These communities should retain their visual and physical separation and strive to meet the employment, service and facility needs of their new residents. The primary goal of transportation is to provide mobility and accessibility to support the physical, social and economic development of the region. Metro Vision promotes an efficient transportation system by increasing capacity through public transit, system management and providing for alternative modes, in addition to roadway widening. Environmental issues such as air and water quality are truly regional in nature. Water quality will be addressed through the Clean Water Plan, an integrated watershed approach to managing regional water quality.
Air quality is linked with population growth, travel behavior and technology improvements.
Metro Vision recognizes the fundamental link between land use, growth and development patterns, transportation, and environmental quality, and that regional issues can only be addressed by individual jurisdictions acting together. Each core element provides a natural focus for addressing a wide variety of issues. While they are broad in scope, each has a set of policy objectives that more fully describe how they provide for growth while striving to protect the regional qualities residents value. To implement the six core elements, specific strategies are needed. The following recommended strategies recognize the need for local control over the decisions that determine where growth should occur and would not require new state legislation.