Earlier this year, the greater Traverse City area met federal census qualifications to become what’s called a “metropolitan planning area.”
The designation opens up the region to more federal and state funding for transportation projects.
It also creates a metropolitan planning organization, or MPO, which will bring together different stakeholders to decide how to plan and improve the region’s transportation.
The current planning group, called Traverse Transportation Coordinating Initiative, will become an MPO in late September or early October, once Gov. Gretchen Whitmer approves the designation.
Networks Northwest is an agency that will staff the Traverse area MPO. It received little public input when it was preparing for the transition earlier this summer. The agency will likely seek more community engagement this fall, said Regional Director of Community Development Rob Carson.
Residents of the Traverse City area will have the chance to comment on transportation projects of all kinds.
“In terms of traffic, in terms of a lack of sidewalks, in terms of a lack of a bike lane, in terms of lack of mass transit stops… [and] identify locations for other priority projects," Carson said. "New stop signs, a new roundabout, additional lanes, left turn lanes. All of these different types of transportation improvements … will be placed in these plans and prioritized."
The MPO will take that feedback into consideration as it drafts its initial transportation planning process documents and creates plans for the region.
The organization is distinct from existing transportation-related groups in the region, like road commissions. Carson said these projects can "span federal and state highway-designated routes, as well as thoroughfare routes which are federally funded or eligible for federal funding," including certain county roads.
The MPO’s plans will affect the “metropolitan planning area,” which includes townships across Grand Traverse and Leelanau counties.
A central part of the MPO’s structure is a policy board with representatives from regional transportation agencies, local government, and the Michigan Department of Transportation.
The draft policy board includes members from the Traverse City commission, Grand Traverse and Leelanau county road commissions, the Bay Area Transportation Authority, local townships, and the state.
There will also be a technical committee with planners, engineers and local nonprofits.
The next round of online surveys and in-person feedback will help inform short and long-term transportation planning for the area. Fall dates and locations for public comment haven’t been announced yet.
Find information about surveys and community engagement events here.
