"Where Do We Put the Next Hundred Million?"

Submitted by Paul Ellis

The question is being asked by columnist Neil Peirce and the figure refers to the next wave of population growth virtually certain to occur by 2050. Peirce is foremost among American journalists on metropolitan regions, their political and economic dynamics, and their emerging national and global roles.

In a recent syndicated column, Peirce observes that 70 percent of the coming population and economic growth will take place in American “megaregions” sharing environmental systems and transportation networks that are far beyond the capacity of any individual metro region to manage. Good stewardship would dictate a new commitment to "smart” highways and high speed commuter rail that might speed workers, business travelers and goods between the megaregions’ networked cities, "stimulating idea exchange, expanding labor pools and providing fresh opportunities for workers," Peirce observes.

As the Puget Sound region plays catch-up with its transportation investments, we need to also look forward to the needs that will confront the next generation.

Paul Ellis is lead staff for RAMP; an employee of the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber, Ellis led the Pierce County Transportation Advisory Committee (PCTAC), the communityÂ’s largest transportation planning effort.

Gig Harbor Next to Up Traffic Fees

Submitted by Paul Ellis

The Gig Harbor City Council is planning action on a proposal that will increase the city’s traffic impact fee to $3,171 for every vehicle trip a new project creates during the afternoon peak hours.

The proposed increase will generate almost $22 million of the $68.7 million needed for 17 major street projects to be built over the next six years, including widening the roundabout at Borgen Blvd. City Council members could vote on the proposed ordinance December 11th.

The proposal is one of several recently adopted or under consideration by local governments to increase traffic impact fees:

• Pierce County adopted a plan last month to charge $34 to $3,300 per new building, depending on its location and other factors;
• Bonney Lake increased its fee to about $4,000 per trip in August;
• University Place is considering charging as much as $5,000 per trip.

Paul Ellis is lead staff for RAMP; an employee of the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber, Ellis led the Pierce County Transportation Advisory Committee (PCTAC), the communityÂ’s largest transportation planning effort.

RAMP Co-Chairs Meet US Transportation Leaders

Submitted by Paul Ellis

RAMP co-chairs David Graybill and Tim Farrell were part of a contingent of about forty regional decision-makers who met for lunch today in Everett with U.S. Senator Patty Murray and U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters.

Participants talked briefly with the two top national transportation leaders, highlighting regional progress on transportation issues and the importance of transportation improvements for maintaining economic growth, as well as appreciation for federal funding for key projects in the burgeoning Puget Sound region.

Murray is the senior U.S. Senator from Washington State; the Senate Democratic Caucus of the 110th Congress recently elected Murray as Conference Secretary. Widely recognized as a leader on transportation issues in the Senate, Murray is the ranking member of the committee that funds the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Prior to joining President George W. BushÂ’s Cabinet, Peters worked in Phoenix, AZ, as the national director for transportation policy and consulting at HDR, Inc., a major engineering firm. As leader for the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) from 2001 to 2005, she placed special emphasis on finding new ways to invest in road and bridge construction, including innovative public-private partnerships that help build roads faster and at less expense. She also was a strong advocate for using new technology to reduce construction time, saving taxpayer money and resulting in safer, longer-lasting roads and highways.

Paul Ellis is lead staff for RAMP; an employee of the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber, Ellis led the Pierce County Transportation Advisory Committee (PCTAC), the communityÂ’s largest transportation planning effort.

Despite Levy Loss, Pavement Rolls in Tacoma

Submitted by Paul Ellis

Budgets in recent years have contained only money for pothole patching, but Tacoma City Manager Eric Anderson’s proposed 2007-2008 budget sets aside $2.3 million each year for residential road repair and resurfacing. If approved by the Tacoma City Council, this money could put smooth surfaces on up to 143 blocks a year out of the city’s 6,600 blocks in need of significant repair.

Anderson's proposal seems to address the widespread public belief that city government should fix the streets with the money it already has--like the $4 million in gas tax money Tacoma gets each year from Washington State--while allowing needed repairs to move forward, albeit nowhere near as quickly as the levy would have allowed. Tacoma leaders have wisely decided to table another levy vote for the near future so as not to compete with regional transportation measures already headed for the ballot next fall.

Paul Ellis is lead staff for RAMP; an employee of the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber, Ellis led the Pierce County Transportation Advisory Committee (PCTAC), the community’s largest transportation planning effort.

Pierce County Responds to RTC's Recommendations

Submitted by Paul Ellis

The Regional Transportation Commission held their first public hearing--in Pierce County--tonight, and pitched the benefits of a souped-up Puget Sound transportation mega-agency.

