MEMBERSHIP
and ORGANIZATION: Originally
organized as the Fort Smith Area Transportation Study (FSATS)
through a cooperative agreement between State, Federal, and local
officials in 1965, the Bi-State Metropolitan Planning Organization
(MPO) provides guidance concerning immediate and long-range transportation
activities. MPO membership includes: 1) jurisdictions located
in the urbanized areas of Crawford and Sebastian Counties in Arkansas,
and LeFlore and Sequoyah Counties in Oklahoma; and 2) the Departments
of Transportation in Arkansas and Oklahoma.
The
MPO has a policy committee and supportive sub-committees called
task forces. Assisting in each aspect of the transportation planning
process are the staffs of the Arkansas Highway and Transportation
Department (AHTD), the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT),
the Federal Highway (FHWA) and Federal Transit Administrations
(FTA) of the U.S. Department of Transportation.
PUBLIC
INVOLVEMENT: The MPO provides the forum for citizen involvement
in integrating the various segments of the transportation network
- highway, air, rail, and water transportation - into the most
efficient total system to serve the area's broad economic, social,
and political requirements. This citizen participation is guaranteed
by the MPO's Public
Involvement Procedures which have been approved the State's
Departments of Transportation and Federal Transportation agencies.
