Auditor's Review Vets Sound Transit Performance

Submitted by Paul Ellis

The Washington State Auditor’s office today released an extensive performance audit of Sound Transit’s Link light rail construction program. The performance audit was conducted in compliance with Initiative I-900, approved by Washington voters in 2005.

The audit identified three overarching findings:

1. Sound Transit was unable to complete the Link light rail line at the cost and within timeframes communicated to voters in 1996;


2. Sound Transit initially lacked procedures for land acquisition, environmental compliance, permitting and construction management, contributing to its inability to meet project costs and timeframes communicated to voters in 1996;


3. Sound Transit has extensively improved its construction planning and management processes since 2002.

Areas identified for improvement include but are not limited to environmental compliance, management of change orders and how we track and implement lessons learned. The audit concludes that Sound Transit has made major strides and has developed the processes and procedures that are responsible for the agency’s successful delivery of projects.

The performance audit focused on the Link light rail construction project, which is currently nearing 80 percent completion. Areas identified for improvement include environmental compliance, management of change orders and how we track and implement lessons learned. The audit states Sound Transit has made major strides and has developed the processes and procedures that are responsible for the agency’s successful delivery of projects.

The audit makes several recommendations, many of which Sound Transit has already begun implementing; with a few exceptions, the transit agency generally agrees with those recommendations. Overall, the audit identified potential savings of approximately $5 million and cost the State $455,410 to administer. The Link project budget is $2.7 billion.

Sound Transit is one of the most closely reviewed and audited agencies in the state. The performance audit identifies 48 different federal, state and independent audits beginning before voters approved the Sound Move ballot measure in 1996, and notes the agency is marked by a “culture of continuous improvement.” Recently, an independent Expert Review Panel appointed by the State of Washington issued a final letter affirming that Sound Transit used its lessons-learned to build a solid Sound Transit 2 plan (the basis for the transit portion of the Roads & Transit package submitted to voters).

Sound Transit says it is committed to maintaining transparency and serving as an effective stewardship of the taxpayers’ dollars; to that end (as required by law), the agency will be holding a public hearing on the audit next Thursday, October 11, beginning at 1:00 p.m. in the Ruth Fisher Board Room at Union Station (401 S. Jackson, Seattle).

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.

Staking the Middle Ground

Submitted by Paul Ellis

Most political strategists will say that the best place for a campaign to aim its efforts is into the broad middle ground of voters--and that one way to judge that positioning is when those on either extreme of an issue are taking shots. If so, the Roads & Transit campaign is clearly in that sweet spot.

From the right, the Washington Policy Center (which has never seen a transit project it liked) attacked the proposed package this week in its latest Policy Note. The Center claims that "by every measure, the roads and transit plan is unbalanced and favors public transportation 3 to 1."

From the left, the Sierra Club, Cascade Bicycle Club and Conservation Northwest (none of which ever have seen a road project they liked) continue to contend that building new road capacity cancels out the environmental and climate benefits of building new transit--an extreme position even for the enviros.

Meanwhile, King County Executive Rom Sims is taking potshots against the plan with comments like these:

• Light rail would connect Seattle to Tacoma (already served by faster Sounder
  Trains) and run along Highway 99 (where last year's King County Metro "Transit
  Now" tax increase is ramping up bus-rapid-transit service).
• Instead, expanded bus service could generate much higher ridership in this corridor while
  freeing up funds for light rail to Southcenter and Renton. In Pierce County, we can achieve more traffic relief by extending light rail within Tacoma to the University of Puget Sound and Pacific Lutheran University.

Sims commends the Sierra Club and its partner organizations for "showing great courage"--apparently for being the odd parties out from the environmental consensus behind the package. He is apparently unaware of the extensive local discussion--coordinated by RAMP--that helped define the stable of projects now in the ballot proposal.

Like some other King County leaders, he'd like to see south end projects scrapped in favor of more money for SR-520--a project that's still short of needed dollars despite massive injections of capital from the Washington State Legislature. As state transportation leader Ed Murray has told his constituents up north: "RTID has chosen to peanut-butter it and spread the money all over the place; when you're building roads in Pierce County to developments that don't even exist but you're not financing a bridge that's falling down, that's a very questionable approach."

Just to keep the facts in perspective, here is The News Tribune's editorial response today to Executive Sims.

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.

Tacoma Electeds Divided Over Roads & Transit

Submitted by Paul Ellis

A dust up is brewing for the Tacoma City Council Chambers next Tuesday evening as the city's elected officials consider competing resolutions related to Pierce County Proposition 1--the $18 billion (regionally) Roads & Transit package.

Councilmember Tom Stenger has introduced a resolution to oppose the issue on the November ballot. It states the following reasons for opposition:

• Sound Transit has failed to fulfill its promises from the 1996 package, including failing to provide ten commuter rail round trips per day and failing to provide "reverse commute" service;
• Sound Transit's plan creates serious disadvantages for Tacoma residents, including a design at Tacoma's Pacific Avenue Crossing that provides for a dangerous at-grade crossing and requiring Tacoma taxpayers to pay taxes for 20 years before light rail connects from SeaTac Airport to Tacoma;
• RTID takes over $10 from Tacoma to be spent in the suburbs while spending only $1 in the City; and
• Tacoma has been excluded from the RTID planning process and its needs, which are as great as anybody's, were not fairly considered.

Stenger, it may be recalled, was the City of Tacoma's representative to regional planning bodies until that privilege was revoked by the City Council following outbursts of intemperate language and what some characterized as inappropriate responses to citizens.

Julie Anderson, Tacoma's current representative to the Sound Transit Board, has also introduced a resolution expressing the City Council's support for Proposition 1. This resolution cites a number of reasons for support of the ballot measure, including:

• The package contains several road projects of benefit to Tacoma, including completion of State Route ("SR") 167, from Puyallup to SR 509; creating a direct southern access to SeaTac Airport by completing the connection between SR-509 and Interstate 5 ("I-5"); and funding for an I‑5 access ramp to the Tacoma Mall, bypassing the congested South 38th Street and Steele Street intersection;
• The package also contains several transit projects of benefit to Tacoma, including extending Link light rail from SeaTac Airport to the Tacoma Dome Station intermodal terminal; funds for additional Sounder commuter rail service; and expansion of Sounder Station parking in several locations.

The majority of city leaders seems to appreciate the value of the proposed package and are likely to vote to support Roads & Transit, but Tuesday evening's fireworks may be worth watching.

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.

