Fiscal Note
Adoption of this policy resolution has no direct budgetary impact. There are, however, no staff or other resources currently budgeted to develop the baseline data or to complete the additional study and analysis of vehicle mile impacts associated with new development as required by this resolution. Without additional resources, this resolution could result in the reallocation of available staff resources from existing projects.
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AMENDED THIRD SUBSTITUTE - (deleted Stating that the policy of the City of Madison is to encourage or, where appropriate, require that seek policies and incremental changes to the built environment, as well major new policies and public works projects, shall that in the aggregate cause vehicle miles traveled (VMT) per capita to decrease by 25 percent, as compared with a 2005 baseline, by 2020 and that this goal shall be incorporated into the City’s Comprehensive Plan allow citizens to minimize motor vehicle travel.) Amended to read: To create an interagency staff team to present annual reports describing trends in traffic and mass transit volumes, including, to the extent possible, aggregate vehicle-miles traveled (VMT).
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WHEREAS, Madison is committed to social and environmental sustainability, as stated in the Comprehensive Plan: “The City of Madison must grow in a sustainable manner to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The Comprehensive Plan will work to accomplish this through environmental stewardship; compact, mixed-use development; safe, convenient and efficient transportation facilities; and high quality, cost effective community services,” and, WHEREAS, transportation inefficiency is a major contributor to environmental degradation, including air emissions that increase levels of ozone, particulates, and greenhouse gases; stormwater runoff; heat island effects; and habitat and agricultural land destruction; and, WHEREAS, transportation inefficiency places income barriers on the ability to access work and other needs; and
WHEREAS, transportation inefficiency places economic costs on individuals, businesses, and the city, via the burdens of owning, maintaining, and fueling vehicles, and of building, maintaining, and rebuilding roadway and stormwater infrastructure; and, WHEREAS, maximizing transportation efficiency implies a system that allows individuals and businesses to access employment, school, shopping, other businesses, fellow citizens’ homes, and other opportunities with the least environmental, social, and economic cost’ and,
WHEREAS, this objective requires coordination of transportation and land use planning on a citywide scale, and cannot be achieved by compact, mixed-use development within neighborhoods alone,
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the policy of the City of Madison is to seek policies and incremental changes to the built environment that in the aggregate allow citizens to minimize motor vehicle travel. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that an interagency staff team comprised of Planning, Traffic Engineering, Engineering and ,the Metropolitan Area Transportation Planning Board and Metro shall present semi-annual reports to the Common Council, Plan Commission, and Long Range Transportation Planning Committee, evaluating describing trends in traffic and mass transit volumes, including and, to the extent possible, aggregate vehicle-miles traveled (VMT).
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the staff team will propose an initial methodology for reporting traffic volumes and VMT to the Plan Commission and Common Council by January 15, 2010. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that as relevant city bodies make decisions on land use and transportation infrastructure, they consider the objective information contained in the above mentioned annual reports. of minimizing motor vehicle traffic and its negative effects,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that when the Comprehensive Plan is amended to include the goals and policies, the Plan Commission, with input from the Long Range Transportation Planning Committee, shall identify the mechanisms and processes that will be used to evaluate projects against the policies, including a quantifiable goal for minimizing motor vehicle traffic and its negative effects, and shall identify the data collection methodology that will be used as part of the measurement and monitoring program.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED the Long Range Transportation Planning Committee by one year after adoption of this resolution shall evaluate and recommend to the Plan Commission and Common Council travel demand-reduction policies, including but not limited to adoption of “transportation demand management” techniques, that should be pursued by the city, and,
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the Long Range Transportation Planning Commission by one year after adoption of this resolution shall evaluate and recommend to the Common Council policies to mitigate the negative effects of off-road vehicle use, including idling and parking.