TREASURE VALLEY, Idaho — What will the Treasure Valley look like in 30 years? It's safe to say by 2050, there will be a lot more homes, and a lot less farmland.
You may have heard of COMPASS and seen stories about them on 6 On Your Side. But the Community Planning Association of Southwest Idaho has embarked on a huge mission: to survey thousands of people on growth issues ranging from housing, to traffic, and to jobs.
Carl Miller, who is the demographics planner for COMPASS, says they really wanted to make sure they included the public.
"From the beginning, and throughout the process rather than presenting a plan and saying do you like it, or not. We wanted to engage them to make sure we reflected the values that they had so that our elected officials could hear that and make sure that we're adopting policies that reflect the communities values," said Miller.
One item the survey showed was people love driving their cars in the Treasure Valley, but if residents were offered some kind of a mass transit system whether it be on a rail line or a faster more efficient bus system they said they would use it.
"People really do want to drive, people don't want to give up their cars, but if there was an opportunity to ride on a commuter rail, because as people drive down Interstate 84, they would probably think of all the people who could be riding a train and that would have an impact on their commute," said Miller.
Even though traffic seems to be on the minds of everybody, so is affordable housing. Their charts reveal some interesting information: while people are concerned about affordable housing, they also replied -- when asked where they see themselves living in the future -- 55 percent said they want a house on a larger lot.
How we get to 2050 can be debated for a bit longer, but soon, time will start running out on the larger more expensive decisions that have to be made.