Life in the Fast Lane Soon for SR-167

Submitted by Paul Ellis

It won’t be long now before some commuters on SR-167 in South King County begin paying a toll between 50 cents and 3 dollars to travel between Auburn and Renton. The Washington Department of Transportation expects to open the high occupancy toll (HOT) lane pilot project next spring, allowing solo drivers to buy their way into the car-pool lanes. Consultants have estimated that between 5,000 and 10,000 of the 120,000 drivers who use that portion of the highway daily will be willing to pay a toll to drive in a faster lane.

Motorists who already have a Good To Go account for the Tacoma Narrows Bridges will be able to use the lanes, too, because the toll amount will be electronically deducted from their accounts. Unlike the toll on the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge, which is fixed, the toll on SR-167 will vary based on how quicky (or slowly) traffic is flowing. When general traffic lanes are heavily congested, the toll in the carpool lanes will be higher because drivers will be able to save more time by switching to the carpool lane. When traffic is free-flowing, the toll will be lower. Travel will remain free to buses, vanpools, carpools and motorcycles in the car-pool lanes and for all traffic in the general-purpose lanes.

This dynamic pricing model, which is close to real-time, also will let solo drivers know exactly how much they will be charged before they switch to the car-pool lane because the price will be displayed on roadside signs. Electronic Transaction Consultants Corp. of Richardson, TX was hired by the state to develop the computer software that looks at traffic volume and speeds to vary the toll. Feedback from the traffic model also will let highway officials know when to close the car-pool lane to solo drivers because too many cars will slow down buses and disrupt their schedules.

The HOT lanes themselves have been built, but the tolling equipment has yet to be installed. The northbound HOT lane will run 12 miles from 15th St. S.W. in Auburn to I-405, and southbound nine miles from I-405 to about S. 288th St. A nine-mile extension of the southbound carpool lane on SR-167 is slated for 2009-2011, and that may later become part of the HOT lane corridor.

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.

In China, Too

Submitted by Paul Ellis

A previous post for this blog highlighted China's voracious appetite for building new roads. The Asian nation is also surpassing the United States in another area of record: bridge collapses.

As families continued to mourn nine people killed in Guangdong Province after a cargo vessel struck a bridge there, the nation was rocked by news of an even more shocking incident. Twenty-nine workers were killed and 46 are still missing after the bridge they were building in Fenghuang, a tourist destination in central Hunan Province, crumbled down on top of them.

The bridge was part of the highway linking Fenghuang and Daxing Airport of Tongren in neighboring Guizhou Province. Construction of the 42-meter-high structure was almost complete except for dismantling the steel scaffoldings, and more than 120 workers were removing the scaffoldings--during the afternoon rush hour--when all the four arches of the 328-meter-long stone bridge fell.

The Chinese Ministry of Communications reports that more than 6,000 damaged or dangerous bridges will be fixed or rebuilt under an ambitious plan to make China's major roadways safer by 2010. Figures from the ministry's annual report on road maintenance found that by the end of 2006, some 6,300 of China's 500,000 or so bridges were graded "fifth rank"--defined as "in dangerous status with some important structural components seriously damaged".

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.

A Bridge Too Far Gone?

Submitted by Paul Ellis

The collapse earlier this month of the I-35 bridge into Minneapolis has underscored the need for renewed investment in transportation infrastructure nationwide--it's clear now that an earthquake is not the only danger facing older structures like the Alaskan Way Viaduct. The nation's long-term failure to adequately invest in roads and bridges has a deferred cost--a debt that may be coming due.

In the aftermath of the incident, Transportation Secretary Mary Peters urged state transportation departments to conduct inspections of 756 bridges similar to the ill-fated steel-deck truss bridge. The Minneapolis bridge, which was built in 1967, rose about 64 feet above the river and stretched about 1,900 feet across the water with a single 458-foot-long span to avoid interference with river navigation. Questions about the cause of the collapse and whether it could have been prevented continue to arise, although local officials have been quick to assure the public that a similar collapse here is very unlikely.

Minnesota officials were warned as early as 1990 that the bridge was "structurally deficient," yet they relied on patchwork repairs and stepped-up inspections that unraveled with a calamitous sudden drop of concrete, bodies and automobiles. The tragic collapse is sure to engender a new round of bridge inspections across the country; hopefully, it will also engender renewed debate about the need for transportation investments.

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

East side of the Thea Foss Waterway Transportation Corridor Study - Design Alternatives Community Workshop: the City of Tacoma is conducting a transportation corridor study for the east side of the Thea Foss Waterway, and community input is encouraged.

When: Thursday, September 27th
4:00 to 6:00 p.m.

Where: Phoenix Room, Freighthouse Square, Tacoma Dome District (2501 E. 'D' St. )

Study Purpose: Develop recommendations that will serve four primary functions:

1. Improve vehicular and pedestrian access to the two distinct development areas located on the east side of the Foss (industrial and non-industrial).
2. Provide for a functional separation between industrial and non-industrial development areas.
3. Potentially create new freight routes to improve public access.
4. Physically distinguish the areas with unique signage, limited access and landscaped buffers.

Study Area Boundaries: Thea Foss Waterway, Commencement Bay, the Puyallup River and I-5

For more information: contact Peter Huffman, City of Tacoma, Community and Economic Development Department, at (253) 591-5373.

'Keep Washington Rolling' Moves R&T Forward

Submitted by Paul Ellis

Success at the polls on November 6th will require a well-organized, aggressive campaign effort working in all three counties. Such an effort is now organizing--it's called Keep Washington Rolling.

Keep Washington Rolling is building a regional campaign with strong local efforts in each county. The campaign is headed by Kelly Evans, a seasoned political strategist, and capitalizes on the strong alliances already built to defeat Initiative 912 last year. A campaign website and fact sheets detailing benefits of the Roads & Transit package for each county are already online.

Polling shows strong voter support for the Roads & Transit package, and the recent bridge collapse in Minnesota highlights the need for renewed investment in transportation infrastructure. A squishy public image and huge price tag are potential obstacles to a successful vote in November.

As of the end of July, the following groups and individuals have registered their support for the package:

Environment
Washington Conservation Voters
Transportation Choices Coalition
Washington Environmental Council
Futurewise
Tahoma Audubon Society
Environment Washington

Business
Washington Roundtable
Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce
Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber of Commerce
Everett Area Chamber of Commerce
Greater Redmond Chamber of Commerce
Bellevue Downtown Association
Bellevue Chamber of Commerce
Renton Chamber of Commerce
Southwest King County Chamber of Commerce
Issaquah Chamber of Commerce
Pierce County Association of Master Builders
Microsoft
Boeing
American Council of Engineering Companies – Washington
National Association of Industrial Office Properties
Washington Association of Realtors
Associated General Contractors of Washington
Perteet, Inc.

