Congestion Management System
The Grand Valley Metro Council
utilizes a congestion management sytem (CMS) as a tool in the transportation
planning process. This tool was developed to better meet the needs of
the Grand Rapids Metro Area.
Background
Federal transportation legislation
requires Metropolitan Planning Organizations to develop and implement
Congestion Management Systems (CMS) as part of the metropolitan transportation
planning process (23 CFR 500). The CMS is intended to be a systematic
way of monitoring, measuring and diagnosing the causes of current and
future congestion on a region's multi-modal transportation systems; evaluating
and recommending alternative strategies to manage or mitigate current
and future regional congestion; and monitoring and evaluating the performance
of strategies implemented to manage or mitigate congestion.
In Transportation Management Areas
that are in non-attainment of ozone or carbon monoxide (CO) standards,
Federal funds may not be expended for any new project that will significantly
increase the carrying capacity for single-occupant vehicles (SOV's) unless
the project results from a CMS. For the Grand Rapids area, a significant
increase in carrying capacity for SOV's is defined as a project that adds
one or more through-travel lanes for one half mile or more on a roadway
classified as a Collector or higher on the Federal functional class map
for the area.
In the early 1990's MPO staff developed
a CMS to meet the federal regulations and serve the transportation planning
needs of the urban area. The CMS includes an ongoing method to provide
information on the performance of the transportation system and on alternative
strategies to alleviate congestion and enhance mobility. The CMS emphasizes
effective management of existing facilities through use of travel demand
and operational management strategies. In cases where these methods are
deemed ineffective to resolve the congestion issue of a corridor, capacity
enhancing projects will be selected as the preferred alternative.
Grand Valley Metro Council ( GVMC
) as the designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the Grand
Rapids urban area serves as the central focus for a wide variety of transportation
planning activities that encompass all modes of transportation. GVMC coordinates
and provides technical support to many regional planning studies. GVMC
is also an important source of transportation data used in various traffic
engineering studies and roadway design projects undertaken by its member
jurisdictions and private consultant organizations. Consequently, GVMC
needs accurate and objective data in order to maintain both the validity
and the credibility of the decisions that may be based on these studies.
CMS Components
The GVMC Congestion Management
System consists of 8 major components. These components include:
1. CMS
Network Definition
2. Performance
Measures
3. System
Monitoring/Data Collection
4. Congestion
Management Strategies
5. System
Evaluation
6. Integration
into MPO planning process
7. Regionally
Significant Projects not in CMS
8. Review and
Update
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