Co-chair John Stanton began the meeting with a brief presentation outlining the Commission's current view on regional transportation issues as reflected in the draft recommendations released last week:

• Regional transportation is in a state of crisis;
• Currently identified sources of funding will be inadequate to meet the region's growing needs to the tune of a $62 billion shortfall from $134 billion needed over the next 2.4 decades;
• Regional transportation governance is "fragmented, uncoordinated and hence unproductive," according to Stanton.

This introduction was followed by almost an hour and a half of testimony from just five entities, most of them from Seattle and most in favor of the recommended changes. The one exception was Pierce Transit CEO Lynn Griffith, who was accompanied by Tacoma Mayor Bill Baarsma, current chair of the board for the transit agency. Griffith told Commissioners that:

• Opinions about PT expressed by RTC's focus group were much harsher than those expressed in August in a statistically valid survey performed for WSDOT;
• There is much greater collaboration between local and regional agencies than was reflected in the RTC report;
• Recent progress in collaboration and accountability has been and is occurring and should be duly noted.

Mayor Baarsma noted how well the different entities in Pierce County already work together, and he cited RAMP as one group that is effective but was not considered in the RTC's survey of the regional transportation system. He expressed concern that a new mega-agency could be so centralized that it might replace "the organic with the bureaucratic."

Somewhat after 7:00 p.m., members of the public were allowed to testify--with a three-minute limit. Some highlights:

• Sean Egan spoke on behalf of the Port of Tacoma, asking Commissioners to consider whether their recommendations "might overreach real progress in prioritization, accountability and funding already taking place on the ground" and thus become counterproductive;
• Randy Lewis, offering comments on behalf of the City of Tacoma, suggested that "Tacoma and Pierce County already utilizes the model that you ought to consider for regional governance";
• RAMP Co-chair David Graybill told commissioners that the coalition "is a good model and should be considered in your recommendations" and stated that sub-area equity--which the draft report sees only as an impediment to progress--not only introduces a "sense of fairness" but provides a safeguard for accountability.

Public comment will still be accepted (in writing) through November 30th. The final report from the RTC will be submitted to the 2007 Legislature.

Paul Ellis is lead staff for RAMP; an employee of the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber, Ellis led the Pierce County Transportation Advisory Committee (PCTAC), the community's largest transportation planning effort.

Pennsylvania's RTC Recommends Raising Revenues

Submitted by Paul Ellis

On RAMP has written previously about Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell's Transportation Funding and Reform Commission and its work paralleling (in some respects) that of Washington State's Regional Transportation Commission (RTC). Earlier this week, the Pennsylvania group released its final recommendations for how to fill Pennsylvania's $1.7 billion transportation funding gap.

Pennsylvania's commission was given the mandate to identify new revenues to fill the gaps. Highways and bridges require $900 million in additional funding per year, while public transit requires an additional $760 million per year, the commission concluded. The final report recommends revenues from the following sources:

• Increase the cost of vehicle registration and license fees to raise about $150 million a year for highways and bridges;
• Increase realty transfer taxes that would add about $5 a month to a homeowner's 30-year, $150,000 mortgage and help out public transportation;
• Seek public-private partnerships to reduce the need to raise taxes (e.g., leasing the Pennsylvania Turnpike and setting tolls for existing roadways);
• Raising the gas tax by 11.5 cents for projects under state jurisdiction and by one more cent for local highways and bridges.

Paul Ellis is lead staff for RAMP; an employee of the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber, Ellis led the Pierce County Transportation Advisory Committee (PCTAC), the community's largest transportation planning effort.

It's Official--Regional Congestion is Growing

Submitted by Paul Ellis

The Washington State Department of Transportation's annual congestion report was released on Wednesday, and it shows that traffic congestion in the Puget Sound region is worse today than it was two years ago. On 34 of the 35 commute routes analyzed in the report, travel times have increased at peak periods, speeds have slowed, peak volumes have lengthened, and the reliability of travel times has grown worse--which means the system is less successful in moving people and freight.

Evening commute delays are getting worse than morning commute delays, possibly because there is more non-commuting traffic during afternoon hours. The data shows that I-5 Corridor commuters between Federal Way and Everett continue to experience the longest peak-period congestion.

Paul Ellis is lead staff for RAMP; an employee of the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber, Ellis led the Pierce County Transportation Advisory Committee (PCTAC), the community's largest transportation planning effort.

RTC Recommendations Now Online

Submitted by Paul Ellis

The Regional Transportation Commission yesterday published its draft recommendations to Governor Gregoire & the Washington State Legislature on how regional transportation can be better governed and financed in King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties.