Labor
Washington State Labor Council
Pierce County Central Labor Council

Municipalities
City of Edmonds
City of Bellevue

Personal
Duke Schaub
Ralph Munro

Political
Pierce County Democrats
Snohomish County Democrats

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

With the Roads and Transit package vote looming in November, the latest transportation roundtable sponsored by the Cascadia Center will examine what other regions are doing to align transportation needs with regional development. This coming Thursday, July 19th, the event will be held from 4:45 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the Washington Athletic Club in downtown Seattle.

The theme of this roundtable is "Getting to Yes" and the roundtable will offer examples of how other regions surmounted the challenges facing them and were able to move forward on agreements of large-scale benefit--in each instance, a wide range of interests from both the public and private sectors had to be accommodated:

1. Allocating a Scarce Resource: The Colorado River agreement among southwest states. Reaching this agreement required reconciling not only the competing interests among states but competition within each state for agricultural, urban and environmental uses of a limited water resource. The story will be told by Richard Katz,, former California State Water Resources Board member and former state legislator.
   
2. Winning a Super-Majority and How to Leverage It: The San Diego regional transportation revenue package. Last November, San Diego metro area leaders overcame a daunting state requirement for two-thirds voter approval on a $14 billion, 40-year plan of highway, transit and freight improvements. Now they are moving ahead with innovative partnerships such as the South Bay Express, a 12-mile toll road financed by a mix of new regional, voter-approved funding and private equity capital. The story will be told by Craig Scott, TransNet Manager for the San Diego Association of Governments.
   
3. Revitalizing the Waterfront: The Baltimore Inner Harbor project. One of America’s most historic cities, Baltimore needed a boost and capitalized on a major asset – its Inner Harbor. A stunning mixed-use project combining destination attractions with commercial and residential projects, the Inner Harbor demonstrates redevelopment in a dense urban setting. The story will be told by a representative of the Baltimore Development Corporation.

RAMP participants may register for the event by contacting by contacting Jennifer Zucati at (206) 292-0401 x.157.

Pierce County Council Votes on Combined Package

Submitted by Paul Ellis

The Pierce County Council is expected to endorse the regional Roads & Transit package today, placing the fate of "the largest transportation investment since the Federal Highway Act" in voters’ hands. The King County Council and the Snohomish County Council have already agreed to put the package on the ballot in their respective jurisdictions.

All seven Pierce County Council members voted to pass the package forward yesterday as a Committee of the Whole. RAMP co-chair David Graybill spoke in favor of the measure, reflecting the support of the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber; representatives from the cities of Tacoma, Puyallup and Fife also voiced their support for the transportation plan.

Graybill will be on hand this afternoon to reiterate the Chamber's support as the County Council considers Ordinance 2007-49; an affirmation of this proposal will authorize officials to put the Roads & Transit measure on the November ballot. Also this afternoon, Commissioners of the Port of Tacoma will vote on whether or not to endorse the transportation package.

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.

Chamber Endorses Roads & Transit Plan

Submitted by Paul Ellis

This morning, the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber came on board as the latest supporter for the Roads & Transit package on the November ballot.

The Chamber's Board of Directors unanimously endorsed a resolution presented by Gary Nomenson from Puget Sound Energy, representing the group's Public Affairs Committee. "Decades of deferred investment in the region’s transportation infrastructure will be addressed in the combined Roads & Transit proposal," the resolution read, "which was developed by regional leaders through two high-level venues: the Regional Transportation Investment District (RTID) chaired by Pierce County Councilmember Shawn Bunney, and Sound Transit, the regional transit agency chaired by John Ladenburg, Pierce County Executive."

The business group's approval is timely as members of the Pierce County Council prepare to consider action next week on the package--whether or not to join their peers in King and Snohomish counties in placing the combined package on the ballot.

Meanwhile, a new regional poll reveals that fifty-seven percent of voters in the Central Puget Sound are inclinced to vote for the package. Politicians and transportation planners have been quietly worrying that the roads and transit package might be doomed, but Elway's latest poll of 400 voters last week suggests there's some hope.

The survey, which has a margin of error of 5 percent, did reveal that only 38 percent of those questioned had heard of the tax plan. That's not surprising because interest groups, both pro and con, haven't started their ad blitz yet.

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.

For Whom the Roads Toll

Submitted by Paul Ellis

More than 120 people convened this past Wednesday for the Puget Sound Regional Council's workshop, The Future of Transportation Finance: Lessons from Road Charging Experiments. Speakers included local and international policymakers in the area of transportation finance (click on highlighted titles to see their presentations):

• Doug MacDonald, Secretary of Transportation, WSDOT
• Daniel Mathis, FHWA Region Administrator - National Programs Overview
• Larry Ehl, Federal Liasion, WSDOT - The Big Picture: Federal Transportation Finance
• Jim Bourgart, Undersecretary of Transportation, State of California
• Travis Dunn, Booz Allen Hamilton - What is Happening Abroad
• Petrouschka Werther & Birgül Sönmez Dutch Ministry of Transportation - Kilometer Pricing in the Netherlands
• Jennifer Ogle, Georgia Tech - Commute Atlanta Study
• James Whitty, Oregon DOT - Road User Fee Pilot Program

During the lunchtime panel, Randy Pozdena & Matthew Kitchen--participants from PSRC's Traffic Choices study--discussed their personal experiences with road charging.

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.
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Details of the Deal

Submitted by Paul Ellis

A $7 billion roads package for King, Snohomish and Pierce counties is finally ready for the approval of the region’s voters. It will be combined with Sound Transit's $10.8 billion light rail, bus and commuter rail package in a single question on this November’s ballot.

The Regional Transportation Investment District (RTID) chaired by Pierce County Councilmember Shawn Bunney approved the final roads package last week after some tense negotiations in which elected officials and environmentalists compromised over the controversial Cross-Base Highway near Fort Lewis. RAMP has been and remains a staunch advocate for this critical “missing link” in the regional highway network, linking Spanaway and Frederickson to Interstate 5. The approved package allocates $427 million on interchange and nearby road projects, including at least $10 million for environmental work; however, the crucial center of the project can't be started until after talks with a mediator in 2009--and after another $200 million is found to complete the project.

Sound Transit is proposing a 50-mile light-rail-expansion to the Tacoma Dome in the south, near Mill Creek in the north and Redmond to the east by 2027—building on the 19 miles currently underway. The package also includes 11,200 new parking stalls, 7 new/improved Sounder Commuter rail stations, and enhanced bus and commuter rail service.

