Common Council

Meeting and Event Highlights for the Week of November 7, Transportation Demand Management

Meeting and Event Highlights for the Week of November 7, 2022

Meetings

• The Common Council does not meet the week of November 7, but many other City committees do, including the Plan Commission, City-County Homeless Issues Committee, Public Safety Review Committee, Madison Arts Commission, Community Development Authority, Police Civilian Oversight Board, and more. To see the full list of City meetings scheduled for the week, please consult the City meeting schedule.
• Metro service redesign: Metro is holding one last virtual public hearing on Wednesday, November 9, at 6pm to discuss final details related to the June 2023 service redesign. Items to be reviewed are:
  • Equity Analysis Summary
  • Equity Analysis Full Report
  • Bus Stop Placements: Stops to Close// New Stops // Maps
  • Route Start/End Times
  • Route Name Updates
  • DRAFT System Map

A number of these items have also been translated into alternate languages and are available here.

Events

• COVID vaccination clinic: A free COVID vaccination clinic will be held at Community Development Authority West, Romnes Apartments (540 W. Olin Avenue), on Thursday, November 10, from 12:30pm-4:30pm. No appointment is needed. Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax will be offered. Available to everyone 6 months and older. All are welcome! If you have any questions, please contact:
  • Christene Decot, cdecot@cityofmadison.com, 608-267-9524, 608-209-8373
  • Renee Robinson, rrobinson@cityofmadison.com, 608-242-6528, 608-220-1556
• Homebuyer education class: The City of Madison, in partnership with the Home Buyers Round Table of Dane County and Consumer Credit Counseling Service, is offering free, HUD-approved homebuyer education classes. Learn more about what it takes to buy your first home, securing a mortgage, and down payment assistance programs. Hear from content experts like realtors, lenders, insurance agents, home inspectors, and housing counselors. The next class is Saturday, November 12, 8:30am-3:30pm, at Villager Mall on Park Street, 2300 S. Park Street, Atrium entrance. Register here. Questions? Contact Maria Davila-Martinez at mdavila-martinez@cityofmadison.com or 608-266-6557.
• Fair housing training seminar: The Fair Housing Center of Greater Madison is offering a free, online fair housing training seminar for owners and managers of rental properties, or staff operating residential programs, in Madison on Wednesday, November 9, 6pm-7:30pm. The seminar will include information about the protected classes and prohibited practices delineated by local, state and federal fair housing laws, as well as emerging issues such as sexual harassment and hate incidents in housing situations. To register, visit https://tinyurl.com/MadisonFairHousing or call 608-257-0853. If you need materials in alternate formats or other accommodations to access our services, please call 608-257-0853.
• Salute to Black veterans: A Salute to Black Veterans program is being held Wednesday, November 9, 12pm-2pm at the Radisson Hotel, 517 Grand Canyon Drive. Pre-registration is required. Vets can either email info@newbridgemadison.org or call 608-512-0000, ext. 3002 to register. The program includes a free luncheon honoring all branches of the military. Limited transportation is available upon request. Reservations will be accepted until noon on November 8.
• Lake Monona Waterfront Design Challenge: You are invited to attend the public event series for the Lake Monona Waterfront Design Challenge hosted by Madison Parks. The event series is an opportunity to learn more about the design challenge, the selected teams, their progress in plan development, and the final master plan proposals. The three events include a design challenge kick-off, midpoint check-in, and team presentations of their proposed vision for the Lake Monona Waterfront. The next event in the series is the midpoint check-in:
  • Design Challenge Check-In
    Monday, November 7, 2022 @ 6:00 pm CT
    Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center, Lecture Hall, 1 John Nolen Drive
    Design teams will virtually present initial thoughts and concepts in developing a master plan vision for the Lake Monona Waterfront.

Announcements

• Transportation Demand Management Ordinance: On November 1, a proposed Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Ordinance was introduced to the Common Council. TDM focuses on shifting travel to sustainable transportation options such as transit, rideshare, biking, and walking. The TDM website provides a summary of the program and objectives. A brief description of the TDM program can be seen at 1:33 into the video of the August 15 TPPB meeting.

• Streets Division updates:
  • Fall yard waste collection is in the home stretch. You only have one or two chances for curbside yard waste pickup yet this fall. Don't miss out! Get the dates when you should put yard waste out for your home at www.cityofmadison.com/YardWaste
  • Drop-off sites hours and locations will be changing at the end of November. Before loading your vehicle, be sure you are aware of the hours of where you are going to take yard waste, electronics, and other items. The drop-off site website is www.cityofmadison.com/DropOffSites
  • Alternate side parking restrictions start on November 15. Yes, winter is coming soon (regardless of how warm it is today). Get all of your winter information needs, including parking info, at www.cityofmadison.com/Winter
  • And finally, if you haven't downloaded your trash & recycling calendar for 2023 yet it is available at www.cityofmadison.com/CollectionSchedule.
• General Election is November 8, 2022: Voters can view a sample ballot for their address and find out where and how to vote on the MyVote Wisconsin website. All Dane County voters will see three referendum questions on their ballots. Voters who reside in the Sun Prairie, Waunakee, Middleton/Cross Plains, or Verona Area School Districts will also see school district referendum questions on their ballot. A number of offices are up for election:
  • Governor/Lieutenant Governor
  • Attorney General
  • Secretary of State
  • State Treasurer
  • U.S. Senator
  • U.S. Congressional Representative – District 2
  • State Senator – District 27
    • Voters who reside in District 27 will see this office on their ballot
  • Representative to State Assembly – Districts 46, 47, 48, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80
    • Voters who reside in each district will see that district's race on their ballot
  • Dane County Sheriff
  • Dane County Clerk of Circuit Court
• Put pumpkins in your leaf pile: Streets Division crews will collect pumpkins along with your leave and yard waste. This includes other compostable decorations like corn stalks and hay. Remove any non-compostable items like wire, tea candles, or electric lights from these items and then please set them on top of your leaf pile or leaf bags. Read more here.
• Community Facilities Loan program: A new City of Madison funding program aimed at helping non-profits strengthen and vitalize City neighborhoods is underway. The Community Facilities Loan (CFL) program, administered by the City's Community Development Division, provides low-cost financing for non-residential developments undertaken by non-profit organizations to acquire or improve properties that will serve the public. Learn more about the new program here.

