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.

Feds Will Keep Transportation Funding on Track

It appears that highway and transit funding will remain at levels guaranteed in the most recent federal highway bill (SAFETEA-LU) and won’t face the cuts coming for many other programs. While Congress is set to cut over 60 programs below FY 2006 levels and rescind unobligated balances, providing roughly $10 billion in savings, the Federal-aid highway program is fully funded at the level guaranteed in SAFETEA-LU and the Federal Transit Administration will be granted $8.97 billion for programs, an increase of $470 million to meet the transit funding guarantees as required by SAFETEA-LU.

Legislation adopted by the House of Representative today to fund the government through September 30th (the end of the fiscal year) fully funds surface transportation programs as noted above. Support for full funding is even stronger in the Senate.

RAMP was among the groups nationwide who urged Congress to keep funding at levels promised in SAFETEA-LU.

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 Approves Roads Package

Submitted by Paul Ellis

On Friday the Regional Transportation Investment District (RTID) approved the revised Blueprint for Progress, a preliminary plan for major road and bridge improvements in Pierce, King and Snohomish counties. This package will comprise the roads portion of the Roads & Transit plan that will be submitted to the region's voters on the November ballot.

Projects supported by RAMP--completion of SR-167, construction of SR-704 (the Cross-Base Highway), and widening of SR-162--were included in the proposal adopted on Friday. RAMP participants P.J. McDonald (Fife Chamber) and John Austin (Toray Composites), as well as staff team member Sean Egan, spoke in favor of the Cross-Base Highway--which continues to face opposition from some members of the environmental community.

RTID also took action to increase funding for the SR-520 bridge replacement by $300 million (for a total regional contribution of $1.1 billion), funding new capacity for a six-lane bridge proposal. The RTID district boundary was also approved.

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.

Pained at the Pump?

Submitted by Paul Ellis

In Tuesday evening's State of the Union address to Congress, President George Bush called for development and production of fuels and automobiles that would decrease the use of oil in the United States by 20 percent during the next 10 years. While that may be good news for the environment, Governing's Christopher Swope observes that it will make the pinch for transportation funding even more acute.

Remove 20 percent of the $35 billion collected nationwide each year for transportation projects, Swope calculates, and local, state and federal governments will be short $7 billion. "Add to that the reluctance of state legislators to allow gas taxes to keep pace with inflation," he continues, "and you have a tax that is no longer viable for the modern world of politics and environmental policy."

Swope foresees three possible ways to make up the revenue that decreased oil consumption might defer:

• Use new technology to levy taxes by the mile rather than by the gallon (Oregon is already testing this idea);
• Develop partnerships with the private sector to get new roads built;
• Impose a lot more toll roads across the country, whether they're run by the states or by private vendors.

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.

Putting the Weight on Freight

Submitted by Paul Ellis

Washington State Senator Mary Margaret Haugen--chair of the Transportation Committee--has a problem, and it's a big one. Transportation leaders have long been calling for funding for improvements they say are needed to keep cargo moving through the state, and--despite big boosts in gas tax revenues won in past Legislative sessions--the funding gap for those improvements keeps growing. Haugen has dropped SB5207, imposing a $50 tax on each 20-foot-equivalent (a measure of cargo container capacity) containers moving through the state’s ports.

“We’re looking for money to do the freight projects that the ports and freight people talk about,” Haugen recently told The News Tribune. “This is the way we’ve come up with to pay for it. We asked them to suggest a different way--or they could cut their projects.”

While the tax would raise an estimated $287 million for freight congestion relief projects in this biennium, RAMP opposes its imposition. Port officials and maritime business leaders worry that such a charge might drive cargo away from Washington ports to Canada, California and Oregon. Last year, the Port of Tacoma lost business to Southern California after a railroad operator negotiated higher rates with one of the shipping lines.

Shippers don’t think about the value of the goods in a container, but instead how much it costs to move a box. It now costs about $200 to move a container through the Port of Tacoma; add $100 to that cost--most containers are 40 feet long--and the cost rises to $300. More than 70 percent of the international cargo that came through the Port of Tacoma in 2005 left for the Midwest on a train and could be shipped through other ports, so the proposed container tax would have a negative effect on business here.

Although this particular effort is misguided, Senator Haugen's problem is very real, and RAMP shares the responsibility for seeking a solution.

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 (Additional) Roads Toll

Submitted by Paul Ellis

Governor Christine Gregoire wants the Washington State Legislature to approve a two million dollar public-private partnership. Contractors would submit proposals later this year and the Department of Transportation would evaluate them next year.

The governor's proposal builds upon the Comprehensive Tolling Study released last fall by the Washington State Transportation Commission (WSTC) and reviewed by RAMP at its September and November meetings. The 2007 Legislative Priorities adopted by RAMP support findings of the study and advocate use of tolling to support congestion management as well as to provide a supplementary source of transportation funding.

Projects could include widening I-90 over Snoqualmie Pass, a new Columbia River bridge at Vancouver, and a replacement span for SR-520 across Lake Washington. The Comprehensive Tolling Study vets these projects as likely to return enough revenue to fiance the investment; other projects like SR-704 and the Alaskan Way Viaduct were not deemed cost effective.

The governor’s request is a revival of the program that led to construction of the second Tacoma Narrows Bridge; at that time, the bridge project was one of six public-private projects under consideration. Five others--including replacing the SR-520 floating bridge across Lake Washington--were dropped or removed from the final list.

Tolling provides an important tool to optimize the use of existing transportation infrastructure and also raise much-needed revenue for mega projects. It is fair to taxpayers because the users of the improvement--those who derive the most benefit--help pay for the improvement.

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.

Green Light for ST2 Package

Submitted by Paul Ellis

Sound Transit today adopted a draft planning package, including extension from SeaTac to the Port of Tacoma, that would construct more than 40 new miles of light rail. Other proposed expansions would extend light rail north from the University of Washington to Lynnwood and east as far as Redmond’s Overlake Transit Center via downtown Bellevue. These and other proposed projects in the draft package are projected to increase the number of people who use the regional transit system to more than 350,000 by 2030.

Sound Transit will seek more public input during February and March before adopting a final package that will go to the voters in November as part of the regional Roads & Transit package. In addition to the light rail expansions, the draft package:

• Adds parking and other enhancements at Sounder commuter rail and ST Express bus facilities;
• Sets aside funding for future service enhancements to existing ST Express bus routes; and
• Identifies further light rail extensions in downtown Redmond and downtown Tacoma subject to securing unanticpated additional funding or cost savings during construction of other parts of the package (the package provides up-front funding for planning, engineering and property acquisition for these extensions).

The draft package would be funded with a sales tax increase of 0.5 percent--five cents on a $10 retail purchase; the increase would cost a typical household approximately $125 each 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.