DEPARTMENT: Transportation & Capital Improvements
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Mike Frisbie, P.E.
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: Citywide
SUBJECT: Transportation Demand Management
SUMMARY:
A briefing on Transportation Demand Management (TDM) and initial findings of the TDM Working Group created in response to a Council Consideration Request (CCR) to consider the creation a City program for developing and executing TDM strategies.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
On September 12, 2017, Councilmembers Rey Saldana (District 4) and Ana Sandoval (District 7) submitted a Council Consideration Request (CCR) on creating a City program for developing and executing Transportation Demand Management (TDM) strategies to increase use of mass transit, carpools, and other alternatives to the “one-person one-vehicle” daily commute pattern.
The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) defines Transportation Demand Management (TDM) as a set of strategies aimed at maximizing traveler choices. While traditional TDM programs have previously been defined as commute ridesharing, more recent programs have expanded in scope to focus on incentivizing a variety of transportation choices for commuters and visitors. TDM programs are implemented by a variety of agencies throughout the United States including regional councils of government, state departments of transportation, transportation management associations, and local municipalities.
The City of San Antonio’s SA Tomorrow Multimodal Transportation Plan and Sustainability Plan include goals to reduce Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) per capita as well as strategies focused on incentivizing transportation alternatives and reducing travel demand. While the City and several partner agencies have some established programs that focus on promoting multimodal transportation, a singular, robust program focused on TDM does not exist. Additionally, San Antonio has implemented capital improvements that provide complete streets for residents and visitors, such as the inclusion of bike and transit supportive infrastructure and sidewalks. San Antonio also is financially partnering with VIA Metropolitan Transit for the first time ever to expand bus service. However, approximately 80% of San Antonio drivers still continue to drive alone to work.
ISSUE:
In response to the CCR, TCI recommended establishing a working group with partner agencies and commuters who are focused on multimodal transportation to review the feasibility of creating a singular TDM program for San Antonio. In addition, the working group was to examine existing challenges and opportunities, as well as future coordination efforts and the additional resources needed for implementing a comprehensive TDM program in San Antonio. Lastly, the working group process was anticipated to last six months with TCI reporting initial progress in April 2018 to the City Council Transportation Committee with findings and recommendations in June 2018.
The TDM Working Group has met three times and consists of transportation professionals, professionals from influential San Antonio organizations, technology professionals, and several alternate commuters.
• The first meeting served more as an introductory meeting and included presentations on SA Tomorrow, Alamo Area Council of Government’s (AACOG) existing Commute Solutions Program, and Texas Department of Transportation’s (TxDOT) 2015 San Antonio Area TDM Study.
• The second meeting was a workshop that focused on identifying TDM ideas and strategies based on information learned in the first meeting and other TDM material distributed to the group. Between the second and third meetings, the ideas and strategies were consolidated and prioritized in the form of two surveys that asked about ideas presented and new ideas to achieve the objective of reducing dependency on single occupancy vehicles.
• Meeting three focused on analyzing the top ideas and strategies to determine potential benefits, challenges or barriers to implement, and resources needed to execute the idea or strategy. The top twelve ideas from the surveys are shown in the table below and generally fall within three categories - Infrastructure/Investment, Employer/Employee, Policy/Regulation.
o Infrastructure/Investment - Focuses on better transit options to move more people, including dedicated lanes that would provide incentive to transit riders and carpoolers.
o Policy/Regulation - Includes tax incentives, removing minimum parking requirements, and unbundling parking costs from rent prices. These items would involve significant private sector developer discussions, as well as discussions regarding impact to public tax revenue.
o Employee/Employer - Focuses on building upon and enhancing existing practices such as the Commute Solutions Program through AACOG and Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (AAMPO).
|
Top TDM Ideas from Survey |
Response Rank |
Category |
|
High capacity transit (rail, streetcar, subway, bus rapid transit) |
1 |
Infrastructure/ Investment |
|
Quadruple VIA funding to match per capita spending of Dallas, Houston or Austin |
2 |
Infrastructure/ Investment |
|
Education and training to general public and employers on existing alternative transportation options/programs such as bike commuting, NuRide, VIA Vanpool Service, etc. |
3 |
Employer/ Employee |
|
Implement Managed Lanes to include HOV lanes, toll lanes, congestion pricing, carpool lanes, etc. |
4 |
Infrastructure/ Investment |
|
Tax reduction or incentive for employers who provide alternative transportation |
5 |
Policy/Regulation |
|
Establish employer incentivized rideshare programs with Transportation Network Companies (TNC) or third-party applications such as uberPOOL, Waze, etc. |
6 |
Employer/ Employee |
|
Promote off-peak/flexible hours and telecommuting |
7 |
Employer/ Employee |
|
Incentivize parking for carpoolers |
8 |
Employer/ Employee |
|
Incentivize transit |
9 |
Employer/ Employee |
|
Create a San Antonio Transportation Management Association (TMA) to have a single entity focused on reducing the one-person, one-vehicle daily commute pattern |
10 |
Employer/ Employee |
|
Eliminate minimum parking space requirements for new development |
11 |
Policy/Regulation |
|
Unbundle parking costs from rent prices |
12 |
Policy/Regulation |
Although it was the tenth ranked idea, TCI recommends a focus on the creation of a San Antonio Transportation Management Association (TMA) to have a single entity promoting the reduction of the one-person, one-vehicle daily commute pattern. TMA’s are typically quasi-governmental entities that are primarily non-profit entities that may function with the support of a governmental entity. As a non-profit, a TMA could also promote the complementary strategies of Infrastructure/Investment and Policy/Regulation that would help implement TDM strategies. To further review this idea, TCI recommends continued meetings with the TDM Working Group consider the feasibility of creating a Transportation Management Association and report back to the Transportation Council Committee in June 2018.
ALTERNATIVES:
There are no alternatives associated with this briefing.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact associated with this briefing.
RECOMMENDATION:
There is no action associated with this briefing.