The City is seeking the services of a qualified professional, firm or team to complete a Citywide Transportation Options Study. This study will review existing TDM approaches and past successes and failures, including incomplete and yet-to-begin initiatives. The study will also review and recommend national and international best practices. The study's ultimate goal is to provide recommendations for both regulatory and non-regulatory models that may best fit Burlington's context.

The City's Consultant will be working under the direction of the Office of City Planning (OCP), and in close coordination with the Department of Public Works (DPW), throughout the development of the project. It is anticipated that the City will manage public involvement associated with the development of and revisions to its Transportation Demand Management program with assistance from the City Consultant. The City will author any associated TDM ordinance and/or any required amendments to the Comprehensive Development Ordinance in order to implement recommendations of the City Consultant for final approval by the Burlington City Council.

The City Consultant will be responsible for completing the tasks as outlined in the Scope of Work provided at the link below. The City Consultant is expected to collaborate with other relevant City departments in order to gather and synthesize relevant information regarding applicability and content of TDM strategies. The City Consultant will be expected to participate in public involvement associated with the development of the revised TDM program.

Background:

The City of Burlington is Vermont's largest city, and an important regional economic center for northwestern Vermont and northern New York. Burlington is home to ~44,743 residents and ~10,000 commuters, as well as the University of Vermont and its affiliated academic medical center. Burlington serves as the urban core of Chittenden County VT with a population of ~168,323 and the Burlington-South Burlington Metropolitan Statistical Area with a population of ~221,160.

The Burlington City Council declared that a climate emergency exists which threatens Burlington's community and human health and safety, biodiversity, and common environment. Emissions in Vermont have risen since 1990, with the largest increases coming from the transportation sector, which also accounts for the largest share of greenhouse gas emissions in both the City and State. This climate emergency declaration calls for the reduction of vehicle miles travelled (VMT) through transportation demand management (TDM). The City additionally recognizes that TDM programs improve equity for the Burlington workforce by providing financial and other benefits for Burlington residents and workers who do not own automobiles – a population that is disproportionately low-income, Black, Indigenous, and people of color.

In 2020, the City revised minimum on-site parking standards in its zoning ordinance to implement a number of policy best practices to support housing creation and transportation options. These zoning changes created the Multimodal Mixed Use Parking district, requiring no minimum on-site parking and establishing lower maximum parking thresholds than other parking districts in the city. Additionally, the zoning changes established new TDM requirements for developments within this parking district and over a certain size; these strategies built on the city's existing requirements for on-site bike parking and for parking management plans by the major academic and medical institutions.

In 2022, the Burlington City Council is considering expanding upon these policies by eliminating minimum on-site parking requirements citywide, relying instead on its maximum parking limits, and expanding TDM requirements to new developments of a certain size in all parking districts. Separately, the City is currently working with the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission to complete a transportation impact fee study to update the city's existing impact fee system, including exploring the possibility of a multi-modal impact fee. The parking standard amendment to the Comprehensive Development Ordinance will be reviewed and adopted or rejected by late October, 2023.