Meeting_Body
PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING COMMITTEE
JUNE 20, 2018
Subject
SUBJECT: CONGESTION MANAGEMENT PROGRAM OPT-OUT
Action
ACTION: APPROVE RECOMMENDATION
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
APPROVE initiating the process for Metro and all Los Angeles County local jurisdictions to opt out of the California Congestion Management Program (CMP), in accordance with State CMP statute.
Issue
ISSUE
Metro is required by state law to prepare and update on a biennial basis a Congestion Management Program (CMP) for the County of Los Angeles. The CMP process was established as part of a 1990 legislative package to implement Proposition 111, which increased the state gas tax from 9 to 18 cents. The intent of the CMP was to tie the appropriation of new gas tax revenues to congestion reduction efforts by improving land use/transportation coordination.
While the CMP requirement was one of the pioneering efforts to conduct performance-based planning, the approach has become antiquated and expensive. CMP primarily uses a level of service (LOS) performance metric which is a measurement of vehicle delay that is inconsistent with new state-designated performance measures, such as vehicle miles travelled (VMT), enacted by SB 743 for California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) transportation analysis.
Pursuant to California Government Code §65088.3 (Attachment A, C.G.C. §65000 et seq.), jurisdictions within a county may opt out of the CMP requirement without penalty, if a majority of local jurisdictions representing a majority of the county’s population formally adopt resolutions requesting to opt out of the program. Given that the CMP has become increasingly out of step with regional, state, and federal planning processes and requirements, staff recommends that Metro initiate the process to gauge the interest of local jurisdictions and other stakeholders in opting out of State CMP requirements.
Discussion
DISCUSSION
Under the CMP, the 88 incorporated cities plus the County of Los Angeles share various statutory responsibilities, including monitoring traffic count locations on select arterials, implementing transportation improvements, adoption of travel demand management and land use ordinances, and mitigating congestion impacts.
The framework for the CMP is firmly grounded in the idea that congestion can be mitigated by continuing to add capacity to roadways. This is evidenced by the primary metric that drives the program which is LOS. Recent state laws and rulemaking, namely AB 32 (California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006), SB 375 (Sustainable Communities and Climate Protection Act of 2008), SB 743 (Environmental quality: transit oriented infill projects, judicial review streamlining for environmental leadership development projects) and SB 32 (California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006), all move away from LOS directly or indirectly. Therefore, the CMP contradicts these key state policies and Metro’s own efforts to promote a more sustainable and equitable region.
A number of counties have elected to opt out of the CMP over the years including San Diego, Fresno, Santa Cruz and San Luis Obispo counties. The reasons for doing so are varied but generally concern redundant, expensive, administrative processes that come with great expense, little to no congestion benefit and continue to mandate the use of LOS to determine roadway deficiencies.
The passage of Measure M and the update of the Long Range Transportation Plan present Metro with an opportunity to consider new ways to measure transportation system performance, measures that complement efforts to combat climate change, support sustainable, vibrant communities and improve mobility. For Metro and cities alike, the continued administration of the CMP is a distraction at best or an impediment at worst to improving our transportation system.
Over the last several years, the CMP has become increasingly outdated in relation to the direction of Metro’s planning process and regional, state, and federal transportation planning requirements. Additional reasons to opt out of the CMP include:
• Relieves Metro and local jurisdictions of a mandate to use a single measure (LOS) to determine roadway deficiencies.
• Eliminates the risk to local jurisdictions of losing their state gas tax funds or being ineligible to receive state and federal Transportation Improvement Program funds, as a result of not being in compliance with CMP requirements or performance standards.
• Eliminates the administrative and financial burden to cities associated with the preparation of documents to demonstrate conformance with the CMP.
ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED
Metro could continue to implement the CMP as adopted by the Board or look to update the program. We do not recommend this as we have examined multiple ways to adapt state legislative requirements, but we have been unable to fit Los Angeles county mobility complexities to statutory requirements in a manner that achieves consensus of our stakeholders over the twenty-five-year life of the program. Opting out of the CMP gives Metro the flexibility to implement mobility improvements through the programs and projects in the Long Range Transportation Plan adopted by the Board, while furthering improvements to transportation capacity, choice and cost-effectiveness.
Determination_Of_Safety_Impact
DETERMINATION OF SAFETY IMPACT
This Board action will have no adverse impact on safety standards for Metro.
Financial_Impact
FINANCIAL IMPACT
There is no impact to the current fiscal year budget, nor any anticipated impact to future budgets or the continued flow of state gas tax revenues to local jurisdictions. The recommended action may have a positive impact on Metro and local jurisdiction budgets in future years by eliminating the annual costs associated with implementing the CMP. Annual costs to local agencies vary based on size but generally require a staff commitment of 25-60 hours per jurisdiction plus the cost of conducting traffic counts at the 164 CMP intersections at a cost of approximately $250 per intersection. For Metro the annual burden of administering the CMP is approximately 1.2 Full Time Equivalents (FTE).
Next_Steps
NEXT STEPS
Upon Board approval, staff will proceed in consulting with local jurisdictions and other interested stakeholders as follows:
• Consult with the Metro Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) regarding opting out of the CMP and conduct a workshop of our stakeholders to receive input on the interest in opting out of the CMP.
• With the concurrence of the TAC and workshop participants, request local jurisdictions to consider adopting draft resolution (Attachment B) to opt out of the program.
• Upon receipt of formally-adopted resolutions from a majority of local jurisdictions representing a majority of the population, notify the State Controller, Caltrans, and SCAG that Los Angeles County has opted out of the CMP in accordance with statutory requirements.
Attachments
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A - CMP legislation
Attachment B - Draft Resolution to Opt Out of the Congestion Management Program in Los Angeles County
Prepared_by
Prepared by: Paul Backstrom, Manager, Countywide Planning & Development, (213) 922-2183
Mark Yamarone, DEO, Countywide Planning & Development, (213) 418-3452
Kalieh Honish, EO, Countywide Planning & Development, (213) 922-7109
Manjeet Ranu, SEO, Countywide Planning & Development, (213) 418-3157
Reviewed_By
Reviewed by: Therese W. McMillan, Chief Planning Officer, (213) 922-7077
