Chapter 8.18 — VEHICLE CONGESTION MANAGEMENT

This chapter, which may be referred to as the "city congestion management program trip reduction and travel demand management ordinance," applies to any significant trip generator (as defined in Shasta County Air Quality Management District (AQMD or District) Rule 3:24 and the definitions of this chapter) having one hundred or more specified persons at an elevation of less than one thousand feet, within the incorporated area of the city.

(Ord. 618 § 1 (part), 1994)

The purpose of this regulation is to improve air quality, minimize traffic congestion, and reduce the number of single-occupant motor vehicle trips taken by residents of the incorporated portion of the city by encouraging ridesharing through public education and requiring annual trip reduction reports from significant vehicle trip generators. This chapter is enacted for the purpose of meeting trip reduction and travel demand management ordinance requirements of the countywide congestion management program, as adopted by the Shasta County Regional Transportation Planning Agency (RTPA) pursuant to Government Code Section 65089 et seq.

(Ord. 618 § 1 (part), 1994)

For the purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:

"Alternative commute mode" means bicycle, buspool, carpool, telecommuting transit, vanpool or walking.

"Congestion management agency" means that regional agency referred to as the Regional Transportation Planning Agency (RTPA) responsible for determining if the cities and county are complying with provisions of the Shasta County Congestion Management Program.

"District" means the Shasta County Air Quality Management District (AQMD).

"Employer" means any person(s), firm, business, educational facility, nonprofit agency or corporation, government agency or other entity which employs one or more persons at a work site.

"Employment complex" means a place of employment that may accommodate several employers all under one structure or a group of structures where such structure(s) is owned or managed by a single entity.

"Flexible work hours" means a work schedule where employees are given the freedom to choose their starting and leaving times, as long as they work the required number of hours and perform their responsibilities.

"Ridesharing" means two or more people traveling together, including, but not limited to carpools, vanpools, buspools, taxipools, public and private buses, and rail transit.

"Shasta County Regional Transportation Planning Agency (RTPA)" means the designated congestion management agency for Shasta County.

"Significant trip generator" means any employer, educational facility, employment complex or other entity identified by the district that has one hundred or more persons scheduled to arrive at one site between the hours of six a.m. and ten a.m., Monday through Friday.

"Single-occupant motor vehicle" means a motor vehicle occupied by one person.

"Site" means a building or grouping of buildings located within the district which are in actual physical contact or within walking distance (i.e., one-half mile) of each other.

"Telecommuting" means working at home or at a satellite work station using electronic or other means to communicate with the usual place of work or outside clients or customers.

"Vanpooling" means several (typically six or more) employees routinely utilizing a motor vehicle designed for carrying more than six but fewer than sixteen persons for work-related transportation for the purpose of ridesharing.

(Ord. 618 § 1 (part), 1994)

A.

Trip Reduction Report.

Each significant trip generator shall submit an initial trip reduction report to the district for review;

The report is due no later than one hundred twenty days after the significant trip generator has received public notice or written notification that they are subject to the provisions of this chapter.

B.

Each significant trip generator shall annually provide persons arriving at the site with written notice and access to written information on alternate commute modes, commuter matching services, car-pooling, vanpooling, public transit, bicycling routes and incentives on walking programs.

C.

District Notification.

Any significant trip generator who becomes subject to this chapter due to an increase in work force, establishment of a new business, or increase in facility use must notify the district within six months of becoming subject to Rule 3:24 and this chapter. All notices shall be in writing and shall include the name of the employer, business or facility; mailing address; the total number of persons arriving at the site between six a.m. and ten a.m.; and the name of the supervising management person at the site;

To assist in identifying the significant trip generators subject to this chapter, the district will publish an order to comply with the provisions of the chapter during the first week of January each year in a newspaper of general circulation.

D.

District Review of Report. After the significant trip generator submits a trip reduction report, the district will review the report with the staff of the Regional Transportation Planning Agency to analyze the progress being made at each specific site to reduce single-occupant motor vehicle trips. Suggestions may be

offered by the district on measures to be investigated for implementation prior to the next annual update of the report.

