A committee of the Capital Region Planning Commission on Tuesday recommended that engineering giant AECOM be selected to prepare and implement a regional Travel Demand Management program aimed at reducing single occupant vehicle commuter trips throughout the region.
AECOM was the only firm to respond to the CRPC’s Request for Proposals, which was issued last month, to take on the ride share and TDM program. Kim Marousek, CRPC director of planning, says AECOM exceeds the necessary qualifications and that its proposal is strong and within the $1.3 million, three-year budget.
“They have a lot of experience in this area,” she says.
Unlike mega infrastructure projects that would increase capacity on the Capital Region’s interstate system, the TDM program seeks to tackle the area’s chronic congestion from another angle–by trying to reduce the number of vehicles on the highway.
CRPC officials say the program will look at ways to reduce congestion such as carpooling, vanpooling, and working with businesses to implement things like telework policies and flex work schedules.
Los Angeles-based AECOM, which has offices in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, is already familiar with the area’s traffic woes. Last year, it proposed building an $800 million high-speed toll road around Baton Rouge to help ease congestion, an idea that state lawmakers ultimately rejected. The firm also recently completed a study on the downtown parking.
Tuesday’s recommendation by the CRPC transportation committee is not the final step in the development of the TDM program. The CRPC policy committee, which meets Aug. 16, must also approve the recommendation. It would then go to the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, which would enter into contract negotiations with the firm.
Marousek hopes the program could be under way by the end of the year.
—Stephanie Riegel
