RAMP 2/3 @ 8AM

AGENDA  -  February 3, 2016

The Fabulich Center

3600 Port of Tacoma Road; 98424

8:00     Welcome & Self-Introductions                                  

8:05     Traffic Avenue Interchange Project                   

             Mayor Dave Enslow, City of Sumner

             Bill Pugh, City of Sumner

     

8:25    Implementing Tacoma’s Road Packages

             Kurtis Kingsolver, City of Tacoma

8:45     Round Robin/Good of the Order

9:00     Closing Remarks & Adjourn

Next RAMP Meeting

3/2/16 @ 8AM

RAMP is a regional coalition including business, labor, public and private organizations and citizens dedicated to improved mobility in the South Sound and Washington State.  Our mission is to ensure a healthy regional economy associated with the development of an effective, efficient transportation system and the resources to sustain it. RAMP is co-chaired by Pierce County Executive Pat McCarthy, Port of Tacoma CEO John Wolfe and Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber President & CEO Tom Pierson.  

Senate Transportation Listening Session in Tacoma

Tomorrow, October 9th, the Washington State Senate will be hosting a listening session to hear the Tacoma-Pierce County's thoughts on transportation.

This past legislative session, RAMP partners clearly articulated the need for a transportation package in Olympia to finish uncompleted projects and maintain existing infrastructure.  This was clearly heard by the State House as the passed a transportation package out.  Unfortunately, the State Senate did not hear enough about the importance of critical transportation needs.

Tomorrow you can tell them.

Come urge the Senate Leadership to get the Transportation Revenue Funding Package approved in a November Special Session. This is too critical for our region for us not to be present. We cannot ignore the potential for 80,000 jobs.

State Senate Transportation Listening Session
October 9th, 2013
6:00pm-9:00pm

Evergreen Tacoma Campus
Lyceum Hall
1210 6th Ave.
Tacoma, WA 98405

Please feel free to email SR-167 Completion Coalition  Mike Welch if you plan to attend or have questions.

10/2 RAMP 8AM

 

AGENDA  -  October 2, 2013

The Fabulich Center

3600 Port of Tacoma Road; 98424

 

8:00     Welcome & Self-Introductions                                  

            John Wolfe, RAMP Co-Chair, Port of Tacoma CEO

  

8:05     Transportation in Washington

            Lynn Peterson, Secretary of Transportation

            Washington State Department of Transportation

 

8:25     Q&A on Washington Transportation

 

8:45     Round Robin

     

9:00     Closing Remarks & Adjourn

            Tom Pierson, RAMP Co-Chair, Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber President & CEO

 

Next RAMP Meeting

November 6^th, 2013

Fabulich Center; 3600 Port of Tacoma Road; 98424

 

RAMP is a regional coalition including business, labor, public and private organizations and citizens dedicated to improved mobility in the South Sound and Washington State.  Our mission is to ensure a healthy regional economy associated with the development of an effective, efficient transportation system and the resources to sustain it. RAMP is co-chaired by Pierce County Executive Pat McCarthy, Port of Tacoma CEO John Wolfe and Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber President & CEO Tom Pierson. 

9/4 RAMP 8AM

AGENDA  -  September 4, 2013

The Fabulich Center

3600 Port of Tacoma Road; 98424

8:00     Welcome & Self-Introductions                                  

            Tom Pierson, RAMP Co-Chair, Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber President & CEO

8:05     Future of Transportation in the State Senate

            Senator Randi Becker, 2^nd District
            Senator Steve O’Ban, 28^th District

8:35     New Transportation Package

            Tom Pierson, RAMP Co-Chair, Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber President & CEO         

8:45     Pierce Transit Updates

Justin Leighton, Pierce Transit

8:55     Round Robin

 

9:00     Closing Remarks & Adjourn

            Pat McCarthy, RAMP Co-Chair, Pierce County Executive

Next RAMP Meeting

October 2^nd, 2013
Fabulich Center; 3600 Port of Tacoma Road; 98424

RAMP is a regional coalition including business, labor, public and private organizations and citizens dedicated to improved mobility in the South Sound and Washington State.  Our mission is to ensure a healthy regional economy associated with the development of an effective, efficient transportation system and the resources to sustain it. RAMP is co-chaired by Pierce County Executive Pat McCarthy, Port of Tacoma CEO John Wolfe and Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber President & CEO Tom Pierson. 

