The new Community-Wide Congestion Management Study Update and Man O' War Boulevard Traffic Study are now available. 

Traffic congestion is an everyday fact of life, and it’s getting worse every day.  A Congestion Management Process (CMP) – formerly known as a Congestion Management System (CMS) is a process for collecting data and identifying congested major transportation arterials and areas with intent of identifying and implementing appropriate congestion mitigation measures.  The CMP will not eliminate congestion, but will instead slow the rate at which it increases.

The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA) and the Transportation Equity Act for the 21^st Century of 1998 (TEA-21) required Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO) in Transportation Management Areas (TMAs) to develop and implement a CMS in each state, and in each metropolitan area with a population of 200,000 or more.

In all TMAs, CMS shall be developed, established, and implemented as part of the metropolitan planning process and shall include specific elements outlined in 23 CFR 500.109(b)(1)-(6).  The results of the 2000 Census indicated that the population in Lexington-Fayette and Jessamine Counties were 299,553.

The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act – A Legacy for Users of 2005 (SAFETEA-LU) reaffirms the Federal requirements  established in ISTEA and continued in TEA-21 for CMS.  SAFETEA-LU retains the structure established by ISTEA, requiring that Congestion Management be part of the metropolitan transportation planning process for TMAs.  Under SAFETEA-LU this is called a Congestion Management Process or CMP.

Transportation planning and congestion management affect almost every aspect of our lives.  We use the transportation system each day, to go to work and school, to visit family and friends, to shop, and to participate in recreational activities.  Our transportation system is the network that connects our local and regional economies, and allows us to efficiently move people and goods from place to place.

The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA) mandates the development and implementation of a Congestion Management System (CMS) in each state, and in each metropolitan area with a population of 200,000 or more.  It requires the integration of the CMS into the metropolitan transportation planning process.  In 1998, ISTEA’s successor, the Transportation Equity Act for the 21^st Century (TEA-21), emphasized the importance of the CMS as a way to improve the efficiency of and protect the public investment in the nation’s transportation infrastructure.

Under the current authorization law for Federal surface transportation funding, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users of 2005 (SAFETEA-LU), the provisions on metropolitan transportation planning for Transportation Management Areas (TMAs) refer to a ‘Congestion Management Process (CMP)’ rather than a ‘Congestion Management System (CMS)’, as previous laws have.  However, the intent of the congestion management requirement has not changed, so the two terms – CMP and CMS – are interchangeable.

According to the Federal Register (December 19, 1996), an effective congestion management system is "a systematic process for managing congestion that provides information on transportation system performance and on alternative strategies to alleviate congestion and enhance the mobility of persons and goods to levels that meet state and local needs. A CMS includes methods to monitor and evaluate performance, identify alternative actions, assess and implement cost-effective actions, and evaluate the effectiveness of implemented actions.”

All Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) currently shall have an operational CMS program. Typically MPO's CMS program:

1. Identifies the location of congestion by measuring the system's performance

2. Identifies the causes of congestion

3. Is guided by a multi-disciplinary local steering committee with FHWA representation

4. Recommends strategies to alleviate congestion which can be implemented quickly, inexpensively and can avoid the addition of general purpose lanes of roadway

5. Is corridor-based

Provides a link between the short range transportation improvement program (TIP) and the long range transportation planning process (LRTP)

Congestion management is the process of identifying and recommending solutions to congestion problems.  The MPO initiated the CMS program in 1990’s.  Previous congestion management reports were published in 1997 and 2002.  This report documents the methodology and results of evaluating roadway congestion for the major arterials in Lexington-Fayette and Jessamine Counties.  Periodic updates will continue to keep the CMP/CMS an ongoing part of the congestion management activities.

The Lexington Area MPO planning area includes Lexington-Fayette and Jessamine Counties, Kentucky.  The two counties are located in the heart of the Bluegrass Region of Central Kentucky.  As in most metropolitan areas in the United States, the dominant system of transportation in the Lexington area is the roadway system.  Fayette County contains most of Central Kentucky’s largest urbanized area, and serves as the leading market and trade center for the region.  It also provides major employment, education, health-care, and many other services and opportunities to Central Kentuckians.

At Lexington Area MPO, the CMS staff manages, alleviates, and mitigates the traffic congestion in MPO Planning Area which includes the Lexington-Fayette and Nicholasville-Jessamine counties. The CMS supports the planning process by providing information to assist transportation decision-making. 

A Congestion Management Committee (CMC) was established to oversee the CMS process and implementation.  The CMC members consist of officials from federal, state, and local government. The CMC members can also be transportation staff from other local organizations and interested citizens. The CMC members have extensive experience in transportation planning, engineering, and management.

The CMC meetings are held on a monthly basis.  They are held on the 2^nd Wednesday of each month and at 1:30 pm in the 7^th floor conference room in the LFUCG Phoenix Building, 101 East Vine Street in Downtown Lexington.  All interested parties are encouraged to attend and join the discussion.

A GeoLogger Driving Group (GLDG) was established to collect the travel time and delay data on the major arterials in the Lexington-Fayette and Nicholasville-Jessamine counties.  The travel time and delay data were collected twice a year during the spring and fall seasons when the schools are in session.  The GLDG members are volunteer commute drivers using the equipment, GeoLogger, to collect commute time and delay data on the major arterials in the twin counties. 

The collected travel time and delay data are evaluated and analyzed. The process of travel time and delay data collection, evaluation, comparison, and major arterial congestion level ranking is documented and reported in the Congestion Management Report (CMR).  The CMR is published on a regular basis and available on line.

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