FOLEY, Ala. — Stan Virden was in Montgomery on Friday morning attending the Alabama State Transit Coalition meeting. Transportation is something the Gulf Shores resident has been working on locally for 10 years. His interest involves a number of levels.

Besides the state level, Virden points out that mass transit and transportation issues are a vital component in “Envision Coastal Alabama,” a regional effort by Baldwin and Mobile counties to create a long range strategic plan. Then, there is the Baldwin County Public Transit Coalition (BC-PTC) that will meet next week in Robertsdale at the Baldwin Central Annex. Lastly, there is the South Baldwin Transit Committee that Virden chairs.

As 2009 begins, mass transit is a dream waiting to be realized locally for Virden and others. According to Virden, there is plenty of interest in seeing mass transit come to pass.

“The Eastern Shore and South Baldwin Triangle have plans to implement systems. Right now, we’re just looking for ways to do it,” Virden said during a telephone interview Friday while waiting for the state meeting to begin.

The “South Baldwin Triangle” is the name Foley Mayor John Koniar gave to the three cities of Foley, Orange Beach and Gulf Shores. The three funded a $150,000 study of transit and related transportation issues in connection with the South Baldwin area.

“That study was completed and presented early last year,” Viden said.

“Action on its conclusions and recommendations was, by general consensus, put off until after the municipal elections in August.”

The South Baldwin Transit Committee was formed several years ago by the BC-PTC for the purpose of studying mass transit. Membership in the South Baldwin Transit Committee includes a director from the BC-PTC as chair, the three mayors of the “Triangle” cities, several city council people and appointed individuals, Virden said. Also on the committee are the CEOs of the two area chambers of commerce and the Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The 76-page needs analysis study on the mass transit issue commissioned by the three cities regarding potential action was done by the South Alabama Regional Planning Commission in Mobile.

Nationally, the American Public Transportation Association and the Community Transportation Association of America say public transportation in this country already saves 4.2 billion gallons of fuel and 37 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year while supporting two million jobs.

These associations have asked President-Elect Barak Obama’s Transportation Transition Team for at least $8 billion for “ready-to-go public transit capital projects” and $32 billion on a longer-term economic stimulus bill.

They have also asked that not less than $12.4 billion be included for the federal transit program, in the Administrations fiscal year 2010 budget proposal.