I-5 South 38th Street Exit to Open Early

Good news for Tacoma area motorists—the new I-5 South 38th Street exit is set to open early. Currently, the 38th Street exit, which provides access to the Tacoma Mall and is a part of the I-5/SR 16 Eastbound Nalley Valley project, is closed to traffic. The new ramp, which was originally scheduled to open the end of next month, will now open early due to, “Good weather, detailed planning and rapid progress” (Baker, 2013, para. 2).

In a press release last week, Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) said the exit could reopen as early as Tuesday, but noted that “a dry night for roadway striping is necessary to tie the new ramp into the highway” (para. 5). The recent rain in the area may briefly postpone the early reopening.

For more updates and information on this project, visit WSDOT’s website.

References

Baker, C. B. (2013). New I-5 exit to South 38th St. opens five weeks early. Olympia, WA: WSDOT.

Tacoma Amtrak Station Relocation

The past few months local officials, concerned citizens, business representatives, and other key stakeholders came together to form a Citizen Advisory Committee and reviewed a proposal by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) that would relocate Tacoma’s Amtrak train station, currently located at 1001 Puyallup Avenue, to the Freighthouse Square mixed –use retail facility at 25-1 East “D” Street.

The relocation of the station is due to the Point Defiance Bypass Project, which will reroute passenger trains to an existing rail line along the west side of I-5 through south Tacoma, Lakewood, and DuPont.

The Committee developed 25 initial recommendations that were organized into four broad categories consistent with the long-term goals of the Dome District where the current and future station is located. These recommendations were then shortened and prioritized.

The most significant recommendation was related to the “blockage of East “C” and East “D” streets by trains, train-related safety gates, safety arms, or signaling devices that occur when trains are passing in order to improve pedestrian and vehicular north-south circulation throughout the district.”

The Committee noted that WSDOT’s current proposal of relocating the Amtrak train station to Freighthouse Square would result in these streets being blocked for a longer period of time than currently, because of the increased length of the Amtrak trains. Tacoma City Councilman David Boe also pointed out critical safety issues related to this recommendation, since increased wait times may entice impatient drivers and pedestrians to go around safety gates and related devices.

The Committee recommends placing the station platform onto the trestle to the east. The current Tacoma Trestle is a 100 year old, wooden, single-track trestle leading up to Freighthouse Square. The aging trestle needs to be replaced with a new concrete double track structure anyway, adding weight to the Committee’s recommendation to build the platform on the trestle.

In addition, the Committee noted the importance of having the Amtrak station located in Tacoma and the Dome District, creating a transit hub and making it easy for travelers to visit downtown Tacoma, UWT, the Glass Museum, and other key places. 

Other Committee recommendations were related to noise, parking, traffic circulation, urban and station design, and can be found in the City’s website.

167 Goes All the Way to Washington, D.C.

Momentum continues to build in support of completing State Route 167 as a Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber of Commerce delegation visited policymakers in the other Washington last week.

Chamber members met with numerous officials, including several members of Congress such as Congressmen Dave Reichert, Adam Smith, and Denny Heck, as well as Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell. During the trip Chamber members and policymakers discussed the significance of completing SR 167 on a local, state, and national level.

For more on information on the trip or the project, visit the Port of Tacoma’s blog.

Pierce County Legislators Present Transportation Bills in Olympia

Transportation is a hot topic this state legislative session and particularly important to Pierce County legislators.

