Baton Rouge Metropolitan Planning Organization Committees
Federal Legislation requires that cities with a population over 50,000 from a Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) and federal agencies serve to fund the planning process. CRPC is the Baton Rouge area’s designated MPO. The MPO is a transportation policy-making organization made up of representatives from local government and transportation authorities to carry out transportation planning in coordination with the state and with operations of policy-owned transit services. MPOs were created to ensure expenditures for transportation projects and programs that were based on a continuing cooperative and comprehensive (3-C) planning process.
The Baton Rouge Metropolitan Planning Organization (BRMPO) is spearheaded by the Transportation Policy Committee (TPC) and the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) and is comprised of all jurisdictions within the metropolitan planning area (MPA) of Five Parishes viz. Ascension Parish, East Baton Rouge Parish, Iberville Parish, Livingston Parish and West Baton Rouge Parish.
Member entities within the MPA are as follows:
Parishes of Ascension, East Baton Rouge, Iberville (partial), Livingston (partial), West Baton Rouge (partial), and Municipalities of Gonzales, Sorrento, Baton Rouge, Baker, Central, Zachary, Plaquemine, St. Gabriel, Denham Springs, Livingston, Port Vincent, Walker, Addis, Brusly, and Port Allen.
The TPC is the official governing body comprised of elected officials and other regional stakeholders. The TPC is the official decision-making body of the MPO. The TPC’s responsibilities include the review and approval of all plans, programs, and projects. Additionally, membership is comprised of the administrator of the State District Office of the Federal Highway and Transit Administration (non-voting member), the Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Transportation, and the Chief Executive Officer of the Capital Area Transit System.
The TAC comprising of Public Works Directors, Planning Directors, and Mayor designees advises the TPC on technical matters, plans, and policies. The TAC reviews plans, projects, studies, and reports and provides recommendations regarding them to the TPC. Membership is comprised of a broad section of stakeholders including elected officials, transportation providers, engineers, and planners.
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Technical Advisory Committee (TAC): TAC aims to provide technical guidance for developing, coordinating, and implementing a multi-modal transportation plan for the Baron Rouge area. The transportation technical advisory committee membership comprises a representative of the general purpose government who manages the day-to-day technical aspects of the transportation system infrastructure. To build the base of technical expertise available to the committee and meet Chapter I, Title 23 CFR part 450 subpart C450.360(i), the requirements of the membership of the TAC include representatives from several affected transportation modes and community organizations.
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Transportation Policy Committee: The purpose of the TPC in the Baton Rouge transportation management area is to provide policy guidance for developing, coordinating, and implementing a multi-modal Transportation Plan for the Baton Rouge area.
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Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee: The BRMPO Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee is established under the authority of the BRMPO. The committee aims to improve bicycling and pedestrian conditions for commuters, Children, the elderly, persons with disabilities, recreational bicyclists, and walkers in the area. In addition, the committee analyzes issues arising within the planning area of transportation management from a bicycle and pedestrian perspective. The committee makes recommendations to the MPO Transportation Technical Advisory and Policy Committees.
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Coordinated Human Transportation Services Committee (CHTSC): The BRMPO Coordinated Human Services Transportation Planning Committee is established under the authority of the BRMPO Transportation Policy Committee. The BRMPO Coordinated Human Services Transportation Planning Committee aims to improve the utilization of transit service resources and transit funding resources for commuters, the elderly, persons with disabilities, individuals with low income, rural area commuters, and school system commuters. The committee’s goals will be the same as those established in the Regional Major Transportation Plan. In addition, the committee will analyze issues arising within the planning area of the transportation management area from a coordinated mass transit perspective and make recommendations to the MPO Transportation Technical Advisory
and Policy Committees.
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Establish a setting: Establish and manage an impartial setting for effective regional decision-making in the area.
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Maintain a long-range transportation plan - LRTP; Develop and update a long-range transportation plan for the area, covering a plan of at least twenty years that included mobility and access for people and foods, efficient system performance and presentation, and quality of life.
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Develop a transportation improvement program (TIP): Develop a program based on the long-range transportation plan designed to serve the area’s goals, using sending, regulating, operating, management, and financial tools. Both the governor and the MPO have to approve the TIP.
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Involve the public: Involve the general public and all the significantly affected sub-groups in the above-mentioned functions.
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The BRMPO planning process includes active outreach strategies to allow people to provide input. Opportunities are provided for
the public to get involved throughout the process, especially while the plan and the TIP are being developed. Special attention is
given to involving those groups who are underrepresented or have been underserved in the past in terms of the expenditures of transportation dollars. BRMPO is also designated as a Transportation Management Area (TMA) as it has a population greater than 200,000.