Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO)

Municipal Elections to the Boston MPO

In June 2010, elections were held for two of six local municipal seats on the Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO). One city and one town seat were up for election. This year, Beverly and Somerville ran for a city seat and Framingham ran unopposed for a town seat.

The town of Framingham and the city of Somerville won election to three year terms on the MPO.

The elections were held June 2, 2010 at the MAPC Annual Meeting in Cambridge. Participants were Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone, Beverly Mayor William Scanlon, and Framingham Board of Selectmen Chairwoman Ginger Esty.

Learn more about the nomination process.

Representatives of all of the candidate municipalities participated in a Candidates Forum earlier this spring, which was organized by MAPC and the MBTA Advisory Board.

Watch the video (below) of the question-and-answer sessions with candidates.

Video of Q&A with the MPO Candidates - Part One

Video of Q&A with the MPO Candidates - Part Two 

About the Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO)

MAPC provides planning support to the Boston Region MPO and to our region's communities. The MPO is responsible for conducting the region's transportation planning process, as required by the federal government. The MPO develops a vision for the Greater Boston region, and uses this plan to allocate federal and state funds toward transportation projects, including roadways, transit, pedestrian and bicycle projects.

This work includes developing regional bicycle and pedestrian plans, and providing alternative land-use analyses for upcoming projects.

MAPC is one of 14 members of the MPO charged with carrying out comprehensive and cooperative transportation planning in the  region.

The MPO is responsible for the development, review and approval of three key planning projects:

• The Regional Transportation Plan
• The Transportation Improvement Program (TIP)
• The Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP)

Updated every four years, the Regional Transportation Plan serves as an overall guide for transportation programs and projects.

The TIP is the "implementation arm" of the MPO's long-range transportation plan; it programs federal aid for transit projects, and programs both state and federal aid for roadway projects. The MPO can only include projects on the TIP if they are likely to be funded, making the TIP financially constrained.

The UPWP is an annually-produced document which describes all the significant "surface-transportation" projects expected to be undertaken in the region within the federal fiscal year. It also lists the funding sources for each planning project.

Corridor Studies

The MPO conducts corridor studies on transportation corridors within the region that:

1. Have been identified for major capacity building projects; or
2. Are facing rapid commercial and/or residential development that could lead to increased capacity needs.

A corridor study considers both transportation and land use within a planning process that includes public input and integrates strategies to better manage development while promoting a balance of transportation modes to preserve future capacity.

MAPC is working with the Central Transportation Planning Staff of the MPO on a corridor study of Trapelo Road in Belmont, Lexington, and Waltham to address the new and potential development in the area.

For more information on this study, visit the Belmont/Lexington/Waltham Sub-Area Study page.