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The CMAQ The Program: The Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Assessing 10 Years of Assessing Experience 10 Years Improvement Program Assessing 10 Years of Experience 20418 transportation research board TRB ISBN 0-309-07700-1 THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES Transportation Research Transportation Board National Council Research 2101 Constitution Avenue, NW Washington, DC address requested service 264 Title page 6/12/02 3:45 PM Page 1 special report 264 The Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program Assessing 10 Years of Experience Committee for the Evaluation of the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program transportation research board Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology division on earth and life studies national research council National Academy Press Washington, D.C. 2002 0660-00/FM 6/12/02 3:46 PM Page ii transportation research board special report 264 Subscriber Categories IA planning and administration IB energy and environment Transportation Research Board publications are available by ordering individual publications directly from the TRB Business Office, through the Internet at www.TRB.org or national-academies.org/trb, or by annual subscription through organizational or individual affiliation with TRB. Affiliates and library subscribers are eligible for substantial discounts. For further information, contact the Transportation Research Board Business Office, National Research Council, 2101 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20418 (telephone 202-334-3213; fax 202-334-2519; or e-mail [email protected]). Copyright 2002 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competencies and with regard for appropriate balance. This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to the procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The views expressed in the individually authored papers that are included in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the committee, the Transportation Research Board, the National Research Council, or the project’s sponsor. The study was sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data National Research Council (U.S.) Committee for the Evaluation of the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program. The Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program : assessing 10 years of experience / Committee for the Evaluation of the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program. p. cm.—(Special report ; 264) “Transportation Research Board, National Research Council.” Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-309-07700-1 1. Air quality management—United States—Finance. 2. Urban transportation— United States—Planning—Finance. 3. Federal aid to transportation—United States. 4. Traffic congestion—United States—Prevention. 5. Urban transportation policy— United States. I. Title. II. Special report (National Research Council (U.S.). Transportation Research Board) ; 264. HC110.A4 N38 2002 363.739′26′0973—dc21 2002021758 0660-00/FM 6/12/02 3:46 PM Page iii THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES Advisors to the Nation on Science, Engineering, and Medicine National Academy of Sciences National Academy of Engineering Institute of Medicine National Research Council The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences. The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engi- neers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. William A. Wulf is president of the National Academy of Engineering. The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to iden- tify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Kenneth I. Shine is president of the Institute of Medicine. The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both the Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts and Dr. William A. Wulf are chairman and vice chairman, respec- tively, of the National Research Council. The Transportation Research Board is a division of the National Research Council, which serves the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering. The Board’s mission is to promote innovation and progress in transporta- tion by stimulating and conducting research, facilitating the dissemination of informa- tion, and encouraging the implementation of research results. The Board’s varied activ- ities annually engage more than 4,000 engineers, scientists, and other transportation researchers and practitioners from the public and private sectors and academia, all of whom contribute their expertise in the public interest. The program is supported by state transportation departments, federal agencies including the component adminis- trations of the U.S. Department of Transportation, and other organizations and indi- viduals interested in the development of transportation. 0660-00/FM 6/12/02 3:46 PM Page v committee for the evaluation of the congestion mitigation and air quality improvement program Martin Wachs, Chair, University of California, Berkeley Carla J. Berroyer, Wilbur Smith Associates, Hot Springs, Arkansas David S. Cordray, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee Henry E. Dittmar, Great American Station Foundation, Las Vegas, New Mexico Eric M. Fujita, Desert Research Institute, Reno, Nevada Genevieve Giuliano, University of Southern California, Los Angeles Joel L. Horowitz, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois Alan J. Krupnick, Resources for the Future, Washington, D.C. T. Keith Lawton, Metro, Portland, Oregon Michael D. Meyer, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta Michael R. Morris, North Central Texas Council of Governments, Arlington Robert F. Sawyer, University of California, Berkeley Kenneth A. Small, University of California, Irvine Katherine F. Turnbull, Texas Transportation Institute, College Station Kathleen C. Weathers, Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, New York Arthur M. Winer, University of California, Los Angeles National Research Council Staff Nancy P. Humphrey, Study Director Kris Hoellen, Senior Staff Officer K. John Holmes, Senior Staff Officer 0660-00/FM 6/12/02 3:46 PM Page vii preface The Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) program was enacted as part of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) of 1991 and reauthorized by the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) of 1998. After nearly a decade of the program’s operation, congressional sponsors are inter- ested in knowing whether it has been effective and whether its projects are cost-effective relative to other strategies for reducing pollution and congestion. Their questions were summarized in a request to the National Academy of Sciences for a study to evaluate the CMAQ pro- gram, included as Appendix A. In response to this request, the Transportation Research Board (TRB) of the National Research Council (NRC) formed a committee of 16 experts chaired by Martin Wachs, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and City and Regional Planning, and Director of the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of