The capital costs of the transit improvements is currently estimated at $10.8 billion. The transit part of the package would boost the sales tax by a nickel per $10 purchase, which officials estimate would run about $125 a year for a typical household.

The roads portion of the package would mainly pay for highway lanes that can't be funded through gas taxes alone. The adopted package retains SR-167 as the marquee investment in Pierce County and allocates funding for the Cross-Base Highway. Other Pierce County improvements to be funded through this package include improvements to SR-410/SR-162, enhanced access to Tacoma Mall, and non-motorized improvements.

The road improvements would be funded by a sales-tax increase of 1 cent per $10 purchase and an annual car-tab tax of $80 per $10,000 of vehicle value. The capital cost of the roads package is $7.0 billion in 2006 dollars.

The Gig Harbor Peninsula and areas of Pierce County beyond Orting are outside the Sound Transit and RTID districts and will be exempted from taxes and fees that will be levied if the combined package is approved by the region’s voters.

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.

Cross-Base Salvaged As Regional Roads Plan Moves Forward

Submitted by Paul Ellis

The county councils for Pierce, King and Snohomish counties approved the roads portion of a $17.7 billion package last Friday. The resulting Roads & Transit plan is a new approach to transportation--it marries transit and highway investments to create the first integrated transportation system for the entire Puget Sound region.

Last-minute negotiations over the Cross-Base Highway--long a project supported by RAMP--threatened to pit environmentalists throughout the region against the joint ballot measure, but all-night talks resulted in a proposal that most environmentalists will not oppose, according to Bill LaBorde of Environment Washington.

All three elected bodies must now adopt ordinances to put the measure on the ballot in November.

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.

State Budget Round-Up

Submitted by Paul Ellis

Kudos to The News Tribune, which today publicized highlights of the $7.5 billion Washington State transportation budget for 2007-09:

• Earmarks $199 million to continue building car-pool lanes on I-5 from the Tacoma Mall to Fife and to rebuild the Nalley Valley Viaduct at SR-16--most work will be done between 2009 and 2013 at a total cost of $1.4 billion;
• Appropriates the final $142 million of the $849 million for the second Tacoma Narrows Bridge;
• Sets up a $5 million line of credit in case first-year tolls on the new bridge don’t raise enough money to make loan payments;
• Allocates half of the $25 million to widen SR-161 (North Meridian) from Jovita Boulevard to 24th St.--the rest of this work will be done in the 2009-11 budget cycle;
• Identifies $52.3 million for the Point Defiance Bypass, a project that will reroute Amtrak and freight railroad tracks through South Tacoma into the Port of Tacoma instead of around the park;
• Gives $3.7 million to Sound Transit to expand Sounder commuter rail parking in Puyallup, Sumner and Auburn;
• Reauthorizes $2 million for the LeMay Car Museum;
• Appropriates $7 million of the $15 million needed to replace the Puyallup River Bridge on SR-162;
• Designates $665,000 of the $4 million needed to build a rest area in Elbe on SR-7;
• Allocates $6.5 million to repave SR-7 between the Eatonville Cutoff Road and SR-507;
• Funds cameras in construction zones;
• Sets a $2.8 billion limit on how much the state will spend to replace Seattle’s Alaskan Way Viaduct;
• Appropriates $132 million for the extension of SR-167 between the Port of Tacoma and Puyallup, with $40 million of that money dependant upon a container tax or port-related fee of some sort;
• Sets aside $19 million toward the proposed Cross-Base Highway (SR-704) between I-5 and Frederickson;
• Allows a 2.5 percent increase in ferry fares next month, then freezes fares until Sept. 1, 2009, while a fare study is conducted;
• Lends $3.9 million to the Regional Transportation Investment District in Pierce, King and Snohomish counties for the joint election in November;
• Completes funding for the “HOT” lane program on SR-167 for a 9-mile stretch between Auburn and Renton.

Most of these expenditures were supported by RAMP this session--all should be familiar to RAMP participants.

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.

Will RTID Drop the Cross-Base Highway?

Submitted by Paul Ellis

The News Tribune will report tomorrow that RTID Chair Shawn Bunney is considering removal of that segment of the Cross-Base Highway that crosses the military bases from November's Roads & Transit package.

Bunney's working proposal would fund improvements to Interstate 5 at the Thorne Lane intersection (comprising nearly 60% of the total project cost) on the west side of the project and accelerate funding for improvements on the east side of the project, primarily to 176th St. E. and Canyon Rd. What Bunney calls the "controversial middle portion" of the project would be left "to resolve at a later date". Bunney characterizes himself as a staunch supporter of the project, no matter how the package ultimately presented to voters turns out.

Meanwhile, the Washington State Department of Transportation is about to release a cost/benefit analysis of the Cross-Base Highway recently conducted by HDR/HLB. This analysis compares building the highway to widening of SR-7 and to enhancing transit services in terms of impacts upon congestion, safety, and emissions reduction. Look for more details in an upcoming post.

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 Puget Sound Regional Council invites RAMP participants to save the date for a workshop called "The Future of Transportation Finance - Lessons from Road Charging Experiments":

Wednesday, June 20th
9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Washington Athletic Club (1325 Sixth Ave., Seattle)
Cost is $30 per person; lunch is included

Join experts and participants in road charging projects in a workshop reviewing results and lessons learned.

Local Option Car Tax Approved

Submitted by Paul Ellis

Governor Christine Gregoire gave Washington cities and counties the authority Friday to collect a $20 annual fee on vehicle registrations without a public vote, replacing a similar tax that was repealed by voters in 2002.

Since 2003, cities and counties have had authority to collect as much as $100 a year from a local car tax that wins public approval at the ballot box, but to date no local jurisdiction has pursued that option. Voters last fall turned down Tacoma’s request for a property tax increase to raise $48 million for street repairs over six years. HB1858 lets a county council or a city council levy a $20 fee without voter approval.

The signing upset professional initiative promoter Tim Eyman, who crashed the signing ceremony to accuse Gregoire and the Legislature of ignoring the wishes of the people. Eyman led the initiative drive that voters passed in 2002 (I-776).

Pierce, King and Snohomish counties and the cities within its borders can’t impose the $20 fee until after May 22, 2008--a delay designed to let the Roads & Transit Plan go to voters first.
After that date, HB 1858 gives the three county councils first crack at deciding whether to go with a countywide car tax; if a county council opts not to impose the annual fee, each city council could then make its own decision.

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.

Ladenburg Reiterates Top-Level Support for SR-704

Submitted by Paul Ellis

At this month's RAMP meeting (earlier today), Pierce County Executive and RAMP Co-Chair John Ladenburg reiterated the crucial importance of SR-704--the Cross-Base Highway--in the Roads & Transit package.