In brief, the document calls for the merger of six agencies--Sound Transit, King County Metro, Pierce Transit, Kitsap Transit, Community Transit and Everett Transit--into one to plan and finance projects. The recommendations call for tolls, user fees and private-public partnerships as ways to pay for transportation needs rather than raising taxes.

The document is under review by members of RAMP's staff team, but participants are also encouraged to review the draft and participate in the RTC's upcoming public hearing next week in Tacoma.

Paul Ellis is lead staff for RAMP; an employee of the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber, Ellis led the Pierce County Transportation Advisory Committee (PCTAC), the community's largest transportation planning effort.

WSTC Adopts WA Transportation Plan

Submitted by Paul Ellis

The Transportation Commission adopted the updated 20-year Washington Transportation Plan today after two years of effort coordinated with stakeholders from across Washington State. The plan will serve as a blueprint for construction and provide strategies to guide decisions and investments needed to develop the state’s transportation system for the future.

Recognizing a projected $26 billion gap in high-priority system needs, the Commission developed five investment guidelines to set overall priorities and form the basis of the plan: preservation, safety, economic vitality, mobility. and environmental quality and health.

Paul Ellis is lead staff for RAMP; an employee of the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber, Ellis led the Pierce County Transportation Advisory Committee (PCTAC), the community’s largest transportation planning effort.

Invitation to RAMP Participants

The Regional Transportation Commission will soon make recommendations to Governor Christine Gregoire on improvements to how regional transportation is governed and financed in King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties.

The Commission's draft report will be available online this Wednesday, with public comment taken until the end of this month. RAMP participants are encouraged to review the draft report and offer comments to the Commission.

The Commission will also host a public meeting in Pierce County as follows:

Tuesday, November 21st
5:00 p.m. - Public Testimony Sign-Up
5:30 p.m. - Public Hearing
Port of Tacoma Business Center (3600 Port of Tacoma Rd.)

Gazing Into the Crystal Ball

Submitted by Paul Ellis

What do yesterday's election results tell us about public attitudes towards transportation funding? What guidance can the recent election give policy-makers about next November's "big vote" on roads and transit?

First, the failure of propositions in both Seattle and Tacoma to fix crumbling streets most likely indicates public desire to see current tax revenues used wisely before jurisdictions consider new taxes. Most voters--rightly or wrongly--believe that local governments should use existing revenues to maintain transportation facilities.

Second, transit may be the exception to that rule. Seattle's "Transit Now" proposal passed by a wide margin, as have previous transit proposals in many Puget Sound jurisdictions.

Or it may be that proposals to expand services or to create new facilities are what voters want--that's another way to read Seattle's results, where voters turned down a measure to fix streets and bridges but gave the nod to expanded transit services.

Admittedly, this gaze into the crystal ball is a little cloudy (they usually are!). For a clearer glimpse into the collective mind of the Puget Sound's body politic, check out the recent summary of public opinion released by the Regional Transportation Investment District.

Paul Ellis is lead staff for RAMP; an employee of the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber, Ellis led the Pierce County Transportation Advisory Committee (PCTAC), the community's largest transportation planning effort.

Lessons from Tuesday's Elections?

Submitted by Paul Ellis

If there's a pattern in the results from yesterday's elections that bears an omen for next November's Roads & Transit vote, it's hard to discern:

• Tacoma's Proposition 1, a property tax levy that would have raised $8 million a year for six years to fund street improvements needed for 6,600 of the city’s 8,800 blocks, failed by a large margin; city leaders failed to overcome a widespread public belief that city government should fix the streets with the money it already has--like the $4 million in gas tax money Tacoma gets each year from Washington State;
• Seattle's Proposition 1, a nine-year property tax levy lid lift adding $365 million for street repairs and a host of other transportation infrastructure needs, also failed yesterday but by a narrower margin; almost one-fourth of the new dollars from Seattle's measure were to be directed to safety and pedestrian programs, street signs and signals, with millions more earmarked for tree planting, corridor improvements and bike trails;
• Meanwhile, King County voters narrowly passed Proposition 2--"Transit Now"--which will raise sales taxes by one tenth of a percent and give Metro $50 million next year to buy buses and increase service, transforming five heavily used routes into "bus rapid transit," boosting service on 30 other routes (mostly in the suburbs), extending or adding routes in growing areas, and increasing vanpooling and service for disabled persons.

Nationwide, more than $40 billion was approved by voters in a number of proposals on Tuesday.

Paul Ellis is lead staff for RAMP; an employee of the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber, Ellis led the Pierce County Transportation Advisory Committee (PCTAC), the community’s largest transportation planning effort.