AMATS Approves New 4-Year Transportation Program and Long-Range Plan

The Transportation Improvement Program for Fiscal Years 2014 and 2017 (TIP) – the Greater Akron area’s new four-year program of highway, public transportation, and bike and pedestrian projects – and Transportation Outlook 2035 – the area’s new long-range regional transportation plan – chart a prudent fiscal course for a region facing shrinking transportation funding resources.

Approved by the AMATS Policy Committee during its May 16 meeting, both documents emphasize preservation of the area’s existing transportation system rather than expansions.  Key strategies of this approach are the pursuit of more maintenance and operational projects and the promotion of regional connectivity.  The TIP and the Plan are grounded in the fiscal reality that - unless new sources of transportation funding are found by local, state and federal policy makers - the Greater Akron area must use its existing resources as efficiently as possible.  

The new TIP represents a $667 million investment in the area’s highway, public transportation, and bike and pedestrian infrastructure over the next four years.  Nearly $429 million in the program is devoted to the area’s highways while another nearly $230 million will go for public transportation.  More than $8 million will fund a host of bicycle and pedestrian projects.

TIP Coordinator Victor Botosan says that the agency has crafted a responsible program of projects that balances the area’s needs with available funding.  He notes that 77 percent of the new TIP is devoted to maintaining and operating the Greater Akron area’s existing transportation system.

“There are still a number of significant highway expansion projects planned for Portage and Summit counties over the next four years, but the many maintenance and operational projects in the new TIP are absolutely vital to the continued smooth operation of the area’s highways and transit systems,” Botosan observes.  

Notable operational projects in the TIP include a more than $8 million intersection improvement project on state Route 14 at state Route 59/Newton Falls Road in Ravenna Township and a more than $7 million reconstruction project on Frost Road, from Interstate 480 to state Route 43, in Streetsboro.  Needed operational improvements are also planned for 31st Street in Barberton and Canton Road in Springfield Township and the Village of Lakemore.

While the latest TIP definitely reflects a shift in funding priorities, a number of expansion improvements do appear in the new four-year program.  One such improvement is the more than $137 million project to widen Interstate 76 to six lanes, from state Route 21 to state Route 619, in Barberton and Norton.   

The longer-term Transportation Outlook 2035 recommends over $4.3 billion in highway investments - including over $2.5 billion for system preservation - over the next 22 years.  The Plan also recommends more than $1.7 billion in public transportation investments and $30 million in bicycle and pedestrian improvements during the same period.   

AMATS Planning Coordinator Krista Beniston says that the Plan marks a turning point of sorts for the 50-year-old agency as it has to do more with less and must make difficult decisions.  In the face of limited funding, agency leaders have decided that maintaining the area’s existing roadways should be AMATS’ priority along with promoting alternatives to driving and increasing safety.    

The Plan promotes regional connectivity and alternatives to driving through transit, bike and pedestrian strategies.  The Plan recommends increasing the frequency of service and extending hours of operation along key transit routes for METRO of Summit County and the Portage Area Regional Transportation Authority (PARTA) in Portage County.  There are also joint recommendations for METRO and PARTA to pursue a Stow-Kent Transfer Facility and a Cross County Service Feasibility Study.

The Plan also marks the first time that AMATS has recommended funding for stand-alone sidewalk projects and on-road bike improvements rather than recreational trails.

“Transportation Outlook 2035 provides strategies for how the area will continue to thrive and promotes greater connectivity among the region’s roadway, transit, pedestrian and cycling networks.  We want to provide more opportunities for people to walk, bike or take transit, while maintaining the existing roadways and making them safer,” Beniston explains       

Despite its emphasis on system preservation, Transportation Outlook 2035 – like the TIP - is not void of recommendations for major improvement projects in the Greater Akron area.  The Plan recommends that nearly $200 million be used to reconfigure portions of the Central Interchange and another $97 million be used to reconfigure the Main Street/Broadway Interchange, both of which are in Akron.

More detailed information and copies of the TIP and Transportation Outlook 2035 are available on the agency web site at amatsplanning.org.  For more information, contact TIP Coordinator Victor Botosan via email at vbotosan@akronohio.gov and Planning Coordinator Krista Beniston via email at kbeniston@akronohio.gov.