Post transportation needs assessed in report

FORT DRUM — A nine-month study on transportation for Fort Drum families has found several options for potential improvements.

The Fort Drum Region Transit Needs Assessment and Analysis Report was released Friday by the Fort Drum Regional Liaison Organization. The report was developed by the organization’s Transportation Working Group and Nelson/Nygaard Consulting Associates Inc., New York City.

Among the recommendations were expanding public transportation options, developing van pools, creating shuttles for transportation between area hotels and airports, opening new transportation routes and developing an on-post shuttle route to a transfer point at or beyond the post’s main gate.

“Getting from place to place without a personal vehicle can be challenging for local residents as well as for military personnel and their families, particularly with the rising cost of food, gasoline and other necessities,” Elizabeth C. Fipps, the organization’s board chairwoman, said in a statement. “Our intention in undertaking the study was to determine the need for and potential options for expanded mobility within the wider Fort Drum community.”

The organization said its next step in the process was to formalize longer-term goals and areas of concentration selected from the report’s recommendations.