Transportation Demand Management

A review of current and past efforts to pursue Transportation Demand Management strategies in Temple was undertaken as part of the review of existing conditions for the Temple MMP. The purpose of the review was to gain an understanding of the current knowledge of and support for Transportation Demand Management by the City of Temple’s elected officials and staff and the leaders of other partner agencies.

A description of the existing conditions for TDM in the City of Temple and the surrounding area was developed by reviewing transportation planning documents of the City, KTMPO and other area agencies that might have initiated TDM activities in the past or are currently considering doing so. After a review of documents was complete, members from the ATG team provided a presentation to the Temple MMP Steering Committee stating the results of the review and asking the committee if any current or past activities had been missed. The ATG team also identified “Commute Mode Share” within the City of Temple as the perfromance measure to be used to establish the current state of TDM activity and to measure the potential future benefit of of new TDM programs activitites.

The review of documents produced examples of interest in TDM on the part of the City of Temple and the KTMPO but there was no evidence of past efforts to establish formal TDM programs and no evidence of current efforts underway.

Interest in TDM was expressed in the City of Temple’s Comprehensive Plan 2020. One of the stated principles of the plan is as follows:

Methodology and Data Sources

Existing Programs and Policy

2.2.7. Evaluate opportunities to invest in transportation demand management and smart city technologies to improve transportation efficiency.

Transportation Demand Management (TDM) is an overarching term for strategies that increase the overall efficiency of a transportation system with a priority focus on encouraging a reduction of single-occupant vehicles trips (i.e., through an improved multi-modal transportation system) and through shifting of trips outside of peak periods. For a growing city the size of Temple, a greater focus may be to establish a proactive set of land use policies which reduce the need for travel through transportation-efficient land uses (e.g., neighborhood services near residential areas, higher intensity mixed-use activity centers, etc.) and a focus on maximizing the use of smart city technologies to improve transportation efficiency. Some of these smart city technologies may include real-time weather monitoring systems to enhance traffic safety, intelligent and adaptive traffic control devices which react to changing traffic patterns and public safety emergency needs, effective parking management, enhanced transit services, and other strategies emerging in published research.

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While the statement of principle in the comprehensve plan acknowledges the value and potential role of TDM in Temple, the comprehensive plan does not identify any actions to intiate any TDM programs within the City.

The 2045 Metropolitan Transportation Plan develped by KTMPO provides the following statement acklowledging KTMPO staff activities to explore TDM:

9 City of Temple Comprehensive Plan 2020, Chapter 5, page 145.

Staff is working to obtain more information to educate and inform the public about air quality issues such as Ozone and will work with the Policy Board to consider participation in this program. Program participation will include collaboration and support of the KTMPO member entities to identify measures for consideration to lower Ozone concentrations. These measures may include transportation demand management programs such as ridesharing, carpooling, telecommuting, transit, and bike/pedestrian travel.

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Members of the Temple MMP Steering Committee acknowledged the consideration of TDM strategies as part of a past air-qulity program of the MPO, but said that effort had not been continued.

Consideration of TDM by KTMPO was also evident in their Congestion Management Process where there was acknowledgment of the value of improving the safety and desirablity of facilities for walking and bicyling in the statement:

Non‐motorized improvement strategies typically involve improving or creating new infrastructure that more effectively facilitates the use of active transportation. Active transportation includes modes such as walking or biking. Encouraging and facilitating active transportation can help reduce the number of trips made by single occupancy vehicles, thus reducing congestion on roadways. According to the National Travel Household Survey (2009), about half of all trips in metropolitan areas are three miles or less and about 28% of all trips are one mile or less. These distances can easily be made by bicycle or on foot, but 65% of trips one mile or less are made by automobile. Capacity improvements for non‐motorized transportation often have no effect on motorized transportation capacity but can decrease the demand for motorized transportation. Non‐motorized improvements can also improve safety conditions and reduce conflicts for people who currently already use active transportation. 11

KTMPO’s Congestion Management Process also identifies a set of “Non-Infrastructure Improvements” that can be part of a toolbox for management of congestion including: rideshare programs, flexible work hours, telecommuting, satefllite offices, land use management, commuter choice tax benefits, HOV Toll savings, parking management, and driver education. 12

Existing Mode Share

To provide an indication of the current level of mode use for commuting, the ATG team assembled Table 21 showing the shares for 2018 and 2015. The US Census Bureau American Community Survey, the source used for the estimate of mode shares, tends to somewhat overstate the use of modes that are most heavily used because the survey asks commuters what mode they most often use. The results indicate that commuting in the City of Temple is highly car oriented with 82.9% driving alone and 10.9% carpooling. A comparison with the 2015 results suggests a small shift from driving alone to carpooling has occurred but the overall share using a car has remained about the same. Bicyling and walking to work have decreased slightly but working at home has increased slightly.

10 KTMPO, 2045 Metropolitan Transportation Plan, Environment & Quality of Life – Air Quality, page 174. 11 KTMPO, Congestion management Plan 2016 Update 12 KTMPO, Congestion management Process I 2016 Update, Pages 4-5 to 4-7.