Planning for transportation projects that are regionally significant or use state and federal dollars takes coordination throughout many jurisdictions.

That's where the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization provides assistance. CAMPO and other MPOs—there are 25 in Texas—are federally mandated to provide this kind of coordination and to create long-term regional plans that set transportation visions, CAMPO Director Maureen McCoy said.

CAMPO is governed by its policy board, which includes representatives from cities and counties in CAMPO's six-county region in Central Texas: Bastrop, Burnet, Caldwell, Hays, Travis and Williamson counties.

Regional planning

Every five years, federal law requires CAMPO to approve a long-range plan. The agency is working on its 2040 plan that will be approved by May 2015. The plan includes transportation and transit projects that are regionally significant, meaning the project would serve regional transportation needs such as MoPac, I-35, Capital Metro's MetroRail and MetroRapid, RM 1431 in Cedar Park and RM 1460 between Georgetown and Round Rock.

"When you look at the planning for major regional arterials, that's where CAMPO comes into play," said Travis County Judge Sam Biscoe, who has served on CAMPO's policy board for 14 years.

McCoy said CAMPO asks each member jurisdiction, including Capital Metro, Lone Star Rail District, the Texas Department of Transportation and the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority, to submit a list of projects for which they plan to have funding available for in 2040.

Williamson County Commissioner Cynthia Long, who sits on CAMPO's policy board, said the long-range plan helps set the direction of what projects will be prioritized and ensures local jurisdictions are respected during the planning process.

"What might be the right thing in Austin might not be the right thing in Cedar Park, Georgetown or Round Rock," she said. "We need to make sure everyone is engaged in the process."

Funding

CAMPO also has a say in selecting projects for its plan that use federal and state dollars made available through TxDOT.

Hays County Commissioner Will Conley, who serves as CAMPO's policy board chairman, said the county has focused on getting projects shovel-ready when CAMPO solicits projects that could be federally funded.

"Our county has been very aggressive in preparing projects," he said. "It's one of the biggest reasons we've been so successful in landing state and federal dollars."

Biscoe said Travis County has not been as aggressive in securing projects as Hays and Williamson counties.

"Unlike smaller counties, we have not spent money doing design work, right of way acquisition or environmental work on major projects," he said. "State and federal money is spent on shovel-ready projects. That's a hefty investment up front."

Long said local jurisdictions have to be wise in choosing projects to submit to CAMPO to ensure the local funding match will not be burdensome.

"CAMPO ... needs to be sensitive to the fact that local jurisdictions have [funding] plans in place," she said.

Because so many transportation agencies are involved in the process of funding and selecting projects, McCoy said it can be confusing.

"There seems to be so many nuances," she said. "I think the public should know, and they should understand how complex [the process] is and yet in spite of all that we really want to hear from them."

Public involvement

The CAMPO 2040 plan includes a program that gives residents an opportunity to weigh in on the plan. McCoy said CAMPO has been meeting with residents to ask what challenges they see in their communities. Residents may also submit ideas to the organization's website, www.campotexas.org.

Conley said Hays County reaches out for public input through news releases, social media and email lists.

"It's important [residents] take those plans and let us know what will be the best path forward, whether that be rail, roads or transit or a combination of any of the above."

McCoy said it is important to hear from residents in all six counties regarding its 2040 plan because different communities have different priorities related to transportation.

"The document itself should reflect what the aspiration of the community is," McCoy said. "We're just the ones that are interpreting that, but if we don't hear from the public, then we can only go on what we hear."