...burned, tailpipe emissions.

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Under the U.S. Department Transportation's (USDOT) National Strategy to Reduce Congestion on America's Transportation Network, also known as the Congestion Initiative, the Department will facilitate broader application of variable tolling, as one congestion pricing strategy, in combination with improvements to transit service, telecommuting, and technological innovations.

"Our quality of life and continued economic prosperity demand that we find creative solutions to the growing burden of congestion," says USDOT Secretary Mary E. Peters. "We want to work with forward-thinking State and local leaders to find new ways to get people and goods moving again."

What Are Urban Partnerships?

One major component of USDOT's Congestion Initiative is Urban Partnership Agreements. The Department plans to join with up to five metropolitan areas, or Urban Partners, to demonstrate proven strategies for reducing traffic congestion. Urban Partners may be one or more State or local transportation agencies, transit agencies, major employers, or private sector transportation providers or operators. USDOT and the Urban Partners will agree to pursue four strategies with strong track records of effectiveness.

The first strategy involves broad applications of congestion pricing that can be implemented soon. To reduce the time needed for implementation, these strategies could include networks of priced lanes that use existing highway lanes; variable tolls on entire roadways, including toll roads, bridges, and existing toll-free facilities; cordon charges to enter a congested area; and areawide pricing involving charges on all roads within a congested area. Unlike the single- facility implementation projects and regional studies previously funded by USDOT's Value Pricing Pilot (VPP) program, the Congestion Initiative is seeking significant reductions in congestion from near-term implementation on a broad scale.

The second strategy includes more efficient and responsive public transit systems that tailor services specifically for rush-hour commuters. For example, free-flowing priced highway lanes can provide opportunities for speedy Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and express bus services. Such services are flexible, cost-effective modes of public transportation. They also have short timeframes for implementation, meaning they can play a large role in reducing congestion in the near term.

A third strategy will involve commitments from major employers in relevant regions to allow more of their employees to telecommute and work flexible schedules. Flextime policies can help stagger work schedules and reduce the number of drivers during peak travel times.

Finally, urban partnerships will use cutting-edge technological and operational approaches to improve system performance, supporting regional efforts to expand provision of real-time traveler information, improve traffic incident response, improve arterial signal timing, and reduce the obtrusiveness of highway construction work zones.

In return for a commitment by the Urban Partners to adopt innovative, systemwide solutions to traffic congestion, USDOT will support them to...

NOTE: All illustrations and photos have been removed from this article.



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