Multi-Jurisdictional Issues Related to Congestion Management

When a project intended to solve transportation problems such as congestion and access management involves multiple cities, counties, and/or state agencies, disputes can occur due to incompatible interests, resulting in project delays. Creating a mechanism that allows the agencies to communicate and work together during the planning stages can improve the effectiveness of the final plan for the project. The purpose of this study was to develop and provide transportation agencies with coordination and collaborative strategies that could be used to help the various agencies work together on multiple projects. This study was based on a study of the literature in disciplines such as economics, management, and social sciences to investigate collaborative structures and management strategies. Collaboration that involves cities, counties and/or state agencies would use a forum discussion to discuss issues and formulate transportation project solutions on an ad hoc basis, allowing for flexibility from case to case. These organizations would manage the process using the jurisdictional-based model, where an agency such as the MPO would serve as the coordinator between jurisdictions during the planning process.