Hampton Roads (Virginia) is entering a new chapter in performance measurement for transportation.  Although the HRTPO has been measuring the performance of the regional transportation system for years, it is modifying its set of measures in response to a new state law requiring regional performance measures from metros in Virginia.

HRTPO staff began routine measurement of the performance of the regional transportation system with its first Congestion Management System (CMS) report in 1995, updates to which were produced in 1997 and 2001.  In 2004, as part of its Congestion Management Process (CMP), HRTPO staff began preparing separate “State of Transportation” reports which contain extensive multi-modal regional transportation performance measures, updates to which were prepared in 2007 and 2009.

In 2009, the General Assembly of Virginia passed legislation codifying regional transportation performance measurement.  In response to the legislation, the HRTPO staff has developed a draft list of state-required regional performance measures (RPM) by adding measures to those it was already producing through the CMP.  In order that RPMs be calculated consistently across the state, staff plans to submit the draft list to the other regional agencies in Virginia for comment prior to submitting them to Virginia’s Office of Intermodal Planning and Investment (OIPI) for review.  After calculating values for each measure, staff will submit the RPM values to the HRTPO board for approval, and then to the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) prior to the state’s July 1, 2011 deadline.