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4. and delays do occur. The transportation system provides very Nigh levels of accessibility and serves transit-dependent people well. The system contributes to the high quality'of life found in., the region, and also projects a positive' image that encourages future economic growth. The major transportation .challenges facing the region over the next 25—_ years will be to: • Develop new transportation strategies; • Reconstruct an aging metropolitan highway system; • Add capacity to that system to support future economic growth; • Revitalize the ..role of the- transit system both as a social tool and as a strategy to increase the people-carrying capacity of the system; and • Do all those things within social, environmental and financial constraints. The philosophy of the transportation plan recognizes that the region cannot respond to a growing demand for transportation just by adding new lanes to existing highways. The emphasis must be placed on managing the system efficiently and adapting facilities and services to be more responsive to changing needs. The main objective of the plan is not to remove congestion totally, but rather to provide an acceptable level of accessibility. Efficiency means stressing how many people the system can carry rather than how many automobiles it can carry. To achieve even such a limited objective will require more money for roads. Any highway additions, however, must be planned around the ideas of changing people's travel behavior and strengthening the transit system. The plan emphasizes the need to induce more people to rideshare and reduce • the number of solo drivers, particularly during rush hours. Playing an important part in this strategy will be such incentives to car-pool as metered freeway entrance ramps, high-occupancy-vehicle lanes and preferential-access lanes, and other techniques for 'managing travel demand. In addition, the plan defines transit in a broader sense than the conventional bus or rail system on a regular route. Transit here also includes any vehicle in which two or more people share a ride, such as car pools, van pools, dial-a-ride services, subscription buses and other nonconventional services. The general philosophy of the regional transportation plan is heavily influenced by the Metropolitan Council's Metropolitan Development and Investment Framework (MDIF) . The MDIF emphasizes a broad strategy of carefully managing regional resources by placing the highest priority for- investment on serving the areas that already have urban services, such as central sewers and water. It focuses on protecting the regional systems already in place and making more use of -those facilities that are underused. The MDIF suggests four major philosophical principles related to the transportation system: 1 . The highest priority is to maintain the existing transportation system: throughout the region. 2. A high priority is on improving the system so as to support development already in place. 3. Public investments in transportation should allow development to occur where it's forecasted, and are essential to support future economic growth. 4. The regional transportation system should be protected to enable it c,c function at adequate levels of service, particularly in of unanticipated growth. 3