Taking a TDM Approach to Transportation System Management

This is in response to questions related to the Introduction at Council of the TDM (Transportation Demand Management) Ordinance introduced at Council on 11/1.

• What is TDM?

A package of transportation options to more effectively manage the city's projected population growth.

• Why now?

                Twenty years in planning to streamline and standardize the  process.

Legistar #74423

FOLLOW THE TDM ORDINANCE AS IT MOVES THROUGH THE LEGISLATIVE APPROVAL PROCESS:

• Introduction to Council (CC) 11/1
• Planning Commission (PC) 11/21
• Transportation Commission (TC) 11/30
• Transportation Policy Planning Board (TPPB) 12/5
• Common Council (CC) 12/6

The TDM website provides a summary of the program and objectives and can be reached here.

A brief description of the TDM program can be seen at 1 hr  33 min into the video at the August 15 Transportation Policy Planning Board (TPPB) meeting here.

Transportation Demand Management

Optimizing Transit Choice and Community Sustainability

Imagine a community that was easy, safe, and environmentally friendly to navigate and take transit. One where you get to work easily by grabbing your bike from a bike parking facility or from a nearby bike share. One in which your employer-provided bus pass or bike share membership gets you to work and to your favorite park across town. One where your elevator ride down from your office informs you when your next bus will arrive. One where you're less beholden to the flows of vehicle traffic to access work, culture, cuisine and community so that you can truly enjoy all Madison has to offer.

The City of Madison is working to make this imagined community a reality through our new and improved Transportation Demand Management (TDM) policy.

TDM is supported in the Imagine Madison Comprehensive Plan and the Madison Sustainability Plan. TDM is defined in the Madison General Ordinances as measures including "carpooling, vanpooling, public transit, bicycling, walking, telecommuting, and work schedules that reduce individual vehicle trips and promote alternatives to single occupant vehicle use especially at peak commuting times."  

For Madison and many other communities, the emphasis is on shifting travel to sustainable transportation options; such as transit, rideshare, biking, and walking. TDM strategies help us use a fixed amount of roadway capacity efficiently, and are a key factor in reducing emissions associated with Climate change. 

Taking a TDM approach to transportation system management is the opposite of what communities throughout the US, communities have traditionally done. Historically, cities have taken a "Transportation Congestion Management Approach" - widening streets to accommodate development traffic. This has led to wider roadways that are expensive to maintain, and dangerous for cyclists and pedestrians. TDM flips the approach, incentivizing development to reduce the number of trips generated to fit within the existing transportation network.

Did you know?

TDM requirements have existed in Madison for over twenty years. Several land uses require or may require TDM plans including:

• Employee Districts (MGO 28.082),
• Mixed Center Districts (MGO 28.066),
• Conditional Uses (MGO 28.183),and
• Retail Business Establishments (MGO 33.24).

For years, application of these ordinances has been uneven and created an environment of uncertainty and confusion. This has been a detriment for developers, decision makers, and staff alike and led to costly project delays for high-quality developments. The proposed TDM plan aims to create an environment of certainty for all stakeholders involved in the TDM process.

Why a city-wide TDM program is important for Madison

Roughly two-thirds of Madison's work-related commute trips were in the form of drive-alone trips (American Community Survey, 2019). The citywide program can help preserve road capacity and limit negative impacts of system-wide traffic (measured as vehicle miles traveled or "VMT"), generated by new development. The TDM program will also proactively address localized issues of public health and safety, livability and multi-modal access by improving sustainable transportation options (such as biking and transit), as well as incorporating infrastructure and services within development proposals.

Benefits of the New TDM Program:

For Residents

• Residents will have greater choices on how they travel to stores and jobs as pedestrian, biking, and transit options are enhanced.
• Reduced traffic impacts and congestion from new development as more trips are shifted away from the automobile.
• More livable streets, including the health and safety benefits of more active transportation with less congestion.
• Fewer traffic emissions and greenhouse gases.

For Developers

• Consistency – TDM requirements are uniform across Madison for all developments with targets based on project size and parking capacity.
• Choice – Developers can select from a menu of TDM options, such as wayfinding signs and bike sharing, to develop the plan that is appropriate for the development.
• Clarity – The program provides straightforward requirements.
• Credit – The program gives credit for meeting existing city requirements such as bicycle parking and pedestrian access.

National best practices

TDM programs have been effectively implemented in cities throughout the nation. One example is Arlington Virginia, which between 2008 and 2014 Arlington documented an average weekday reduction in SOV trips of eight percent with a resulting reduction in VMT of 38 percent countywide. Madison has studied numerous plans throughout to country to inform its plan. These plans include cities of a variety of sizes and the best, most effective concepts from these programs have been incorporated into the City's proposed program:

Additional Information

• Process: Process for Transportation Demand Management development.
   
• Project Documents: Documents related to the development of Madison's Transportation Demand Management program.
   
• Requirement Factors: Information about the requirements for Transportation Demand Management.

Additional staff contact:

Philip Gritzmacher, Jr.
City Transportation Planner
pgritzmacher@cityofmadison.com