Does your property or development in the City of Alexandria, Virginia require a transportation management plan (TMP)? A TMP, Special Use Permit (SUP), and multimodal transportation studies are required for many real estate projects in order to comply with City regulations.

The Wells + Associates TDM team has extensive experience helping properties and developments comply with TDM regulations by developing, implementing, coordinating, and monitoring and evaluating transportation management plans and TDM programs in Northern Virginia, notably in the City of Alexandria. We make life easier for property owners, developers, and property managers, so that they can focus on their businesses.

What Is a TMP, and What Is TDM?

As the City of Alexandria puts it: “Transportation Demand Management (TDM) is a set of strategies that influence travel behavior by mode, frequency, time, route or trip length to reduce single occupancy vehicle trips.” Or, to put it another way, TMPs and TDM programs ease the demand of the existing transportation infrastructure, reduce the use of single-occupancy vehicles (SOVs), and expand the transportation choices available to commuters and tenants at individual properties and within the City itself.

Aside from helping properties build more extensive and sustainable transportation networks through management of their transportation management plans, we help them comply with local regulations so they can focus on building and operating successful communities.

Does Your Development Require a TMP?

How do you know whether your new development or project needs to develop and implement a transportation management plan? The minimum thresholds for requiring a TMP are listed here by land use:

• Residential: 20 dwelling units or more
• Commercial: 10,000 square feet or more
• Retail: 10,000 square feet or more
• Hotel: 30 rooms or more
• Industrial: 30,000 square feet or more
• Mixed Use: Each use is separately assessed, based on the City Ordinance

According to the City’s Transportation Management Plan Ordinance, developers must submit a Development Special Use Permit (DSUP) application for each project, which must include a multimodal transportation study and a Transportation Management Plan. TMPs convey in perpetuity with a property’s Special Use Permit. Developments are required to go through a site plan review process, which analyzes and reports any effects a new development will have on transportation facilities in the City of Alexandria.

An initial step involves submitting a Transportation Screening Worksheet to determine the level of review required for each project. For sites requiring a TMP, the City of Alexandria categorizes developments into three different Tiers, each requiring a different form of TMP program participation:

• Tier 1 TMPs are for smaller developments
• Tier 2 are for mid-sized developments
• Tier 3 are for larger developments

Developing and Managing TMPs for Tier 3 Properties

If you have a large development in the City of Alexandria, it may qualify as a Tier 3 TMP property, meaning your Special Use Permit requires you create a stand-alone TMP for your development or partner with an adjacent community with their own TMP. If your development needs to create its own Transportation Management Program, it’s likely you will need assistance in developing, implementing, and monitoring and evaluating a TMP for your site.

Developments with 350 or more residential dwelling units, 250,000 square feet or more of office space, or 150,000 square feet or more of retail space qualify as a Tier 3 in the City of Alexandria. Additionally, each use of a mixed-use development or building is assessed separately under the TMP tier thresholds, and the highest applicable tier applies to the entire development. So, if your new community has 300,000 square feet of office space and 200 residential dwelling units, the entire development qualifies as a Tier 3.

TMP Coordinators for Developments in the City of Alexandria

The TMP team at Wells + Associates creates customized TMPs for property developments and, where possible, assists developments in identifying neighboring TMPs to partner with. Additionally, we act as the TMP Coordinator for Tier 3 properties, working directly with the City of Alexandria’s Transportation Planning Division to ensure compliance with TMP/TDM regulations. TMP Coordinator services include:

• Producing required reports, which detail and summarize TMP activities and funding,
• Conducting annual surveys to capture tenant, resident, and employee transportation behavior, as required by the City, and
• Managing TMP funds, contributions, and administration.

A Transportation Management Program includes a variety of components to mitigate vehicular traffic. These include transit subsidies; incentives for using carpools, vanpools, shuttles, bikeshare, and carshare; and marketing and outreach efforts to promote non-vehicular modes of transportation. W+A has substantial experience in customizing multimodal programs such as these for real estate developments, each of which have unique profiles, audiences, and needs.

We invite you to learn more about our work in developing TMP and TDM plans for regulated communities in Northern Virginia. Feel free to reach out to us to learn how we can help you manage your regulatory obligations while improving the transportation choices in your community.

View our Transportation Demand Management Practice

Contact our City of Alexandria TMP Team