The Transportation and Sustainable Communities threshold standard was adopted in April 2021 and established a target of reducing vehicle miles traveled (VMT) per capita in the Tahoe Region by 6.8 percent from a 2018 baseline (12.48 VMT per person). VMT is the total distance traveled on roadways in a defined region during a period of time. Capita is a measure of the population in the region. Tahoe uses an estimate of all people in the region to calculate VMT per capita, inclduing residents, visitors, seasonal residents, day visitors, and workers on an average day.Reducing per capita VMT requires coordinating land use and transportation planning. On the land use side, VMT per capita can be reduced by promoting compact, mixed-use development where people live and stay closer to jobs, recreation areas, schools, and services. On the transportation side, reducing VMT per capita can be achieved by providing alternatives to the automobile for making trips, including transit and improving walking and cycling infrastructure. Achieving the standard will reduce visitors' and residents' reliance on automobiles and result in nearly zero growth in VMT over the next 25 years. The adaptive management framework provides for independent guidance and contains a set of VMT per capita reduction milestones that require corrective action if performance lags.
The TRPA Governing Board adopted the VMT per capita threshold standard in April 2021.
TRPA adopted Transportation and Sustainable Communities Threshold Standard 1 (TSC1) in April 2021, codifying a new goal for the reduction of VMT per capita. The threshold standard aligned the vision of the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) and the TRPA Regional Plan to reduce reliance on the automobile, support greenhouse gas emission reduction, and increase mobility through modes other than the automobile. Coordinated land use through the Regional Plan) and transportation through RTP policies are central to achieving the threshold standard.
VMT per capita is a measure of interaction between land use and the transportation system and its efficiency in moving individuals between the places they need to be. Higher VMT per capita regions are those where individuals are traveling farther distances to get between home, work, shopping, etc., and are generally reliant on the automobile to move between destinations. Lower VMT per capita regions are those that are characterized by individuals traveling shorter distances between their destinations and where there are options for travel other than the car (e.g. bike paths, transit systems) that are chosen more frequently as a means of taking those trips.
VMT can be expressed in absolute terms (total miles traveled) or as a function of another factor (e.g. per worker, or per residents). The latter are collectively referred to as efficiency-based measures. Efficiency-based measures express the amount of VMT in a region as a function of a factor thought to be related to that VMT. One of the most common efficiency-based measures is expressing VMT in a region as a function of the region’s population.
Vehicle miles traveled (VMT) is a measure of the number of miles driven on roadways in a specified area over a specific period of time. VMT is a function of the complex interplay of a variety of factors including: population (both inside and outside the region), gas prices, employment rates, local housing costs, demand for recreational opportunities in the region, access to alternative forms of transportation, and secondary home ownership. Increased congestion, work-from-home programs, employer carpool programs, concentration of development in town centers, presence of travel alternatives, higher unemployment, and higher fuel prices are all linked with a reduction in VMT. Population growth, higher household income, higher employment rates, increased fuel economy and greater roadway capacity are all linked to increasing VMT. Increasing access to transit services, access to bicycle and pedestrian facilities, and the relative desirability of alternative modes of transportation in comparison to the use of the personal automobile may reduce VMT.
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