Wintertime Active Transportation

MATS has created a set of maps that highlight winter activity opportunities and trail access across the Midland Area. These resources offer essential information to help people discover the best locations to enjoy a variety of winter sports.

The winter activities map features trails for cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, sledding, and ice skating, ensuring winter enthusiasts can easily find the perfect spot to enjoy the season. The map includes details on trail locations, terrain type, and potential connections to other winter sports areas, making it easier for users to plan their outdoor adventures.

Additionally, the trail map outlines key routes for walking, hiking, and biking, with information on trail locations, sizes, and surface types, helping users find the best path for their preferred activity. The map also highlights connections to other trails and parks, ensuring a seamless experience for all.

2024 MATS Final Acceptance Report

An MPO Final Acceptance Report is a formal document that serves to confirm the completion and final approval of a transportation planning project or initiative within an MPO region. MPOs are responsible for overseeing and coordinating transportation planning efforts in metropolitan areas, ensuring that transportation systems are safe, efficient, and aligned with regional goals.

2024 MATS MPO Annual Obligation Report

Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO) are regional bodies responsible for coordinating transportation planning in urbanized areas with populations of 50,000 or more. They bring together local government officials, transportation agencies, and other stakeholders to plan and prioritize transportation projects and investments for the region. They also play a key role in the distribution of federal transportation funds for projects like road improvements, transit systems, and bike/pedestrian infrastructure.

After the conclusion of each programming year, in this case October 1, 2023 to September 20, 2024, MPOs must disclose to local governments, stakeholders and the public "an annual listing of obligated projects” for projects that are to receive federal funding. When a project is "obligated," it means that the federal government has made a formal commitment to fund the project. The funds are allocated and set aside for that specific project, but they are not necessarily available for use immediately.

MATS is an MPO for the Midland Urbanized area that includes all of Midland County, the City of Auburn and Williams Charter Township in Bay County, and Tittabawassee Township in Saginaw County. There are three public transit agencies operate within the MATS planning area; they are Dial-A-Ride Transportation (DART), County Connection of Midland and Bay Metro Transportation Authority (BMTA).

The document linked below illustrates projects that have been obligated in the MATS area.

2021-2023 Traffic Volumes across Trunkline, Non-Trunkline, and Commercial Trunkline Roads

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) has created an interactive online map that lets users explore traffic volumes from 2021 to 2023. This map provides valuable insights into road usage patterns on different types of roads, including Trunkline, Non-Trunkline, and Commercial Trunkline roads.

2024 MATS Area Road Surface Condition Maps

The Midland Area Transportation Study has completed PASER data collection for Midland County and collected data from Bay County Road Commission for Williams Township and Saginaw County Road Commission for Tittabawassee Township. PASER stands for Pavement Surface Evaluation and Rating system, which involves visually inspecting a road and assigning a score on a scale from 1 to 10, with 1 being a failed road and 10 being in excellent condition. Trained individuals drive along a road segment and visually evaluate the surface condition based on factors like cracks, potholes, rutting, and overall pavement distress. This data is used by transportation agencies to prioritize road maintenance projects, allocate funding, and monitor the overall condition of their road network.

Maps are available for the data that was collected. These maps are not a representation of the entire road network within the MATS Area. It contains federal-aid, including but not limited to Other Principal Arterial, Other Freeway, Minor Arterial, Major Collector, Minor Collector, and also includes some local roads.

County Connection of Midland - New Freedom Program

The New Freedom Program is a unique transportation opportunity that assists seniors, veterans, and people with ADA disabilities get to their non-emergency medical appointments. This service is volunteer based and will provide non-emergency transportation to hospitals, medical facilities, health clinics, and doctors outside the county of Midland and within the state of Michigan.

Rides are not a guarantee and are based on availability. To inquire more about this service please contact (989) 374-2000.

FY 2023 Annual Obligation Report for MATS Area Released

Midland Area Transportation Study (MATS) has recently compiled listing of obligated transportation projects during FY 2023 (between October 1, 2022 and September 30, 2023). The list comprises all road, bridge, transit, safety, rail and other projects that the federal or state funding was committed to within Midland County, Williams Twp, Tittabawassee Twp and the City of Auburn.

It is crucial to understand the difference between obligated and completed/constructed. Obligation is a term used in federal budgeting and financial management that refers to a legally enforceable commitment that will result in current or future outlays. When a government agency signs a contract to rehabilitate a bridge, for example, it takes on an obligation. Projects that were “obligated” in 2023 may not be completed until 2024, 2025 or 2026. Some projects that were completed in 2023 were “obligated” in previous fiscal years and will not be part of 2023 list. FY 2023 Annual Obligation Report for MATS area is available by clicking the button below.

FY 2023 Road Condition Ratings for MATS Area Released

Midland Area Transportation Study (MATS) has recently compiled roadway surface condition data for FY 2023 for roads in the federal-aid network. The road ratings are for all of Midland County, Williams Twp, Tittabawassee Twp and the City of Auburn.

Roadway surface condition data was compiled by the combined efforts of staff from the City of Midland, Midland/Bay/Saginaw County Road Commissions, MDOT and MATS. Maps showing these ratings can be seen by clicking the button below.