The --> --> --> (ODOT) has released an overview of its 2011 Transportation Futures Plan, , making Ohio the first state in the nation to develop an economy-focused, data-driven, and targeted approach to multi-modal transportation investment.

The report examines where Ohio's people and jobs are today, and the future trends on which it can capitalize to drive positive economic growth.


The report's recommendations include:

• Developing policies needed to develop efficient, high value transportation solutions that attract and grow business and in Ohio;
• Identifying high priority, existing transportation needs in which future investment has the potential to dramatically grow business and lay the groundwork for long-term prosperity;
• Protecting the safety and security of Ohio’s residents, supporting the long-term vitality of its communities, and incorporating green principles while improving its transportation assets;
• Ensuring that Ohio considers all modes of transportation – including pedestrian, bicycle, and transit – when new transportation infrastructure is developed;
• Providing a step-by-step process that will identify the most strategic elements of the transportation system for future investment; and
• Establishing performance criteria so Ohio gets the biggest bang for its buck and closely tracks results of transportation investments.

ODOT Director Jolene Molitoris wrote a letter supporting the report.

"It shows how Ohio can better connect ODOT's work to Ohio's economic engine, recognizing that transportation and the economy are inextricably linked," she said.

Today, Ohio is the seventh-largest exporting state, with 300,000 jobs linked to $45 billion in exports annually.

Between 2010 and 2011, Ohio invested more than $2 billion in transportation projects. Over the next two years, Ohio will spend 30 percent more on transportation projects than in any time in its history.

"Transportation has been and will be a driving force behind our state's economic recovery," Molitoris said. "With your support, we have and can continue to put Ohioans to work, by building transportation projects that are important, will last, and are moving Ohio into a prosperous new world!"

The report is the result of work of the 55-member Ohio's 21st Century Transportation Priorities Task Force, convened in 2008 to study the ways in which all modes of transportation could work together to promote safety, economic development, and sustainable growth. Data was also collected through a public comment period and through eight regional public meetings held last fall.

Cincinnati Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls, who chairs City Council's Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee, was a member of the task force.

Previous reading on BC:
EACC passenger rail conference brings praise, outlines strategies (5/10/10)
Transportation task force wants your input (5/27/08)