The Central Dakota MPO was federally authorized based on 2020 census numbers showing the area from Burlington to Minot to Surrey achieved the 50,000 population threshold. The MPO joins other North Dakota MPOs in Fargo, Grand Forks and Bismarck. The MPO process was developed by the federal government to give communities a voice in transportation development, Van Dyke said.

The Central Dakota MPO, which has a policy board and technical advisory committee, is tasked with developing a metropolitan transportation plan for the area. Van Dyke said public engagement is an important piece in that plan development.

“We want to make sure that all the users, the customers – effectively the people using the roadways – are providing input, and that will help to prioritize the projects themselves. There’s already more projects needed than there are dollars available,” he said.

Public open houses are scheduled for Oct. 15 from 5-7 p.m., Minot City Hall, council chambers; Oct. 16 from noon-2 p.m., Surrey Senior Center; and Oct. 16 from 5-7 p.m., Burlington Community Food Pantry. Van Dyke said informational materials and a survey are available to enable people to comment even if unable to attend an open house.

“This metropolitan transportation plan that we’re actively working on right now is looking out to the year 2050. What makes this different than other long-range transportation plans that you may have been involved in is that this is going to be looking at this through a regional lens,” he said.

The goal is to understand impact, future growth and transportation needs, he said. Forecasts and other data will be generated to determine transportation volumes and patterns into the future, which will help identify projects.

“We want to make sure that if a project makes it into the transportation plan, that it can be reasonably funded through known funding streams,” Van Dyke added. “We’re not trying to create this pie-in-the-sky wishlist of a plan. It should be something that can be executable, understanding the limited amount of resources that the area has collectively to work with.”

A regional focus also can identify cross jurisdictional solutions to traffic problems, Van Dyke said. The MPO will look at all modes of transportation, including rail and bicycles.

In November, focus group listening sessions are planned with six stakeholder categories – community-based organizations, businesses, freight and trucking, emergency responders, underserved populations and major employers.

Input from the public meetings and listening sessions will be compiled and presented to the MPO policy board at its Dec. 19 meeting.