POLK COUNTY, N.C. – Polk County has agreed to enter a Regional Transportation Development Plan designed to determine whether it will be beneficial for Polk and Rutherford County’s transportation authorities to combine, according to the Tryon Daily Bulletin. The study will be conducted with state and federal funding (no county dollars) and if the regionalization of the two transportation systems is feasible it will then be up to the individual counties to join or not, according to Polk County Transportation Director Jewell Carswell. Carswell met with the Polk County Board of Commissioners recently to distribute information on the study. Commissioners approved entering the study if Rutherford County also agrees. Carswell reviewed some pros and cons concerning a possible regionalization of transportation systems in the future. She said positive effects include possible 24-hour transportation service with more staffing, while negatives could be that Polk County might lose its one-on-one contact with individual riders.