FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 9, 2001
Contact: Rick Olson (206) 587-5060

SEATTLE— The Puget Sound Regional Council is inviting public comment on 41 projects proposed to be added to the region's Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). The projects include intersection upgrades, arterial widening, safety improvements, and other projects designed to ease traffic congestion in King, Pierce, Snohomish and Kitsap counties.

The formal public comment period begins August 9 and continues through September 13, 2001. There will also be an opportunity for comment at the September 27 meeting of the Regional Council's Executive Board when the 2001-2004 Transportation Improvement Program is scheduled to be adopted.

A complete list of the projects is available in PDF format. Some of these projects were mapable and have been rendered in an interactive GIS format. We are interested in your comments regarding these maps, please contact Larry Burris with any suggestions.

Written comments on the proposed projects should be sent to:

Mail: Karen Richter
Puget Sound Regional Council
1011 Western Avenue, Suite 500
Seattle, WA 98104

Fax: (206) 587-4825

E-mail: krichter@psrc.org

TDD/TTY: (206) 464-5409

The region's Transportation Improvement Program details hundreds of planned projects to improve highways and roadways, transit, and other forms of transportation in the four-county central Puget Sound region, ensuring that the projects are coordinated and meet federal air quality standards.

The proposed amendment to the Transportation Improvement Program includes projects using federal funds managed by the state, locally funded, regionally significant projects as required by state and federal requirements for air quality analysis, and projects funded by the Federal Transit Administration. The program of projects funded by the Federal Transit Administration is also included in the TIP for the region's transit agencies, which include Sound Transit, Community Transit, Everett Transit, Kitsap Transit, Metro King County Transit, Pierce Transit, Seattle Monorail and Washington State Ferries.

On September 13, the Regional Council's Transportation Policy Board will receive a summary of all public comments on the proposed amendment, and will take action on a recommendation to the Executive Board. The Executive Board will meet on September 27 to take final action on the amendment.

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 receives about $100 million in federal transportation funds each year and coordinates, sets priorities, and evaluates the most efficient ways to target those funds to support state and local transportation and growth management plans.