I-405 / I-210 Corridor System Management Plans and Template Study

Public sector transportation faces numerous challenges — demand for transportation keeps rising, congestion is increasing, and our infrastructure is aging. At the same time, our traditional transportation finance mechanisms are failing to provide adequate revenues to maintain and improve our system, and consequently our infrastructure grows by less than one percent annually. In the 2004 RTP, SCAG recognized that infrastructure expansion cannot kept pace with demand, and adopted a system management philosophy to address our region's current and future transportation needs in a comprehensive manner.

Image: Pyramid of System Management Philosophy

Similarly, Caltrans has adopted a new approach to improve mobility across California, with an emphasis on productivity, reliablity, flexibility, safety, and performance. It embarked on a corridor system management study for the I-880 in the Bay Area to demonstrate the approach at the corridor level.

In Southern California, SCAG and Caltrans have come together to develop two corridor system management plans, or CSMPs, one each on the I-405 and I-210 corridors in Los Angeles County. These studies will serve as a template for additional future corridor efforts in our region and statewide. The CSMPs will focus on all aspects of the system management pyramid, and particlarly operational strategies and techniques. The CSMPs will include:

  • an in-depth understanding of the corridor, including its infrastructure, demand profile, related land use developments, modal interactions and mode shares, and environmental scan;
  • a comprehensive corridor-wide performance assessment, including trends of different performance measures;
  • an analysis that identifies the performance deficiencies of the corridor and the causes of these deficiencies;
  • alternative scenarios of short and medium term investments to address these deficiencies;
  • a tool set to evaluate these scenarios and help develop an implementation plan for a set of strategies that provide the highest return on investment; and
  • a study process that consults with stakeholders throughout and incorporates their feedback to maximize acceptance of the final recommendations.

While SCAG and Caltrans are leading this effort, they are doing so in cooperation with Los Angeles County MTA, the South Bay Cities COG, San Gabriel Valley COG, City of Los Angeles, and other local jursidictions along the corridors. The I-405 and I-210 CSMPs are scheduled to conclude in June 2009. However, these plans are intended to be "living documents" that will continue to be updated with the latest tools and information. The results of these first efforts will lay the critical groundwork for future studies.