WORK PROGRAM
Regional Travel Demand Management (TDM) Strategies Coordination
December 3, 2020
The Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) votes to approve this work program.
Boston Region MPO Planning Studies and Technical Analyses
Boston Region MPO
Principal: Jonathan Church
Manager: Sandy Johnston
MPO Planning and §5303 Contract #112310
Schedule and budget details are shown in Exhibits 1 and 2, respectively.
The Boston Region MPO elected to fund this study with its federally allocated metropolitan planning funds during federal fiscal year (FFY) 2021. The work completed through this study will address the following goal area(s) established in the MPO’s Long-Range Transportation Plan (LRTP): safety, system preservation, capacity management and mobility, clean air and clean communities, economic vitality.
Travel Demand Management (TDM) is a topic of interest to many of the MPO’s stakeholders and to municipal and business interests in the Boston region. A 2015 report by the MPO’s sister agency, the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC), defines TDM as
a package of policies and programs that are designed to reduce drive-alone trips and enable the transportation system to function more effectively and efficiently through measures that shift passengers from single-occupancy vehicle (SOV) travel. Specifically, TDM encourages using alternative travel modes (bicycling, walking, and transit); promoting alternatives to SOV travel (teleworking, ridesharing including carpooling and vanpooling); increasing the number of passengers in vehicles (carpooling and vanpooling); and eliminating the need for some trips altogether (compressed work week).1
In addition to the report from MAPC, research on TDM in Massachusetts has been conducted by the business group, A Better City.2 MPO stakeholders have indicated that there is demand among municipalities, Transportation Management Associations, businesses, and other stakeholders for space in which those who are executing TDM policies can swap information, and those who are examining the possibility of implementing TDM ordinances can ask questions. In addition, stakeholders state that there is a need for better understanding of the legal and legislative context for TDM in Massachusetts, and believe that the MPO and its partner agencies are well-positioned to convene informative conversations on the topic. During the process of developing the FFY 2021 UPWP, members of the MPO’s UPWP Committee suggested that the MPO and MAPC could collaborate on one or more forums or other such gatherings to discuss TDM. Results of these discussions will feed into developing scenarios for the scenario planning process preceding the development of the MPO’s next LRTP.
The project manager will identify and meet with an MAPC staff member to coordinate with planning the forums.
A preliminary breakdown of planned work between MAPC and MPO staff
Staff plan to hold the first forum online over the winter of 2020–21, either in December or January.
Staff will screen potential topics with stakeholders who have expressed interest in TDM discussions. First and foremost, staff will determine whether the first forum will cover technical or governance questions.
In collaboration with MAPC, staff will recruit speakers and a moderator (some of whom may be MPO or MAPC staff) for the forum. Staff will prioritize diversity in racial and gender representation on the panel to reflect the diversity of the Boston region and the MPO’s equity goals.
The project manager will work with the Public Outreach Coordinator and MAPC staff to create a detailed event plan and the necessary digital infrastructure to hold the event. Staff will also publicize the event through MPO and MAPC channels, among others.
Staff will host the digital forum through Zoom, relying on plans laid in Subtasks 2.1 through 2.3.
A digital forum covering either technical or governance questions relating to TDM in Massachusetts
Staff tentatively plan to hold a second forum in person in August or September of 2021, pending safety clearance. If it is not safe to hold the second forum in-person, it will be held virtually like the first one.
This forum will cover either technical or governance topics, whichever the first forum does not cover. As with the first forum, staff will screen potential topics with stakeholders who have expressed interest in TDM discussions.
In collaboration with MAPC, staff will recruit speakers and a moderator (some of whom may be MPO or MAPC staff) for the forum. Staff will prioritize diversity in racial and gender representation on the panel to reflect the diversity of the Boston region and the MPO’s equity goals.
The project manager will work with the Public Outreach Coordinator and MAPC staff to create a detailed event plan and the necessary infrastructure (digitally, if necessary, because of health concerns) to hold the event. Staff will also publicize the event through MPO and MAPC channels, among others.
