Getting More by Working Together — Opportunities for Linking Planning and Operations

2. Opportunities for Linking Planning and Operations

2.4 Congestion Management Systems

BACKGROUND

First required in ISTEA, congestion management systems (CMS) emphasize the role of management strategies to address traffic congestion within the regional transportation planning process. Because the CMS is a Federal metropolitan planning requirement with a specific policy goal of emphasizing systems management and operations, it can serve as a strong link between planning and operations.

What Is a Congestion Management System?

A CMS presents a systematic process for managing traffic congestion and provides information on transportation system performance. A CMS should include alternative strategies for alleviating congestion and enhancing the mobility of persons and goods to levels that meet State and local needs.¹² A CMS can take a variety of forms. At the core, a CMS should include system for data collection and performance monitoring, a range of strategies for addressing congestion, performance measures or criteria for identifying when action is needed, and a system for prioritizing which congestion management strategies would be most effective (see Exhibit 8).

A CMS is required in metropolitan areas with population exceeding 200,000, known as Transportation Management Areas (TMAs). In TMAs designated as ozone or carbon monoxide non-attainment areas, the CMS takes on a greater significance. Federal guidelines prohibit projects that increase capacity for single occupant vehicles unless the project comes from a CMS.¹³ Federal requirements also state that in all TMAs, the CMS shall be developed and implemented as part of the metropolitan planning process.

How Can a CMS Create Stronger Linkages Between Planning and Operations?

The CMS process is one of the few federally defined components of the metropolitan planning process that consistently involve transportation operations. A CMS can create stronger linkages between planning and operations by helping to raise awareness among the planning community of the efficiencies that operational strategies contribute and by exposing operations managers to regional planning. A CMS can be an integral component of the planning and programming process when CMS performance measures and strategy evaluations are fully utilized in the development of the long-range plan and TIP. These linkages are described below.

A CMS Can Expose MPOs to a Broader Range of Strategies for Addressing Congestion

Federal regulations require that through the CMS, planners give serious consideration to strategies that have a demonstrable impact on congestion and that a CMS include an assessment of the cost effectiveness of strategies. A CMS must consider strategies that “improve existing transportation system efficiency.” Thus, the CMS development process highlights opportunities to address congestion using cost-effective operations strategies that might otherwise be overlooked.

In cases where the CMS considers a broad range of strategies, the planning staff involved in CMS development is exposed to a diverse set of management and operations solutions. For example, some CMSs include operations strategies that address non-recurring congestion. These types of strategies are more likely to be included in a transportation plan when they are put forth as part of the CMS process.

A CMS Puts Performance Measures Into Practice

A large part of the CMS process involves the development and implementation of performance measures (see Case 14). In fact, every CMS is required to use performance measures to evaluate congestion mitigation strategies.¹⁴ As discussed in the performance measures subsection above (Section 2.3), performance measures can help link planning and operations by focusing attention on customer-oriented outcomes and elevating attention to operations strategies within the transportation planning process. Because the development of a CMS entails a multi-agency, public process, the CMS performance measures are regionally endorsed, meaning that a broad range of stakeholders have a say in them. When the process successfully engages a diverse set of stakeholders, it can function as an educational tool, bringing attention to performance measurement and to operations strategies that can efficiently address regional mobility concerns.

A CMS Can Promote a System-level Approach by Operations Managers

While the CMS can expose planners to new operations strategies, it also can help operations managers view problems at the regional, cross-jurisdictional systems level. When a CMS is explicitly driven by regional goals and objectives, and when operations managers are involved in the CMS development and implementation, it affords an opportunity for operations managers to recognize how their transportation strategies support the underlying objectives of the region’s transportation planning and programming. In addition, the CMS allows operation managers to see their congestion mitigation strategies on the table along with a diverse range of alternative strategies. This presents an opportunity for interjurisdictional discussions about which strategies work in coordination. In some cases, a planning agency will specifically prioritize coordination between different congestion mitigation strategies, thus providing an incentive within the CMS for operations staffs to work together.

TAKING ADVANTAGE OF LINKAGE OPPORTUNITIES

Regions have a number of opportunities to use the CMS to advance planning and operations coordination. Following are several opportunities.

Involve Operations Managers in CMS Development

Although the CMS is the responsibility of the MPO, the expertise of transportation operations managers is vital to developing and evaluating congestion mitigation strategies. Because the CMS typically considers a diverse set of strategies, it has the potential to attract a wide range of stakeholders. A concerted effort to engage operations managers in CMS development and implementation is likely to be rewarded, not only by a more effective CMS, but also by the information sharing that occurs during CMS development.

Some actions may help draw additional stakeholders to the CMS process:

• Define clear roles for operating agencies. Examples of roles for operations practitioners include brainstorming operations oriented congestion mitigation strategies, identifying congestion data sources and measurement techniques, developing balanced performance measures, and identifying approaches to strategy implementation.
• Summarize CMS actions that have been implemented to date. This can help stakeholders to see that the prioritization of projects and strategies through the CMS process actually influences funding and implementation priorities. To improve this understanding, consider identifying specific strategies that have been implemented because of their identification and performance within the CMS process.
• Propose CMS strategies for non-recurring delay. A CMS should include a full range of operations strategies, including strategies that seek to reduce recurring and non-recurring delay. Raise the issue of non-recurring delay with the CMS team and identify currently listed and new strategies to reduce this source of congestion. Some examples of strategies to reduce non-recurring delay include incident response programs, work zone management strategies, and event coordination.

