Introduction and Purpose of Plan Update:  As the designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), the Eastgate Regional Council of Governments (Eastgate) is recognized as the official transportation planning agency for Mahoning and Trumbull Counties. However, in order for the region to be eligible for federal funding consideration, the region must also have a federally approved Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) that addresses, at a minimum, a 20-year planning horizon, and the plan must be developed according to specific federal laws and guidelines developed by the U. S. Department of Transportation (U.S.DOT) - the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), and Federal Transit Administration (FTA), as published in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).

Eastgate, as the MPO and having met those federal requirements as described, thereby continues the region's eligibility to receive federal funds for use on highway, transit, non-motorized, and multimodal systems. Federal and state transportation funds flow through Eastgate each year, and based on Title 23 eligibly requirements, are made available to the region. Future transportation projects intending to utilize federal transportation funds must be identified in the financially constrained LRTP.

The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient, Transportation Equity Act- a Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) allowed for a deviation from its established planning cycle update where the MPO or the State had the option to push their Plan and TIP updates out to a new four year cycle rather than the previous three year cycle, as long as the new provisions were supplemented into the plan by July 1, 2007. To take advantage of the four year cycle option, between July 2006 and March 2007, Eastgate prepared a “Gap Analysis,” which was a technical supplement to 2030 LRTP. The Gap Analysis was adopted by Eastgate’s General Policy Board (GPB) in April 2007 (GPB Resolution #009-2007), and the planning process was reviewed and approved by the U.S. DOT on June 19, 2007. From that point on, Eastgate’s LRTP is being prepared under a four year planning cycle and, both the LRTP and the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), which is a subset the LRTP, complies with the expanded scope, consultation, mitigation, visualization techniques, and public participation requirements set forth in SAFETEA-LU.

According to the FHWA and FTA CFRs, the statewide planning rule also states that the metropolitan transportation plan shall be reviewed and updated quadrennially in nonattainment and maintenance areas. Based on the U.S. DOT and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (U.S.EPA) Air Quality Conformity requirements, Eastgate must update the LRTP every four years. The last planning process for the Update to the 2030 LRTP was originally reviewed by the U.S. DOT and approved for air quality conformity by U.S. EPA on June 14, 2005. Staff has recently completed the process of reassessing and reappraising this last update to the 2030 LRTP to meet the next quadrennial approval date of June 14, 2009. The next LRTP will be prepared in 2013 and it will be a major effort, having a new time horizon, new census data, and a host of newer employment and household information that will be released as a result of the 2010 decennial census.

Plan Format: Again, because of U.S. DOT’s approval of Eastgate’s Gap Analysis in June 2007, the re-examination for this last update was somewhat simplified. Staff analyzed and organized the report by first examining and summarizing the planning requirements, and then reviewed the plan by chapter so the key areas of the former planning document could be compared to the update in the same key areas where necessary. Narratives and/or activities resulting from the reassessment process were: added, updated, or replaced entirely. Only the sections of the existing plan which have been changed will be described within the appropriate Chapter Reassessment and/or Appendices, as referenced. Based on the reappraisal process of the existing plan, the update of the 2030 LRTP as determined and presented within this report, will be used as documentation to meet this last quadrennial approval date of June 14, 2009 within this 2030 time horizon, and does not represent a new transportation plan. The update attests the validity of Eastgate’s existing 2030 Long Range Transportation Plan, including and acknowledging all revisions as previously approved by the U.S. DOT and U.S. EPA in June 2005, for the 2005 LRTP Update, and again on June 19, 2007, for the Gap Analysis.

Public Comment: Eastgate utilized its "Public Participation Program (PPP)" approved in 2007, for the update to the 2030 LRTP. It provides reasonable opportunities for interested parties to comment on the content of the metropolitan transportation plan and metropolitan TIP. Further, the PPP was developed in consultation with all interested parties. The consultation requirement affords all parties who participate in the metropolitan planning process, a specific opportunity to comment on the plan prior to its approval. Eastgate’s PPP was in place prior to the agencies last adoption of the FY2008 – FY2011 TIP, and as mentioned earlier, it was used for this update. Outreach efforts to governmental and nonprofit organizations that receive federal assistance from a source other than the Department of Transportation to provide non-emergency transportation services and recipients of assistance under Section 204 of Title 23, U.S.C. were also solicited.

Eastgate is in compliance with the SAFETEA-LU planning provision requirements as outlined in Section 6001. These requirements were developed according to specific federal laws and guidelines developed by the U. S. DOT, FHWA, and FTA, and published in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). With specific reference to "New Consultations," MPOs and States must consult "as appropriate" with "State and local agencies responsible for land use management, natural resources, environmental protection, conservation, and historic preservation" in developing long-range transportation plans.

Two public meetings were held in an open-house format where the general public was encouraged to discuss projects on an individual basis with appropriate staff. The meetings were held on December 16, 2008, at the Northeast Homeowners and Concerned Citizens Association, and on December 17, 2008, at Eastgate. Eastgate’s Environmental Planning Advisory Committee (EPAC), consisting of 122 participants comprised of numerous resource agencies and interested parties, were notified and encouraged to provide comments on the plan update. LRTP information, especially air quality and capacity adding projects, was sent via e-mail and in pdf format to our EPAC membership for review and comment.