Dougherty County Board of Commissioners Chairman, Christopher S. Cohilas, was recently appointed as Chairman of the Dougherty Area Regional Transportation Study Metropolitan Planning Organization (DARTS MPO) for fiscal year 2020.

The purpose of DARTS MPO is to provide planning and funding of transportation projects in the region,
which includes the City of Albany, Dougherty County, and the southern half of Lee County. By involving
the public in the process through expanded citizen participation efforts, the major focus of the MPO is to
develop and maintain a Long-Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) through a continuing, comprehensive
and cooperative planning process.

Other focus areas of the MPO include the annual development of a four-year program for highway and
transit improvements, which comprises the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). In addition, the
MPO annually adopts a comprehensive one-year planning program, which comprises the Unified Planning
Work Program (UPWP). This unit is responsible for coordinating the individual transportation plan
activities of all agencies within the area.

“Developing an effective and long-term transportation plan for Albany and Dougherty County will shape
how our region will thrive in the areas of business and industry, infrastructure, and quality of life for our
residents,” said Christopher S. Cohilas, Chairman of DARTS MPO. “It is crucial that we develop a plan
that will sustain our region for many years to come and I look forward to helping lead those efforts as the new chairman of the committee.”

By looking 25-plus years into the future transportation needs of the region, the DARTS MPO identifies
those projects to be carried out in the next four years and provides annual updates. Their process involves solicitation of project requests from those agencies responsible for providing transportation services and facilities, cooperatively ranking them into their merits, and selecting the highest priority projects that will fit into the estimated available funding.

The group meets quarterly on Thursdays of each month, where they discuss current transportation issues and status reports on transportation studies and projects that are provided. After these discussions, policy actions are taken that include adoption of the TIP and UPWP, revision to these documents or the LRTP, and adoption of resolutions related to current transportation issues.

The first meeting of DARTS MPO for FY2020 will be held on September 19, 2019, at 10 a.m. in the Central Square Building located at 240 Pine Avenue, Room 380.