By Joey Chenoweth
Casa Grande has no choice but to be a part of the Arizona Department of Transportation’s (ADOT) next metropolitan planning organization (MPO), but Coolidge does, and the Coolidge City Council was able to ask questions to help clarify whether joining the MPO is in the best interest of the city.
The MPO would create a planning area for transportation projects. Casa Grande, being a city that has passed 50,000 people in population, is mandated by the state to form the MPO. They can now enlist other cities in the area to join them, and have begun to focus on Coolidge, Eloy, Florence and Maricopa. All cities that enter the MPO will have a representative in a planning board that will have an equal one vote on funding decisions.
“As transportation dollars are restricted or not available, organizations like MPOs are going to be given more emphasis when distributing these funds,” said Vice-Mayor Gilbert Lopez.