Integrate the CMS Into the Planning Process

Case 15: Approaches to Integrating CMS into Planning MetroPlan (Orlando, FL) CMS Process Mapped into the Regional Planning Process Contact David Grovdahl: dgrovdahl@metroplanorlando.com Salt Lake City Region - Using the CMS to Promote a Balanced Transportation Program The Wasatch Front Regional Council (WFRC), the MPO for the Salt Lake City area, uses its CMS as a tool to assist in the development of the Long-Range Transportation Plan and the TIP. First, it determines levels and locations of congestion using modeled peak-period delay, GPS speed data, and archived field data. Second, specific locations prone to congestion are addressed directly with proposals of transportation system management (TSM) and travel demand management (TDM) solutions that compete for funds. Third, sponsors of capacity-increasing projects receive guidance from WFRC on which TDM and TSM strategies would be effective for their projects. Finally, the CMS effects the project selection process by using models to identify areas most likely to experience future congestion. Results are given to the Long Range Planning Team for consideration in the plan. As part of its ongoing CMS analysis, WFRC evaluates the effectiveness of congestion relief strategies by collecting “before and after” data on implemented projects. Contact Kip Billings: kbillings@wfrc.org

Case 16: The Miami Region CMS Can Respond to Short-Term Transportation Needs Miami’s RUSH (Resourceful Use of Streets and Highways) addresses congestion bottlenecks that do not justify a full corridor study. Projects that cost less than $500,000 and that are determined to have insignificant environmental impacts are prioritized by member agencies. A lump sum of TIP money is set aside for projects that will be selected through the RUSH process, allowing for swift implementation of the designated improvements. Contact Jesus Guerra: guerraj@miamidade.gov

The CMS can best link planning and operations when it is explicitly integrated into the development of regional planning and programming documents, including the long-range plan, the TIP, and the unified planning work program (see Case 15). Making this integration transparent and consistent will help to ensure that the CMS process attracts a range of stakeholders and serves as a focus for planning and operations collaboration. One way to link the long-range plan with the CMS is to require that the performance measures used in the CMS evaluation also be used to evaluate the performance of the long-range plan. The CMS can be linked to the TIP by prioritizing projects, in part, based on their performance in the CMS evaluation process.

Ideally, a CMS involves transparent performance measures that have been developed through regional consensus and that reflect regional objectives. If the CMS applies these performance measures accurately and consistently, it would be appropriate to use the CMS directly in determining regional funding priorities.

Including CMS strategies within the MPO’s annual Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) can be an effective way to promote planning and operations collaboration. The UPWP defines the MPO’s short-term (1-2 year) planning priorities within a metropolitan planning area, and involves a time frame that is more familiar to those involved in management and operations activities. Many of the strategies discussed in a typical CMS are well suited to short-term MPO programmatic reporting. Similarly, strategies commonly addressed within the UPWP, such as TDM programs and ongoing regional management and operations programs, are appropriate for inclusion in a CMS.

Use the CMS to Build a System for Rapid Response to Congestion Issues

In addition to linking with longer term planning goals and forecasts, a CMS can be designed to swiftly address small-scale congestion problems that threaten the efficiency of the regional transportation network (see Case 16). Prioritization criteria and funding set-asides can be established to support small-scale projects and programs that do not justify a larger corridor analysis. By building the capacity of the regional planning agency to deliver immediate solutions, the planning agency can become more responsive to the needs of the traveling public and more relevant to the transportation management and operations community.

LESSONS LEARNED

Since the passage of ISTEA in 1991, regions have been involved with the CMS process, and have learned a great deal about the benefits and the challenges of building and maintaining a comprehensive CMS. This section highlights a few of the lessons that most closely relate to planning and operations coordination.

CMSs Can Play a Larger Role in Integrating Planning and Operations

In some regions, the CMS functions primarily as a routine analysis and data collection process, isolated from most planning and programming and from ongoing management and operations efforts. Such regions could be capitalizing on an opportunity to highlight and coordinate operations strategies. The CMS can play a more active role in the regional planning and programming process if it is used to analyze and prioritize regional projects. This will also help to attract stakeholders to the CMS process.

For several reasons, the CMS process has been marginalized in some regions. However, many of these challenges can be overcome. For example, while intensive data collection activities have turned some stakeholders away from the CMS process, the effort required to collect data relating to congestion has become easier with ongoing implementation of ITS technologies, and in some cases, data are actively collected to support advanced traveler information systems. In reality, the CMS is a particularly useful tool to engage diverse practitioners because it considers multiple modes with congestion mitigation in mind. The CMS should be promoted as a process to encourage focused, performance-based multimodalism.

If policy weight is given to the CMS project prioritization process, other challenges may arise due to resistance from stakeholders who see the possibility of losing current levels of support. While this is a significant challenge, the debate that it inspires is an opportunity to engage stakeholders in a conversation about regional performance measures and how they fit into congestion management strategy investments.

Comparison of Operations Strategies With Other Strategies Presents Challenges

The quest for rigorous evaluation criteria is a significant challenge to the CMS process. Some CMS projects do not lend themselves to quantitative analysis of their effectiveness. Other CMS projects can be quantified, but not in a way that facilitates comparison with other types of strategies. For example, comparing the effectiveness of demand management strategies with system management strategies may present problems because they differ in their immediate objectives.

A diverse set of analysis tools is an important component of a successful CMS (see Case 17). In some cases, specific tools and methods will be needed to evaluate strategies. Many regions are seeking tools that can capture the effects of regional management and operations strategies. Regions that have invested in the development of such tools and methods have found benefits through a more versatile CMS process.

12 Federal Register, Part III, FHWA, FTA, U.S. Department of Transportation, Management and Monitoring Systems, Section 500.109.

13 Safety improvements and the elimination of bottlenecks are exceptions to this restriction.

14 In this regard, many of the opportunities to link planning and operations described in Section 2.3 (Performance Measurement) exist within the CMS process.