BELLEVUE— Seven award-winning efforts to make Puget Sound a better place to live will be celebrated by the region's elected leaders at the Puget Sound Regional Council's General Assembly meeting March 29 at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue. Governor Gary Locke will also join the Assembly to discuss transportation issues in the 2001 legislature.
The seven award winners include projects that make it easier to get from place to place, plans that are re-energizing older downtowns, and creative ways to preserve rural parts of the region.
Each year, the Regional Council's VISION 2020 Awards honor what's working right in the central Puget Sound region. The awards spotlight efforts by public and private organizations that are improving quality of life in the region's communities.
The VISION 2020 Award winners are:
Destination Downtown (Tacoma) - An effort by the City of Tacoma to revitalize downtown and support investments in regional transit facilities, including the new 1.6-mile light rail segment, Tacoma Link. See the City of Tacoma's Web site: www.cityoftacoma.org/.
Downtown Burien Plan - A plan that promotes new commercial and residential development designed to make downtown Burien an attractive place to work, shop and live. See the City of Burien's Web site: www.ci.burien.wa.us/.
Auburn Commuter Rail Station and Transit Center - A new rail and bus station designed to support revitalization and transit-oriented development in downtown Auburn. Click here for photos of the station.
Community Transit Van Grant Program - A program to donate retired minivans and minibuses to non-profit organizations, aimed at providing transportation services to people (youth, seniors, and the disabled) who were most affected by cuts in transit service from Initiative 695. See Community Transit's Web site: www.commtrans.org/
Bainbridge Island Transfer Center and Bike Barn - Improvements to the Bainbridge Island Transfer Center, including a new open-air, 75-bike storage facility, a crosswalk with an in-ground lighting system and better bus access. See Kitsap Transit's Web site: www.kitsaptransit.org/
Flexcar - A King County car-sharing program with more than 1,000 members that provides access to vehicles without the cost and inconvenience of auto ownership, aimed at people who live in urban neighborhoods and don't want the hassles of car ownership, or for people who want to get by with just one car. See the Flexcar Web site at: www.flexcar.com/
King County Transfer of Development Credits Pilot Project: Preserving the Mitchell Hill Connector - The first transfer of development credits in the region. The project used private funds to transfer development credits from a 313-acre parcel in rural east King County to Issaquah's urban area. See King County's Transfer of Development Credits Web site: www.metrokc.gov/exec/orpp/tdc/.
The award winners were selected by a committee composed of nine elected officials from King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties, and two urban design experts. The committee members are: University Place Councilmember Linda Bird, Chair; Councilmember Barbara Cothern, Snohomish County; Councilmember Mike Creighton, Bellevue; Councilmember Maggi Fimia, King County; Deputy Mayor Ron Hansen, Shoreline; Harris Hoffman, Partner, Lorig Associates; Commissioner Cheryl Kincer, Port of Bremerton; Councilmember Doug Miller, Tacoma; Councilmember Mike Shepherd, Bremerton; Councilmember Dave Somers, Snohomish County; and Professor Anne Vernez Moudon, University of Washington.
For more information about the VISION 2020 Award winners, contact Anne Avery at (206) 587-4818, e-mail aavery@psrc.org.
The General Assembly gathering includes all mayors, county executives, commissioners and councilmembers representing the Regional Council's members. 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 Puget Sound Regional Council is the designated regional transportation and growth management agency for the central Puget Sound region under state and federal laws. The Council is composed of county, city, port, transit, tribal and state agencies serving the region, and develops policies and coordinates decisions about regional growth and transportation planning in King, Pierce, Snohomish and Kitsap counties.