"If the Regional Transportation Investment District proposes a package that leaves out Cross-Base," Ladenburg told RAMP participants, "then I'll publicly come out against passage of the ballot issue." Rumors have been circulating that some members of the RTID Board are soft on the project and may propose its omission during their meeting tomorrow morning.

Participants also heard that an economic analysis of the SR-704 project--like those conducted for SR-167 and the Alaskan Way Viaduct--has been completed and will be released by WSDOT next week.

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.

The Road Ahead

Submitted by Paul Ellis

Other than the long-awaited opening of the second Narrows Bridge (or, arguably, the ongoing rebuild of I-5 through the middle of Tacoma), the biggest transportation issue this year will be the integrated Roads & Transit vote on the November ballot. This referendum will have a crucial impact upon regional transportation funding for years to come.

Here's the schedule ahead for how the package will be finalized and presented:

□ January-April 2007:
√ RTID gathers public input on draft plan
√ RTID & Sound Transit continue integrating road and transit plans
□ Late spring 2007: RTID & Sound Transit finalize plans
□ Summer 2007: County councils vote to place road plan on ballot
□ November 2007: Public votes on Roads & Transit package

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.

Will Tolling Go Wireless?

Submitted by Paul Ellis

Decaying roads. Rising traffic congestion. Voters distrustful of government and leery about increased gas taxes. Neil Peirce of The Washington Post recently looked at these problems with transportation funding nationwide and suggested that urban areas consider deployment of tolling as a funding mechanism.

RAMP supports the recommendations of the Washington Transportation Commission in its 2006 Comprehensive Tolling Study and believes that the state should use tolling to encourage effective use of the transportation system through congestion management as well as to provide a supplementary source of transportation funding. RAMP further contends that tolling represents the most direct way to charge system users for the cost of the highway system without singling out one specific class of user.

Always a visionary, Peirce goes even further, citing the recommendation of Robin Chase, CEO of Massachusetts-based Meadow Networks, that governments should abandon gas taxes entirely and shift to wireless technology:

A small, low-cost computer on board every vehicle would report (in real time) miles actually traveled, allowing a realistic government user charge. Fees could be adjusted for roadway congestion pricing (premiums to travel on peak roads at peak times), by wear and tear related to vehicle weight and footprint, and by the vehicle's emissions (a carbon tax to encourage vehicles with reduced greenhouse gas emissions).

Science fiction? Not really--in Britain, Transport Secretary Alistair Darling and others have already proposed that automobiles be equipped with onboard equipment to track their use, with drivers paying a higher charge for operation in congested places and at peak times. Closer to home, the Oregon Road User Fee Task Force has determined how such a tax might be calculated and collected; at the task force's request, researchers have developed technology that can distinguish miles driven in Oregon from those driven elsewhere, then allow a mileage tax to be calculated and paid at the pump in place of the state gas tax.

The technical issues are minimal compared with the administrative issues, and especially with tough policy questions about privacy, equity and the environment; nevertheless, the chronic and urgent need for additional sources for transportation funding will undoubtedly leave no stone unturned.

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.

Legislative Wrap-Up (2007 Session)

Submitted by Paul Ellis

The Washington State Legislature's 2007 Session is over, and the dust is just beginning to settle. Today we'll attempt to survey the aftermath with assistance from Bob Gee, contract lobbyist for the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber, and Mike Shaw, a lobbyist for Pierce County government.

The transportation budget adopted by state lawmakers keeps all Pierce County projects on schedule, despite the $2 billion increase in estimated costs over 2006. It increases funding for the SR-520 bridge and restores projects slated for delay to their original schedules. One such project in Pierce County--the SR-162/Puyallup River Bridge replacement--was scheduled for delay as the Session began but ultimately ended up accelerated by two years.

Senator Ed Murray’s regional governance bill (SB5803), which RAMP opposed, stalled in the Senate but can be resurrected next Session. Passage of that bill this year would have forced a new vote on funding for major projects. Instead, legislators gave the nod to HB1396, which authorized an integrated roads and transit package, allowing the region's voters to approve the Sound Transit and Regional Transportation Investment District (RTID) packages with just one vote. RAMP supported this approach.

SB5207, introduced and advocated by Senate Transportation Chair Senator Mary Margaret Haugen, would have imposed a new tax on freight containers coming through Washington's ports--a measure RAMP opposed. Thanks in large part to the efforts of the Chamber in concert with the Port of Tacoma and other stakeholders, the amended bill sent to the Governor still mentions the container tax but omits any specific funding and the previous intent language. The bill now creates a Freight Congestion Relief Account and directs the Joint Transportation Committee (JTC) to study funding mechanisms for freight infrastructure improvements, with a report due back to the Legislature by the start of the 2008 Session. One of the carrots dangling in the anticipated results of the study will be $188 million to extend 167 to the Port of 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.

One Vote Shall Rule

Submitted by Paul Ellis

On Tuesday, the Washington State Legislature approved a key bill that will keep the Roads & Transit measure moving to the ballot in November. HB1396 passed the Senate on a vote of 44-4, having earlier passed the House 96-1. The bill simplifies the ballot measure, presenting voters with a single question on which to vote.

The single-ballot legislation enables voters throughout the region to vote on an integrated package, eliminating the previous framework under which separate Sound Transit and Regional Transportation Investment District (RTID) packages would be presented. The legislation effectively requires that voters now have to pass both packages for either to take effect.

Under the bill’s improved framework, votes on a single Roads & Transit ballot measure will be counted once within the Sound Transit District and once within the RTID District, which extends farther north into Snohomish County. The measure will take effect if it passes in both districts. The area that falls outside the Sound Transit district will only pay for the roads projects.

Extensive public input and surveys show that people want an integrated and coordinated plan that makes improvements to the region's transportation system. The integrated ballot measure was supported by RAMP but opposed by the Sierra Club.

The legislation now moves forward for action by Governor Christine Gregoire.

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

Faster Freight – Cleaner Air Puget Sound is a showcase for solutions and resources that can improve operations within the goods movement industry and reduce air emissions.

Hosted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, Port of Seattle, Port of Tacoma and Washington State Department of Transportation, the conference will take place on May 16th at the Bell Harbor International Conference Center in Seattle. Panels will present industry and government leaders discussing ways to facilitate faster freight and cleaner air.

To register, visit the event's website.

Sierra Club Letter Blasts RTID Plan

Submitted by Paul Ellis

A recent post on this blog chronicled the Sierra Club's over-the-top rhetoric in opposing inclusion of any new road projects in the regional Roads & Transit ballot proposition that will be submitted to voters this November. In a recent letter to Sound Transit Chair John Ladenburg (who is also the Co-Chair for RAMP), the Seattle chapter of the Sierra Club says it will not support the draft proposal now under consideration.

