Multimodal Performance Measures & Level of Service
The development of appropriate performance measures is critical to demonstrate and compare the effects of alternative transportation plans or land use decisions. Performance measures provide a common framework in which to evaluate investments and strategies that might otherwise be difficult to compare. They allow an apples-to-apples comparison, illustrating tradeoffs between the alternatives analysis and mitigation measures.
Transportation problems are traditionally defined in terms of congestion at specific locations (measured in terms of traffic level of service—or LOS), and traffic solutions are typically developed to reduce congestion at these specific locations to improve traffic LOS. However, the solutions that improve traffic LOS may simply shift congestion to another location, not necessarily improving the operation of the overall transportation system.
The CMP statute was amended in 1994 (Assembly Bill (AB) 1963, Katz) to require that the CMP include multimodal transportation system performance measures. For a number of years, VTA has included a Multimodal Performance Measures chapter in its biennial Congestion Management Program document. However, recent trends such as the release of the Highway Capacity Manual 2010 (HCM 2010) and the 2010 update to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Transportation checklist have led VTA and other CMAs to look again at Multimodal Performance Measures.
Since 2011, VTA has been conducting education, outreach and testing to identify how new Multimodal Performance Measures could be applied in the VTA CMP in Santa Clara County. Below are some key materials from this effort:
- Introduction to Transportation Level of Service & Highway Capacity Manual 2010 (August 2011)
- Pilot Applications of MMLOS in Santa Clara County and Beyond (July 2012 workshop)
- Measuring Success: Steps for a Healthier, Wealthier, more Equitable Future (July 2012 workshop)
