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The TPB Citizens Advisory Committee

The Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) is the main standing body for providing citizen input in to the deliberations of the Transportation Planning Board. The CAC was originally established by the TPB in 1993, partly in response to the citizen involvement requirements of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) of 1991. According to the TPB's 1999 public involvement policy, the CAC's mission statement calls upon the committee to promote public involvement in regional transportation planning and provide independent, region-oriented citizen advice to the TPB.

The CAC comprises 15 members, five each from Northern Virginia, suburban Maryland and the District of Columbia. Of these 15 members, six are elected by the previous year's CAC and nine are appointed by the TPB itself. The TPB chair apppoints the chair of the CAC.

The CAC meets every month, six days before the TPB's monthly meeting, to review many of the same substantive issues that will be on the TPB agenda. The following Wednesday, at the TPB's monthly meeting, the chair of the CAC presents a 10-minute report.

Over the years, the CAC has focused on key regional transportation issues, such as the transportation funding shortfall or environmental concerns, and has offered comments to the TPB reflecting the diverse viewpoints represented on the committee. For example, in 2000, the CAC extensively examined the draft update to the Constrained Long-Range Plan (CLRP) and offered a number of recommendations, which included a request that the TPB perform a study of different transportation and land use scenarios. This suggestion was taken up by the TPB in November 2000 when it decided to launch the Regional Mobility and Accessibility Study.

The committee is required to hold six outreach meetings a year throughout the region - two each in D.C., Virginia and Maryland. These meetings take place in a variety of locations ranging from close-in neighborhoods like Anacostia to outer suburban communities like Manassas.

Program Contact

John Swanson - (202) 962-3295