What is TDM and why is it important?

That's what the folks at the Coalition for Smarter Growth hope to help answer at a Transportation Demand Management Forum on Wednesday, July 21; 6-8 pm.

Transportation Demand Management Forum @ National Capital Planning Commission

(A copy of the presentation can be found at www.commuterpage.com/csg; posted July 23)

Arlington is well known for its smart growth land use plan, and great transit, bike and walk facilities. The county has added millions of square feet of development without generating more traffic. What is less well known is that a good part of the county's success is because of transportation demand management, or TDM.  Every day, Arlington's TDM program, Arlington County Commuter Services (ACCS), eliminates 38,000 vehicle trips by winning people over from driving alone to using transit, shared ride, bike and walk modes. How does Arlington achieve this success and can we replicate it in other jurisdictions? ACCS staff (Chris Hamilton, Jay Freschi and Wendy Duren and consultant Lori Diggins) will bring TDM to life by providing a virtual tour of ACCS operations and highlighting the powerful results of their cost-effective programs in terms of congestion reduction, economy, quality of life and the environment. You’ll also learn how this program is now expanding beyond Arlington’s border. Why is learning more about TDM important? Dollars are scarce and maintaining our existing transportation infrastructure let alone building more transportation supply is proving to be increasingly difficult. Saving energy and addressing climate change are national priorities. Compact, walkable and transit-oriented development near existing infrastructure is more important than ever. TDM is a cheap, effective, and essential tool for addressing these challenges. Time: 6:00pm registration and refreshments, 6:30 - 8:00pm program Address: National Capital Planning Commission 401 9th Street, NW Washington, DC 20004 PLEASE   Chris Hamilton is the Commuter Services Transportation Bureau Chief for Arlington County in the Department of Environmental Services, manager of CommuterPageBlog and a Metro/biking commuter from Rosemont in Alexandria.

Comments

[Chris Hamilton, Commuter Services Bureau Chief]

Thanks Allen. You are right to hold our feet to the fire. We should be doing better with ACPS as they are such a big employer and have so much influence. During the next year we hope to step up our efforts with students through the iRide program (www.commuterpage.com/iride) and hope to do a little more with our BikeArlington and WalkArlington programs than the little bit that we do around Walk/Bike to School week. Actually we could use the community's help in pushing the school system to agree to implement higher levels of commuter benefit programs for their employees and students. We're open to ideas. And we'll try harder.
Chris

[Allen Muchnick]

The presentations were informative, but I was disappointed to learn that Arlington County Commuter Services (ACCS) has been doing very little to promote alternative commuting with Arlington Public Schools, one of Arlington's largest employers.

If--as ACCS maintains--TDM programs (especially the public transit subsidy) is such a key employee fringe benefit) needed to attract and retain high-quality employees, ACCS owes it to the taxpayers, parents, and youth of Arlington County to provide an effective and extensive TDM program for Arlington's public school employees.