Staff will host the forum, relying on plans laid in Subtasks 3.1 through 3.3.
A forum covering either technical or governance questions relating to TDM in Massachusetts
Throughout the project, MPO staff will work to create a network of stakeholders interested in TDM topics. Staff will also work to create an ongoing framework for collaboration, perhaps a working group similar to the Mobility Working Group, including representatives from MAPC, MPO staff, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation Rail & Transit Division, and MassMobility, which currently meets quarterly.
1 MAPC. Transportation Demand Management Case Studies and Regulations, http://www.mapc.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/TDM-FINAL-REPORT-7_15_0.pdf, accessed October 21, 2020
2 A Better City. Establishing an Effective Commute Trip Reduction Policy in Massachusetts, https://www.abettercity.org/docs/Effective%20TRO%20Final.pdf, accessed October 21, 2020
The Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) operates its programs, services, and activities in compliance with federal nondiscrimination laws including Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI), the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987, and related statutes and regulations. Title VI prohibits discrimination in federally assisted programs and requires that no person in the United States of America shall, on the grounds of race, color, or national origin (including limited English proficiency), be excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or be otherwise subjected to discrimination under any program or activity that receives federal assistance. Related federal nondiscrimination laws administered by the Federal Highway Administration, Federal Transit Administration, or both, prohibit discrimination on the basis of age, sex, and disability. The Boston Region MPO considers these protected populations in its Title VI Programs, consistent with federal interpretation and administration. In addition, the Boston Region MPO provides meaningful access to its programs, services, and activities to individuals with limited English proficiency, in compliance with U.S. Department of Transportation policy and guidance on federal Executive Order 13166. The Boston Region MPO also complies with the Massachusetts Public Accommodation Law, M.G.L. c 272 sections 92a, 98, 98a, which prohibits making any distinction, discrimination, or restriction in admission to, or treatment in a place of public accommodation based on race, color, religious creed, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, disability, or ancestry. Likewise, the Boston Region MPO complies with the Governor's Executive Order 526, section 4, which requires that all programs, activities, and services provided, performed, licensed, chartered, funded, regulated, or contracted for by the state shall be conducted without unlawful discrimination based on race, color, age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, creed, ancestry, national origin, disability, veteran's status (including Vietnam-era veterans), or background. A complaint form and additional information can be obtained by contacting the MPO or at http://www.bostonmpo.org/mpo_non_discrimination. To request this information in a different language or in an accessible format, please contact Title VI Specialist |
| Task |
Month | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | |
1.
Identify Forum Planning Partners |
From Month 1, Week 1 to Month 2, Week 2.
|
||||||||||
2.
Hold First Forum |
From Month 2, Week 3 to Month 4, Week 4.
Deliverable
A
Delivered by Month 4, Week 4.
|
||||||||||
3.
Hold Second Forum |
From Month 8, Week 1 to Month 11, Week 4.
Deliverable
B
Delivered by Month 9, Week 4.
|
||||||||||
4.
Create Ongoing Framework for Collaboration on TDM Topics |
From Month 1, Week 1 to Month 11, Week 4.
|
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| Task |
Person-Weeks | Direct Salary |
Overhead (106%) |
Total Cost |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M-1 | P-2 | Total | ||||
1.
Identify Forum Planning Partners
|
0.0 | 0.4 | 0.4 | $449 | $476 | $925 |
2.
Hold First Forum
|
0.0 | 1.6 | 1.6 | $1,826 | $1,936 | $3,762 |
3.
Hold Second Forum
|
0.0 | 1.6 | 1.6 | $1,826 | $1,936 | $3,762 |
4.
Create Ongoing Framework for Collaboration on TDM Topics
|
0.0 | 0.6 | 0.7 | $753 | $798 | $1,551 |
Total
|
0.1 | 4.2 | 4.3 | $4,854 | $5,145 | $10,000 |