In 2017, the Missoula Urban Transportation District (Mountain Line), hired JWA to develop new Short and Long-Range Transit Plans. Missoula is a small but fast-growing city in Montana.
In 2017, the City and MPO adopted an ambitious Long-Range Transportation Plan aiming to triple transit’s mode share while halving the percentage of trips made by driving by 2045. The transit agency had recently completed several phases of its 2012 Long Range Transit Plan, including 15-minute all-day frequency on two core routes, longer evening hours of service and a fare-free program. Combined, they caused a 70 percent growth in ridership between 2015 and 2017. With that recent success under their belts, and ambitious new regional transportation goals, Mountain Line needed to refresh its blueprint for the future.
Working with local partner DJ&A and Mountain Line staff, JWA led a planning process built around public and stakeholder input. JWA facilitated two rounds of stakeholder workshops, web surveys and public meetings, to gather actionable public input on service investment priorities for the future.
JWA produced a detailed phasing plan for the implementation of a short-term network within 5 to 10 years, and a long-term network that will respond to local zoning and planned growth. The Plan was adopted by the Missoula Urban Transportation District Board of Directors in August of 2018.