Transportation System Plan 2018-2038

Water Transportation There are no com mercially -navigable waterway s in Me dford. Bear Creek runs north/south through the city, generally paralleling the alignm ent of Interstate 5. Bear Creek is the largest creek in Medford and is used prim arily for recreational purposes. Public Transit This section describes existing public transportati on services available in the Medford UGB including local public transit service offered by the Rogue Va lley Transportation District (RVTD), paratransit services including taxi and service for the elderly and/or disabled, and intercity bus services. Within the com munity , public transportation servi ces fulfill dual roles. On one hand, these services provide transportation for those who cannot or choose not to drive their own autom obile. As indicated in the discussion of RVTD ridership below, the m ajority of local transit riders likely fall into this category . On the other hand, the provision of good local transit service is a key measure of quality of life within a community in that, along with walking and bicy cling, it provides an alternative to driving. In Medford, goals have been established to encourage the use of alternative travel m odes to reduce congestion and help to achieve air quality standards (PM10 standard s for dust are currently exceeded in the Rogue Valley region). Transit is an im portant com ponent in the t oolbox of strategies that the City is im plem enting to encourage higher density , mixed use developm ent and a more compact form of urban developm ent where driving to m eet basic travel needs becom es optional. Rogue Valley Transportation District The Rogue Valley Transportation District (RVTD) pr ovides public transportation in the Medford area, and between Medford and its surrounding com munities in Jackson County . RVTD was founded in 1975 and began service in 1977 with two leased vans. In 2002, RVTD operates a fleet of 30 buses including 10 powered by com pressed natural gas. Service includ es nearly 300-m iles of fixed route and paratransit service. Over 2.7 m illion passenger m iles are travel ed annually with approxim ately 848,000 fixed route passengers and nearly 70,000 paratransit passenge rs carried in 2001-2002. RVTD also prom otes alternative transportation through various travel dem and m anagem ent (TDM) strategies such as ridesharing, a “bikes on buses” program , telecom muting, and other activities. Service is currently provided Monday through Friday . Fixed Route Service Current fixed route service is provided on eight routes, three of which operate solely within the City of Medford, one in the City of Ashland, and four th at provide intercity service linking Medford (the Jackson county seat) with neighboring com munities. Fixed route bus service is fully accessible to people with disabilities. Table 3-13 presents a sum mary of the m ajor destinati ons served by each route, its general operating tim es, the frequency of service during hours of operation a nd its average m onthly ridership during the 2001- 2002 fiscal y ear recently ended. These existing routes are also illustrated in Figure 3-5. Intercity service is provided by the following routes: • Ashland, Talent, Phoenix to Medford - Route 10 • Jacksonville to Medford - Route 30 • Central Point to Medford - Route 40 • White City to Medford - Route 60 Medford Transportatio n System Plan 3-27 Existing Conditions