What's New

Funding policy changes approved by AMATS may lead to more funding opportunities for Greater Akron area communities and other project sponsors in the years to come.

During its Sept. 21 meeting, the AMATS Policy Committee approved a slate of changes to the AMATS Funding Policy Guidelines, which provide detailed eligibility and scoring criteria for project applicants seeking funding from various programs. Amy Prater, the AMATS Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) coordinator, explains that the agency had to update its guidelines before selecting which area projects will receive support from these programs later this year.

Prater

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“The agency must update its policies to reflect ever-changing transportation needs within our region.”
– TIP Coordinator Amy Prater –

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“Updating these guidelines is part of AMATS’ responsibilities in leading the regional transportation planning process within Portage and Summit counties and northeastern Wayne County,” Prater continues, “The agency must update its policies to reflect ever-changing transportation needs within our region.  While these changes are relatively minor, they still have ramifications for the area.”

Prater notes that the most recent changes include an increase in the number of projects that may be awarded to sponsors seeking assistance from the federal Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG), Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside (TASA), and carbon reduction funding programs. Sponsors may now seek funding for three projects rather than two for each program. Additionally, the limits or “caps” on the funding amounts that sponsors may seek were increased for the agency’s Resurfacing and TASA programs, from $700,000 to $800,000 and $700,000 to $1 million, for both programs respectively.

Notably, in a reflection of today’s environmental concerns, the Greater Akron area now has a first-of-its-kind federally funded Carbon Reduction Program (CRP) complete with scoring criteria and an application process. Applicants to this program may seek up to $2 million in federal funds for projects that emphasize carbon emission reductions while improving traffic flow. The federal CRP was established under the national Bipartisan Infrastructure Law of 2021 and supports programs like AMATS’ across the country.

Once the AMATS Funding Policy Guidelines were updated, AMATS began accepting STBG, TASA and CRP funding applications from would-be project sponsors and will continue to do so until Nov. 3, the agency’s deadline to apply.

Prater projects that $15 million in STBG and another $15 million in Resurfacing funds will be available to the region. Additionally, $8 million in CRP funding and $1.2 million in TASA funds will be available to the region. The agency expects final project selections to be made in January 2024.For more information about the AMATS Funding Policy Guidelines, please click here.