The 1962 Federal Aid Highway Act created metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) in keeping with the requirement that urban areas have a defined planning process to receive federal aid for transportation programs and projects. The Akron Metropolitan Area Transportation Study (AMATS) is the MPO serving Summit County, Portage County, the village of Doylestown, the City of Rittman, Chippewa Township, and Milton Township in Wayne County.
For the past 60 years, AMATS has focused on planning an efficient transportation system for the future, with a number of accomplishments. Some of the highlights include:
- Year 1990 Regional Transportation Plan, the area’s first long-range regional transportation plan, is completed – 1972
- The first Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) for years 1975-1980 is approved – 1975
- Ridefinders Program is launched, known today as Gohio Commute- 1981
- The first AMATS website is launched – 1999
- Transportation Access to Development:A Guide for Local Officials and Developers is released and is AMATS’ first attempt to improve pedestrian, bicycle, and transit connectivity – 2001
- Connecting Communities – A Guide to Integrating Land Use and Transportation is completed – 2010
- Switching-gears.org, AMATS’ website addressing the area’s cycling needs, is launched – 2011
- The Pavement Condition Index, a pavement evaluation system to grade the condition of pavement on federally classified roadways in the region, was launched – 2020
The basic mission of AMATS remains unchanged: to provide quality transportation planning for an effective and efficient transportation system.