The group's list of problems with the draft package is a long one, including project selection, ballot structure and the revenue sources currently identified to pay for the project. The Sierra Club opines that user taxes--including a new local gas tax--make the most sense for the plan.

The letter concludes with a scathing assessment of the draft package and a recommendation that transit improvements be presented for voter approval independently road projects. "The RTID package contains inappropriate projects and is fraught with structural defects that require changes in the authorizing legislation," the Sierra Club contends. "We do support allowing Sound Transit to proceed separately to the November 2007 ballot."

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.

"Highway 167 plan packs major economic punch"

Submitted by Paul Ellis

Kudos to The News Tribune for Sunday's editorial supporting SR-167's construction as part of the upcoming Roads & Transit package.

The piece offers some well-phrased observations--based upon the economic analysis recently released by WSDOT--about the benefits of the project to long-range job growth in the region:

By 2025, additional port business could create 79,000 new jobs — more than the number of Washington workers employed by Boeing...The Alaskan Way Viaduct and Highway 520 bridge projects can boast bigger safety and congestion-relief benefits, but can’t generate freight growth on the scale that the Highway 167 extension could.

As this blog has observed previously, SR-167 is the South Sound's "mega project"; this recognition by the press will help to make that case with the larger community.

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.

Step It Up!--the Rhetoric, Anyway

Submitted by Paul Ellis

The silliness continues from the Sierra Club as its staff deploys over-the-top invective in support of the group's Step It Up! campaign. They're kicking off the drive, evidently, by stepping up the rhetoric.

In an Earth Day guest editorial in The Seattle Times, Aaron Robins and Tim Gould of the Sierra Club's Cascade Chapter describe the Regional Transportation Investment District's Blueprint for Progress proposal as "an Eisenhower-era roads package that drives us the wrong way on climate change impacts and community planning"; having construction of any new roads "shackled at the ballot to the Sound Transit Phase 2 proposal," they contend, is "like trying to lose weight while consuming triple-fudge sundaes with your whole grains--one negates the benefits of the other."

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.

SR-167 Benefits: $10.1 Billion

Submitted by Paul Ellis

Completing SR-167 could fuel job growth to the tune of $10.1 billion over the next 30 years, according to an economic analysis conducted by Berk & Associates and about to be released by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT).

The direct impact of the full extension, complete with I-5 interchange, is estimated at $940 million. The study estimates the indirect benefits--including economic development opportunities--to be even bigger, primarily from four additional areas of improvement:

• Operational support for greater volumes of container traffic through the Port of Tacoma;


• More efficient use of industrial land in the Puyallup Valley;


• Greater connectivity between Pierce County's urban centers--Tacoma and fast-growing cities like Sumner and Puyallup;


• Avoiding public investment in improvements to surface streets that will become overburdened if the highway is not completed.

The economic analysis is one of several assigned to Berk & Associates in preparation for public discussion over the array of projects recommended by the Regional Transportation Investment District (RTID) for voter approval in November. The consultants also completed an economic analysis of the Alaskan Way Viaduct earlier this year.

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's "Mega Project"

Submitted by Paul Ellis

Seattle's arguments over the Viaduct and, to a lesser extent, SR-520 has taken up most of the "air time" thus far during the 2007 Legislative Session. RAMP's position is that SR-167--Pierce County's mega project--is equally important to the growth of the Puget Sound region and should have the same rank in the State's transportation pecking order as these two projects.

Insider talk has it that the two King County mega projects are being singled out in budget discussions to benefit from a special reserve management account so that funding can be drawn from other projects, if needed, to complete them or even just to expedite their completion. RAMP has been informed that Representative Dennis Flannigan and Senator Jim Kastama are working to have SR-167 included in that special account, and RAMP supports equal treatment for the Pierce County project.

To do otherwise, some transportation leaders contend, would represent a de facto implementation of the flawed recommendations from the Regional Transportation Commission.

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.

RAMP Boosts Volume on SR-167 in Olympia

Submitted by Paul Ellis

Participants in RAMP were challenged this morning by Regional Transportation Investment District (RTID) Chair Shawn Bunney to help him boost the visibility of Pierce County's "mega projects"--especially SR-167--with state lawmakers.

As the 2007 Session in Olympia enters the home stretch, Bunney is concerned that lawmaker's struggle to balance the budget--and an inordinate focus on two of King County's projects--will eclipse Pierce County's need to keep dollars flowing south into right-of-way aquisition through the Puyallup Valley. RAMP participants pledged to follow up with messages to their state senators and representatives as lawmakers work on final drafts of legislation and the state budget.

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.

Light Rail Will Run to Tacoma Dome

Submitted by Paul Ellis

As advocated by RAMP as Pierce County's top transit priority, Sound Transit's Board of Directors voted unanimously this afternoon to extend light rail service all the way to Tacoma Dome.

This highly-anticipated expansion of the system--an amendment to the draft Sound Transit 2 project scope--will be offered to the region's voters in November as part of the Road & Transit ballot package.

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.

RTID: Time is Running Out to Comment

Friday is the deadline for comments to be submitted to the Regional Transportation Investment District (RTID) regarding the Blueprint for Progress proposal that will comprise the roads portion of the Roads & Transit ballot request in November.

RAMP has submitted a letter representing Pierce County's collective consensus, and a similar letters have been sent to RTID from the Frederickson, Parkland & Spanaway Division and the Port-Industrial Committee of the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber. Interest groups in King County are running an advertising campaign in their local media asking people to write letters opposing the Cross-Base Highway (SR-704), so communications from highway supporters are critically important.

To submit a letter or e-mail to RTID:

Mailing Address
Attn: Kjristine Lund
Regional Transportation Investment District
411 University St., Suite 1200
Seattle, WA 98101

E-mail Address
klund@lundconsulting.com

Invitation to RAMP Participants

RAMP participants are encouraged to take part in a one-day workshop next Wednesday, March 28th, sponsored by the Regional Transportation Investment District (RTID). Collectively entitled The Path Forward, the workshop will present a series of sessions focusing on three important policy areas: tolling and congestion pricing; carbon assessment and greenhouse gases; and construction mitigation.

The format for each session will be a brief presentation by panelists followed by a facilitated discussion, and then a question–and–answer session with the audience. The outcome from the workshop will be a record of proceedings, with suggestions for policy direction for the RTID Executive Board on each of the three topics.

For more information about next week's event, please visit the RTID website. RAMP participants interested in attending should RSVP for the session or sessions they would like to attend.

