“In recent decades, there’s been a sea change in how governments plan for and invest in roadway infrastructure,” according to a late April report from the Brookings Institution, “During the 20th century highway build-out, transportation practitioners would practically celebrate when people drove more total miles, because they linked that metric (known in transportation circles as ‘vehicle miles traveled,’ or VMT) with economic growth. However, as the connection between higher VMT and economic growth began to fracture, a new generation of practitioners started to recognize that more driving doesn’t necessarily mean more prosperity.”

In fact, according to the report, more VMT not only isn’t a great measure of economic growth, but it’s also riddled with negative side effects. For example, when people spend more hours behind the wheels of their vehicles, it increases cost of living “as households spend more on gas, car maintenance, and insurance.” And that’s just the  beginning. More driving requires more state and local investment in road and bridge maintenance, and it also leads to higher greenhouse gas emissions and localized air pollution.

As a result, a growing number of state officials are trying to find ways to keep VMT under control – so-called, VMT mitigation strategies. The report predicts that the coming year is going to be pivotal time for these approaches because “the midterm elections will bring in a new tranche of governors and their appointees, as well as state and local lawmakers—many of whom will take a fresh look at how much their transportation systems cost and how to achieve the greatest return on investment.”

So, far, however, not a great deal of progress has been made on this front. In fact, thus far, “Lawmakers in only four states have adopted VMT mitigation policies, with each state using a different approach,” reports Brookings. “California and Minnesota approach mitigation at the project level, assessing potential VMT mitigation needs for individual projects. Colorado and Oregon mandate that the list of projects in their transportation plans generates total VMT below target levels.”

Notwithstanding the will to pass VMT mitigation laws, that’s been an uphill battle for many states. “For every successful bill,” reports Brookings, “others have failed.” Opposition from business and industry groups who benefit from more VMT can stymie even the best-intentioned legislation. 

The report sites Maryland as a “particularly instructive example of how VMT mitigation legislation can fail. 

Here’s how that happened, according to Brookings: ”In the last legislative session, lawmakers introduced HB0084 and companion bill SB0395 which would have required the Maryland DOT to evaluate whether major highway expansions would induce demand and align with climate targets the legislature set.

“Supporters of the law argued it was necessary to implement the state’s commitment to addressing climate change and would improve safety, congestion, and air quality. However, the bill faced stiff opposition from highway builders, who labeled it unworkable because of the cost and the practical difficulty of modeling a project’s induced demand. In previous legislative cycles, earlier versions of the bill were opposed by the Maryland Chamber of Commerce and the Maryland Motor Truck Association over concerns about project delays and constraints on highway expansion.”

When the Brookings Report was issued four states were actively considering legislation to address the issues of VMT, including Maryland (which is taking another shot at it), New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts.

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