Publications & Reports

Overview
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Curb Space Management Study

Curb Space Management Study

The primary purpose of the Curb Space Management Study (CSMS) has been to take a comprehensive and multimodal review of congested and complicated curb space locations within the SCAG region. With a need for improved mobility, reduced congestion and vehicle miles travelled (VMT)/vehicle hours travelled (VHT), and air quality benefits such as Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, and now COVID-related impacts being critical to the region and its localities, a clear need exists to assess policies, strategies, and infrastructure investments, and their impacts on curb space activity.

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American Community Survey 2021 1-Year Estimates

A First Look at Post-COVID Southern California

American Community Survey 2021 1-Year Estimates: A First Look at Post-COVID Southern California

The COVID-19 pandemic not only impacted trends, it impacted the ability to generate data. The venerable American Community Survey’s 2020 1-year estimates were severely pared down due to sampling challenges, meaning that it was only possible to get state-level data on a limited set of topics. Until release American Community Survey’s 2020 1-year estimates, the only available Census 2020 data product is the so-called PL-94 file used for congressional redistricting, which lacks core details such as age.

This report takes a look at this newly released 2021 ACS 1-year data with an eye on economic and demographic changes observed in the SCAG region. It highlights the differences between 2019 and 2021 in order to compare pre- and post-pandemic.

Download the American Community Survey 2021 1-Year Estimates: A First Look at Post-COVID Southern California report.

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SCAG Region Value Pricing— Regional Express Lane Network: Concept of Operations

SCAG Region Value Pricing— Regional Express Lane Network: Concept of Operations

The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) prepared its first Regional Express Lane Network Concept of Operations (ConOps) document in 2016 as part of its Express Travel Choices Study. The study featured a stakeholder-led process that identified the regional express lane network to be implemented in three tiers over a 30-year period.

The ConOps provide a blueprint for integrating individual express lane projects into a regional system by identifying a comprehensive set of issues that should be addressed as individual express lane projects advanced. Through ongoing meetings, the stakeholders vetted each of these issues to formulate a set of technical policy recommendations to serve as a framework for establishing consistent and/or compatible operating, design, and policy rules for the regional network.

Read the full SCAG Region Value Pricing— Regional Express Lane Network: Concept of Operations

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Transit Priority Best Practices Report

Transit Priority Best Practices Report

As part of the metropolitan planning efforts, SCAG is conducting a Regional Dedicated Transit Lanes Study to explore the opportunities, needs, challenges, and best practices for developing a regional network of dedicated bus lanes and other transit priority treatments that would enable enhanced transit services, improve mobility, accessibility and sustainability, and advance implementation of Connect SoCal, the 2020-2045 Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy. This toolkit of potential priority treatments and supportive policies, tools, and practices, is meant to be tailored to a variety of local needs and constraints in Southern California communities.

Read the full Transit Priority Best Practices Report

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Mobility as a Service (MaaS) Feasibility White Paper Final Report

SCAG Mobility as a Service Feasibility White Paper Final Report

Connect SoCal, the 2020-2045 Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy identified Key Connections that lie at the intersection of land use, transportation and innovation, meant to advance policy discussions and strategies to leverage new technologies and create better partnerships to increase progress on the regional goals. One of the Key Connections is shared mobility and MaaS, emphasizing that the future of travel will be shaped by technology and the ability of residents to easily choose from and use a variety of travel options.

MaaS integrates transportation services into a single mobility platform that provides competitive alternatives over private vehicles, to promote universal basic mobility, encourage mode shift, and foster sustainable travel choices. This White Paper identified the key policy issues and building blocks for MaaS, and the critical steps that will advance the region towards a truly integrated transportation system. The findings and recommendations set the stage for policy discussions for the 2024 Connect SoCal update.

Read the full MaaS Feasibility White Paper Final Report

Mobility As A Service Feasibility In The SCAG Region Storymap

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SwissCal Conference on the Swiss Public Transportation Ecosystem

SwissCal Conference on the Swiss Public Transportation Ecosystem

In February and March of 2022, twenty representatives from SCAG, including sixteen members of the SCAG Regional Council, participated in the SwissCal Conference on the Swiss Public Transportation Ecosystem. The goal of the virtual conference, which connected senior leaders and professionals from across California with senior Swiss transit experts, was to learn about Swiss best practices associated with transit coordination that could be applied in Southern California. The virtual conference was organized by non-profit Seamless Bay Area, and included three other co-hosting partners: LA Metro, Stanford University Bill Lane Center for the American West, and Caltrans.

