SEATTLE—- Seven achievements that have helped to cultivate the region's vitality and ensure a promising future to 2020 and beyond will be honored at the Puget Sound Regional Council's annual General Assembly on March 25 at Seattle Center's new Marion Oliver McCaw Hall.
"The VISION 2020 award winners are shining examples of the work that is being accomplished to realize our region's growth, economic, and transportation strategy," said Auburn Mayor Pete Lewis, acting chair of the awards selection committee. "The winners emphasize the importance of partnerships and the efficient use of resources."
The 2004 VISION 2020 Award Winners are:
City of Renton's Urban Center - North Comprehensive Plan Amendments
The amendments will ease the gradual transition of a downtown area that will see less heavy industrial and manufacturing use.
East Main Street Design Strategy (Sumner)
This strategy was developed to transform a former state highway into a historic downtown main street.
Economic Development Plan and Bickford Avenue Subarea (City of Snohomish)
A detailed economic development strategy for five different land use districts, exploring markets, designs, and other tools.
Greenbrier Heights (King County and Woodinville)
A vibrant urban neighborhood developed by a public private partnership on King County surplus property, featuring affordable housing and an 11 acre protected wetland.
Model Permit System (Economic Development Council of Snohomish County )
A suite of process improvements to increase predictability, efficiency, and collaboration of land use actions. The new system sped up permit times by an average of 33% and has attracted new cities to the system.
Redmond Trip Reduction Incentive Program
The first publicly sponsored program in the nation to combine a commuter club, rewards program, and a dynamic commute mode tracking tool, all accessible on the Web.
University Way Multimodal Project (Seattle)
A key part of the efforts to revitalize the University District neighborhood, these street improvements feature the region's first in lane bus stops which have improved access on one of the city's busiest pedestrian and transit corridors.
The committee also wanted to recognize a handy new device that will encourage the efficient use of the region's road system:
Traffic Gauge
This handheld device is the nation's first real time, in vehicle traffic map. It connects to the Washington State Department of Transportation's traffic flow data to provide current congestion and incident information giving drivers the opportunity to choose an alternate route to their destination.
VISION 2020 is a comprehensive framework for our future, addressing growth management, the economy and transportation. It was adopted by the counties, cities, towns, transit agencies and ports in the central Puget Sound region as a way to work together with common goals, coordinated and planned growth, and wiser use of all of our resources in a strategy to better ensure success in a challenging and changing environment.
The VISION 2020 Awards will be presented at the PSRC's annual General Assembly dinner on March 25, 6:30-8:30 p.m., at Seattle Center's Marion Oliver McCaw Hall. The General Assembly includes mayors, county executives, commissioners and councilmembers representing more than 80 member governments and agencies. The full agenda for the meeting is available on the Regional Council's Web site (psrc.org) or by calling the Information Center at (206) 464-7532.
The Regional Council develops policies and coordinates decisions about regional growth and transportation planning in King, Pierce, Snohomish and Kitsap counties. The Council is composed of over 80 county, city, port, transit, tribal and state agencies serving the region. It coordinates the distribution of about $150 million in Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration funds each year. The Regional Council sets priorities and evaluates the most efficient ways to target those funds to support state and local transportation and growth management plans.
Title VI Notice: PSRC fully complies with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and related statutes and regulations in all programs and activities. For more information, or to obtain a Title VI Complaint Form, see http://www.psrc.org/ about/civilrights.htm or call 206-464-6175.