Integrating the Military into the Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process

According to the TRB Military Transportation Committee, most U.S. metropolitan planning areas with military installations currently have a disconnect between Department of Defense military bases, metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), departments of transportation, and local communities. The Hampton Roads (Virginia) Transportation Planning Organization (HRTPO), however, has a long-standing relationship with the military community and has taken steps to increase related efforts in recent years. HRTPO has advanced the cause of planning in Hampton Roads—and, by example, in the United States—through a coordinated approach to meeting the transportation needs of the military located in the Hampton Roads region. In response to military concerns about local traffic congestion and delays, the HRTPO board placed greater emphasis on military transportation planning in the region by endorsing annual military briefings by military representatives to the MPO board and by including a military needs study in its work program. The Hampton Roads Military Transportation Needs Study, an ongoing effort by HRTPO, is reportedly the first and only attempt of an MPO to identify solutions to the transportation needs of the local military. The purpose of this paper is to inform other metropolitan areas about the integration of the military into the transportation planning process in Hampton Roads and to provide a summary of key findings from the region's Military Transportation Needs Study. Other MPOs can apply the methods, results, successes, and lessons learned from Hampton Roads to their respective regions.