U.S. DOT Publishes MPO Coordination and Planning Area Reform NPRM

On Monday, June 27, 2016, the U.S. Department of Transportation published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Coordination and Planning Area Reform in the Federal Register. 

The proposed changes to the transportation planning regulations (23 CFR Part 450) include: 

• Changes to the definition of Metropolitan Planning Area would clarify that it must include the entire urbanized area, plus the contiguous area forecast to become urbanized within the 20-year planning horizon.
• Governors and MPOs would determine whether multiple MPOs are warranted within a single metropolitan planning area, based on the size and complexity of the area.
• Multiple MPOs within a metropolitan planning area would jointly develop planning products including a single metropolitan transportation plan, transportation improvement plan, and performance targets. To improve state coordination with MPOs, states and MPOs would be required to maintain a current planning agreement, which would include a dispute resolution process, and coordinate analyses within the metropolitan planning area.

While the proposed rule does not contain new requirements for transit providers, transit agencies in large urbanized areas with multiple MPOs should review the proposed changes to assess the impact of coordinated decision-making on support for investments in transit safety, state of good repair and increases in capacity.

The comment period will close on August 26, 2016. USDOT encourages stakeholders to review the proposed rule and submit comments to the docket.

Links:

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Coordination and Planning Area Reform
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