INTRODUCTION
ABOUT THE RTP
DRAFT
TO ACCESS THE CURRENT 2045 HATS RTP, CLICK HERE.
The Harrisburg Area Transportation Study (HATS) is the designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for Cumberland, Dauphin and Perry counties and their 103 municipalities. It works with federal, state and local agencies and officials from throughout South-Central Pennsylvania, including the City of Harrisburg and Susquehanna Regional Transportation Authority (SRTA formerly CAT), to meet the transportation needs of an area covering nearly 1,700 square miles.
In this role, HATS develops a Regional Transportation Plan (RTP), which documents the current status of transportation projects and programs, identifies long-term needs and recommends projects to meet those needs. The long-range RTP sets a framework and priorities for the expenditure of federal transportation funds over a 25-year period.
Current federal surface transportation legislation requires the RTP to:
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have a minimum 20-year planning horizon;
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be updated every four years;
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be based on the latest available estimates and assumptions for population, land use, travel, employment, congestion and economic activity;
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include both short and long-range strategies / actions that provide for the development of an integrated multimodal transportation system;
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identify an integrated, multimodal transportation system, giving emphasis to facilities that serve important national and regional functions.
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contain operational and management strategies to improve the performance of existing infrastructure to relieve vehicular congestion and maximize the safety and mobility of people and goods;
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conform to air quality standards;
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provide for multimodal capacity increases based on regional needs and priorities;
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be fiscally constrained by identifying sources "reasonably expected to be available" to implement the plan;
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discuss potential environmental mitigation activities;
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include pedestrian walkway and bicycle transportation facilities;
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include transportation and transit enhancement activities; and,
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provide for public participation, including publication with electronically accessible formats.
In 2024, HATS' lead staff agency, the Tri-County Regional Planning Commission, began updating the RTP, building upon the dynamic approach of the 2045 update. HATS staff utilized an extensive outreach process that included input from the public, municipalities, and regional stakeholders, reviewed the region’s current transportation system and developed key recommendations to address its long-term needs.
The RTP includes nine Focus Areas, describing current conditions, regional issues, and implementation-focused actions intended to fulfill the vision and achieve the goals established by our Steering Committee. These Focus Areas also form the basis of the Project Pipeline, which is the process utilized by the RTP to solicit, evaluate, and prioritize transportation needs to be considered for implementation and project development.
The RTP is required to be financially constrained so that the cost of the planned transportation projects and programs is within the estimated available future funding.
The required public comment period of the 2050 Regional Transportation Plan is July 1, 2025 to August 15, 2025.