Regional Travel Demand Management Study
Travel Demand Management (TDM) describes a wide range of strategies that support the most efficient use of the transportation system by making personal travel options more flexible, clear, or convenient. These strategies can include promoting travel options like transit, biking, walking, and ridesharing. They can also make it possible to shift from peak-period congested corridors to off-peak periods, or eliminate trips altogether through strategies like telework.
The region’s transportation system should be designed to meet the travel needs of all the residents in our growing region. TDM strategies can help meet that need. This Regional Travel Demand Management Study will prepare a set of targeted TDM strategies that will feed into the 2050 Transportation Policy Plan, which is the transportation system plan for the 2050 regional development guide. These plans set the vision, policy, and priorities for the region.
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Study goals
The study aims to understand:
- How TDM can support regional planning goals and objectives
- Short and long-term opportunities and challenges for TDM in the region
- How the Met Council, its planning and implementation partners, and the private and nonprofit sectors can better support TDM
The study outcomes will help the Met Council and these implementation partners prepare for leveraging federal investments, and support TDM strategies that are essential to the livability and prosperity of the Twin Cities metropolitan region.
Process
Stakeholder perspectives are critical in making sure that the region can act on the selected TDM strategies. These views will also help study outcomes align with the needs and interests of all transportation system users. The study team will reach out to a broad group of stakeholders through surveys, interviews, focus groups, and workshops, to hear from voices throughout the region.
A technical advisory team will also provide strategic direction and input. The team will include a mix of TDM practitioners including planners and policymakers, to provide a range of perspectives. Members will include representatives from the Met Council, transit providers, Minnesota Department of Transportation, the four regional transportation management organizations, local governments, and other transportation providers and organizations.
Timeline
December 2021: Official launch of the study.
Spring 2022: The project team will inventory existing conditions and interview stakeholders to complete a Regional Existing Conditions Summary and Evaluation. The project team will also review best practices from other agencies around the country and interview experts and practitioners to create a State of the Practice Summary. During this stage, the study team will conduct interviews, focus groups, and surveys to learn from implementers and peer agencies, in addition to soliciting input from the technical advisory team.
Summer 2022: The team will begin developing a Regional TDM Framework, which will identify goals and objectives for TDM in the region. The team will continue to conduct outreach by hosting a set of stakeholder workshops — planned for July 2022, distributing an agency/partner survey, and attending other stakeholder meetings.
Fall 2022 – Winter 2023: The team will complete an Evaluation of Regional Strategies that summarizes a strengths-weakness analysis, future mobility scenarios, and stakeholder feedback and makes recommendations for TDM strategies to be advanced in the region. Using the TDM Framework, the team will categorize and rank strategies based on the regional TDM goals, objectives, and evaluation criteria that each strategy supports. A set of stakeholder workshops are planned for January 2023.
Winter – Spring 2023: The team will complete a final Action Plan for implementing and operationalizing the TDM strategies recommended for advancement. This plan will include recommendations for regional service delivery model(s), identification of strategic partnerships, estimated costs and funding mechanisms, data collection and performance evaluation methodology, and mechanisms to foster and champion TDM efforts throughout the region.
The planned outcomes are scheduled to be completed by June 2023 and then considered in broader planning efforts like the 2050 Transportation Policy Plan. These broader efforts will include additional engagement and opportunities for public review and comment.
Study deliverables
The first two deliverables from the study are available as of August 2022. These memos have been reviewed by the project’s Technical Advisory Team but will remain drafts and are subject to change until the full study is complete.
On request, these documents can be made available in alternative formats. Call Metropolitan Council public information at 651-602-1140 or TTY 651-291-0904.