The Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) coordinates the federally required transportation-planning process for the Boston metropolitan area. Its remit is to set a regional transportation vision and guide the allocation of federal and state funds to roadway, transit, bicycle, and pedestrian programs and projects.2
The planning area covers 97 cities and towns—about 1,360 square miles—from Ipswich in the north to Marshfield in the south and west to approximately Interstate 495.2 The MPO has 23 voting members drawn from state agencies, regional bodies, and municipalities; its board makes funding and planning decisions, while the Central Transportation Planning Staff (CTPS) carries out the technical work under the board’s direction.23
The MPO’s core planning products include a Long-Range Transportation Plan, a Transportation Improvement Program, and a Unified Planning Work Program.2 These documents set long-term priorities, identify transportation investments, and organize planning studies and related work.212 CTPS, established in 1973 as a permanent source of multimodal planning and analysis expertise, supports the MPO and its member agencies through research, analysis, and coordination.5 The MPO also maintains an ongoing public-engagement program.2
A notable regional planning effort is Destination 2050, the MPO’s long-range transportation plan, which establishes a vision and investment priorities for the region’s multimodal transportation system.9 The MPO is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts; its LinkedIn company listing gives an address at 10 Park Plaza.11 The current board chair listed on the MPO site is Phillip Eng, and Tegin Teich is identified as executive director of CTPS, the MPO’s staff.34