of these agencies is to share your opinions at the FMATS open house.

This plan update is an important opportunity to anticipate changes in the community, such as the construction of a gas pipeline or increased military activity, and how our transportation system will change to meet these future needs. FMATS will share information on existing and future travel statistics, as well as identified deficiencies and proposed solutions for roadways, bike and pedestrian trails, transit and freight.

Now is a great time for our business owners, commuters, industry users of our transportation system — actually any and all citizens — to talk with planners about ideas you may have about how to make our transportation system better. Thursday’s meeting is your one-stop shop to speak directly with the team of planners who will draft the new Metropolitan Transportation Plan if you have concerns about, for example:

• traffic circulation in the Bentley Trust area. 

• new bridges downtown. 

• traffic patterns on Cushman and Barnette streets. 

• transportation-related air quality issues.

• roundabouts proposed on Airport Way at Cushman and Noble.

The new team at FMATS does a great job of making the public aware of public involvement opportunities when they come along — and this is an important one. The LRTP affects how public agencies will provide transportation services for years to come. Decisions on the investment of millions of public dollars hinge on the quality of this plan and the effort put forward by community members to “do it right.” So, let these conscientious planners hear from you.  

Long-time Fairbanks businesswoman Barb Lorz-Wammack is the executive director of the Greater Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce.