More about the Volusia County MPO

In 1974, the United States Congress amended the Federal Aid Highway Act, which mandated that all urbanized areas having a population of 50,000 or more designate a single agency to administer federal transportation funds. The agencies that were established were called Metropolitan Planning Organizations.

According federal law, the activities of an MPO must provide a continuing, cooperative and comprehensive (3-C) transportation planning process. The Daytona Beach Urbanized Area MPO was established on January 18, 1977 to guide this 3-C planning process in the coastal urbanized area of Volusia County. However, as growth expanded throughout the County, so did the need for coordinated transportation planning. In 1988, the planning boundary of the MPO was expanded to include the entire County and the organization was re-titled the Volusia County Metropolitan Planning Organization.

Primary Role

The primary roles of the Volusia County MPO include creating a Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP), a shorter range Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) and a Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP). The LRTP extends out over a 20-year horizon and acts as the official guide for the expenditure of federal and state transportation funds that are expected to be available in Volusia County. The projects listed in this document are intended to reflect the community values and visions for improving the overall transportation system.

The TIP is an intermediate range planning document that reflects the transportation expenditures programmed over the next five-years. Project details are provided in the TIP such as the general project description and cost, the funding source and funding year. The TIP contains information on a wide array of transportation projects including aviation, bicycle facilities, planning studies, road improvements and transit, among others.

The UPWP is a short term planning tool that is used to define specific annual goals and projects to be performed or managed by the MPO staff. Most of the planning activities outlined in the UPWP are required by state and federal laws in order to support the MPO process. In addition, the UPWP outlines the annual budget for the planning activities of the MPO.

The MPO generates other planning documents and reports and engages in many other activities such as transportation data collection, safety promotion, and public participation efforts. However, as important as these efforts are, they are primarily required to support the monitoring and development of the LRTP and the TIP.