However, it should be noted that the TAC states, “When concluding that a particular project may be screened out from further analysis, the practitioner should review and fully document the rationale supporting the conclusion that the particular project would not likely lead to a measurable and substantial increase in VMT.” Passing lanes, truck climbing lanes, or truck brake-check lanes in rural areas that do not increase overall corridor capacity.įor these projects, the Draft TAC and TAF note that a qualitative assessment will usually be adequate under CEQA, and mitigation may not be warranted.Tolled lane additions (where tolls are sufficient to mitigate VMT increase).General-purpose lane conversions to managed or transit lanes.Auxiliary lanes less than one mile in length to improve safety.In addition, the Draft TAC notes that there are also some projects where the addition of pavement or lanes, the extension of lanes, or the conversion of lanes, may be involved but are, however, not likely to measurably increase VMT, including the following: Maintenance, rehabilitation, and repairs.The Draft TAC describes a wide range of non-capacity increasing projects not likely to result in measurable increases in VMT including the following: This is a significant paradigm shift from a focus on addressing traffic delay and congestion in CEQA analysis to a focus on reducing VMT. However, as described in the Draft TAC, Caltrans has chosen to use VMT as the primary transportation metric for CEQA analysis of projects on the State Highway System. What this means is that VMT is not a mandatory metric for CEQA analysis of roadway capacity projects and that traffic delay metrics could be used at the discretion of the lead agency as long as they are consistent with CEQA and other applicable requirements. The 2018 CEQA Guidelines Update, Section 15064.3 (b)(2), grants an exception to allow lead agencies the discretion to choose the appropriate measure in evaluating the significance of transportation impact(s) under CEQA for roadway capacity projects. Navigating a paradigm shift for transportation projectsĪs noted previously, the Draft TAC addresses how Caltrans will analyze transportation projects on the State Highway System using VMT and the Draft TAF reviews analytical approaches to estimating the VMT effect of transportation projects. The TISG, when finalized, will replace the prior 2002 Guide for the Preparation of Traffic Studies. A new direction for land use projectsĬaltrans’ Local Development-Intergovernmental Review program will use the TISG during the environmental review of land-use projects and plans. The comment period for the Draft TISG closed on April 10, 2020, while the comment period for the Draft TAC and TAF extends to June 15, 2020. The Draft TAF guidance provides direction on analytical methods to estimate the VMT effects of transportation projects.
The Draft TAC guidance provides direction on CEQA analysis for transportation projects on the State Highway System. The Draft TISG guidance provides direction on CEQA analysis of VMT for land-use projects. VMT is a measurement of the miles driven by vehicles within a specified area over a specific time period, rather than a delay- or congestion-based metric such as level of service (LOS). These three guidance documents implement changes from 2013’s Senate Bill 743 (SB 743), which required a shift from using measurements of traffic delay or congestion for determining the significance of traffic impacts under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), to using measurements of distance traveled, such as VMT, for most projects.
On April 10, 2020, Caltrans issued drafts of the Transportation Analysis under CEQA (Draft TAC) and Transportation Analysis Framework (Draft TAF). On February 28, 2020, Caltrans issued a draft of the VMT-focused Transportation Impacts Study Guide (Draft TISG).
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