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Planning & Information Systems
Richmond Regional
PDC Richmond, VA 23235 Phone: 804.323.2033 Fax: 804.323.2025
Office Hours: Monday - Friday
8:00 a.m. - 4:30
p.m.
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MPO and Standing Committee Membership FAQs Frequently Used Terms & Acronyms
Richmond Area MPO Study Area Boundary Study Area Boundary extension approved by the MPO April 13, 2006.
Table of Contents
1. What is an MPO?The Richmond Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (RAMPO) is the federally designated regional transportation planning organization that serves as the forum for cooperative transportation decision-making in the Richmond area. The MPO's geographic coverage extends to that area which is projected to be urbanized within the next 20 years; it includes approximately two-thirds of the Richmond Regional Planning District. The RRPDC serves as the contracting agent for the Richmond Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, and provides the administrative and technical staff. The MPO is organized under a Memorandum of Understanding and Bylaws. The MPO annually establishes a Unified Work Program (UWP) which defines work tasks for the upcoming fiscal year (July 1 to June 30) and shows staff assigned and funds allocated to the UWP’s work tasks. The RRPDC provides lead staffing and primary administrative and technical support for MPO tasks. Based on these adopted plans, area local governments and transportation agencies prepare detailed and specific transportation projects. The primary products of the MPO are a regional long-range 20-year transportation plan, a 3-year transportation improvement program, and related plans and studies. Within this regional framework, local governments and state and local transportation agencies refine these project proposals which are submitted to the MPO for review and approval as part of its Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). For fiscal year 2000-02, the MPO coordinated the development of a $302 million transportation improvement program. The MPO is charged under Section 134 of the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1973, as amended, for maintaining and conducting a “continuing, cooperative and comprehensive” (i.e., “3C”) transportation planning process that results in plans and programs consistent with the comprehensively planned development of the Richmond urbanized area. The MPO and the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) annually certify the MPO’s compliance with federal requirements for the “3C” process, and other federal rules and regulations, as a condition for the Richmond area receiving federal capital and operating assistance funds. Various federally funded highway and transit projects that are located within the RAMPO study area must be approved by the MPO prior to their becoming eligible for federal funds. Voting membership on RAMPO includes nine local governments, four transportation/planning agencies, and VDOT. Consultants, local government, VDOT, and other staffs are also utilized as detailed in the UWP. Standing and special RAMPO committees review, comment, and advise the MPO on various work tasks and other matters and issues related to the region’s transportation needs, plans, programs, and projects. And Rural Areas?The RRPDC also assists rural areas in their transportation planning through cooperative agreements with member counties and the Virginia Department of Transportation. PDC staff have recently completed circulation studies for two member counties in cooperation with their planning staff and VDOT.
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