The Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission (NWARPC) and FUSE are collaborating to help Northwest Arkansas move from coordinating transportation across many jurisdictions to delivering it at a truly regional scale. Growth has pushed commuting patterns, labor markets, and transportation needs well past individual city limits, and the region’s largest cities increasingly feel the strain of mobility constraints. Regional planning, philanthropic investment, and shared initiatives have built a strong collaborative foundation, but they’ve also exposed structural gaps that coordination alone can’t close. NWARPC sees an empowered, sustainably funded Regional Mobility Authority as the answer, with transportation serving as an entry point for broader regional cooperation in areas like stormwater management and traffic management.
Starting in Fall 2026, Fellow Earnie Glazener will hold a 90-day listening tour with municipal leaders, state transportation officials, philanthropy, major employers, and community representatives, while reviewing plans, legal authorities, funding mechanisms, and peer regions with voter-approved authorities. In Year One, Glazener will evaluate governance and legal models for the RMA and other regional cooperation, assess funding, representation, and accountability options, and build engagement strategies and public-facing materials. Year One deliverables include a governance assessment, evaluated legal pathway options, a regional alignment and engagement strategy, a public concept framework with a phased roadmap toward voter consideration, and knowledge transfer resources. By Fall 2028, the region is expected to have a publicly credible governance pathway and stronger capacity to secure funding and deliver transportation infrastructure.