SR-167 Completion: a Win for Commuters and Congestion Relief

For twenty years, SR-167’s current dead end in a strawberry field in Puyallup has served as a reminder of continuing gaps in our region’s transportation system. Its completion will result not just in the completion of a roadway, but also a step forward in the completion of a transportation network.

There has been much discussion about the benefits SR-167 will bring to freight mobility and economic development, connecting the Port of Tacoma to the warehouse and distribution centers of the Puyallup and Green River Valleys. What some have overlooked, however, is what a completed SR-167 will mean for people. Current projections indicate that trucks hauling freight to and from the Port will make up only about 4 percent of vehicle traffic from I-5 to Puyallup along a completed SR-167. That means the remaining 96 percent will be other users, predominately commuters in personal vehicles. Extending SR-167 to Tacoma will provide more route options for commuters and regional travelers, and creates a more efficient connection between south King County and Pierce County. In fact, 30 percent of residents in Pierce County regularly commute north. A completed SR-167 will provide a vital link in our highway system not only for them, but also the thousands of citizens traveling east and west across Pierce County.

How They Voted - SB5803

Submitted by Paul Ellis

Here's the roll call resulting in yesterday's passage of SB5803:

Voting Yea: Senators Berkey, Brandland, Clements, Delvin, Fairley, Franklin, Fraser, Hatfield, Haugen, Hewitt, Hobbs, Honeyford, Kastama, Kline, Kohl-Welles, Marr, McAuliffe, Morton, Murray, Oemig, Parlette, Pflug, Prentice, Pridemore, Rasmussen, Rockefeller, Schoesler, Sheldon, Spanel, Swecker, Tom, Weinstein, and Zarelli

Voting Nay: Senators Benton, Carrell, Eide, Holmquist, Jacobsen, Kauffman, Keiser, Kilmer, McCaslin, Poulsen, Regala, Roach, Shin, and Stevens

Absent: Senators Brown and Hargrove

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.

Murray Moves RTC Forward

Submitted by Paul Ellis

The Washington State Legislature is moving ahead with sweeping changes to the way transportation projects are funded--and not in a positive manner for Pierce County.

Yesterday, despite opposition by RAMP and other transportation advocacy groups, the Washington State Senate passed SB5803 by a comfortable margin, 33-14. The bill, sponsored by Senator Ed Murray, would enact provisions of the Regional Transportation Commission if also adopted by the House without significant changes.

The bill sets up a new body of elected officials from King, Pierce and Snohomish counties, elected by district. "It will clearly be dominated by King County voters and money," warns RAMP Co-Chair John Ladenburg. This group will take over the funding and planning for local and regional road and transit projects and would displace the transportation planning and funding functions of the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC).

RAMP Co-Chair David Graybill told Senators that the legislation "will destroy Pierce County's hard won equity role in regional transportation project planning and funding, and shift the influence to Seattle/Bellevue, where this idea got its life. "

"Another mega-regional governance vehicle is the last thing we need," Graybill concluded, especially now when "[WS]DOT, Sound Transit, and Pierce Transit are all cooperating and planning together like never before with most projects being done well and completed on time as funding becomes available."

Other voices around the region are also sounding an alarm. The Northwest Progressive Institute claims that the legislation will "complicate and confuse the existing decision making process, which is already hard for many citizens to understand. The proposed law would stomp all over home rule and local control by essentially consolidating existing transportation agencies into one larger entity."

Traffic congestion is a worsening problem throughout the Puget Sound region--not just in King County. That message needs to be communicated to members of the Washington House of Representatives, where the battle now begins.

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.

Scorecard for the 2007 Legislature (I)

Submitted by Paul Ellis

RAMP is watching a number of bills currently in play in Olympia, and will continue to pursue the consensus Legislative agenda with state lawmakers duirng the 2007 Session.

The following bills should be of interest to RAMP participants and will be tracked by the group until their ultimate disposition:

• HB1094 and SB5136 are versions from each chamber proposing transportation appropriations for the biennium (2007-2009);


• HB1396 and SB5282 both provide for a single ballot proposition for the Regional Transportation Investment District (RTID) and Sound Transit at the 2007 general election;


• HB1858 and SB5767 both permit transportation benefit districts that fully encompass a city or county to impose impact fees for up to $20.00 in vehicle fees without voter approval;


• SB5207 is the substitute bill amending the controversial container tax proposal and, instead, authorizing a study to evaluate the imposition of such a fee in the context of other funding mechanisms to improve freight corridors;


• HB2101 and SB5803 propose two versions for implementing recommendations from the Regional Transportation Commission;


• SJR8211 extends state bonding from thirty to forty years for transportation projects;


• HB1773 helps implement recommendations of the Washington State Transportation Commission's Tolling Study;


• HB2146 and SB5681 will help residents of the Gig Harbor Peninsula get a break on tolls for crossing the new Narrows Bridge.

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.

RAMP Submits FY 2007-2008 Federal Requests

Submitted by Paul Ellis

RAMP has compiled a consensus list of federal transportation projects for appropriation in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 and 2008 budgets now being finalized by Congress. The list has been submitted to Pierce County's Congressional delegation, headed by Congressman Norm Dicks and Senator Patty Murray.

Here's the list:

FY 2007 Transportation Appropriations
RAMP seeks restoration of the following earmarked appropriations:

• SR-704 (Cross-Base Highway)
  $1.0M to fence or complete acquisition of ROW
• FAST Corridor Improvements
  $1.0M for Shaw Rd. extension
  $1.5M for Lincoln Ave. overpass
• Peninsula Park & Ride
  $1.0M for construction of a new Pierce Transit facility to support additional service across the Tacoma Narrows
• University Place Town Center
  $2.0 million for completion of the Intermodal Transit Center

FY 2008 Transportation Appropriations
RAMP requests that the following projects be slated for appropriation:

• SR-704 (Cross-Base Highway)
  $5.0M to construct from Spanaway Loop Rd. to SR-7
• FAST Corridor Improvements
  $3.5M for Shaw Rd. extension
  $4.9M for Lincoln Ave. overpass
• Port of Tacoma Rd.
  $5.0M for interchange improvements at junction at I-5
• Peninsula Park & Ride
  $2.0M for construction of a new Pierce Transit facility to support additional service across the Tacoma Narrows
• Alternate Access to Tacoma Dome Station
  $1.5M for feasibility analysis for constructing slip ramps connecting ‘D’ St. with SR-509

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.

Sierra Club (Surprise!) Pans Proposed RTID Package

Submitted by Paul Ellis

The Sierra Club recently announced that it will push for a carbon emission assessment to be included in every regional transportation plan being developed in Washington State--in particular, the regional Roads & Transit measure expected to be on the ballot in November.

