Welcome To The Fargo Moorhead Council of Governments
The Fargo-Moorhead Metropolitan Council of Governments (Metro COG) is the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the Fargo-Moorhead area. An MPO is a transportation policy-making organization made up of representatives from local government and transportation authorities. The Federal Surface Transportation Act of 1973 required the formation of an MPO for any urbanized area with a population greater than 50,000. The Fargo-Moorhead urban area is composed of the cities of Fargo, Moorhead, West Fargo, and Dilworth, plus eight townships in both Cass and Clay County.
MPOs were created in order to ensure that existing and future expenditures for transportation projects and programs were based on a comprehensive, cooperative, and continuing planning process.
Core functions of an MPO include:
Establishing a fair and impartial setting for effective regional decision making.
Evaluate transportation alternatives by collecting data, understanding issues, and creating a vision for the region.
Develop and update Long Range Transportation Plan, covering a planning horizon of at least 20 years, that fosters mobility for people and goods, efficient transportation system performance and preservation, and quality of life.
Develop a transportation Improvement Program based on the long-range transportation plan and designed to serve area transportation goals.
Involve the general public and all significant affected sub-groups in the functions listed above.
Thus the principal role of Metro COG is to harmonize the activities of federal, state, and local agencies; to render technical assistance and encourage public participation in the development of the area.