The San Mateo County Transportation Authority (TA) Alternative Congestion Relief (ACR) and Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Plan (ACR/TDM Plan) received a Transportation Planning Award of Merit by the Northern California Chapter of the American Planning Association (APA). The TA developed the ACR/TDM Plan to help guide Measures A and W investment decisions from these funding categories.
ACR and TDM are strategies that encourage the use of sustainable transportation options to enhance mobility. ACR and TDM initiatives work toward ensuring that people’s trips are safe, reliable and convenient while discouraging driving, managing congestion, and reducing vehicle miles traveled (VMT). This plan will help guide the TA in conducting future Calls for Projects for these funding categories by prioritizing projects best suited to meet these goals.
Any projects funded through the ACR and TDM categories will have a $200,000 cap, so the funding will be primarily focused on first/last mile connections and smaller projects. Eligible project examples include transit pass subsidies, transit stop improvements, e-bike subsidies, bike parking, wayfinding, and many other first/last-mile mobility strategies. The plan includes separate targets for funding projects in small/coastal communities versus the mid/large jurisdictions to help balance funding across the county.
The plan also continues to provide dedicated funding for Commute.org and provides additional funding to help them jumpstart a countywide TDM monitoring program. The monitoring program will establish an one-stop shop for development projects to report on progress toward their TDM requirements and helps free up local jurisdiction staff time. The data from the monitoring program will be made available to local governments. And with the establishment of the countywide TDM monitoring program, Commute.org will now have the opportunity to work directly with development projects to identify infrastructure improvements or targeted programs that could help meet trip reduction goals.
“It is an honor for this new and innovative plan to already be recognized for what it will achieve,” said TA Board Chair Rico E. Medina. “This plan will help to reduce congestion on our streets and protect our environment, and I look forward to seeing similar plans implemented throughout the Bay Area and beyond.”
The Awards are given to deserving plans and projects in order to encourage quality in planning and increase the public’s awareness of the planning profession through recognizing outstanding achievement in the planning field. Each year, the APA bestows Planning Awards to honor the most outstanding efforts in planning in the Section. The program honors innovative plans and projects, distinguished APA members, and lay contributors to planning and achievements of the organization. The awards ceremony will be held in September of this year.
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About the Transportation Authority (TA): Created to administer Measure A, San Mateo County’s ½ cent sales tax, the TA provides funding for transportation projects and programs in San Mateo County. In 2004, more than 75 percent of San Mateo County voters reauthorize Measure A for an additional 25 years. In 2018, voters approved Measure W, the San Mateo County Congestion Relief Plan an additional ½ cent sales tax. The TA will administer half the revenue of Measure W and the San Mateo County Transit District will administer the other half to fund and implement the Congestion Relief Plan.
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