Policy and Positions - Local Issues


STATEMENT OF SUPPORT FOR MOBILE AREA TRANSPORTATION STUDY (MATS)
25-YEAR LONG-RANGE PLAN
Board of Directors Approved February 23, 2005

The Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce recognizes the strategic importance of transportation infrastructure to our community’s growth and job creation. Increased infrastructure funding is one of the top two priorities of the Chamber’s community legislative agenda for 2005.

Infrastructure planning must be done in a professional manner with critical attention to key cost-benefit factors and supported by a community-wide effort to secure the needed resources to implement the plan.

In Mobile County, the organization charged with managing the community's 25-year master plan for transportation infrastructure is the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO). The MPO comprises 12 voting members who are Mobile area elected officials and representatives of other organizations. The Mobile Area Transportation Study (MATS) 2030 (25-year) plan is researched and designed by professional planners at the South Alabama Regional Planning Commission (SARPC) to address critical growth needs. The MATS plan serves as a blueprint for the community to secure federal and state funds for road projects. This most recent plan totals almost $1 billion in proposed projects.