Transportation Plans

29 Jul: Today kicks off the next round of Vibrant NEO Open Houses

Today kicks off the next round of Vibrant NEO Open Houses where we will look at Alternative Scenarios – different potential futures for Northeast Ohio – that could result from different choices. These are critically important discussions.  The entire Vibrant NEO process is an attempt to help the residents of Northeast Ohio define what we want for the future, and then determine what choices we need to make in order to get to the future.  The first round of workshops in early May helped to define a baseline for discussion – i.e. what will Northeast Ohio look like in 2040 is we continue our currents trends.  (You can learn more about these findings here.) We gathered input from residents at those workshops, and later through ImagineMyNEO, our online planning tool which is still open for use.  That input has helped us create Alternative Scenarios that you can view and discuss at our Open…

16 May: AMATS’ 2012 Annual Report now available

The 2012 Annual Report from AMATS is now available.  The report details the agency’s accomplishments during the year that marked AMATS’ 50th Anniversary as a metropolitan planning organization. Readers can find out why agency leaders agreed that preservation of the Greater Akron area’s existing transportation system should be a priority over costly expansions. There are also summaries regarding the development of several items integral to the release of Transportation Outlook 2035, the area’s upcoming long-range regional transportation plan.  There’s also information about the agency’s ongoing efforts to promote regional connectivity and sustainability through its various cycling initiatives. To view the report, please click the graphic above.

29 Apr: A Letter to the Region

Join Us this week! We all have our reasons for loving Northeast Ohio, and because we love this region, we want to see it thrive and grow, just as we want to see the challenges facing our region addressed and put behind us. The Northeast Ohio Sustainable Communities Consortium (NEOSCC) is working to help residents preserve and build upon what we value, and fix those things that are challenging. NEOSCC is a regional collaboration of public agencies, elected officials, philanthropic and non-profit organizations, colleges and universities and community members. Our mission is the development of Vibrant NEO 2040, a vision for how to make Northeast Ohio a more vibrant, resilient, and sustainable place to live and work. To develop that vision, we need a solid understanding of the “facts on the ground,” so NEOSCC started by convening over 150 experts from across Northeast Ohio to study over 200 existing policy…

24 Apr: Less than 1 week… Will you help create NEO’s Future?

What are you doing April 30, May 1 or May 2?  Creating NEO’s Future Depends on You? Speak up and voice your opinions about OUR home! What brought you to Northeast Ohio? What keeps you here? What do you value most about Northeast Ohio? What will keep you and your family here in the future? The Northeast Ohio Sustainable Communities Consortium (NEOSCC) will be hosting a series of workshops to create a vision for a Vibrant NEO in the year 2040. Workshops will be two hours long and will be held at various locations throughout the region.  Please feel free to pick the time and location that is most convenient for you, regardless of your county of residence. Your help is needed to help NEOSCC focus the workshops on issues that are most important to YOU – today and in the future! CLICK ON THE BLUE LINKS BELOW TO REGISTER! ALL WORKSHOPS…

18 Apr: MassDot Greening the State Transportation System

  Massachusetts Department of Transportation launched GreenDOT, a comprehensive environmental responsibility and sustainability initiative that will make MassDOT a national leader in “greening” the state transportation system. GreenDOT will be driven by three primary goals; reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, promote the healthy transportation options of walking, bicycling, and public transit, and support smart growth development.  In May of 2012, MassDOT released a Draft GreenDOT Implementation Plan for public review. The Plan was written to embed the sustainability vision of GreenDOT into the core business practices of MassDOT. According to the website, GreenDOT calls for MassDOT to incorporate sustainability into all of its activities; from strategic planning to project design and construction to system operation. The initiative includes greenhouse gas reduction targets mandated under the Global Warming Solutions Act, signed by Governor Patrick in 2008. GreenDOT was designed in response to several existing state laws, Executive Orders, and MassDOT policies….

