Obstacles For Developing Alternative Transportation Systems in Springfield Missouri Area

The problem of traffic congestion in the United States has been widely studied and many remedies have been proposed. Alternative Transportation Systems have become an increasingly popular planning idea, encouraged by the federal government through ISTEA, the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 and its follow-up, TEA 21 the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century. Although certain cities and metropolitan areas have successfully implemented some of those alternatives, most of them have not developed effective solutions for attacking traffic congestion. Little research has focused on determining the obstacles to developing alternative transportation systems. This study aims to contribute to this gap in research by analyzing the existing situation of supply and demand for alternative transportation systems in the Springfield, Missouri area. The area of study included the municipalities that belong to the Springfield Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO). The data was gathered through surveys, interviews and document reviews. Analysis and interpretation was done using statistics, geographic information systems, and qualitative methods. This study determined political, economic, socio-cultural and physical aspects influencing the lack of development of alternative transportation systems and proposed some policy options for developing those alternatives in the future