|
The Lafayette Consolidated Government (Metropolitan Planning Organization) was created by City-Parish Council Resolution R-010-96 on the fourth day of June 1996. This resolution of the Lafayette City-Parish Council designated the Lafayette City-Parish Government as the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) responsible for conducting the continuing transportation planning process in the Lafayette Urbanized Area and authorizing the City-Parish President to sign an agreement relating to the re-designation of the MPO. The MPO was created by state enabling legislation and an agreement between the Lafayette City-Parish Government, and the municipalities of Lafayette, Broussard, Carencro, Scott, Duson and Youngsville. This agreement was signed by Governor Foster on August 1, 1996.
In August of 1996, the Governor of the State of Louisiana and the affected local governments designated Lafayette City-Parish Government as the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO). This designation serves to ensure that transportation planning efforts in the Lafayette Metropolitan and Urbanized Areas will be coordinated with other comprehensive planning efforts. This designation is in accordance with Title 23, Section 134 of the United States Code and as reaffirmed in ISTEA, which requires that an MPO be established to support the urban transportation planning process in all urbanized areas over 50,000 population. The MPO area is illustrated on the map entitled "Lafayette Metropolitan Planning Area"
With regard to the operation of the MPO, the Lafayette City-Parish Government functions in a dual capacity. The first role is a "policy function" whereby the Lafayette City-Parish Council serves as the "Governing Authority" for the MPO. Since Lafayette City-Parish Government has been designated as the host agency for the MPO, its primary function is to facilitate the operation of the MPO through its Department of Traffic and Transportation, Comprehensive Planning/MPO Division. This includes providing staff and administrative support and legal responsibility for execution of the grant contracts (including final adoption of the UPWP).
The second function is an "advisory function". The purpose of this role is to provide a strong linkage between comprehensive/land use planning activities, development activities, and the development and implementation of the multi-modal regional transportation program for the metropolitan area.
The agreement that designates the MPO specifies that a committee structure shall be established that will be responsible for the overall technical and policy guidance of the MPO. The Agreement specifies that Transportation Technical and Transportation Policy Committees will be designated to fulfill this responsibility. However, the City-Parish Council passed Resolution R-015-96 establishing a Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC) to the Lafayette Transportation Technical Committee (TTC).
|
