Comprehensive Transportation Review

The Comprehensive Transportation Review (CTR) describes the transportation component of the development review process. Principles and methodologies explained in the CTR guide the city in evaluating the transportation impacts of development applications on site access and circulation, non-auto multimodal facilities, and automobile traffic. The CTR also addresses mitigation measures to alleviate negative impacts. The CTR is a guide for development applicants to carry out the transportation analysis of a development application and it replaces the city’s Standard Traffic Methodology (STM). 

Transportation in the Development Review Process  

The CTR is a policy document used by city staff during the development review process, in which staff review applications for new or redevelopment projects. During this process, staff evaluates the potential impacts on public facilities, including transportation, sewer systems, schools, and fire. The goal is to ensure that all proposals comply with Rockville’s zoning code and other applicable design standards, policies, and laws.

The CTR provides technical guidelines to analyze and report the effects of new development on transportation facilities. It is to be used during the development review process to ensure that the mobility of motor vehicles, pedestrians, transit users, and bicyclists will be minimally affected, maintained at current levels (when congested), or improved. It also outlines the required contents of, and steps to complete, the Transportation Report that a developer must submit with a development application. 

A Multimodal Analysis 

The CTR establishes standards and tools necessary to evaluate: 

• Pedestrian, bicycle, and non-auto multimodal transit facilities such as sidewalks, bicycle lanes, shared-use paths, and bus stops.
• Accessibility to the new development and the ability to circulate in and around the site.
• Intersection safety.

If a proposed development project negatively impacts the transportation network, mitigation to offset these effects must be implemented. The CTR quantifies mitigation measures to alleviate negative impacts of automobile trips generated by new development. By analyzing multimodal facilities and establishing mitigation guidelines, the CTR goes beyond the STM and becomes a comprehensive transportation review of new development projects.