The Coastal Georgia Regional Development Center in Brunswick received a 2007 Excellence in Regional Transportation Award from the National Association of Development Organizations for the Regional Rural and Coordinated Public Transportation Program.
Barbara Foster, coordinated transportation manager for the CGRDC, accepted the award. She states that the purpose of the Regional Rural and Coordinated Public Transportation Program is to develop a statewide model for implementing a regionally coordinated public transportation system to assist not only human services needs but also the general public.
By coordinating services, the regional rural public transportation program has as its mission to, “provide seamless transportation for anyone, for any purpose, and to any destination within our coastal region,” Foster said.
“The consolidation of services across the various agencies and programs will eliminate duplication, and provide greater accessibility to transportation. Merging the funding and resources of the various human service and public transit systems makes a regional rural program a more cost-effective and efficient means of getting people where they need to be, and it provides a more effective use of the vehicle fleet.”
Foster reports that the CGRDC hopes to have the regional transit program in place and operational by next summer.
NADO is a Washington, D.C.-based association that promotes programs and policies that strengthen local governments, communities and economies through regional cooperation, program delivery and comprehensive strategies. The association’s Excellence in Regional Transportation Awards program recognizes organizations for noteworthy projects and practices in rural and small metropolitan transportation planning, program delivery and special initiatives.
This year’s award winners were showcased during the 2007 National Rural Transportation Peer Learning Conference, Sept. 26-28, in Chattanooga, Tenn.
According to NADO President Leanne Mazer, Executive Director of the Tri-County Council for Western Maryland in Cumberland, Maryland, “The Excellence in Regional Transportation Awards showcase the significant effect of transportation programs and projects like the Regional Rural and Coordinated Transportation Program, which are key to promoting integrated and efficient transportation systems that foster economic growth in our nation’s regions and communities.”
For more information about this award-winning project, contact the CGRDC at (912) 264-7363.
