An associate planner at the Stanislaus Council of Governments (StanCOG) made a presentation to the Ceres City Council about unmet transit needs that may exist.

The agency is required annually by the Transportation Development Act to see if the public would like transit services that are unavailable “so that way they can do their daily mobility tasks,” according to StanCOG associate planner Cassandra Barrientos.

“We’re really trying to identify what the mobility gaps are in our local bus services, our dial-a-ride, and paratransit service,” she said.

One Ceres resident, Scott Guzman said he’s noticed the absence of benches and bus shelters for riders to sit while waiting at bus stops in Ceres. He also made a remark about two Ceres Police vehicles parked at the Community Center’s loading zone taking up space where people may need to be loaded into their vehicles.

StanCOG kicked off its public comment period on Nov. 12 which extends until January 22. 

StanCOG is responsible for the doling out state and federal transportation funds which come from gas and diesel taxes and sales taxes. A hearing will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 21 at the StanCOG Policy Board meeting.

The staff will collect all input for the public up until Jan. 22 and write an analysis report and presented to the policy board for their approval. That approval will be forwarded to Caltrans. Any reasonable accommodation will be proposed to meet those needs.

Comments about unmet needs may be emailed to unmettransitneeds@stancog.org or call 209-525-4600, by writing to StanCOG at 1111 I Street, Suite 308, Modesto CA 95354. Also, persons may visit the StanCOG website at stancog.org