What is the MPO?
The MPO is a transportation policy-making body that establishes a platform for coordination and communication between the public and local, state, and federal agencies in regard to planning issues and transportation topics, plans, programs, and projects. Federal law requires the formation of a MPO for any urbanized area with a population greater than 50,000 to carry out all transportation planning activities. Federal funding for transportation projects and programs are prioritized and channeled through this planning process.
What Does the MPO Do?
The MPO develops both long- and short-range multimodal transportation plans, selects and approves projects for federal funding based upon local priorities, and develops methods to improve problematic and unsafe corridors in our community. MPOs practice a comprehensive, cooperative, and continuing planning process to carry out the transportation planning process. The MPO is responsible for four major transportation planning programs and plans:
Who is the MPO?
The MPO functions through committees and is served by planning staff, housed at the City-County Planning Commission of Warren County.
MPO Policy Committee (PC)
The PC is the formal decision-making body of the MPO. This group reviews the transportation plans and programs, and annually endorses a course of action for implementing these plans. It is comprised of five members, of which three are voting members. The voting members include the Mayor of the City of Bowling Green, the Judge-Executive of Warren County, and the Secretary of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. The non-voting members include the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Division Administrator, and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Regional Administrator. The PC is responsible for providing opportunities for citizen participation in the transportation planning process.
MPO Technical Advisory Committee (TAC)
The TAC advises and provides technical guidance and assistance to the PC in carrying out the goals and objectives of the MPO; the TAC provides recommendations to the MPO PC. This committee is comprised of representatives from organizations that have a direct involvement in the planning or operation of transportation facilities throughout Warren County.
Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC)
The MPO Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) is a subcommittee of the MPO TAC. The BPAC provides a forum of communication and collaboration for the bicycle and pedestrian community and public officials alike. The focus areas of the BPAC are to plan, advise, advocate, and educate. The MPO BPAC makes recommendations to the MPO TAC, which then proceeds to the MPO PC for final decision. With all transportation modes (highway, transit, bike-ped) under the planning efforts of the MPO, the MPO better represents a multimodal system where all forms of transportation are recognized and planned within a single entity.
The City-County Planning Commission of Warren County houses the MPO and all planning staff. A core function of the MPO is to ensure that local people and governments are represented in a fair and impartial setting in the transportation planning process. In order to ensure these efforts are met the MPO works with local, state, and federal governments; including the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Federal Transit Authority Administration (FTA), Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC), GO bg Transit, Western Kentucky University, area stakeholders and the community at large. With a rapidly growing population representing diverse demographics, it is crucial for the MPO to involve local agencies and stakeholders, while also informing the public on relevant transportation issues and planning endeavors.
Title VI
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ensures that no person shall, on the grounds of race, color, sex, national origin, or physical handicap, be excluded from participation in, be denied benefits of, or be otherwise subjected to discrimination under any program receiving Federal assistance from the United States Department of Transportation. Title 49 CRF Part 21 outlines how agencies must ensure nondiscrimination in their programs and in their use of federal funds provided through the Department of Transportation.
Subsequent federal acts that extend nondiscrimination requirements include gender (Federal Aid Highway Act 1973); disability (Rehabilitation Act of 1973 & Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990); and age (Age Discrimination Act of 1975).
Title VI Procedure
The Bowling Green-Warren County MPO is committed to a policy of non-discrimination in the operation of its programs and services without regard to race, color, and national origin, as well as age, gender, disability, or sexual orientation. Additional information on the MPO’s Title VI obligations is outlined in the MPO’s Participation Plan.
Any person who believes that he or she, individually, or as a member of any specific class of persons, has been subjected to discrimination by the MPO and its activities may report a complaint using the procedure below: