Commuting Solutions Garners National Attention for Northwest Regional Transportation Demand Management Plan
For its groundbreaking work on the newly released Northwest Regional Transportation Demand Management (TDM) plan, Commuting Solutions has been named a finalist for the 2023 Association for Commuter Transportation (ACT) Excellence in Planning Award. The award will be presented at ACT’s 37th Annual International Conference in Seattle, WA this August.
For the past year, Commuting Solutions, in collaboration with a consultant team, as well as public, private, and nonprofit stakeholders, has led the effort to develop an inaugural Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Plan to create a shared vision for the northwest metro region’s TDM priorities to reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality. We are excited to announce that the Northwest Region TDM planning process is complete.
Through this collaborative process, Commuting Solutions and its stakeholders identified 11 strategies that focus limited resources, services, and programs on essential workers and for projects where there is the greatest need. “For the first time in our region, we have developed a shared set of TDM goals for our region’s future and roadmap to get us there” says Audrey DeBarros, Executive Director of Commuting Solutions.
What Areas Does the Plan Cover?
The northwest metro region is defined as the communities of Boulder, Boulder County, Louisville, Superior, Broomfield, Westminster, Lafayette, Erie and Longmont. Stakeholders from each of these areas participated in the planning process.
What is a TDM Plan? TDM is the practice of increasing mobility options for all travelers with a focus on shifting people away from driving alone to other modes of transportation, such as transit, carpooling, and riding a bike. Although its origins are in improving air quality and congestion, TDM has grown to provide solutions to further goals related to climate change, public health, job access, employee recruitment, transportation equity, and other focus areas. The Northwest Region TDM Plan provides a roadmap of strategies tailored for the region’s transportation, mobility and access needs and sets regional goals for growth, transportation, and land use. The entire region will benefit from the implementation of these strategies not just with improved air quality and reduced congestion, but with a better overall quality of life.
Northwest Regional TDM Strategies:
- Implementing TDM programs that include bus rapid transit (BRT) service.
- Exploring the feasibility of a regional bike share program.
- Developing and distributing a mobility guide.
- Conducting ongoing travel training for essential workers.
- Developing model TDM programs NW cities can easily incorporate.
- Developing and distributing an employer policy toolkit for businesses.
- Creating a northwest regional TDM coordinating council.
- Providing subsidies and marketing support for a vanpool pilot program.
- Providing incentives to encourage non-Single Occupancy Vehicle (SOV) travel or changing travel times during peak congestion.
- Providing marketing and support to schools not currently enrolled in the Way to Go “SchoolPool” carpooling program.
- Conducting transportation options outreach at multifamily and low-income housing.
Next Steps:
Earlier this year, Commuting Solutions received a Colorado Department of Transportation grant of $50,000 for the development of a TDM ordinance in partnership with local government staff from the region. This funding from CDOT gives Commuting Solutions a strong start to begin implementing key strategies in the plan. Further potential federal, state, regional and local funding options were defined for each strategy, along with prioritization according to feasibility, impact and timeliness. We will continue to coordinate with partners to secure funding as we begin to implement the TDM plan over the next few years.
See the full plan here
https://commutingsolutions.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/NW_TDM_Plan_Final.pdf