Transportation Demand Management Program

What is Transportation Demand Management?

Transportation Demand Management (TDM) is a set of measures that make it easier for people to take transit, carpool, bike, walk, or otherwise shift away from driving alone. By requiring developments to implement TDM measures, the City of Santa Clara aims to reduce drive-alone trips, parking impacts, and traffic congestion. This is done by increasing accessibility and the provision of alternative transportation options, which benefits the environment and public health.

The TDM program is rooted in relevant adopted plans and policies, requiring certain projects to reduce drive-alone trips by meeting reduction targets. TDM measures may include but are not limited to making available bicycle lockers, transit passes and access to carpooling. The implementation of TDM measures is a multistep process and monitoring and reporting compliance typically occurs over the life of the project.

Relevant Plans and Policies

Developments in the City of Santa Clara may be required to implement TDM measures to comply with the City’s Climate Action Plan, adopted Area Plans, the project’s conditions of approval, and/or to mitigate significant environmental impacts.

2022 Climate Action Plan

The City of Santa Clara first established a Climate Action Plan in 2013. The 2022 Climate Action Plan sets new targets for reaching aggressive emissions reductions. Transportation and land use strategies were developed with the aim of transitioning to clean and efficient mobility options and transportation modes while maintaining accessibility and mobility for all. Strategy T-3-1 sets forth the TDM plan requirements for new developments:

Require a 25% reduction in project-based vehicle miles travelled (VMT) through active TDM measures for large employers over 500 employees, including aggressive regulations to reduce parking, in new developments. For the purpose of calculating the number of employees, separate employers sharing a building or project site would be treated as one employer.
Adopt a 20% reduction of VMT for multifamily residential with a 10% reduction through active TDM measures, which may require parking maximums, in new developments.
Projects shall provide annual reports demonstrating compliance with VMT reduction targets, pursuant to procedures established by City staff.

Previously entitled projects that are already subject to VMT requirements and/or TDM measures would continue to follow the requirements assigned at the time of entitlement. In addition, new projects within the following General Plan land use designations would be required to reduce project-based VMT through TDM requirements at the following percentages:

Land Use Designation	Minimum % VMT reduction from TDM
Santa Clara Station Very High Density Residential	Pre-BART ¹: 10% Post-BART: 20%
Urban Center/Entertainment ²	Office: 4% Residential: 2%
Transit Neighborhood	10%
Land Use Designations with the Patrick Henry Drive Specific Plan Area: Very High Density Residential ^3;; Village Residential; Urban Village Residential; Urban Center Residential; and High Density Flex	10%
Per Council Resolution 19-8734, the VMT reduction per project from TDM for the Santa Clara Station Very High Density Residential designation shall be 10% prior to the Santa Clara BART station becoming operational, and 20% subsequent to the Santa Clara BART station becoming operational. For the Urban Center / Entertainment District, the VMT reduction requirements apply to the office and residential uses within that district, and the reduction requirements are specific to those two categories of uses. Projects with a Very High Density Residential designation outside of the Patrick Henry Drive Specific Plan Area shall comply with the reduction requirements set forth in Action T-3-1.

Transportation Analysis Policy

To comply with State Senate Bill 743 (SB 743, Steinberg, 2013), the City adopted a transportation analysis policy that establishes Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) as the City’s metric by which transportation impacts are analyzed under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Additionally, the policy retains Level of Service (LOS) as a non-CEQA transportation operational measure that is studied for projects that require transportation analyses. Projects found to cause significant impacts on VMT, air quality, and/or noise may be required to implement TDM measures as mitigation. Similarly, the City may require a project to implement TDM measure(s) as a condition of approval to avoid or lessen the project’s adverse effects on intersection LOS.

Menu of TDM Measures

Developers are advised to work with City staff and/or third-party transportation consultants when selecting which measures are most appropriate for the site location and land use(s). Should you have any questions or require assistance, please do not hesitate to contact our TDM Compliance Manager at TDM@SantaClaraCA.gov.

Land Use

The measures in this category are focused on land use choices that reduce overall Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT). Measures include land uses that generate less VMT than similar land use choices or add to the land use diversity in a location in a way that the overall VMT associated with the land use or location is reduced.

Multimodal Infrastructure

This category of measures encourages active modes of transportation, including trips made by walking or cycling. The measures within this category include amenities to make travel by active modes safer and more convenient. This includes streetscape elements, closing gaps in the bicycle network, improving connections, and building networks.

