Chris Cohilas appointed chairman of DARTS MPO for FY 2020
DARTS MPO discusses current transportation issues and status reports
File Photo
From staff reports
ALBANY – Dougherty County Commission Chairman Chris Cohilas was recently appointed chairman of the Dougherty Area Regional Transportation Study Metropolitan Planning Organization for Fiscal Year 2020.
The purpose of DARTS MPO is to provide planning and funding of transportation projects in the region, which includes the city of Albany, Dougherty County and the southern half of Lee County. By involving the public in the process through expanded citizen participation efforts, the major focus of the MPO is to develop and maintain a long-range transportation plan through a continuing, comprehensive and cooperative planning process.
Other focus areas of the MPO include the annual development of a four-year program for highway and transit improvements, which comprises the Transportation Improvement Program. In addition, the MPO annually adopts a comprehensive one-year planning program, which comprises the Unified Planning Work Program — a unit responsible for coordinating the individual transportation plan activities of all agencies within the area.
“Developing an effective and long-term transportation plan for Albany and Dougherty County will shape how our region will thrive in the areas of business and industry, infrastructure and quality of life for our residents,” Cohilas said. “It is crucial that we develop a plan that will sustain our region for many years to come, and I look forward to helping lead those efforts as the new chairman of the committee.”
By looking 25-plus years into the future of transportation needs in the region, the DARTS MPO identifies those projects to be carried out in the next four years and provides annual updates. The process involves solicitation of project requests from those agencies responsible for providing transportation services and facilities, cooperatively ranking them into their merits and selecting the highest priority projects that will fit into the estimated available funding.
The group meets quarterly on Thursdays, during which time they discuss current transportation issues and status reports on transportation studies and projects that are provided. After these discussions, policy actions are taken that include adoption of the TIP and UPWP, revision to these documents or the LRTP and adoption of resolutions related to current transportation issues.
For more information about DARTS MPO, visit dartsmpo.org.
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