About the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO)
Who We Are
The Grand Valley Metropolitan Council (GVMC) is the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the Greater Grand Rapids area. MPOs were mandated by the Federal Highway Act of 1973 to provide a cooperative, comprehensive, and continuing transportation planning and decision-making process. The process encompasses all modes and covers both short-range and long-range transportation planning.
What We Do
The MPO is responsible for transportation planning and programming in the Greater Grand Rapids area (see below for a map of the MPO planning area). Each urban area with a population greater than 50,000 people in the United States has an MPO that acts as a liaison between local communities, their citizens, and the state departments of transportation (DOTs). MPOs are important because they direct how and where available state and federal dollars for transportation improvements will be spent. MPOs operate under the current transportation bill, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, signed into law by President Biden on November 15,2021.
MPO Members
Ada Township
Algoma Township
Allendale Charter Township
Alpine Township
Byron Township
Caledonia Charter Township
Cannon Township
Cascade Charter Township
City of Cedar Springs
City of East Grand Rapids
City of Grand Rapids
City of Grandville
City of Hudsonville
City of Kentwood
City of Lowell
City of Rockford
City of Walker
City of Wyoming
Courtland Township
Gaines Charter Township
Georgetown Charter Township
Gerald R. Ford Int'l Airport
Grand Rapids Charter Township
ITP - The Rapid
Jamestown Charter Township
Kent County
Kent County Road Commission
Lowell Charter Township
Michigan Dept. of Transportation
Nelson Township
Ottawa County
Ottawa County Road Commission
Plainfield Charter Township
Tallmadge Charter Township
Village of Sand Lake
Village of Sparta
Transportation Planning in Grand Rapids - Past & Present
Beginning in 1961 with the establishment of the Kent County Planning Commission, comprehensive planning in the Grand Rapids area was done by the Kent County Planning Department. In the mid-1960's, this agency began a comprehensive land use/transportation planning program encompassing the entire sphere of planning-related activities in the Grand Rapids area. This program was designed to fulfill requirements of the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1962 as well as other federal, state and local planning requirements.
In 1964, the Grand Rapids and Environs Transportation Study (GRETS) Technical and Policy Committees were established. GRETS was formed to guide and direct the planning and development of the transportation infrastructure in the metropolitan area. Membership in GRETS originally included Grand Rapids, Wyoming, Walker, East Grand Rapids, Grandville, Kent County, Ottawa County, Kent County Road Commission, Ottawa County Road Commission, Michigan Department of State Highways, and the Federal Highway Administration. In 1967, the City of Kentwood was admitted. In 1974, the City of Rockford was added to the list of participants. Other participants include the Interurban Transit Authority, the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce, and the Kent County Department of Aeronautics.
In 1966, the Kent-Ottawa Regional Planning Commission was formed because of a requirement by the Department of Housing and Urban Development that an agency be in existence to undertake comprehensive planning for the region. From 1966 to 1972, the Kent County Planning Commission and the Kent-Ottawa Regional Planning Commission (generally utilizing staff from the Kent County Planning Department) worked together within the broad conceptual framework provided by the comprehensive development plan for the region. Through an agreement with the GRETS Policy Committee, the Kent-Ottawa Planning Commission served as staff for the MPO carrying out all transportation-related planning activities for the designated study area.
The Kent-Ottawa Regional Planning Commission became the official, independent, metropolitan planning agency responsible for coordinating all planning activities in 1972 for the Kent-Ottawa region and was the coordinating agency for all transportation planning activities within the GRETS study area.
In 1974, the Kent-Ottawa Regional Planning Commission was dissolved and a new, nine county region was formed by executive order of the Governor of the State of Michigan. The West Michigan Regional Planning Commission (WMRPC) was formed and given the responsibility for coordinating the GRETS Transportation Program. This relationship lasted until July 1990, when the State of Michigan in conjunction with the GRETS Policy Committee withdrew the MPO designation from the WMRPC. In October 1990, the GRETS Policy Committee recommended GVMC as the MPO for the Greater Grand Rapids area.
GVMC is currently the designated MPO for the Greater Grand Rapids area and is responsible for carrying out all transportation-related planning activities for the designated study area. These duties include preparation of a Unified Work Program (UPWP), the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), and the development and maintenance of the Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP).
Every four years the Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Transit Administration must jointly certify the metropolitan planning organizations in a transportation management area. To see the most recent Certification Review Report for GVMC, click here.
Banner photo by Natekal23 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0] via Wikimedia Commons