The Mid-Cumberland office of Rural Planning Organization is responsible for administering the Middle Tennessee Rural Planning Organization and the Title VI & Environment Justice program.

Programs

The Mid-Cumberland office of Rural Planning Organization is responsible for administering the Middle Tennessee Regional Planning Organization, the Title VI & Environmental Justice program.

Middle Tennessee Rural Planning Organization

The Middle Tennessee Rural Planning Organization (MTRPO) develops and maintains in cooperation with the state of Tennessee, regional long-range multi-modal transportation plans; develops a regional transportation improvement service for consideration by the state of Tennessee; fosters local coordination of local planning, land use, and economic development plan with the state of Tennessee, regional, and local transportation plans and service; provides technical assistance to local officials; and provides a forum for public participation in the statewide transportation planning process.  Stewart, Houston, Humphreys, Dickson, and Cheatham counties are all members of the MTRPO.

The MTRPO has the responsibility for serving as a forum for multimodal transportation decision-making and recommendations for the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT.) The MTRPO shall have the responsibility for keeping the member governmental entities informed of the status and requirements of the transportation planning process, project prioritization, and helping to ensure meaningful public participation in the transportation planning process.

Title VI & Environmental Justice

Title VI & Environmental Justice program ensures that no person shall be excluded from the participation in or be denied the benefit of, or be subjected to discrimination under any agency service or activity. This is done through comprehensive planning, analysis, implementation, and training.

RPO Membership

The MTRPO is comprised of one body of voting members consisting of elected local representatives such as county mayors, municipal mayors, state legislators, and county highway superintendents; appointed members consisting of county and municipal level planners, engineers, public works, etc., selected by the elected representatives, and the Executive Directors for the Greater Nashville Regional Council (GNRC) and the Mid-Cumberland Human Resource Agency (MCHRA.)  

Non-voting members consist of representatives from other modes of transportation such as freight/trucking, aviation, port and rail transportation, bike/pedestrian, greenways/trails, environmental representatives, and citizen representation, all selected by the elected and appointed voting representatives.  Transportation representatives from TDOT and federal-levels, and regional and community planners representing areas served by the MTRPO are also included. 

RPO Process

The RPO process is a consistent, transparent, structured method for involving local officials and the public in TDOT's transportation planning and decision-making process.

• Transportation needs identified at local level.

• Needs referred to TDOT for study and analysis cooperation with the RPO members.

• The MTRPO reviews proposals with regards to: 

             a. Safety
             b. Congestion relief
             c. Economic development

• Priorities expressed by consensus (or vote) of the MTRPO

• TDOT considers recommended priorities from the MTRPO, along with public support, environmental impacts and funding considerations to propose for the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP)

• Proposed submitted to Legislature for consideration and budgeting

The need to understand the transportation planning process is becoming more important as communities large and small look to build more sustainable communities. But for citizens they often get lost in the jargon used by planners. For this reason it is important that the RPO Coordinator strives to educate the community about transportation and the transportation planning process.