About Us Next

Imagine all the ways we travel every day: riding in cars, taking the bus, riding bikes, or even walking. How do we make sure there are enough roads, sidewalks, and ways to get around for everyone in a Texas-sized community like our Dallas-Fort Worth planning area, and all the towns nearby?

That's where the North Central Texas Council of Governments, or NCTCOG for short, comes in! Think of us as your public servants who help plan how we all get around now and later. Our Transportation Department is like the "brain" for all the travel planning in North Texas.

Regional transportation planning in North Central Texas is a process that combines the efforts of the Regional Transportation Council (RTC) and several technical committees. Areas served include the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Denton-Lewisville, and McKinney-Frisco urbanized areas and surroundings.

The complex makeup of North Texas requires a coordinated effort to plan and administer programs that will ensure the quality-of-life residents expect as the area continues to grow and develop.
 

It's a big job to plan for so many people!

NCTCOG works with a special group called the Regional Transportation Council (RTC) and all our partners to make these plans. We think about places grouped by size (called urban areas) like the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Denton-Lewisville, McKinney-Frisco.

Why is this so important? Because our area is always growing!

More and more people are moving here and we want to make sure everyone can get where they need to go safely and easily, and that our towns and cities are still great places to live.
 

Did you know there's a rule that big cities with lots of people (over 50,000!) need a special group to plan our transportation?

This group is called a Metropolitan Planning Organization, or MPO.

In 1974, Texas Governor at the time Dolph Brisco said that NCTCOG would be our MPO. The RTC group continues to be the group to make the important decisions about transportation.

Federal law requires a metropolitan area with 50,000 or more people to have a Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO). In 1974, five years after the creation of the Transportation Department, Governor Dolph Briscoe designated NCTCOG as the MPO with the provision that the RTC serve as the MPO policy-making body for the 12-county Dallas-Fort Worth area. 

NCTCOG's Executive Board serves as the MPO's Fiscal Agent. The RTC serves as the MPO policy-making body, responsible for transportation policy decisions. The MPO planning agreement between TxDOT, RTC, and NCTCOG outline each entity's respective roles in the MPO process. As laws have changed over the years, NCTCOG has adapted and expanded its role in the planning process. The MPO works closely with regional, state and federal partners to plan and recommend transportation projects that will improve mobility and encourage more efficient land use.

 

NCTCOG has an Executive Board that helps manage the money for these plans. The RTC group makes all the big decisions about how we get around now and as we move forward. We work closely with other important groups, like TxDOT (who build and take care of roads), to make sure everyone is on the same page.

The MPO also  makes some important "products" which are our plans to help us all get around:

• A Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP): This is like a super long-term map for how transportation will look far into the future.

• A Transportation Improvement Program (TIP): This is a shorter-term list of projects we want to work on soon.

• A Congestion Management Process (CMP): This helps them figure out how to make traffic less sticky and keep things moving.

• A Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP): This is our to-do list for all the planning work we believe will improve our system and processes.

Need somebody?

Brian Wilson is our superhero for information.

Check out our public meetings- and call our hotline 817-695-9240!

Look inside our meetings and see what we are up to- tickets free today only!

Our staff directory is open to you with experts in many different areas.

We would love your feedback!