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Agenda Item # 21

BOARD MEMORANDUM

RECOMMENDATION:

Approve the 2003 Santa Clara County Congestion Management Program (CMP).

BACKGROUND: 

State law requires that urbanized counties biennially adopt a Congestion Management Program (CMP) containing specified elements.  The intent of the CMP is the development of a comprehensive program that will monitor and mitigate traffic congestion, improve air quality, and better integrate land use and transportation decision-making.  The 2003 Santa Clara County Congestion Management Program is defined in terms of nine elements that logically structure the program: 1) transportation system definition; 2) traffic level of service standards; 3) multimodal transportation performance measures; 4) transportation demand management; 5) countywide transportation model; 6) community form and land use impact analysis; 7) capital improvement program; 8) annual monitoring and conformance requirements; and 9) deficiency plan requirements. 

The CMP is submitted to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) for an evaluation of its consistency with MTCs Regional Transportation Plan (RTP).  Following MTCs evaluation the responsibility to implement the CMP rests with VTA and local jurisdictions.

DISCUSSION: 

Preparing the CMP is not simply a response to legislation; it is good planning.  That is, by addressing congestion, transportation demand, and land-use/transportation decision-making issues early, larger problems that will result in more expensive, more impactful, and less effective solutions can be avoided.

Santa Clara County faces significant job and population growth over the coming decades and concerns about congestion and community livability are expected to increase. The CMP provides practical options for managing our regions traffic congestion today and provides a framework for preventative and innovative planning options for the future. The CMP also serves as a short-term element of the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) focusing on congestion management strategies that can be implemented in advance of the longer-range transportation solutions contained within the RTP.

The 2003 update portends an evolving and more active role for the CMP in our regions future. The 2003 CMP contains three revisions in comparison with the 2001 CMP:

·        The creation of a new land use program, the Community Design and Transportation (CDT) Program to better integrate transportation and land use decision-making.  This program was adopted by the VTA Board of Directors at its November 2002 meeting as VTAs primary program for integrating transportation and land use. It is designed for use by VTA Member Agencies, and all Member Agencies are expected to formally endorse the program by the end of November 2003.

·        A revised Capital Improvement Program (CIP) which reflects the most current information available regarding VTA programs and operating revenues, and information resulting from the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) 2005 update process.  The CIP identifies programmed projects as well as future transportation projects and programs identified in VTP 2020.

·        An updated Traffic Level of Service section, reflecting monitoring results from 2002.

Areas that VTA will address in the CMP over the next two years and include in the 2005 update are:

·        Alternative Mitigation Strategies toolkit

·        Revisions to the CMP Transportation Impact Analysis (TIA) Guidelines

·        Guidelines and Strategies for implementing Senate Bill 1636 (infill opportunity areas)   Figuroa, 2002.

·        Revisions to the Countywide Transportation Model and Database Element to reflect the new countywide transportation model and enhanced GIS/Land Use Analysis capabilities.

ALTERNATIVES:

The Board may request staff to make changes to the 2003 Congestion Management Program.

FISCAL IMPACT: 

There is no fiscal impact on the VTA enterprise account.

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