"Unfortunately, RTID has proposed a road construction package that does not address our region's immediate need to address global warming," wrote club officials in a release. The club is asking RTID to amend its proposed package to meet the following goals:

• Prioritize public health and safety projects above highway expansion;
• Reframe the goals of projects to move people and goods, not just cars;
• Emphasize projects that improve reliability of public transit and reduce single-occupancy vehicles; and
• Introduce tolling on all limited-access highways to reduce congestion, increase efficiency and decrease global warming emissions.

The group also states that it is pushing for SB6001 during this Legislative Session. The bill, if adopted by the Legislature, would establish goals for the statewide reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and reduction in petroleum use, and would direct officials to design and recommend a comprehensive set of measures to accomplish those goals.

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.

"Think Globally, Act Locally"

Submitted by Paul Ellis

It's an adage that's at least a couple of decades old, but still true: "Think globally, act locally." And the reverse is sometimes true, as well--what's good for a local interest is sometimes good for a larger constituency.

Washington State Senator Derek Kilmer--vice chairman of the Economic Development, Trade & Management Committee and a member of the Transportation Committee--wants to give his constituents "the best possible deal" when it comes to their share of the costs related to travel from the Gig Harbor Peninsula to the rest of Pierce County. He spells out the details of that deal in an op-ed in Sunday's edition of The News Tribune. What he's proposing may be good for the larger interests of Pierce County and Washington State, too.

Kilmer has several specific proposals linked to action already taking place in Olympia:

• Senate Bill 5681 would keep bridge users from having to foot the bill for the sales tax on the construction of the bridge, shaving roughly $40 million to $60 million from the cost of the bridge from tolls;
  
• Senate Bill 5391 would direct a portion of the fine (equal to three times the amount of the toll) to the Narrows Bridge Tolling Account, generating an additional $15 million to $20 million over time for this account;


• Senate Bill 5680 would nearly double the amount of the state fuel tax distributed to the Puget Sound Ferry Operations Account, subsidizing the state’s cost of running ferries and reducing the corresponding fares paid by waterborne commuters;


• Senate Bill 5862 would direct some of the funding generated from the sales tax on fuel used by ferries into an account that supports passenger-only ferries;


• Keep $1.3 million budgeted for this year and another $8.7 million for the biennium for a discount for Narrows Bridge users during the first year the bridge is open--Kilmer contends that commuters will pay a full toll for a project that doesn’t deliver a full benefit, and that those commuters will very likely face a commute that’s even worse than it is today.

Kilmer's proposals are reasonable, would seem to serve the best interests of his constituents, and have a multi-modal thrust, addressing ferries as well as bridge commutes. Kilmer's suggestions may have a broader impact, though, as well.

As the first major test of tolling in Washington State, it's imperative that the Narrows Bridge project be a success not just for the transportation system but also for the broader constituency both served and impacted by new or expanded facilities. Kilmer's proposals may help make that goal a reality.

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.

The Roads Ahead (II) - Another Way

Submitted by Paul Ellis

With construction and real estate costs rising much faster than inflation--and the resulting uncertainty over how future projects will be funded--Washington State policymakers are looking for effective new financing alternatives. Greater use of public-private partnerships may be a more attractive alternative than some of the taxes and fees under consideration in Olympia during this current Legislative Session.

One Pierce County group, the Plateau Transportation Partnership (PTP), is pioneering another alternative. The PTP consists mostly of residential and commercial development enterprises, including Quadrant Homes, Miles Sand & Gravel, Cascadia, Falling Water and Plateau 465 (a partnership between Investco Financial, Tucci & Sons, Inc., and Homeland Ventures).

The PTP, led by former Pierce County Engineer Tom Ballard, proposes to pool resources from a public/private partnership to build and finance projects. While Washington State has been slow to fully embrace such partnerships, the tool has been used across the country because of its effectiveness and ability to reduce costs and construction times.

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.

The Roads Ahead (I) - The Senate's Approach

Submitted by Paul Ellis

Washington State Senator Mary Margaret Haugen--chair of the Transportation Committee-continues to wrestle with the growing gap between transportation needs and the funding that state, federal and local sources can be expected to generate.

Opposition from RAMP, Washington ports, and may help forestall her proposal to impose a new container tax, but the problem will remain whatever the outcome on that specific legislation.

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

During the months of February and March, Sound Transit and the Regional Transportation Investment District (RTID) are seeking public input on the draft Roads & Transit package.

The Roads & Transit package will present to voters a unified program of investments in freeways, light rail, commuter rail, HOV lanes, park-and-ride lots, and express and local bus service. Key features include:

• Reduction in traffic delays
• Faster travel times
• 42 miles of new light rail
• Major improvements to “highways of regional significance” and chokepoints--including I-5, I-405, SR-167, and the Cross-Base Highway
• 10,000 new park-and-ride stalls
• New HOV lanes
• Bike lanes, sidewalks, better connections
• Major freight routes improved

RAMP participants are encouraged to let Sound Transit and the RTID know if they're on the right track before a final Roads & Transit ballot is adopted for voter consideration in November:

• Monday, March 5th
• 4:30 – 7:30 p.m.
• Washington State History Museum
  1911 Pacific Ave, Tacoma
  

WSDOT Combining Passenger, Freight Rail Offices

Submitted by Paul Ellis

WSDOT Secretary Doug MacDonald has announced the promotion of Barb Ivanov, who has led the Freight Strategy and Policy Division since 2004, to director of the new Freight Systems Division. WSDOT is combining its passenger and freight rail offices.

Scott Witt, WSDOT multimodal manager, assumes the title of “State Rail and Marine Director” leading the newly combined passenger and freight rail offices.

“Governor Gregoire has directed and other freight interests groups have advocated for a more robust statewide freight program for planning and coordination,” says Paula Hammond, WSDOT chief of staff. “And we believe combining resources in a single location will increase coordination for our rail programs and lead us to a more focused relationship with Washington’s freight industry,” she adds.

The Washington Transportation Commission’s Statewide Rail Capacity and Systems Needs Study released in 2006 included a recommendation that “the state should designate a single entity to coordinate and direct the State’s participation in the preservation and improvement of the rail transportation system.”

Washington’s ports have suggested that WSDOT combine its rail functions into a single division so the state could place a greater focus on the rail system’s capacity to respond to increased demand for container movement and port access issues. In addition, the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Rail Road and Union Pacific railroad will have a single point of contact at WSDOT for both business coordination and strategic planning and partnership opportunities.

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.