The Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization (CRTPO) is part of the greater “Metrolina” region, which consists of four Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) and two Rural Planning Organizations (RPOs).
Charlotte Regional Alliance for Transportation (CRAFT)
CRAFT is made up of the four MPOs and two RPOs in the Charlotte region, and was created in 1999 to facilitate regional transportation planning in the greater Charlotte area. CRAFT’s role is to enhance communication among jurisdictions, promote awareness of regional concerns, and to provide an educational forum in the Charlotte region that addresses significant common issues.
Metrolina Regional Travel Demand Model
The Metrolina Regional Travel Demand Model (MRM) was developed as the primary tool for evaluating existing and future travel demand in the greater Charlotte area. The MRM is governed by a Memorandum of Agreement through an Executive Committee and a Planning & Oversight Committee.
The region’s four MPOs and two RPOs are signatories to the MOA, along with the NC and SC Departments of Transportation.
CONNECT Our Future
The Centralina Council of Governments and the Catawba Regional Council of Governments have – with the assistance of a HUD-administered Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant – created the CONNECT Consortium as a means of guiding the development of the CONNECT Our Future project, intended to serve as a strategic regional growth framework. The Consortium is composed of a Program Forum (represented by staff throughout the region) and a Policy Forum (represented by elected officials), which are intended to help inform the process. Work on the project is ongoing. More information can be found at www.connectourfuture.org
Greater Charlotte Region Bi-State Freight Mobility Plan
The Freight Mobility Plan will focus on the collective opportunities and challenges of truck, rail, and air freight modes in the region. It will provide a framework for integrating freight mobility considerations into the regional and local planning process across transportation, land use, and economic development agencies. The Plan will address the process, information, and tools that decision-makers and planners need for effectively addressing freight mobility issues. The Centralina Council of Governments (CCOG) is leading the effort and has completed Phase One of the project which resulted in obtaining input from a wide range of stakeholders on the process, issues, and goals to be addressed in the scope for the development of the coordinated Plan. Phase Two will identify funding and develop a Plan based on feedback collected during the Phase One scoping effort.
Metropolitan Transit Commission
The Metropolitan Transit Commission (MTC) is the policy board for the Charlotte Area Transit System and has responsibility for reviewing and recommending all long-range public transportation plans. The Board reviews the transit system’s operating and capital programs, and makes recommendations to the affected governments for their approval and funding of those programs. The MTC is a public body, and in addition to holding monthly public meetings, it conducts public involvement programs designed to gain community input on transit planning.
The MTC is composed of voting members from the cities and towns located in Mecklenburg County and non-voting members from the surrounding counties to ensure regional involvement. The voting members include the Mayors of Charlotte, Cornelius, Davidson, Huntersville, Matthews, Mint Hill and Pineville, the Chairman of the Board of Mecklenburg County Commissioners and the regional representative from the North Carolina Board of Transportation. The MTC also includes five non-voting members representing local governments outside Mecklenburg County to ensure regional involvement including from the South Carolina Department of Transportation.
COG Mobility Management Study
Centralina COG is leading a study to identify a preferred arrangement for mobility management in the Centralina region. Mobility management is a wide-ranging concept that can include a wide variety of activities. For more information click here.
Lake Norman Transportation Commission
The Lake Norman Transportation Commission consists of the Towns of Mooresville, Davidson, and Troutman, the City of Statesville and Iredell County. The purpose of the LNTC is to advocate and persuade local, State and Federal officials to give high priority to needed road, interstate and commuter rail improvements which facilitate the quality of life in north Charlotte, Mecklenburg and Iredell Counties, and in the Lake Norman region while providing the vital infrastructure needed for continued economic growth.
Lake Norman Bike Route
North Carolina’s first regional bicycle plan has been endorsed by the four counties surrounding the Lake (Catawba, Iredell, Lincoln, and Mecklenburg) and the nearby municipalities. It was adopted in 2010 by the LNRPO, Unifour RPO, and the Mecklenburg–Union MPO. In years to come, the LNBR will take shape as a continuous, multi-jurisdictional bicycle route that will encircle Lake Norman, segment-by-segment. It will connect prominent destinations, neighborhoods, and various local bicycle facilities within the surrounding area; providing a safer, useful, and attractive transportation and recreation resource for a wide range of bicyclists. For more information, and downloadable verisons of the plan, visit here.
A Task Force composed of representatives from each of the municipalities and counties, the Carolina Thread Trail, NCDOT and other agencies, including the LNRPO, is now meeting regularly. This team’s number one goal is to promote implementation, use, advocacy and public awareness of the LNBR.
Click here for more information.
Carolina Thread Trail
The Carolina Thread Trail (The Thread) is a regional network of greenways and trails that reaches 15 counties and 2.3 million people. There are 92 miles of The Thread open to the public – linking people, places, cities, towns and attractions.
The Thread arose from a discovery process started in 2005 when the Foundation For The Carolinas convened more than 40 regional leaders and organizations to determine the region’s most pressing environmental needs and concerns. From that process, open space preservation surfaced as the number one priority. The Carolina Thread Trail was successfully launched in 2007 as a project focused on preserving natural corridors and connecting people to nature through a network of connected trails.
FAST Lanes
FAST Lanes was a three-phased study of the feasibility of implementing managed lanes on the major highways in the Charlotte region. Beginning in 2007, Phase I screened freeways and other Strategic Highway Corridors to identify the most promising corridors for Fast Lanes. The study’s second phase included evaluations of physical designs, operational requirements, revenues and costs for roadways that remained after Phase I screening in 2009. The third phase of the study familiarized the public with the concept of congestion pricing and determined public acceptance for the next managed lanes projects. The third phase of the study concluded in June of 2013.
Council of Planning-NC 73
The Council of Planning is a multi-jurisdictional body tasked with monitoring and managing the NC 73 corridor, a 35-mile section of rapidly developing communities in the northern parts of the Charlotte region. It was formed at the completion of the NC 73 study and is staffed by Centralina COG.
This webpage is intended to serve as a resource for regional transportation planning in the Metrolina area. This webpage provides links to additional information, as well as links to the websites of other regional transportation planning organizations.