For example, affordable housing units are known to result in fewer VMT than market rate units. This typically occurs because there is a lower auto ownership rate among individuals in affordable units, and, thus, fewer trips are made by a private vehicle.

Parking Infrastructure and Pricing

This category of measures is focused on discouraging trips made by private vehicles (particularly single occupancy vehicles) by controlling the supply of parking spaces. First, the parking supply may be controlled by reducing the total number of parking associated with a development project. Second, the terms of the availability of these parking spaces may further control the supply of parking. This includes unbundling the cost of a parking space from the cost of housing. This also includes not providing free parking as a benefit of employment without offering the opportunity to accept a financial incentive rather than a parking space. The measures within this category also include bicycle parking, showers and clothes lockers, bicycle repair stations or services.

TDM Programs

These are programs that include comprehensive strategies aimed at increasing the efficiency of the transportation system, reducing VMT and greenhouse gas emissions through alternative modes of travel.

Active TDM Measures

Approved TDM Consultant List

Implementation, Monitoring and Reporting

The implementation of TDM measures is a multistep process and monitoring compliance typically occurs over the life of the project.

First, VMT reduction requirements are established through conditions of approval or through the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) process during entitlement.

Next, project representatives identify specific TDM measures to achieve VMT reduction requirements. Some, such as on-site infrastructure measures, will be addressed through the issuance of a Building Permit and expected to be complete before a project is occupied.

Other TDM measures are implemented after occupancy and, for these, it may be necessary to demonstrate compliance with annual monitoring throughout the life of the project.

Compliance review of TDM measures for a single project can thus span multiple years and involve City oversight.

Instructions for Preparing and Submitting TDM Monitoring Reports

As part of its ongoing efforts to enhance transportation sustainability, the City of Santa Clara is working with Hexagon Transportation Consultants, Inc. and TDM Specialists, Inc. to implement its TDM Tracking and Reporting program. Property owners/managers of sites subject to annual TDM monitoring will be contacted regarding the site’s TDM performance goals and reporting requirements.

TDM Monitoring Report Contents

TDM Monitoring Reports should include the following information:

List of TDM Infrastructure and Programs – include a description of each measure along with supporting documentation (e.g. photographs, receipts, …)
Employee/resident alternative transportation mode-use rates (see example mode share survey)
Driveway vehicle counts – hourly counts must be conducted by an independent third party over a typical (non-holiday) 72-hour period (Tue-Thu)

Submitting TDM Reports

STEP 1. Access the City’s TDM Tracking Program and complete the online questionnaire. (Use the site-specific link provided in the City’s notice of TDM Monitoring & Reporting Compliance Deadline. If you need assistance completing the questionnaire or modifying your responses, contact Claudine Schneider at claudine.schneider@tdmspecialists.com).

The online questionnaire lists all the TDM Measures required for the site.
Click the box next to each TDM measure and then hit “Next” at the bottom.
For each required TDM measure, indicate whether the measure was implemented and provide a brief description of the measure (e.g., VTA SmartPass provided to all employees, 80 Class I bike lockers provided on the ground floor of the garage, or eight bike racks provided near the building lobby, etc.)
Click “Next”/”Previous” to navigate between required TDM measures.
After all TDM measures have been entered and the “Most recent answer” column shows the current year, click “Next”, which will take you to the Complete Questionnaire tab.
Enter the contact information of the Transportation Coordinator responsible for TDM Implementation and Monitoring for the site.
Enter the driveway count data and mode share data and click “Finish”

STEP 2. Upload the TDM Monitoring Report, including all supporting documentation (PDF or Word format) to the City of Santa Clara Dropbox.

STEP 3. All steps must be completed by the specified deadline.

Sample Commute Surveys

Penalties for Non-Compliance

TDM Performance for Santa Clara Developments

Starting in 2024, the City, working with its consultants created a TDM Monitoring Reporting Program. This enables the City to collect information about reductions in vehicle travel for developments as required. This program is being implemented in phases. The property owners/managers of development sites subject to annual TDM monitoring were contacted and requested to submit their report on TDM performance.

First-year efforts will focus on outreach and education to the property owners regarding the process, since in prior years there was a less formalized process to receive annual reports. First year reports may not be received on time, however, we aim to build relationships with the property owners / managers to ensure that subsequent year reporting is achieved in a timely manner.

Annual Monitoring Report Summaries