OUR ACTIVITIES
MOBILITY WORKSHOP
The SFVCOG has invited leading national experts in mobility to examine the impacts COVID-19 will have on the future of mobility. The speakers will provide an overview of national trends in mobility and a big picture of the challenges and opportunities ahead.
MOBILITY ACADEMY
As part of the adopted SFVCOG 2015-16 Work Plan, the SFVCOG Board approved a Mobility Academy to focus on providing access and insight to Board Member-designated attendees on mobility issues, opportunities, and priorities for the SFVCOG region.
TRANSPORTATION
The SFVCOG is committed to increased mobility options for the purpose of increasing safety and convenience and reducing roadway congestion. The following are the priorities for 2020 that would work towards achieving that
Regional Early Action Planning (REAP) Program VMT Housing Tool Analysis Tool Pilot
The San Fernando Valley Council of Governments (SFVCOG), in collaboration with four of its member jurisdictions (the cities of Glendale, Burbank, Santa Clarita, and San Fernando), and Arup, has developed a VMT Housing Site Suitability Tool to help jurisdictions within the SFVCOG to better collaborate to identify areas in the San Fernando Valley that can sustainably support additional housing. This tool was funded by SCAG using the California Department of Housing and Community Development’s (HCD) Regional Early Action Planning (REAP) Program grant.
A core component of the tool visualizes baseline residential tour VMT per capita and identifies low VMT areas within the region. Low VMT areas are optimal for the development of new housing because they support overall reduction in greenhouse gas emission (GHG) from automobiles, are located near major employment and other primary destinations, and represent areas that include better access to transit and a mix of land uses to support more sustainable travel behavior. Low VMT areas also benefit from some environmental streamlining via SB 743.
The VMT Housing Site Suitability Tool incorporates a consistent VMT estimation methodology across all member cities and provides additional information related to zoning, natural hazard risks, displacement risks, and other geospatial data to inform site suitability of proposed residential projects. Once a site is selected; end users can input a residential land use program to estimate the VMT generated from a proposed site. Using SCAG’s activity-based travel demand model from SCAG’s latest Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Community Strategy, Connect SoCal 2020, Arup summarized baseline residential tour VMT per capita for each TAZ in the SFVCOG region. A VMT reduction strategy module was also included, leveraging state of practice research developed by the California Air Pollution Control Officers Association (CAPCOA). End users can apply a range of VMT reduction strategies to their proposed residential project and estimate the reduction benefit, leveraging tailored data within the tool to modify inputs and assumptions so they are more applicable to the SFVCOG region.
By using the REAP VMT Housing Analysis tool, you agree to the following: The REAP VMT Housing Analysis tool is intended to identify sites that may be are suitable for residential housing development in the San Fernando Valley COG region. Outputs should be considered preliminary due diligence and additional analysis is required to evaluate project impacts for the purposes of project entitlement and approval. The VMT estimation module uses SCAG’s SoCal Connect 2020 travel demand model data for baseline residential tour VMT per capita and has been standardized across SFVCOG member cities. Given the tool’s data source and tour-based VMT metrics, it should not be used for SB 743 compliant analysis or other government compliance purposes unless outputs are explicitly approved by your relevant jurisdiction.
