Purpose of the Long-Range Transportation Plan

The LRTP serves as a blueprint that guides the Syracuse Metropolitan Area's transportation development over a 25-year period. Central to that blueprint is the protection of the value of investments already made in developing the transportation system, while providing resources to pursue innovative solutions to mobility constraints and enhancing travel choices available. In other words, the LRTP guides the Syracuse Metropolitan Area's transportation development over a 25-year period. During the last decade, several changes in federal legislation have had a substantial impact on how Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), such as the SMTC, conduct transportation planning. These include the Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) of 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, the Intermodal Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) of 1991, the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) of 1998, and the recently adopted Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act, a Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) legislation. Collectively, this legislation addresses such major urban transportation planning concerns as:

• Environmental quality;
• Access to transportation;
• Alternative transportation modes;
• The transportation - land use linkage; and
• Highway traffic congestion and maintenance of the existing transportation infrastructure.

Purpose of the 2007 Update

As previously stated, changes in legislation, changes in our communities, and changes in transportation priorities direct the planning focus of agencies such as the SMTC to these new areas of concern, and thus alters the original vision of the Long-Range Transportation Plan. In the preparation of an Update, the SMTC examined and considered any changes in the current and forecasted transportation and land use conditions and trends. Required every three years by federal law, the Update also adhered to any new planning principles established as part of the national transportation planning process.

Background Information

In January 1995, the SMTC published the 2020 Long-Range Transportation Plan (LRTP). This was followed by the 1998, 2001 and 2004 Updates. All these documents were prepared in compliance with federal requirements (CFR 450.332), which also were the basis for the LRTP 2007 Update.