The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG), National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), and General Services Administration (GSA) recently released an updated Transportation Management Plan Handbook. The handbook outlines the process for federal agencies to prepare a Transportation Management Plan (TMP) for federal campuses and installations. Broadly, TMPs guide federal installations in addressing federal and regional transportation and development objectives to foster sustainable, multi-modal, and healthy workplaces and communities.
Federal agencies are required to develop Transportation Management Plans to manage transportation as specified by air quality and environmental regulations, as well as local trip reduction ordinances. A TMP documents an agency’s efforts to foster more efficient employee commuting patterns to federal agency worksites. TMPs include specific strategies to encourage changes in travel modes, trip-timing, frequency and length, and travel routes in an effort to reduce traffic congestion and improve regional air quality.
The handbook provides a step-by-step process for designing and implementing a TMP, identifies transportation management planning resources and contacts, describes specific transportation demand management strategies and programs available, and identifies measurement protocols for monitoring and evaluating TMP effectiveness. Its strategies are particularly helpful when developing or updating master plans for federal campuses and installations.
The Comprehensive Plan for the National Capital’s Transportation Element requires that federal agencies prepare facility master plans with TMPs to manage employee/visitor travel and minimize adverse transportation network impacts. This information is analyzed by the NCPC when reviewing updated master plans.
Changes in the updated handbook include a streamlined step-by-step guide for creating a TMP; the addition of implementation, monitoring and refining steps; supplementary references for additional detail; and enhanced graphics. New NCPC guidance requires federal installations to monitor and report regularly on progress in meeting facility transportation goals; the updated TMP provides guidance for this monitoring work. The first TMP was developed in 1998 and was most recently updated in 2015. It is updated periodically as needed.
COG, NCPC, and GSA will coordinate with applicable federal agencies to facilitate utilization of the handbook to meet federal and regional transportation policies and guidance. The handbook is publicly available online: COG and NCPC.