Metropolitan Transportation Governance: Suballocation, Devolution, and the Quest for Better Decision-Making

This article explains that transportation is crucial to the success of metropolitan areas as they compete in the global economy, and argues, therefore, that funding sources and decision-making for metropolitan areas needs to be expanded under federal transportation law. It provides an historical overview of federal efforts to support metropolitan transportation decision processes. It also describes the four major elements of the federal surface transportation law that provides metropolitan areas with the ability to make transportation decisions. These include the Surface Transportation Program, Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality program, the Metropolitan Planning Program, and the Transportation Enhancements Program. The article suggests that in too many instances state departments of transportation have too much authority over projects selected by metropolitan planning organizations. The article concludes with several suggestions to remedy the current situation.