A proposed Mountain View ordinance aims to establish a citywide Transportation Demand Management program, requiring new commercial and residential developments to employ transit measures that align with the city’s sustainability goals.
Transportation Demand Management, or TDM, is a common municipal strategy to reduce the number of motor vehicle trips on roadways, according to Mountain View public works director Dawn Cameron. Measures include carpool coordination, transit pass discounts and bike-sharing programs.
“The overall goal has tremendous benefits for the city as a whole,” Cameron said. “(TDM) can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, manage traffic congestion, promote mobility options and make our roads safer for other users, such as bicycle pedestrians.”
The city of Mountain View has long had TDM requirements in place – but only in predefined regions. Currently, commercial developments that are at least 10,000-50,000 square feet, depending on the area, require a TDM program. Residential projects with at least 20 units must also implement a program in certain parts of the city.
But a citywide ordinance would standardize and simplify requirements, further advancing Mountain View’s sustainability, transportation and growth goals, Cameron said.
City officials conducted 14 stakeholder interviews in June to allow business and property owners to voice feedback on the proposed ordinance. The participating employers wanted more flexibility in meeting transit reduction goals, Cameron noted.
“(Employers) would prefer selecting from a menu of options that they can modify over time as conditions change, as opposed to the city mandating specific measures that they must implement,” she said.
Residential property owners are often less familiar with TDM strategies, she added, and those who participated in interviews asked for more support throughout the process.
“What we’re hearing from them is to have more supportive resources, more information, more educational options,” Cameron said.
In the past, the most successful TDM strategies in Mountain View have been employee-provided shuttle buses, subsidized transit passes and incentives for bike commuting, she said.
A draft of the ordinance is expected to be brought to the Mountain View City Council around next May, according to Cameron. A second round of stakeholder interviews will take place in the coming months.
“We’ve made strides in our commitment to developing and refining our process and applying TDM,” said Ben Pacho, transportation analyst for the city. “For the initial outreach, we’ve received largely positive feedback from stakeholders on partnering with the city to deliver mobility solutions that work for residents and employees, especially with the changing travel patterns.”
For more information on Mountain View’s TDM program, visit tinyurl.com/2k9x3jvc.
