Agenda - 08-19-2010 - 1 - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

Access to jobs and services and a lack of transportation options Commutes to distant employment centers require a greater percentage of the family budget to be spent on transportation and reduce take -home pay. This trend particularly impacts low- income families.8 More and longer auto travel to services outside the community increases the demand for highway expansions and the viability of highway- oriented retail development, thereby reducing demand for Main Street goods and services. Long commutes have environmental and social costs as well, increasing air and water pollution and reducing leisure and family time. One of the challenges facing rural communities today is finding ways to provide convenient, cost - efficient access to jobs, shops, services, education, and health care. Land use trends have separated many of these uses, making access dependent on automobiles. Of course, transportation challenges differ based on the type of rural community. For example, gateway communities must focus on bringing tourists to desti- nations, while resource - dependent communities need to ensure efficient transportation of goods to markets. Approaches that combine transportation planning with better land development policies can help communi- ties support these high - priority economic issues while also enhancing quality of life for residents. Putting Smart Growth to Work in Rural Communities 5 Limited planning capacity While many rural communities view any growth as an indicator of success and a healthy economy, oth- ers are realizing that the conventional development pattern of dispersed development disconnected from traditional town centers can also pose challenges for communities to meet their fiscal, social, and environ- mental aims and, increasingly, public health goals. As services, products, and amenities formerly found in compact, walkable places relocate to spread -out sites across the landscape, they require more costly infrastructure that adds to the strain on local finances, degrades the environment, and leads to more car - dependent communities. Many small, rural communities face challenges of local government staffing. Limited staff size and experience can mean inadequate attention to time - consuming but important issues, such as a community visioning process, comprehensive planning, regional collaboration, and skill development to create and implement growth and development policies that support community goals and needs. The result is often haphazard development that supports individual landowner and developer interests but does little to conserve valuable resources or channel new invest- ment in the most efficient manner for the community as a whole. Rapid growth on the edges of metropolitan areas can undermine the viability of rural resource -based economies, and rapid population growth may result in traffic congestion, strained services, and tension between the "new" and 'old" residents. Photo courtesy of VS EPA Photo courtesy or NRCS �11J'