Meeting_Body
AD HOC SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE
JANUARY 20, 2016
Subject/Action
SUBJECT: SCAG 2016 REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION PLAN/SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES STRATEGY (RTP/SCS)
ACTION: RECEIVE AND FILE
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
RECEIVE AND FILE status report on SCAG 2016 Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy (RTP/SCS).
Issue
ISSUE
On July 2, 2015 the Southern California Association of Governments adopted the Updated Sustainability Joint Work Program between SCAG and Metro, which was approved by the Metro board on May 28, 2015. At the October 14, 2015 Ad Hoc Sustainability Committee Meeting staff and SCAG updated the Committee on progress made to date and Committee Member Bacharach asked that Staff and SCAG explain how technology is treated in the Regional Transportation Plan / Sustainable Communities Strategy (RTP/SCS).
Discussion
DISCUSSION
Metro and SCAG have provided regular updates and progress reports to the committee on the SCAG/Metro Joint Work Program and the Regional Transportation Plan / Sustainable Communities Strategy (RTP/SCS). SCAG released a new draft Regional Transportation Plan / Sustainable Communities Strategy on December 3rd 2015 which will be adopted in April 2016. The latest RTP/SCS has new strategies that employ transportation technology which has prompted further interest from committee members. SCAG will provide an overview of the RTP/SCS along with specific details on technology strategies, as requested, and summarized below. SCAG adopted the prior (2012-2035) RTP/SCS on April 4, 2012. As the region’s first transportation plan subject to SB 375, it significantly advanced sustainability and coordinated land use and transportation planning. Of note, the RTP/SCS exceeded State determined targets for greenhouse gas emissions and was approved by the California Air Resources Board in December 2012. The plan achieved its objectives through a combination of strategies including aligning future growth with transportation infrastructure and increasing funding to active transportation, among others.
RTP/SCS: Technological Innovation
Since SCAG adopted the last RTP/SCS, technology and innovation have emerged as major themes of this 2016 RTP/SCS Plan update. Technology as a concept is a very broad topic. The term has myriad connotations and encompasses products such as smart phones and electric cars; advancements in software development such as real-time travel information and online banking; and new service paradigms such as ride sourcing and peer-to-peer home sharing. Some of these so-called “new” concepts have actually been around for a long time, but only recently have they scaled up because of technological innovations. The 2016 RTP/SCS uses the term “mobility innovations” to characterize the new technologies that help us move about the region. The 2016 RTP/SCS includes policies and models the market growth of four key new mobility innovations: Zero Emissions Vehicles, Neighborhood Electric Vehicles, Carsharing services and Ridesourcing (also known as Transportation Network Companies or TNCs). SCAG’s presentation will explain how mobility innovations are discussed further in the 2016 RTP/SCS at the meeting.
Prepared_by
Prepared by: Jacob Lieb, Sustainability Planning Manager (213) 922-4132
Diego Cardoso, Executive Officer, (213) 922-3076
Reviewed_By
Reviewed by: Calvin E. Hollis, Interim Chief Planning Officer, (213) 922-7319
