Transportation Planning Board

MPO PROFILE

What is the Madison Area Transportation Planning Board?

The Madison Area Transportation Planning Board is the federally designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the Madison Urban Area. As the MPO, it is the policy body responsible for cooperative, comprehensive regional transportation planning and decision making for the Madison Metropolitan Planning Area. The goal of the MPO planning process is to build regional agreement on transportation investments that balance roadway, public transit, bicycle, pedestrian, and other transportation needs and support regional land use, economic, and environmental goals. The Madison Metropolitan Planning Area consists of the City of Madison and the Madison Urban Area, including all or portions of the 27 contiguous villages, cities, and towns that are or are likely to become urbanized within a 20-year planning period (see Figure below). Federal rules require the designation of MPOs in urbanized areas of 50,000 or more in population as a condition for spending Federal highway and transit funds.

 

Madison Metropolitan Planning Area

MPO Boundary

  

 

Currently consists of:

  • Cities of Madison, Middleton, Monona, Stoughton, Sun Prairie, Verona, and a portion of  the City of Fitchburg.
  • Villages of Cottage Grove, Maple Bluff, McFarland, and Shorewood Hills; and Waunakee.
  • Towns of Blooming Grove, Burke, Madison, Middleton; and a portion of the Towns of Bristol, Cottage Grove, Dunkirk, Dunn, Pleasant Springs, Rutland, Springfield, Sun Prairie, Verona, Westport, and Windsor.


Responsibilities

The primary responsibilities of the Transportation Planning Board include:

  1. Carrying out a cooperative, continuous, and comprehensive planning process for making transportation investment decisions in the metropolitan area with program oversight from the Federal Highway Administration, the Federal Transit Administration, and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.
  2. Preparing and maintaining a long-range multi-modal transportation plan.
  3. Preparing a transportation improvement program to provide for transportation investments to meet metropolitan transportation needs.
  4. Other duties as required to comply with state and federal regulations.


While the Madison Area Transportation Planning Board provides regional coordination and approves use of Federal transportation funds within the metropolitan planning area, responsibility for the implementation of specific transportation projects lies with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT), Dane County, City of Madison, and other local units of government as transportation providers.

History

The Madison Area Transportation Planning Board was created through an agreement between the Governor, the City of Madison, and other municipalities in the Madison Urban Area making up over 80% of the population. The agreement, which became effective May 2, 2007, redesignated the MPO for the Madison Urban Area in accordance with Federal law. The Transportation Planning Board assumed the responsibility to conduct transportation planning and programming for the metropolitan area from the previous MPO, the Madison Area MPO, following the MPO’s reorganization. MPOs have served the Madison Urban Area since 1973. Areawide transportation planning in the Madison area dates back to 1961, just prior to the time Federal statutes began to require a “3C” (continuing, comprehensive, and cooperative) planning process as a condition of Federal transportation financial assistance.

Guiding Legislation

MPOs currently operate under the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), signed into law on August 10, 2005. SAFETEA-LU continues and builds upon the transportation policies and planning, programming, and funding framework established by the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA) and the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21). SAFETEA-LU identifies planning factors or goals that must be considered in the planning process.

Governance Structure

POLICY BOARD MEMBERS

Mark Clear 1

Duane Hinz 1

Chuck Kamp 1

Steve King 1

Chris Schmidt 1

Paul Skidmore 1

Brett Hulsey 2

 

Jerry Mandli 2

Al Matano 2

Joe Chase 3

Mark Opitz 3

Steve Ritt 3

Eileen Bruskewitz 4

John Vesperman 5

Appointed by:

1 Mayor of Madison
2 Dane County Executive
3 Small Cities and Villages
4 Towns
5 WisDOT

 

The Madison Area Transportation Planning Board is governed by a 14-member Policy Board appointed by the local units of government within the Metropolitan Planning Area, Dane County, and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.
The Policy Board shall consist of:

    1. Elected officials
    2. Officials of public agencies that administer or operate major modes of transportation in the metropolitan area, and
    3. Appropriate State officials

In addition, appointees must reside within the Metropolitan Planning Area.
The appointments to the MPO Policy Board serve two-year terms and are made as follows:

  • The Mayor of Madison appoints six members. Four of the six appointees must be elected officials.
  • The County Executive appoints three members. Two of the three appointees must be elected officials.
  • Three members are appointed to represent other cities and villages in the Metropolitan Area. Appointment is by a simple majority vote of the chief elected officials of these cities and villages. Two of the three appointees must be elected officials.
  • One member is appointed to represent towns. Appointment is by a simple majority vote of the Chairpersons of the towns with land area within the Metropolitan Planning Area. The appointee must be an elected official.
  • The WisDOT Secretary appoints one member to represent the department.

 

MPO Profile (PDF)