CANTON -- A hearing to give the public the opportunity to comment on St. Lawrence County’s draft Coordinated Transportation Plan (CTP) will be held Thursday, March 21 at 1 p.m. at the Best Western Hotel.

During the public hearing, staff from the county planning office and Frank Doldo, the county’s mobility manager with Volunteer Transportation Center Inc. (VTC), will provide an overview of the plan.

The CTP includes background information about the county, its current bus system, known transportation gaps, and goals and actions to improve public transit in St. Lawrence County.

“St. Lawrence County has a fleet of 20 buses with routes that transport riders in and around Canton, Gouverneur, Massena, Ogdensburg and Potsdam,” said Doldo. “Our office worked with the County’s Public Transit Task Force to identify ways to improve the public bus system so that riders can get to work or college, get to appointments, go to grocery stores and be able to participate in community events.”

Doldo said that in addition to finding ways to improve the operation of its existing routes, there are opportunities to establish community shuttle services in places like Massena and Gouverneur.

Two of the biggest challenges to enhance the public bus system are the sheer size of the county, and accessing resources to operate and maintain the fleet, Doldo said.

“St. Lawrence County is the largest county in New York State,” said Doldo. “Because of that, the buses drive hundreds of thousands of miles and use a lot of gas. This plan will be used to help the county figure out where to make new investments to increase ridership on the public bus system.”

On March 14, a digital copy of the draft Coordinated Transportation Plan will be posted on the county’s public transit website at www.slcnypublictransit.com/news.

Hard copies of the draft plan will also be available for review during normal business hours at the St. Lawrence County Planning Office, the transportation office of The ARC of Jefferson and St. Lawrence Counties, and at Volunteer Transportation Center’s Canton office.

Doldo said the public hearing will be a part of the County Public Transit Task Force’s meeting in the banquet room of the Best Western.

Persons interested in attending are asked to RSVP for the event by emailing frank@slcpublictransit.org.

The Best Western is accessible to persons with physical disabilities, and the County Planning Office can arrange to provide special accommodations for persons who are hearing impaired, or who need English translation services in order to participate.

Contact the planning office no later than Monday, March 18 to give planning staff sufficient time to make these arrangements.

For those who are unable to attend the public hearing in person, comments can be emailed to mlarson@stlawco.org until Thursday, March 28.