ANALYSIS OF THE GOVERNANCE OF METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATIONS (MPOS) IN THE UNITED STATES FOR POTENTIAL APPLICATION TO NORTH CAROLINA

Abstract

North Carolina has seventeen different metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) responsible for transportation planning. Many of these MPOs face problems in both representation and governance. These include: boundary issues associated with city, county and state boundaries; representational issues concerning a city dominating, or being dominated by, the MPO; structural issues surrounding committee and voting structures; and so on. The goal of this study was to consider recommendations for restructuring the governmental frameworks for North Carolina's MPOs in order to improve their ability to deal with regional issues. The research team conducted a Web-based survey of MPOs across the country. In addition, the team performed a series of case studies involving interviews, detailed secondary research, and direct observations of actual MPO policy meetings. Nearly half of the survey respondents cited an MPO's ability to develop and approve projects of truly regional significance as the most important factor in the overall success of an MPO. No responding MPOs stated that they had undergone any combinations of service areas. MPOs that regarded themselves as successful tended to have staffs with high levels of expertise and experience that allows them to provide additional assistance to the state Department of Transportation (DOT) and municipal governments in their data collection, modeling and planning endeavors. The most critical problem identified in the survey and case studies was the parochial, rather than regional, vision of transportation planning by some MPO members. Rather than suggesting a particular weighted representation, weighted voting, or other structural arrangement, the team recommends that each individual MPO in North Carolina focus on developing a consensus in regards to: processes for deliberation, number and structures of committees, methods of involving the public, and means for coordination with the state DOT. Educating MPO policy and technical advisory board members through a systematic, periodic orientation program, offered in concert by municipalities and the state DOT, may prove beneficial. Observations from the team's case study of the Kansas City area MPO lends credence to the consideration of different arrangements for regional cooperation based on functional classification. This report contains tentative recommendations in this regard that are subject to change as the proposed North Carolina Multimodal Investment Network (NC MIN) is developed.

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