08 Apr: Stark County Area Transportation Public Meeting on Wednesday

The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) is developing the State Fiscal Year 2014-2017 Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP). The STIP is the four-year plan listing highway, transit, pedestrian and bicycle projects that will occur throughout Ohio for the next  four fiscal years. Projects are derived from Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO), ODOT Central and District Offices, and from others throughout the State. This includes projects originated from the Stark County Area Transportation Study (SCATS), which is the MPO for Stark County. As part of the public involvement process, SCATS will hold a Public Meeting at the Stark County District Library Main Branch on Wednesday, April 10th, from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. You are invited to review and comment on the current list of projects scheduled by ODOT for state fiscal years 2014-2017 as well as the SCATS 2014-2017 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) and SCATS 2040 Long Range Plan. For more information,…

03 Apr: ACT: AMATS Engaging Public on Transportation in Greater Akron

The Akron Metropolitan Area Transportation Study (AMATS) invites you to participate in the development of two items key to the future of the Greater Akron area: Transportation Outlook 2035 and the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) for Fiscal Years 2014 through 2017. Transportation Outlook 2035 is the area’s draft long-range transportation plan of identified needs and recommendations.  The plan includes highway, transit, bike and pedestrian project recommendations that are expected to be completed by 2035.  Transportation Outlook 2035 recommends over $4.3 billion in highway infrastructure investments through 2035, which includes over $2.5 billion for preservation of the existing system.  The draft plan includes investment of over $1.7 billion in the region’s public transportation system and recommends $30 million in bicycle and pedestrian improvements. AMATS Planning Coordinator Krista Beniston says that the draft plan represents the agency’s focus on using the Greater Akron area’s shrinking funding resources wisely.  “These recommendations reflect a…

02 Apr: Imagine MyNEO!

In May, NEOSCC will be launching an on-line engagement tool entitled Imagine MyNEO! Based on an open source software called Crowd Gauge, Imagine MyNEO! will allow the entire region to share their priorities with the Vibrant NEO process. As an introduction to the new tool, we have included an article by Sarah Madden of Sasaki Associates (our Scenario Planning consultant).  It includes background about the creation of the tool and some examples of its previous use. Gauge the values, priorities and preferences of the crowd. by Sarah Madden, Sasaki Associates Web-based technology can help planners promote literacy about planning issues and increase public engagement. We already deploy sophisticated data analysis and modeling tools, but many of these tools are more suitable for back-of-house number crunching than for interactive public engagement. This divide between tools for technicians and tools for engagement is significant:  despite all of the public- and client-facing communication work we do, few…

13 Feb: Kent’s PARTA Multimodal Transit Center is Underway

The Kent Central Gateway (KCG) multimodal facility is a planned transit center that will increase transit accessibility and emphasize multi-modal transportation in Kent, Ohio. This is a collaborative project with Portage Area Regional Transit Authority, the City of Kent, and Kent State University. The U.S. Department of Transportation selected the Kent Central Gateway as a recipient of a Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Grant. The multimodal center was one of two transportation projects in Ohio and among 51 nationwide that received $1.5 billion from the U.S. Department of Transportation. The Kent Central Gateway will be located between Haymaker Parkway (SR 59), E. Main Street (Kent Ravenna Rd), and S. Depeyster Street in Kent, Ohio. This location lies in downtown Kent within one-quarter mile of Kent State University and the Cuyahoga Riverfront. The Gateway Facility will be a catalyst for economic development that will contribute to a vibrant downtown that…

06 Feb: Transit Space Race 2013

At Reconnecting America’s Transit Space Race page you’ll find a map of all the under construction and planned fixed guideway transit projects in the United States.  These projects were gathered in 2012 from local sources including but not limited to, long range plans, discussions with local officials, and newspaper coverage.   We understand that these projects are fluid and the estimates of cost as well as the projects themselves are subject to change frequently.  This list should be seen as a snapshot in time and not a definitive source on the subject matter. Projects listed within the Transit Space Race are fixed guideway projects including heavy rail, commuter rail, LRT, streetcars, various technologies such as cog railways, and Bus Rapid Transit lines that have more than 50% of their right of way dedicated to the bus alone.  Rapid buses without dedicated lanes are an important part of any transit network…