The Congestion Management Process (CMP) is a federally-mandated practice for metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs). The purpose of a CMP is to address highway congestion through the identification and prioritization of strategies that are cost-effective, safe, and enable people and goods to reach their destinations. In the Minneapolis-Saint Paul region, the CMP is a joint effort of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the Metropolitan Council, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT), and the counties and cities throughout the region.
CDG worked as part of a multi-disciplinary team to develop a new planning guide and process that would help cities, counties, and partner agencies to more easily evaluate and understand the potential of alternative strategies to solve the congestion issues they were facing. For example, by bringing consideration of proven, cost-effective strategies like VMT reduction, mode shift, and operational improvements to the forefront before considering traditional (and more costly) approaches like adding travel lanes.
Another set of related tasks was to simplify the information-gathering process for communities to develop a CMP plan and to develop a screening process that would more easily enable communities to select the most appropriate solution given their specific context, conditions and setting - including regional assets, socioeconomic indicators, and equity considerations.
The CMP Corridor Analysis Methodology was adopted by the Metropolitan Council and is being integrated into the region's planning practices.