2018 National Award for Excellence

Making Relationships Count

Overview

The Memphis Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) has been awarded the 2018 National Award for Excellence in MPO Coordination and Partnership by the Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations (AMPO) for our strong collaborative projects and practices.

Each year the Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations (AMPO) honors the efforts of MPOs at the AMPO Annual Conference for several categories:

  • Outstanding Overall Achievement for a TMA MPO
  • Outstanding Overall Achievement for a non-TMA MPO
  • Excellence in MPO Coordination & Partnership

2018 National Award for Excellence in MPO Coordination and Partnership

The Memphis MPO, with support from the West Memphis MPOTennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT)Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT)Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT), and the Federal Highway Administration – TN Division, submitted an application for the category ‘Excellence in MPO Coordination & Partnership’ highlighting multiple collaborative projects by the MPO.

Examples of the strong coordination recognized by AMPO include:

  • CMAQ PM3 Subpart G: Traffic Congestion Working Group - The Memphis MPO spearheaded the process by coordinating a highly technical discussion between three FHWA Divisions, three State DOTs, and the West Memphis MPO to set single-unified targets for the tri-state Memphis, TN-MS-AR Urbanized Area.
  • Greater Memphis Regional Freight Plan - The Memphis MPO's Greater Memphis Regional Freight Plan went beyond the MPO's boundaries to encompass the tri-state area, achieving a truly regional perspective, while also including truckers and residents across the entire region.
  • Coordinated Public Transit-Human Services Transportation Plan - The Coordinated Public Transit-Human Services Transportation Plan involved a partnership between three states, two MPOs, and dozens of agencies across twenty counties focusing on needs of seniors, persons with disabilities, and communities of low-income.

MPO Staff were on hand at the 2018 Annual AMPO Conference in San Antonio, Texas to receive the award.