An official website of the POLICY 31: Reduce vehicle miles traveled
This policy states:
Prioritize projects that reduce vehicle miles traveled through sustainable transportation options.
Actions
- Investment Priority (IP): Actions tagged with (IP) provide direction to regional investment processes directed by the plan. This includes the Regional Solicitation, which will complete an evaluation to determine the appropriate framework and application of these actions to the Regional Solicitation. Actions could be applied in the Regional Solicitation in a variety of ways including qualifying requirements, application categories, or scoring measures. These actions can also apply to other regional highway and transit funding programs. Investment priorities targeted exclusively at local governments are tagged as local planning (see below).
- Local Planning (LP): Actions tagged with (LP) are requirements or guidance for agencies to incorporate into the transportation element of their Comprehensive Plans, corridor plans, transit provider plans, and other plans that are not regional or statewide. Major items are noted but this is not intended to be a comprehensive list. Local planning tag may also indicate actions with potential local investment priorities that would help support regional goals and objectives that are not tied to regional or statewide investment programs.
- Technical Capacity Building (CB): Actions tagged with (CB) are technical assistance and support activities to provide guidance and best practices to agencies that builds regional technical capacity.
- Partner (P): Actions tagged with (P) are activities that support the regional goals and transportation objectives where the plan is directing partners to take a direct lead. This tag applies primarily to regional or state partners; the local planning tag provides direction to local partners.
- Work Program (WP): Actions tagged with (WP) are work program activities, including staff time and consultant studies, to be worked on until the next scheduled update of the plan in five years. These items are necessary to further research and policy guidance to support the region in achieving its goals and transportation objectives. Work program items are listed at the end of each policy. More complete descriptions of work program items are provided in the Imagine 2050 TPP Work Program.
| = Lead agency = Supporting agency |
Met Council | MnDOT | Counties | Cities | Transit | Other |
| 31A. Develop a methodology that can evaluate projects for their impacts on vehicle miles traveled. Collaborate with transit providers to understand and identify potential vehicle miles traveled reduction from transit investments. Action type: Technical Capacity Building |
(FHWA) | |||||
| 31B. Use existing funding programs (for example, Carbon Reduction Program) or create new funding programs to target investments that reduce vehicle miles traveled per capita, including investments in transportation options beyond driving alone. Action type: Investment Priority |
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| 31C. Create information and personalized stories about trip reduction that demonstrate the feasibility of the state and regional vehicle miles traveled goals, objectives, and targets. Action type: Technical Capacity Building |
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| 31D. Develop educational materials that inform the public and promote actions that residents and businesses can take to minimize vehicle miles traveled and greenhouse gas emissions from delivery and shopping-related trips. Action types: Technical Capacity Building Partner |
(TBD) | |||||
| 31E. Support the expansion of access to bicycle systems, including incentives for individual bike purchases for electric or traditional bikes, secured bike parking, bike charging infrastructure, and shared bicycle programs. Action types: Investment Priority Local Planning Partner |
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| 31F. Examine ways in which regional transportation investments can better support more efficient land use patterns. Consider land use context and policies as a prioritization factor for regional funding. Action types: Technical Capacity Building Local Planning Investment Priority |
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| 31G. Build better understanding of the shared benefits of vehicle miles traveled reduction on climate mitigation, congestion, and safety. Action type: Technical Capacity Building |
FHWA is the Federal Highway Administration. TBD is to be determined. Agencies have not yet been identified.
