In June 2005 the NOACA Governing Board approved a major update to the region’s long-range transportation plan. Titled Connections 2030: A Framework for the 2030 Transportation System, the Plan provides  a vision for the region’s transportation system 25 years into the future.
In May 2007, the NOACA Governing Board adopted “Connections 2030: SAFETEA-LU Gap Analysis and Closure Document”. This amendment to Connections 2030 identifies how NOACA has made its transportation planning practice consistent with the new planning requirements contained in the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient, Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) which Congress adopted in August 2005.
Connections 2030:
- Focuses on 10 transportation goals
- Emphasizes the interconnectivity of these transportation goals, as well as the role that transportation plays in linking people to jobs, family and an improved quality of life
- Offers strategies for achieving the goals
- Identifies major transportation projects to be implemented within the next 25 years
- Outlines policies, programs and projects that will guide transportation improvements into the 21st Century.
- Addresses the transportation needs of residents and travelers through a safe, accessible, convenient transportation system
- Serves as the framework that allows federal transportation funding to continue to flow into the region
The NOACA Board approved components of Connections 2030 in stages:
NOACA prepared a reader-friendly booklet, Action Plan for a Livable Region, based on the goals and strategies approved in Resolution 2005-016. In addition, staff created a summary of Connections 2030, capturing the main components of the Plan, and a companion brochure identifying projects in Plan Tiers I – IV.
Maintaining a long-range transportation plan is one of NOACA’s primary functions as Northeast Ohio’s metropolitan planning organization. In coordination with local governments, the State, transportation planning agencies, and project implementers, NOACA updates the Plan every four years.
To help support a regional, unified approach to implementing Connections 2030 and advance the 10 Plan goals, NOACA administers the Working to Improve the NOACA (WIN) Program. The WIN Program involves the execution of cooperative agreements between NOACA and transportation project sponsors and stakeholders from throughout the region
NOACA also monitors progress on Plan implementation through the Annual Summit. The Summit brings local officials, planners, consultants, transportation implementers and interested citizens together to discuss transportation and environmental issues as well as planning challenges.
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