Despite some Tallahassee area residents' calls for more access ramps to Interstate 10, transportation planners say there are no plans to add any on existing roads.

Furthermore, they say, the interstate isn't intended for local trips.

That was the answer given by Harry Reed, the executive director of the Capital Region Transportation Planning Agency, to residents' questions during this week's Direct Access Forum on Tallahassee.com. Two people wanted to know why ramps aren't planned for Olson, Centerville, Miccosukee, Meridian and Mission roads.

Reed said planners want more interconnecting roads throughout the region to limit commuters using the interstate as a local road.

"The more you add to (the interstate)," Reed said, "the more it's going to get clogged."

Traffic counts conducted on I-10 showed that an average of 50,500 people drove past a point near U.S. 27 (Monroe Street), a mid-point through town, every day in 2006. Far fewer were counted at the city limits: 37,500 west of Capital Circle Northwest and 28,000 near U.S. 90 on the other side of town.

"A lot of locals are using I-10," said Tommie Speights, a spokesman for the department. "That's what's causing the congestion."

That's not what interstates are for, Reed said.