At a House Transportation Committee hearing yesterday, two different bills were presented by Pierce County legislators. First, House Bill 1485, sponsored by several Pierce County Representatives, such as Rep. Jake Fey (D-Tacoma), Rep. David Sawyer (D-Tacoma), and Rep. Laurie Jinkins (D-Tacoma), seeks to double the vehicle fee limit under a transportation benefit district’s councilmatic authority from $20 to $40.

Last fall, the Tacoma City Council used this authority to increase the car tab fee to the maximum allowed $20. Tacoma City Councilman Ryan Mello testified yesterday that raising the car tab fee limit to $40 is crucial to meet the city’s transportation infrastructure needs. Currently, car tab fees may be raised to up to $100 per vehicle with a public vote of support, $20 without.

Another Pierce County legislator, Rep. Jan Angel (R-Port Orchard) questioned whether or not people could afford to pay additional car tab fees.

Additionally, HB 1865, which would allow the elected, governing body of an area to impose a sales tax of up to 0.9 percent without a public vote of support, was also introduced. According to the bill, the sales tax would be approved by a weighted majority vote of the governing body, if the entire population of the district was represented by elected officials serving on the board and voting on the resolution. This bill would allow entities, such as Pierce Transit, to increase sales taxes without a public vote, but only if changes were made that connect board member votes to corresponding population.

You may recall last fall the Pierce Transit sales tax increase of 0.03 percent was opposed by voters.

For more information on these bills, see The News Tribune.

Transportation Infrastructure in WA

A new Association of Washington Business (AWB) transportation report highlights employer concerns about transportation.

Aging infrastructure, bottlenecks at key ports and continued concerns about the financing of future projects are just a few of the top transportation worries for Washington state employers. That’s according to a new report published today by AWB, issued today during AWB’s 2013 Legislative Day in Olympia.

“In many ways, transportation is the lifeblood of our economy. We rely on our bridges, roadways, water, rail and airways to move people, goods and services on a daily basis. Any delays can have big economic impacts for business and our overall competitiveness as a state,” said AWB President Don Brunell.

The report captures the findings of focus groups held with purchasers and suppliers of transportation and logistics services around the state in the fall of 2012. AWB member companies were invited to share their thoughts, ideas and concerns about the economic, regulatory and workforce challenges faced by their industry. Sessions were held in Moses Lake, Spokane, the Tri-Cities, Vancouver, Renton, Seattle, Bremerton, Yakima and Mount Vernon.

“Transportation infrastructure is a critical piece in building a strong economy and providing jobs,” said Mike Ennis, AWB government affairs director for transportation policy. “Traffic congestion, choke points, and crumbling roads create risk, drive up costs and act as a drag on the economy. It’s clear from this report and other feedback we’ve received from our members that the current transportation revenue streams are not adequate,” said Ennis.

“This session, we are working closely with lawmakers and other key stakeholders to find solutions that will preserve the projects currently in place and prioritize those next in the queue.”

Among the report’s key findings:

·         Infrastructure Needs: Several transportation projects have been identified in the state that are critical to business growth, including the North South Freeway in Spokane; completion of State Routes 520 in Seattle and 167 in south King and north Pierce counties; and the Columbia River Crossing in Vancouver.

·         Funding: There is a lack of maintenance and operation funding for existing transportation infrastructure and the decline in the purchasing power of gas tax revenue has put new projects in jeopardy.

·         Overregulation: Overregulation for the transportation and logistics industry makes it difficult to provide efficient services to business.

·         Environmental Mitigation: Costs of environmental mitigation studies and programs are redundant leading to increased project costs and long delays in project completion.

·         Port Bottlenecks: Bottlenecks at the Port of Seattle continue to frustrate efforts to get goods to market in a timely manner.

·         Workforce Needs: The combination of an aging workforce and a dwindling pipeline of new workers is threatening the viability of the transportation industry.

To view the report in full, visit the AWB Institute here.