Serving Anson, Stanly, Union Counties & Municipalities

Authority

In 2000, the State of North Carolina recognized the need for more coordinated transportation planning in rural North Carolina areas not within an MPO(Metropolitan Planning Organization). Rural Planning Organizations (RPOs) were developed in response to Senate Bill 1195 by enacting amended General Statute 136, Article 17 which directed NCDOT to develop a plan to establish RPOs. The Rural Planning Organizations were established between 2001 and 2003 and defined in 136-66.210, as “a voluntary organization of local officials formed through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to work cooperatively with the Department(NCDOT) to plan rural transportation systems and to advise the Department(NCDOT) on rural transportation policy”. GS 136-212 identifies four primary duties for RPOs:

• Developing, in cooperation with the Department (NCDOT), long-range, local and regional multimodal transportation plans;
• Providing a forum for public participation in the transportation planning process;
• Developing and prioritizing suggestions for transportation projects the organization believes should be included in the State’s Transportation Improvement Program (STIP); and
• Providing transportation-related information to local governments and other interested organizations and persons.