SB 743
Implementation
Assistance
Project
From Driving more to Driving Less
About the Project
The purpose of this project was to assist government staff and others with the development, evaluation and implementation of new Guidelines governing transportation impact analysis under CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act). Those new guidelines were adopted in response to California Senate Bill 743.
The findings were disseminated throughout California and nationally, with the twin aims of facilitating application of the new guidelines in California, and encouraging the consideration of VMT as a key metric for transportation planning in other parts of the country.
The updated CEQA Guidelines were adopted in December 2018 during the course of this project. The nationally important change related to SB 743 was the elimination of auto delay, level of service (LOS), and similar measures of traffic congestion or vehicular capacity as a basis for determining transportation impacts of new projects.
The Harbor Freeway, California State Route 110, in downtown Los Angeles during afternoon rush hour. Credit: Coolcaesar, July 22, 2015. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Coolcaesar
Charged by SB 743 with selecting a replacement metric, the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research chose Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) – i.e., the amount and distance of automobile travel attributable to a project – as the preferred measure of transportation impacts and reduction of those impacts (“mitigation”) under CEQA.
Former methods such as widening roads or adding turn lanes to improve LOS standards (the old metric) are no longer relevant to meet the environmental protection goals of CEQA.
New measures such as increasing transit service or instituting parking fees to reduce project-generated VMT, will replace them.
The project leadership commissioned five case studies and hosted several workshops to test and thereby understand and evaluate the draft Guidelines and explore VMT mitigation options.
The project was a collaboration between California state agencies, metropolitan planning organizations, consulting professionals and project staff. Nearly 100 individuals participated in the project in some way.
Many other public, private and nonprofit organizations also participated, including staff from cities, private consulting and law firms and universities (see detailed list of participants). Video interviews with a few key participants can be found on the home page.
Special Thanks
Southern California Association of Governments
Metropolitan Transportation Commission
San Diego Association of Governments
San Joaquin Council of Governments
Lead participating agencies:
California Governor’s Office of Planning and Research
California State Transportation Agency
California Department of Transportation
Sacramento Area Council of Governments
California Association of Councils of Government
Financial contributors:
TransitCenter (based in New York City)
Southern California Association of Governments
Sacramento Area Council of Governments
Metropolitan Transportation Commission
California Department of Transportation (Caltrans)
Institute for Sustainable Solutions at Portland State University (James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation funding)
In addition, the project was supported by in-kind donations from participating agencies and organizations (including thousands of hours of staff time as well as facilities, travel expenses and meals), and from presenters in the four workshops and online education course (available for credit).
The project was coordinated by the Urban Sustainability Accelerator, a joint program of the Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning and the Institute for Sustainable Solutions at Portland State University.
To learn more about the project or suggest ideas for disseminating results, contact project manager Robert Liberty.