Best Practices

The Des Moines Area MPO researches best practices in regional planning. The best-practice reports are meant to inform community leaders and MPO member governments on the range of tools available for meeting the performance measures established in Mobilizing Tomorrow.

Reports and research are available in the following categories:

orange food truck

Mobile Food Vending

City leaders recognize there is no “one size fits all” prescription for how to effectively incorporate food trucks into their community. The following are initial steps to develop a regional approach for best practices and policies relating to food vending across the metro.

bicycle lane in park

Protected Bike Lanes

Protected bike lanes are those that are within the public right of way and protected by some vertical element such as parked cars with a buffer zone.

vehicles passing on a roundabout

Complete Streets

The Des Moines Area MPO developed a complete streets policy template in 2015 that can be adopted by local governments throughout Greater Des Moines. Since that time, five new complete streets policies have been adopted bringing the total to nine policies in the region.