SCAG participants participated in a two hour follow-up workshop to reflect upon lessons learned and develop a set of actions to advance improved coordination within the next 1-2 years.

View the full SwissCal Final Report

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Mobility Innovations & Pricing Report

Mobility Innovations and Pricing Report Thumbnail

Mobility Innovations and Pricing (MIP) is SCAG’s first study to emerge from the diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives the organization has instituted during the past 18 months. This report focuses on the potential equity implications of road pricing and other innovative transportation policies in the six-county SCAG region. The initiative combines stakeholder engagement, technical analyses, and communications strategies to elevate equity considerations as a key touchstone in planning for road pricing—most critically leading with the concerns of underrepresented communities through dialogue with community stakeholder organizations. 

The MIP initiative aims to surface the priorities of historically marginalized populations that disproportionately bear the negative economic, environmental, personal safety, and public health impacts of our transportation system.  In addition to identifying transportation burdens and priority investments through a community-led engagement process, the project sought to analyze the travel needs of underrepresented communities. The project serves as foundational step towards understanding the equity implications of these strategies and increasing community participation in the policymaking process on these issues.

For a more in-depth look into the community engagement process, technical analysis, and recommendations, please see the full report available below.

Download the Mobility Innovations & Pricing Report.

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American Community Survey Data in Southern California

A First Look at 2016-2020

SCAG American Community Survey Data in Southern California Report Thumbnail

After delays due to the pandemic’s impact on survey response rates, the U.S. Census Bureau released the long-awaited American Community Survey (ACS) 2016-2020 5-Year sample on March 17, 2022. While the release is the first to include survey results from 2020, SCAG is not expecting to get complete 1-year data for 2020. Only select data sets are available, and none are available for geographies smaller than states.

This release provides an opportunity to compare 15 years’ worth of ACS data using 5-year samples since the ACS’s inception in 2006. Samples are now available which cover 2006-2010, 2011-2015, and 2016-2020. In effect, these data sets compare the most recently available data (i.e., late 2010s) to conditions five years prior (i.e., early 2010s) and ten years prior (i.e., late 2000s).

Download the American Community Survey Data in Southern California: A First Look at 2016-2020 report.

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Wilmington Freight Mitigation Study

Wilmington Freight Mitigation Study

SCAG, in collaboration with the City of Los Angeles, Port of Los Angeles, and Caltrans, commissioned this transportation planning study to achieve two primary objectives: (1) assess the impacts of increased truck travel on a disadvantaged community in the Wilmington area of Los Angeles and (2) recommend both traffic and general land use mitigations to improve the quality of life for residents in this community.

The Wilmington Freight Mitigation Study focused on the traffic impacts associated with the permanent closure of two private railroad crossings at Lomita Boulevard between Eubank Avenue and Alameda Street in the City of Wilmington, California. The study area, bounded by Lomita Boulevard to the north, Drumm Avenue to the east, Pacific Coast Highway to the south, and Sanford Avenue to the west, already experiences high truck traffic due to the surrounding industrial land uses and proximity to the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The closure of the rail crossings potentially further exacerbates this condition by changing the truck travel patterns from a direct connection to Lomita from Alameda to various alternative routes.

For a more in-depth look into what drove the study process and exactly how it was developed, please see the full report available below. 

Read the full Wilmington Freight Mitigation Study

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2021 Regional Briefing Book

Image of 2021 Regional Briefing Book

Released in conjunction with the 12th Annual Southern California Economic Summit, held virtually on Dec. 2, 2021, this year’s Regional Briefing Book provides an overview of the SCAG region economy today, as well as an outlook for the counties. There is also an assessment and discussion on incorporating equity in SCAG’s long-term planning, as well as preliminary research into what drives good jobs in U.S. regions to help develop measures and strategies to promote good jobs in Southern California.

View the Regional Briefing Book - December 2021