Boonville traffic is full of cars, SUV's and semi-trucks, but no buses. That's something resident Michelle Chellis would like to see changed.

"It would be easier to get a lot of places because most of Boonville is in a valley and the surrounding is a lot of hills," Chellis said.

Chellis thinks public transportation would be another way to avoid high gas prices.

"I own a car, but it's just easier for me to walk, and with gas prices being so high, it's more economic," Chellis said.

While residents and visitors can easily walk from one business to the next while downtown, they'd have to walk almost a mile or take a taxi service to get to businesses that are on the south side of town.

The Missouri Planning Council for Developmental Disabilities could make this change happen. The council is giving three mid-Missouri communities $75,000 each to start a public transportation system. Boonville is one of 30 towns applying for a grant.

"We did a survey a couple of years ago from a wide variety of Missouri citizens. And one of the major things everyone talked about was the need for transportation," Charles Nickolaus, of the Missouri Planning Council, said.

Residents like Chellis will be waiting to find out if Boonville gets one of the grants. The Missouri Planning Council says $75,000 isn't that much, but it's a start. Towns that get the grant could form partnerships with other groups to get more funding.

Reported By: Jessica Daley