 |
Subject
Transportation Demand Management Pilot Program Briefing
Recommendation
Staff recommends that Mayor and Council receive a briefing from the Traffic and Transportation Division on the Transportation Demand Management Pilot Program and provide direction for "Next Steps."
Discussion
Background
City staff is in the process of establishing a Transportation Demand Management (TDM) plan. To test the potential success of TDM measures in Rockville and establish a TDM brand for the City, a pilot program was launched in September 2008. Staff is providing the Mayor and Council a briefing on the TDM Pilot Program and is working with the consultant and the Traffic and Transportation Commission on a TDM Plan to be presented to the Mayor and Council in summer 2009.
TDM is a general term for strategies that address the demand, rather than supply and capacity of, transportation resources. TDM programs aim to decrease traffic congestion and vehicle emissions through education, marketing, and outreach to employers and residents about the variety of commuting options available other than driving alone. A further TDM objective is to improve use of the existing transportation infrastructure instead of building new transportation networks.
The City began TDM activities in 2001. While an annual Bike to Work Day event has been ongoing and a bus-shelter maintenance program just started, a full TDM strategic plan for executing specific programs has not been in place. In early 2008, City staff solicited proposals for launching a Rockville TDM Pilot Program, with the goal of testing TDM programs for potential expansion and evaluating the consultant working on the pilot to see if the firm was a good fit for the development of a comprehensive TDM plan.
Following a solicitation of proposals, UrbanTrans was selected as the consultant to work on a TDM pilot
program. UrbanTrans is a firm that specializes in executing TDM programs throughout the country. As a result of the firm's success with initial tasks, staff is currently working with UrbanTrans and the Traffic and Transportation Commission to develop a TDM plan. Staff anticipates bringing the plan to the Mayor and Council for approval in summer 2009.
Initial Steps - Pilot Program Activities
To test the potential success of TDM measures in Rockville and establish a TDM brand for the City, a pilot program was launched in September 2008. There were four main components of the TDM pilot program: a commuter challenge, the expansion of car-sharing services in Rockville, the development of a TDM Web site, and the creation and distribution of community resource packages.
The first component of the pilot program was the "Drive Less Rockville Challenge." UrbanTrans is administering similar challenges in Denver, Houston and Alexandria, Virginia. During this event, participants from a Rockville employer were asked to live car-free for one week. The program's goals were to reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT), promote transportation options in the greater Rockville area, share participant experience by encouraging use of modes other than single-occupancy vehicle trips, and test the feasibility of the challenge in Rockville for consideration of a larger scale event in the future.
Throughout the week-long challenge, the 28 participants received incentives as well as information about multimodal commuting options. They tracked all of their trips on a challenge website, during the week before the challenge, to get baseline information about travel behavior, as well as during the challenge itself. Participants also engaged in focus groups, completed surveys at the conclusion of the event, and provided feedback about their experiences living car-free.
The challenge was successful - the net reduction in vehicle miles traveled was 390 miles, the post-challenge survey showed that nearly half of participants would be likely to change their behavior on a permanent basis and continue using alternative modes, and ninety percent of participants said they would recommend the challenge to a friend. Details of the Drive Less Rockville Challenge are provided (Attachment A). Based on the success of the challenge, this is one of the programs to be considered for inclusion in the TDM plan as an expanded program, including consideration and measurement of sustainable changes in behavior.
The second component of the pilot program involved expansion of car sharing in Rockville. Zipcar, a car-sharing service that allows users to reserve vehicles on-line for a specified amount of time, has eight cars in Rockville. There are three cars, including a hybrid vehicle, at the Shady Grove Metro Station, two cars at the Rockville Metro Station, and two cars at the Twinbrook Metro Station. Staff and UrbanTrans worked with Zipcar to expand their car-sharing service in Rockville, particularly in Rockville Town Square. Zipcar placed an eighth vehicle in Town Square in December 2008 on Maryland Avenue at the southeast corner of its intersection with East Middle Lane. The City's only direct cost for this was providing the parking spot in Town Square. As demand increases, Zipcar plans to install more cars throughout the City. Staff and UrbanTrans will work with Zipcar to monitor car-sharing usage to determine the potential success of this service in the City.
The third component of the pilot program was the development of a TDM Web site, www.drivelessrockville.com, which will be presented to Mayor and Council during its January 26 meeting. The Web site, still in draft form, will contain valuable information about the best ways to get around Rockville for those that live, work, and visit the City. The site will provide everything from a commuter cost calculator to car-pooling information to transit and bicycling maps. The Web site re-brands the City's TDM program as "Drive Less Rockville," which makes the concepts of Transportation Demand Management more accessible to those that live, work, and visit Rockville. Web site "hits" will be monitored following the launch in February 2009 to evaluate the Web site.
The fourth component of the pilot program was the development and distribution of commuter resource packages. The packages contain information about the best ways to get around Rockville other than driving alone. Nearly 1,000 packages will be sent to residents throughout the City, particularly targeted to those living in transit-oriented areas, or within 7/10 of a mile from metro stations in Rockville. Packages will be distributed in February 2009. A draft of the brochure to be included in the packets will be provided to the Mayor and Council at its January 26 meeting. Recipients of the commuter resource packages will be encouraged to visit www.drivelessrockville.com. Hits to the Web site following the mailings in addition to other measures will help gauge whether the resource packages were well received.
Long Term Steps - The TDM Plan
Now that initial steps are underway to test TDM measures, and a Rockville TDM brand "Drive Less Rockville" has been established, staff and UrbanTrans are working with the Traffic and Transportation Commission on a TDM Plan. To approach TDM comprehensively, it is necessary to bring education, engineering, encouragement, and evaluation of the programs into the TDM plan. As a result, through initial discussions with the Traffic and Transportation Commission, some of the plan's programs may include: expanding the Drive Less Rockville Challenge to several major employers in Rockville for a fall and spring annual event; participation in transit subsidies, such as matching employer contributions; upgrading bus shelters and bicycle parking; holding innovative walking and bicycling encouragement events; further expanding car-sharing options; and examining the implementation of a bicycle-sharing program in the City. The plan also will include a description of the City's policies and procedures regarding TDM.
In conjunction with development of the TDM plan, staff will revise the Comprehensive Transportation Review to expand upon the discussion of TDM. Staff also will include a section on TDM in the Comprehensive Master Plan Update and in the Complete Streets Policy.
Fiscal Impact
Transportation Demand Management Programs are funded through developer contributions. The City collects TDM fees from new commercial development, new retail development, and from new multi-family dwelling units, excluding moderately priced dwelling units and multi-family developments less than 15 units. TDM fees are $.10 per square foot for commercial and retail developments and $60 per unit for residential development. Payments are collected in a one-time lump-sum amount when the first occupancy permit is issued or in ten annual payments. Currently, the City has approximately $1.3 million in TDM funds with an average of $204,000 per year of additional revenue from approved developments over the next five years.
Next Steps
Pending direction from the Mayor and Council, staff will:
- Proceed with the next phases of the pilot program for completion of the TDM Web site, distribution of the community resource packages, and evaluation of programs for inclusion in the TDM plan.
- Work with the Traffic and Transportation Commission to develop a TDM Plan. The draft plan will be brought to the Mayor and Council for review in summer 2009.
Attachments
Department Head:
Craig Simoneau, P.E.; , Director of Public Works
Approved on: 01/20/2009
City Manager:
Scott Ullery, City Manager
Approved on: 01/21/2009
|