E.

Report Contents. The report must include the following:

The name of the individual to be contacted concerning the report contents;

An inventory of current measures used by the significant trip generator to reduce single-occupant motor vehicle trips and/or traffic congestion. The measures may include one or more of the following:

a.

A monthly subsidy for a public transit pass,

b.

Telecommuting program,

c.

Guaranteed ride-home program,

d.

Flex-time program,

e.

Compressed workweek schedule,

f.

Financial travel allowances and rideshare subsidies,

g.

Nonwork related, lunchtime trip-reduction program, including bicycle and walking incentives listed in subsection E 2 (i) of this section, shuttle service to common local trip sites (shopping, restaurants, etc.) and on-site amenities, such as food services, ATM machines, postal services, childcare services, fuel sales at cost from fleet pumps to carpools and vanpools, and gym or workout room,

h.

Alternate mode commute time compensated (partially or fully) as work time,

i.

Bicycling and walking incentives and amenities such as bicycle lockers, on-site showers, subsidized walking shoes, bicycle parts and repair program, and company "fleet" bicycles for employee loan,

j.

Development of a van or buspool program,

k.

Monthly or quarterly prize drawings for ridesharers;

A list of any special trip-reduction measures that are being implemented to reduce motor vehicle trips in single-occupant motor vehicles during the high ozone season (i.e. May through October);

A list of any special trip-reduction measures that are being implemented specifically to reduce motor vehicle trips in single-occupant motor vehicles during the lunch period each day.

F.

Trip Reduction Report Annual Update.

Each significant trip generator must review its implementation of trip reduction measures, and submit to the district annually no later than November 1st a trip reduction report update on a survey form to be provided by the district;

The trip reduction report update shall include information on the trip reduction measures implemented during the last year since the previous report and quantify to the extent feasible any measured success of the program. The update shall evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the measures implemented and provide a listing of any new or revised measures that will be implemented in the following year.

G.

Recordkeeping and Auditing.

The significant trip generator shall keep detailed records of all documents that may be used to verify the success of the trip reduction program for a period of at least two years from the date of the applicable report;

The district may perform random on-site audits at each significant trip generator site to verify the accuracy of the reports.

(Ord. 618 § 1 (part), 1994)

A.

In order to monitor the results of this traffic control measure (TCM), the Regional Transportation Planning Agency (RTPA) shall coordinate the following monitoring activities as appropriate and as needed on an annual basis:

Spot traffic counts;

Origin/destination studies;

Travel time and delay studies;

On-street and off-street parking surveys;

Vehicle-occupancy studies;

Home-based travel surveys;

On-board transit passenger counts and surveys.

B.

The district shall annually review the transportation related information provided in the RTPA studies and surveys to determine the progress being made in reducing single-occupant motor vehicle trips and associated air emissions.

C.

All significant trip generators shall cooperate to the extent feasible in providing information and the site access to RTPA representatives in order to complete monitoring activities.

(Ord. 618 § 1 (part), 1994)

The district shall coordinate with Caltrans Northstate Rideshare, Redding Area Bus Authority (RABA), Anderson-Cottonwood Transit (ACT), Regional Transportation Planning Agency (RTPA), and other city, county and regional agencies regarding the distribution of written information on alternate commute modes, commuter-matching services, carpooling, vanpooling, public transit, bicycle routes, etc., to employers, educational facilities, employment complexes and other entities that are smaller in size than the significant trip generators.

(Ord. 618 § 1 (part), 1994)

A.

It is a violation of this chapter if:

A significant trip generator does not submit a trip reduction report within one hundred twenty days of notification;

A significant trip generator does not submit a trip reduction report update annually no later than November 1st;

A significant trip generator fails to maintain records or falsifies records;

A significant trip generator does not otherwise comply with this chapter.

B.

Violations of this chapter are subject to the penalties outlined in Article 3, Chapter 4, Part 4 of Division 26 of the California Health and Safety Code and as otherwise provided in this code.

(Ord. 618 § 1 (part), 1994)