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The city of Barberton and the townships of Bath and Copley are the 2013 recipients of two $50,000 planning grants from AMATS.

The AMATS Connecting Communities Planning Grant Program was launched by the agency three years ago and awards funds for the study of potential improvements that promote sustainability such as bicycle, pedestrian and transit infrastructure projects.  Since its launch, the program has awarded several grants totaling $200,000 to communities and organizations such as Akron, Boston Heights, Ravenna, Richfield and METRO.  The latest round of grants went to Barberton for its North-South Community Connection Plan and Bath and Copley townships for their Montrose: North/South East/West study.

Barberton will use its grant to foster greater connectivity between its north and south ends.  The study will identify potential improvements within a 259-acre area between Van Buren Avenue and 2^nd Street Southwest, which is bounded by Wooster Road and Robinson Avenue to the north and Hudson Run Road and Snyder Avenue to the south.  Light and heavy industries are sandwiched between Van Buren Avenue and 2^nd Street and barriers such as the Tuscarawas River and the Ohio & Erie Canal hinder mobility between the city’s north end – which contains its downtown, residential, commercial, and Lake Anna recreational areas – and its south end, which is home to large residential developments and additional recreational areas, including the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail.

The Montrose: North/South East/West study will encompass a 3.25 mile suburban area bounded by Bath Township to the north and Copley Township to the south and includes the heavily traveled roadways of Interstate 77, state Route 18, Springside Drive, Montrose West Avenue, and Cleveland-Massillon, Rothrock and Crystal Lake roads.  The study will consider bicycle and pedestrian access improvements throughout the area and transit and vehicle access improvements to nearby retail and parking locations.  Other topics to be addressed by the study include possible aesthetic improvements, signage blight and the interrelated issues of sustainability and environmental impacts.

The agency selected the two studies after an extensive review of 10 project applications that began in January.  Improvements and recommendations identified in these studies may be eligible for inclusion in future long-range regional transportation plans prepared by the agency.  Information sheets summarizing highlights of the Barberton and Montrose studies are available by clicking here.

Studies by last year’s recipients, the Village of Boston Heights’ Comprehensive Land Use and Transportation Plan and the city of Ravenna’s Safe Alternatives: Less Traffic (SALT), are expected to be completed soon.