| Experience has shown that we cannot eliminate congestion on our transportation network by just adding lanes on our highways. Other measures can be taken to effectively reduce congestion, such as improving traffic signal timing, improving intersections (adding/lengthening turn lanes, etc.), modifying medians and investing in transit and pathways for bicyclists and pedestrians. Federal and State regulations require that Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO) establish "congestion management systems" (CMS) to identify and prioritize funding for these types of projects. CMS projects are those that can be implemented quickly (within one or two years) at a relatively low cost, with little or no negative community impacts. The Collier MPO annually sets aside $500,000 of its Federal transportation funding allocation for CMS projects that relieve congestion in corridors that do not meet acceptable level of service standards as determined by Collier County and the Cities of Naples, Marco Island and Everglades City, and where widening projects are not funded within the next five years. Public comment and detailed technical analyses conducted during the peak winter tourist season will be used to determine the type of specific CMS projects that should be pursued in these corridors. Candidate CMS projects will be prioritized by the MPO’s Congestion Management System/Intelligent Transportation System (CMS/ITS) Committee, which will make formal recommendations to the Collier MPO Board for final approval. To be eligible for the $500,000 annual CMS funding allocation, projects cannot require the acquisition of right-of-way from adjacent property owners. Transit and pathways projects will need to demonstrate that they can remove automobiles from congested roadway segments. The adopted 2030 Long-Range Transportation Plan also sets-aside additional funding for computerized motorist advisory system enhancements and other projects to manage existing/future traffic levels through the use of computer technology. |
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