Metropolitan Planning

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MISSION

The mission of the Tyler Area Metropolitan Planning Organization is to plan for the safe and efficient movement of people and goods and attainment of clean air regulations for the Tyler Urban area and Smith County.

Organization
The City of Tyler serves as the administrative agency of the Tyler Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO). The Governor designates the MPO for all urban areas over 50,000 population. The City of Tyler was designated the MPO for the Tyler urban area in 1974. The MPO, in cooperation with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), is responsible for carrying out the urban transportation process as required by federal legislation. The MPO is intended to provide a forum for cooperative decision making concerning transportation issues by the principal elected officials of the general purposes local governments. The MPO provides continuity of various transportation planning and improvement efforts throughout the Tyler urban area. The Tyler MPO consists principally of two (2) standing committees, the Policy Committee and the Technical Committee.

The transportation planning study area for the Tyler urbanized area includes the City of Tyler and several other developing areas such as Gresham, Lindale, New Chapel Hill, Noonday and Whitehouse. The Study Area Boundary is contiguous with the incorporated cities of Whitehouse on the southeast, and New Chapel Hill on the east, and Hideaway Lake and Lindale to the north. The study area is intended to include those areas outside the urbanized area most likely to experience urbanization during the 20-year planning horizon.

Responsibilities
The MPO is responsible for the "3-C" planning process (cooperative, continuous, comprehensive), operating basic planning activities of the Study. Transportation planning is a process of projecting future transportation needs, investigating and evaluating alternative actions for meeting those needs, assessing the financial ability of the community to implement those actions, and recommending reasonable strategies based on needs and available resources. Elected officials and others in decision-making roles need access to this information to help them develop policies, programs, and projects.

The transportation planning process is continuous. Conditions affecting the transportation system, such as population growth, land use patterns, employment changes, traffic volumes, etc., are monitored. Alternate means for alleviating congestion are identified, and decisions are made on which projects are to be carried out. The proposed projects are evaluated in relation to expected funding levels, prioritized, and listed in order of importance to the community. All transportation modes for the entire metropolitan area are studied and addressed in a comprehensive manner. The transportation planning process is structured to include cooperative input and direction from participating cities, counties, agencies, and the public. This results in the development of a Metropolitan Transportation Plan., which encompasses the 3-C planning process.

Additionally, the MPO is responsible for the development of the annual Unified Planning Work Program, which details the planning work activities of the MPO on a yearly basis. The MPO also is responsible for the development of the biennial Transportation Improvement Program, which is a list of highway, enhancement and transit projects with will be funded during a 3-year time frame.

Click here for a map of the MPO Boundary

MPO COMMITTEES

In accordance with the Department of Transportation guidelines, the MPO organizational structure provides for a Policy Committee and a Technical Advisory Committee for the purpose of continuing the transportation planning program.

The MPO Policy Committee: The Policy Committee is composed of the principal elected and appointed officials in the Tyler area. The Policy Committee annually approves the UPWP and the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). This committee provides overall policy guidance and decision making for the transportation planning process in the Tyler urban area. The Policy Committee consists of eleven(11) voting members and various nonvoting members which represent the participating agencies throughout the Tyler urban area.

Policy Committee
**The Honorable Joel Baker	County Judge	Smith County
The Honorable Jeff Warr	County Commissioner	Smith County
*The Honorable Barbara Bass	Mayor	City of Tyler
Mark McDaniel	City Manager	City of Tyler
The Honorable Jim Mallory	Mayor	City of Lindale
Mike Peterson	City Manager	City of Whitehouse
Randy Hopmann, P.E.	District Engineer	TXDOT
Carter Delleney, P.E.	Capital Projects	City of Tyler
Doug Nicholson	County Road Administrator	Smith County
Gary Halbrooks	NETRMA Member	NET RMA
Mike Turman	Mayor	City of Noonday

*Denotes Chairperson
**Denotes Vice-Chairperson

The MPO Technical Committee: The second standing committee is the Technical Committee which is comprised of a cross section of individuals with knowledge and expertise in various transportation fields. The Technical Advisory Committee consists of 25 members. The Technical Committee's purpose is to advise the Policy Committee on the development of the Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP), The Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP), and the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). All official action of adopting policies, endorsing the UPWP, approving the MTP, and adopting the TIP resides with the Policy Committee. The Policy Committee may direct the Technical Committee to present alternatives for its consideration, with accompanying recommendations and supporting rationale.

Barbara Holly, AICP	City of Tyler
Heather Nick	City of Tyler
Jeremy Atkinson	City of Tyler
Peter Eng, P.E.	City of Tyler
Michael Wilson, P.E.	City of Tyler
Davis Dickson	City of Tyler
Jamal Moharer	City of Tyler
Brian Capps	Smith County
Bobby Garmon	Smith County
Jeffrey Harmon, P.E.	Texas Department of Transportation – Tyler
Dale Booth, P.E.	Texas Department of Transportation – Tyler
Vernon Webb, P.E.	Texas Department of Transportation – Tyler
Tammy Marlow	Texas Department of Trans. – North Region
Tim Juarez	Texas Department of Trans. – North Region
Tony Filippini	Tyler Transit
Margie McAllister	Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
Tom Mullins	Tyler Economic Development Council
Linda Ryan Thomas	Tyler Chamber of Commerce
John Hedrick	East Texas Council of Governments
Genevieve Bales	Federal Highway Administration
Lynn Hayes	Federal Transit Administration
Scott Reily	Freight Industry
Mike Butler	Tyler Bicycle Club
David Porter	East Texas Trekkers