The CRTPO has worked with NCDOT for many years in establishing and maintaining a transportation planning program that incorporates a standard set of planning principles as recommended by the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1962. The planning principles require the development of a safe and efficient transportation system by:
- Maximizing utilization of the existing facilities;
- Increasing operational efficiency and altering travel demands when appropriate; and
- Minimizing adverse impacts to the natural, social and economic environments.
NCDOT serves as a partner to the state’s MPO through the following key plans and initiatives:
NCDOT Prioritization/TIP Development
Prioritization is NCDOT’s decision making tool for developing the State Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), which is a listing of projects to be delivered within an upcoming ten-year work program. The STI legislation has created a high degree of collaboration between NCDOT and MPO’s in the development of their Transportation Improvement Program’s every two years through the Prioritization process.
Comprehensive Transportation Plan
In North Carolina, each MPO works with NCDOT through a collaborative process to develop a Comprehensive Transportation Plan (CTP). The CTP assesses the condition of the entire network and serves as a framework for transportation planning efforts at the local and regional scale. The CTP maps for future highway, bicycle and pedestrian, transit and rail projects are mutually adopted by the CRTPO Board and the North Carolina Board of Transportation. Additional information about the CTP can be found here:
NCDOT Complete Streets Policy
In 2019, NCDOT adopted an updated Complete Streets Policy that requires locally adopted multimodal plans be adopted (by reference) within each MPO’s CTP in order to have bicycle and pedestrian betterments included in the scope of funded projects. The department will use the updated policy to improve its various design guidelines toward building a multimodal transportation network for North Carolina. The CRTPO adopted a CTP Report in August 2020 to serve as the primary reference for determining projects that are eligible for complete streets enhancements through NCDOT’s policy. The CTP report can be accessed here. The NCDOT’s Complete Street Policy Implementation Guide can be accessed here.
Performance Based Planning Process
In North Carolina, the NCDOT has taken the lead role in implementing performance management requirements because of the amount of roads they own and maintain, the number of small-scale transit operators who have deferred to NCDOT to develop required plans, and their influence over funding and project selection. CRTPO has taken a supportive role as it relates to federally-required performance measures and targets. Where CRTPO has taken the lead is in the development of non-federal performance measures and targets.
North Carolina Association of MPOs (NCAMPO)
In addition to CRTPO, there are 18 other MPOs throughout the state of North Carolina. The MPOs are members of the North Carolina Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations (NCAMPO). The mission of NCAMPO is to positively affect policies and decision-making at the federal, state and local levels, to serve as a forum for communication, and to provide leadership in transportation planning.
