An Interim Guidebook on the Congestion Management Process
in Metropolitan Transportation Planning

6.0 CMP Checklist/Self-Assessment

Key findings from the guidebook presented above were used in preparing the following questions for Metropolitan Planning Organizations to use in assessing their congestion management activities. The indicators are generic and not exhaustive. As such, these questions should be regarded as only the starting point for subsequent discussion focused on local issues.

While answering these questions may illuminate issues and opportunities, perhaps the greatest value of this work is in the resulting discussion among planning partners. The checklist may be applied effectively in facilitated group settings, as a useful catalyst to discussion, and with less attention to scores. “Yes” responses generally suggest progress toward implementation of a conforming Congestion Management Process.

1.	Getting Ready: Creating or Adapting a Congestion Management Process	YES	NO
1a.	Do you have a plan for putting a new or revised CMP in place?	YES	NO
1b.	Is there an existing congestion management system or plan?	YES	NO
1c.	Have you identified the strengths and weaknesses of existing congestion management efforts?	YES	NO
1d.	Is there a schedule for implementation?	YES	NO
1e.	Are potential partners in congestion management activities involved in the process?	YES	NO
1f.	Have you identified agencies, system operators, and other stakeholders in the region who stand to gain from tackling congestion problems?	YES	NO
1g.	Have you identified compelling reasons for these potential partners and other stakeholders to get involved?	YES	NO
1h.	Have you considered the best institutional model for keeping partners at the table (MPO committee, task force, MOU, Blue Ribbon Panel)?	YES	NO
1i.	Are key decision-makers aware of the CMP and supportive of its role in plan and program development?	YES	NO
1j.	Have you identified a “champion” for congestion management efforts?	YES	NO
1k.	Are partners willing to commit time and resources to the effort?	YES	NO

2.	Aligning the CMP with the Metropolitan Long Range Transportation Plan	YES	NO
2a.	Do the vision and goals articulated in the MTP support congestion management?	YES	NO
2b.	Are the vision and goals supported by relevant, measurable objectives?	YES	NO
2c.	Are transportation system management and operations strategies part of the region’s long-range planning approach?	YES	NO
3.	Developing Technical Capacity for Managing the CMP	YES	NO
3a.	Have performance measures been identified to track progress toward achieving goals and objectives?	YES	NO
3b.	Is there a data collection program in place that enables performance tracking?	YES	NO
3c.	Is data collected to support performance measures?	YES	NO
3d.	Are the data collected relevant to the area, readily available, timely, reliable, consistent, and capable of being forecast or projected?	YES	NO
3e.	Are technical tools in place to identify congestion at various levels (regional, corridor, spot)?	YES	NO
3f.	Is the regional travel demand forecasting model capable of identifying locations subject to recurring congestion?	YES	NO
3g.	Are planning tools in place capable of assessing non-recurring congestion (e.g., microsimulation models, sketch planning tools, etc.)?	YES	NO
3h.	Have you identified potential congestion management strategies that could address regional, corridor-level, or spot congestion problems in your region?	YES	NO
3i.	Are strategies based not only on capital projects, but also transportation system management and operations measures?	YES	NO
3j.	Are all modes of transportation (single occupancy vehicle, shared ride, transit, intermodal connections, non-motorized means such as bicycling and walking) considered in developing appropriate congestion management strategies? Has the analysis of congestion included the movement of both people and goods?	YES	NO
3k.	Are appropriate analysis tools available to assess the potential of different strategies in addressing congestion?	YES	NO

4.	Implementing the CMP	YES	NO
4a.	Have CMP activities been incorporated into the MPO’s public participation plan?	YES	NO
4b.	Are partner agencies and system operators of all modes directly involved in the development and analysis of potential congestion mitigation strategies?	YES	NO
4c.	Are CMP activities fully documented, either through direct incorporation into the MTP or by reference, as supporting documentation?	YES	NO
4d.	Are studies, analyses, and supporting documentation maintained for subsequent use in the project development process, if appropriate? Does the CMP address both recurring and non-recurring congestion?	YES	NO
4e.	Have ITS strategies proposed for congested locations been reviewed in the context of the Regional ITS Architecture?	YES	NO
4f.	For TMAs in nonattainment status for ozone or carbon monoxide: Does the CMP give priority to strategies that reduce congestion and improve the movement of people and goods without requiring the construction of new SOV capacity?	YES	NO
4g.	If new capacity is warranted, have management and operations measures been incorporated into the capacity-expanding projects that will manage the SOV facility safely and efficiently (or facilitate its management in the future)?	YES	NO
4h.	If other travel demand reduction and operational management strategies have been identified for the corridor in which new SOV capacity is proposed, but are not appropriate for the SOV facility itself, have these measures been incorporated into the proposed project, or committed to by the State or MPO for implementation?	YES	NO

5.	Monitoring and Feedback	YES	NO
5a.	Are systems in place for monitoring the effectiveness of congestion management strategies in your region?	YES	NO
5b.	Are the performance measures multimodal, thereby enabling tracking of both direct and indirect contributing factors and impacts?	YES	NO
5c.	Are performance measures used to track the effectiveness of strategies implemented to reduce congestion or mitigate impacts? Does the evaluation of strategies include possible unintended consequences or unanticipated costs?	YES	NO
5d.	Does the CMP incorporate procedures for periodic monitoring, evaluation, and enhancement of the congestion management process itself?	YES	NO
5e.	Are performance measures periodically reviewed for usefulness and applicability?	YES	NO
5f.	Are data collection and analysis procedures, and methods used to analyze and select potential strategies, routinely reviewed for possible improvements?	YES	NO
6.	Certification Review	YES	NO
6a.	Is the CMP documented so that consistency with CMP requirements (for TMAs and in non attainment areas only) can be demonstrated?	YES	NO

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An Interim Guidebook on the Congestion Management Process in Metropolitan Transportation Planning6.0 CMP Checklist/Self-Assessment

An Interim Guidebook on the Congestion Management Process
in Metropolitan Transportation Planning

6.0 CMP Checklist/Self-Assessment