Four Challenges to Incorporating Transportation Demand Management into the Land Development Process

Abstract

There are four primary challenges to incorporating transportation demand management (TDM) into the land development process, based on a review of growth management processes in Florida. These findings may be applicable to many cities outside Florida. The challenges include (a) the idea that TDM is valuable only if it can reduce travel, (b) transportation professionals considering TDM too late in the land development process, (c) the conflict between state and local governments for providing balance between mobility and access, and (d) the use of traffic analysis methods and standards that are geared toward preserving highway level of service (LOS) for motor vehicles. The provision of adequate public facilities for transportation is interpreted by Florida law and administrative code as the achievement of highway LOS standards for motor vehicles and not a broader transportation LOS provided by a combination of modes. Measuring LOS focuses on the delay experienced by motor vehicles on the highway and does not allow the weighing of economic, environmental, public health, and social equity costs and benefits of one mode compared with another. As a result, there is no rational tool to justify a different distribution of limited transportation funds across multiple modes. TDM strategies are positioned poorly, internally to government leaders and partner departments and externally to land developers as a sort of mobility “diet” imposed on the traveling public. This paper offers some ideas on where to direct attention to address these issues.