Photo courtesy of CDOT.
Quality of life, public health and economic prosperity in the Denver region depends on mobility for both people and goods. The purpose of DRCOG’s congestion management process is to work with local, state and national partners to alleviate, and help people and businesses avoid or adapt to, congestion.
"Federal law requires that the regional transportation planning process include a congestion management process: “that provides for safe and effective integrated management and operation…of new and existing transportation facilities … and through the use of travel demand reduction and operational management strategies.”
DRCOG’s congestion management process emphasizes the effective management of the transportation network through the use of travel demand reduction and operational management strategies known as the Congestion Mitigation Program. The program evaluates regional congestion and identifies congested corridors in the region using information from a variety of sources, including the regional travel model, and local government and Colorado Department of Transportation traffic counts. The Congestion Mitigation Program includes a toolkit of construction, demand management, real-time information and operational strategies for addressing congestion.
Many of the strategies are implemented through four additional DRCOG programs:
At the regional level, the 2050 Metro Vision Regional Transportation Plan includes funding for strategies to manage congestion, as well as using the Congestion Mitigation Program’s scores as one factor to evaluate candidate capacity projects for regional funding. At the project level, the Congestion Mitigation Program's scores are similarly used as one factor to evaluate roadway projects seeking federal funds through the Transportation Improvement Program.
Collectively, this process and strategies enable DRCOG staff to monitor the performance of the region’s transportation system, identify, evaluate and implement strategies through the 2050 Regional Transportation Plan and Transportation Improvement Program, and monitor effectiveness through DRCOG’s performance-based planning process.
Learn more about:
- DRCOG's Way To Go Program.
- Regional Traffic Operations and Technology.
- Intelligent Transportation Systems.