Developing a Congestion Mitigation Toolbox

Increased traffic congestion is a result of many sources including increasing demand and lagging supply. Responding to increasing congestion, agencies from the federal government to local townships have turned to congestion management, or mitigation. Congestion mitigation is delivered through a variety of techniques. The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) recognized a need to assist state and local agency partners to identify potential congestion mitigation strategies and improve collaboration. Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) researchers developed "A Michigan Toolbox for Mitigating Congestion." The team conducted several tasks in developing the Toolbox. The TTI team reviewed and consulted previous congestion toolboxes for strategy identification, toolbox elements, and toolbox style. The research team implemented a survey of metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) throughout the country to gather agency experiences with congestion mitigation strategies. Finally, the research team reviewed congestion management processes of four Michigan transportation management areas and performed interviews of MPO staff. Working closely with the MDOT staff, researchers identified 47 strategies to include in the Toolbox. The Toolbox, written in a user-friendly format, provides for each strategy a description, techniques to implement each strategy, data requirements, lessons learned, impacts, and contact information and resources for more information. The Toolbox serves as both a useful desk reference for practitioners and an educational tool for elected officials.