About

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 planning and policy-making organization made up of representatives from local government and transportation authorities. Metro COG, as the name describes, is also a council of governments. Thus, it is an organization that was formed through cooperation of local governments to coordinate planning efforts. The council of government aspects of Metro COG works on local community development tasks, whereas the MPO aspect of Metro COG focuses on transportation planning. Over the years, community development and transportation planning efforts have become more intertwined. Federal legislation has integrated traditional local community develop tasks into the transportation planning framework. However, Metro COG continues to work with local jurisdictions on non-federally eligible planning projects. Metro COG is guided by four (4) principle documents: Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP), Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP), and Public Participation Plan (PPP). These guide policy making and transportation planning processes. Federal regulation specifies the content and purpose of these documents.