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, and Chippewa Township in Wayne County.
Since 1962, AMATS has focused on planning an efficient transportation system for the future. Over the years AMATS has funded a number of regionally significant projects. Recent examples of these projects include:
- The Crain Avenue Bridge in Kent
- State Route 82 widening in Macedonia
- West Market Street reconstruction in Akron
- Bus purchases both for METRO and PARTA
- Sections of the Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath Trail
- South Arlington Road in Green
More than 40 years since its inception, the basic mission of AMATS remains unchanged: to provide quality transportation planning for an effective and efficient transportation system.