What is the Fort Berthold Transit Plan?
MHA Nation has recently selected LSC Transportation Consultants, Inc. of Colorado Springs to prepare a Service Plan for Public Transit and Ferry Service on Fort Berthold. LSC is pleased to have the opportunity to join the Three Affiliated Tribes and the local communities in this endeavor. A major focus of the Transit and Ferry Service Plan is to identify travel options that would safely reconnect Fort Berthold communities (to each other and to surrounding cities). This is a great opportunity for the Three Affiliated Tribes to identify transportation needs and determine the best transportation system to serve Tribal Members and other local residents. The decisions made in this planning process will guide the development of the public transit and ferry system for many years to come.
Who is LSC Transportation Consultants, Inc?
LSC provides consulting services in all phases of transportation planning and traffic engineering throughout the United States. With three offices in Colorado and California, the goal of the firm is to perform highly competent planning and engineering services within the transportation field. LSC has a history of working with Native American communities to develop or enhance transportation services. A.T. Stoddard of LSC was the lead person on a national Transit Cooperative Research Program project to develop a Guidebook for Developing, Enhancing, and Sustaining Tribal Transit Services. The firm has worked with many Tribes across the country including several Tribes and Native Villages in Alaska. In addition to work with Tribes, LSC has worked in many other rural areas and understands the issues and challenges of providing transportation services in rural communities.
How Can I Participate?
LSC has begun its work on Fort Berthold by collecting information about the area and the transportation system. The lack of transportation services (other than the private automobile) limits the mobility of some local residents. Access to essential services such as medical facilities, education, and employment may not be possible because of the lack of transportation.
Opportunities to participate in the process of developing the Service Plan will be available for Tribal Members and other residents on the Fort Berthold Reservation. These will be announced through the transportation plan website (fortbertholdplan.org) and other information outlets. Input from members of the community will be very important to help identify unmet transportation needs and provide feedback on possible services that may be recommended. LSC will look at a variety of different options that could help meet transportation needs both on the Reservation and to other destinations. These will be evaluated and community members will have the opportunity to provide input on which transit service options will work best for them. After receiving community input, LSC will prepare a Service Plan for the preferred services.
The Service Plan will integrate transit services with a future ferry system. Options will consider both a water taxi type service and a larger ferry service. In either case, users of the water transportation system will need connections provided by land-based transportation services to reach the water transportation system and to travel between the dock and their final destination.