MARYLAND MEMBERS
Representing Maryland Dept. of Transportation: Tyson S. Byrne
Representing Wicomico County (appointed by County Executive & County Council): Matthew E. Creamer; Joshua A. Hastings; Thomas G. (Bunky) Luffman, Jr.
Representing City of Salisbury: John R. (Jack) Heath; Andrew P. Kitzrow.
Representing City of Fruitland: Marcus R. (Marc) Henderson
Representing Delmar, Maryland: Jeffrey Fleetwood
Representing Tri-County Council for the Lower Eastern Shore of Maryland: Gregory E. Padgham
DELAWARE MEMBERS
Representing Delaware Dept. of Transportation: Pamela Steinebach
Representing Sussex County: Michael H. Vincent
Representing City of Seaford: Charles Anderson
Keith D. Hall, Executive Director
125 North Division St., Room 203, Salisbury MD 21801
(410) 548-4860; fax: (410) 548-4955
e-mail: khall@wicomicocounty.org
web: http://swmpo.org/
A Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) is a federally mandated and federally funded transportation planning and policy-making organization that is made up of representatives from local government and governmental transportation authorities. Federal law requires the formation of such an organization for any urbanized area with a population of more than 50,000. Federal funding for transportation projects and programs is channeled through this planning process. Congress created these organizations in order to ensure that expenditures of governmental funds for transportation are based on a continuing, cooperative and comprehensive planning process.
For each of their respective regions, organization councils are charged with developing a 20-year Long-Range Transportation Plan; a short-term (usually 2 to 6 years) program called the Transportation Improvement Program; and a Unified Planning Work Program (annual budget).
Following the 2000 Census, the U.S. Census Bureau classified the Salisbury region as an Urbanized Area (UA). Thereafter, in February 2004, the Governor of Maryland designated the Salisbury-Wicomico Metropolitan Planning Organization as the agency responsible for conducting transportation planning activities for the region.
Originally, the Urbanized Area encompassed: Salisbury, Fruitland, and Delmar in Maryland; a portion of the surrounding unincorporated areas of Wicomico County; a portion of Delmar, Delaware; and a portion of the surrounding areas of Sussex County, Delaware. With the 2010 Census the Urbanized Area expanded to include Salisbury, Fruitland, Delmar, Hebron, and unincorporated portions of Wicomico and Somerset counties in Maryland, as well as Delmar, Laurel, Blades, Seaford, and a portion of unincorporated Sussex County in Delaware.
The governing body of the Salisbury-Wicomico Metropolitan Planning Organization is the Council, which began meeting in November 2004. The Council's twelve voting members include nine from Maryland and three from Delaware.
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