A Kansas-based consulting firm has received responses from about 100 Downtown residents so far and would like to triple that number, said MaryAnn Waldinger, a principal planner for the Community Planning Association of Southwest Idaho.

Participants are paid $20 for contributing information about each household member's travel patterns, as well as population demographics such as age, job, income range, number of people in the household, type of home, number of vehicles and number of licensed drivers in the home. Some of the information is given over the phone, Waldinger said, but each household members will receive a paper packet to fill out.

Information on Downtown residents' travel habits is one component of a larger household travel survey for Ada and Canyon counties, Waldinger said. The $600,000 survey will feature input from 3,500 Treasure Valley residents, she said.

The planning association, known as COMPASS, "is an association of local governments working together to plan for the future of the region," according to its website.

"The agency conducts this work as the metropolitan planning organization for northern Ada County and Canyon County. The federal government requires the formation of (a planning organization) when an urban area reaches 50,000 people."