REGIONAL CONGESTION MANAGEMENT PROGRAM (RCMP)

The Regional Congestion Management Program (RCMP) serves as a mechanism to fulfill SJCOG’s requirements as a metropolitan area with a population exceeding 200,000, under the Federal Congestion Management Process. In addition, there is an opportunity to integrate Performance-Based Planning and Programming (PBPP) performance metrics and provide information of interest to our jurisdictions.

A key focus of the Federal CMP aims to reduce single-occupant-vehicle (SOV) travel while minimizing the need for increasing SOV roadway capacity. It also provides additional resources for the development and deployment of new congestion management technologies. For areas designated as non-attainment of Federal air quality standards such as San Joaquin County, the Federal Congestion Management Process stipulates (23 CFR 450.320 (d)) that Federal funds may not be programmed for any project that results in a significant increase in the carrying capacity of single occupancy vehicles (i.e., new general purpose lanes with the exception of safety improvements or the elimination of bottlenecks) unless the project is addressed through a federally compliant congestion management process. For SOV capacity increasing projects proposed to be advanced with Federal funds, an analysis is required to demonstrate that all reasonable travel demand reduction and operational management strategies have been implemented to the fullest extent possible.

The most recent RCMP update was approved at the August 2021 Board meeting. The RCMP Monitoring report is up for adoption at the January 2022 Board meeting.