D.C. Multimodal Congestion Management Study

The Public Involvement Plan (PIP) outlines the activities, methods, and tools that the team will use to engage the public and agency stakeholders. The Multimodal Congestion Management Study is a priority effort mandated by the DC City Council and administered by the DC Department of Transportation (DDOT), to quantify and communicate the state of congestion among the various travel modes and developing recommendations for managing the congestion. The Congestion Study is in support of the highly successful moveDC, the District’s long-range transportation plan. moveDC outlines a comprehensive 25-year plan to expand transportation options and improving the reliability of all transportation modes. The Congestion Study will provide the data needed to support the moveDC comprehensive plan and provide the residents, businesses, commuters, and elected officials the information needed to make informed transportation decisions.

Project Description: Kittelson and the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) both understand that a truly livable city is not one where a single congestion metric tells the whole story. Rather, it is one where the transportation system supply and demand is thoughtfully monitored and managed so that its various modes are part of a flexible, connected, and efficient network of options. The shared goals of Kittelson and DDOT were to define urban multimodal mobility and to communicate the complexities of multimodal data analytics and assessment. Kittelson, in collaboration with DDOT, led the District Mobility Project, a comprehensive assessment of the District’s multimodal transportation system. Kittelson led a multi-talented team in the identification, development, and realization of new, cutting-edge tools for measuring multimodal mobility, visualizing results, and assessing impacts of various forms of mobility in the District. Kittelson directed the analysis and reporting for each of the performance measures, working directly with INRIX and Transit AVL and APC data sets. In addition, the project team leveraged graphic design concepts and web-based tools to develop a dynamic website that stimulates and engage users while telling the multimodal mobility story.

Scope: The Multimodal Congestion Management Study will:

Identify and compile the state-of-the-practice from universities, think tanks, other jurisdictions and agencies through a thorough literature review to develop and evaluate a multifaceted visualization tool to clearly portray the state of congestion in the District. The data used to support the visualization tool should be continuously updated in order to provide stakeholders with a clear and accurate assessment of the District’s congestion Cultivate strategies for evaluation of the data, including but limited to infrastructure impacts, capital projects, and operational changes that may effect the multimodal demands on the system Analyze the impacts of strategies on congestion and understand the relationships between the different modes and how the utilization of one mode may impact congestion and user travel times. Allow DDOT divisions to obtain and analyze critical data regarding system performance Develop and implement a comprehensive engagement effort that draws on the expertise of technical advisors to provide both subjective and objective information throughout the process. This database will produce a better stakeholder experience for the end user and provide the District with data to verify transportation infrastructure needs and evaluate multimodal system performance.

Study Area: The Multimodal Congestion Management Study, like moveDC, not only encompasses the entire District of Columbia, but assesses all modes of transportation from roadways, Metrorail and bus, bikeshare, DC Circulator, DC Streetcar, to car services like Uber and DC taxicabs.