Lessons Learned from Regional Congestion Pricing Workshops (RCPWs)
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) conducted three one-day Regional Congestion Pricing Workshops (RCPWs) in Schaumburg, Illinois; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Portland, Oregon.
The primary goal of the workshops was to provide technical support to State, regional, or local transportation agencies interested in deploying congestion pricing projects. These workshops involved stakeholders from the candidate regions and around the respective States. Workshop attendees included many representatives of various State Departments of Transportation (DOTs), regional and local transportation agencies, transit agencies, FHWA Division Offices, and support contractors.
The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) hosted a one-day Congestion Pricing workshop on March 29, 2016 in Schaumburg, Illinois. The workshop involved stakeholders from the Chicago region and around the State. Participants included representatives of IDOT from both District 1 and State headquarters representing design, operations, programming, traffic, and executives, as well as FHWA's Illinois Division Office staff, PACE transit, and support contractors. IDOT is currently involved in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process and design for the deployment of high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes on I-55. IDOT recently received a record of decision (ROD) for the I-290 project in the Chicago region. Local partners in the Chicago region expressed interest in hosting a workshop to discuss pricing implementation in the context of HOT lane development from an existing general purpose (GP) facility.
The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC) hosted a one-day Congestion Pricing workshop on September 29, 2016 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The workshop included participation by stakeholders from the Pittsburgh region and around the State. This included numerous representatives of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) from both District 11 and headquarters, SPC, and support contractors with interest in investigating congestion pricing in the Pittsburgh region. One of the ideas under consideration is the conversion of the I-279 High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes to a HOT facility with congestion pricing.
The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) hosted a one-day workshop on Congestion Pricing on May 5, 2017 in Portland, Oregon. The workshop engaged stakeholders from the Portland region and around the State. This included many representatives of ODOT, Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT), Oregon Metro, City of Portland, Federal Highway Administration, and support contractors. Members of the Oregon legislature expressed interest in conducting a workshop to understand the viability of tolling and congestion pricing options for generating revenue to support statewide and regional goals.
All three of these transportation agencies previously explored congestion pricing strategies. The workshop offered stakeholders an opportunity to meet with peers who have successfully implemented congestion pricing projects to explore how to overcome potential challenges to implementing pricing in their region. Local partners in the three regions expressed interest in hosting workshops to explore available tolling options (e.g., pricing implementation in the context of HOT lane development from an existing HOV or GP facility). These workshops had a strong focus on exploration and discussion of a variety of pricing strategies. They additionally covered addressing implementation issues related to Federal, State, and local policies, effective public engagement, and integrating new advances in technology. The content addressed in each workshop varied, based on the objectives of the interested region.
Each workshop was designed to engage participants in discussions on:
- Congestion pricing concepts and strategies.
- Specific implementation issues, including:
- Federal policy
- Planning considerations
- Design considerations
- Operations & maintenance
- Peer operational and implementation case studies.
- Outreach and marketing.
This Lessons Learned report includes a summary of stakeholder understanding, key developments, cross-cutting issues, key takeaways and next steps. Key reference materials available for congestion pricing are provided at the end of this document.
