April 13, 2000
Transportation Policy Board Business Meeting
9 - 10 a.m.
Councilmember Richard McIver, Chair
Councilmember Dave Earling, Vice Chair

As a follow up to its March 9 meeting, the Policy Board received a briefing on the balance of other transportation projects which had competed but not been selected for the second $40 million round of reallocated federal funds. Ms. Karen Richter noted that all projects submitted from countywide groups had great merit but the total project funding requests exceeded more than twice the potential amount available. She explained the criteria (provided in the Policy Board's agenda packet) that were used to help narrow the field of projects to meet the targeted funding. Ms. Karen Richter explained that the region has done very well in helping the State meet federal funding obligation targets, so it now appears that no funds will be lost to the region or the state. She introduced and called upon Secretary Sid Morrison to provide an update on the status of federal project obligations statewide. Secretary Morrison commended the region and the Regional Council for so rapidly responding to what, in the face of I-695 funding shortfalls, could have been a serious problem for Washington State. He also provided Board members with a handout showing how, as of April 10, the Puget Sound and other regions around the state have done so well in meeting federal obligation authority for Surface Transportation Program (STP) funding that there is now only about $16 million STP obligation authority remaining statewide for Federal Fiscal Year 2000 (FFY2000). Secretary Morrison noted that almost all of the first $110 million in projects had been or will shortly be obligated.

After a number of questions and discussion among Board members about what this might mean for the second $40 million round of projects approved for reallocated federal STP funds last month, it became clear that there would now not be enough funding for all of them in FFY 2000. The staff provided an additional handout to Policy Board members containing language from the Executive Board approval on the second list of $40 million in projects, noting that approval action of projects was conditioned upon funding being available in FFY2000. The Policy Board passed a motion reaffirming its intent to seek priority funding out of FFY2000 funds for the second list of $40 million in reallocated projects. A clarification on this motion by the Board expressed the intent to maintain the original roughly 50/50 split of projects between "Bus Capital" and "Other" transportation projects. It was further noted that this motion includes having the region work with the WSDOT to seek an opportunity to get funding for that second list of projects from any "leftover" federal funds that the state may gain access to in August from unobligated FFY2000 transportation funds from other states. For further information on this item, please contact Karen Richter at (206) 464-6343 or krichter@psrc.org.

Briefing on status of SR-167 Freeway Extension in Pierce County

Mr. Pete Beaulieu, Regional Council staff, provided the Board with a brief update on the status of the two-tiered environmental impact study currently being conducted by WSDOT for the proposed SR-167 freeway extension in Pierce County. This has long been a top priority project for the Pierce County area and the conclusion of the first tier analysis proposed a new six mile, six-lane (2 HOV) freeway project extending from the current freeway terminus of SR-167 (at SR?161 just north of Puyallup) northwesterly across I-5 and terminating at SR-509 in the Port of Tacoma (to be an improved East-West freeway in the Port). The continuation of this environmental study has recently been funded through the Regional Council's action on reallocation of federal TIP funding. Mr. Beaulieu noted that the project has a history going back several decades, and that the most recent cost estimate for the proposed project comes to over $250 million, without including the completion of the two HOV lanes which are proposed to be developed at a later date "when warranted." For further information, please contact Pete Beaulieu at (206) 464-7537 or pbeaulieu@psrc.org.

Joint Meeting of Transportation and Growth Management Policy Boards

10:00 AM - 12:00 Noon
Councilmember Richard McIver, Chair, TPB
Councilmember Karen Biskey, Chair, GMBP

2001 Metropolitan Transportation Plan Update

Financial Forecasts and Assumptions

A staff briefing generated much discussion and interest among Board Members regarding the financial planning and forecasting work underway as part of the 2001 Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP) update.

As the MTP is being updated to 2030, the financial component is being updated to reflect recent changes in funding and other factors that influence regional financial capacity. Since 1995, the Regional Council has assembled an extensive database of funding sources for local transportation providers, and has updated its regional economic forecasts.

One of the objectives of the 2001 update of the MTP and its financial component is to ensure that the region's long-range financial strategy remains valid and reflects the most current information available. Federal regulations require the financial element of the MTP to clearly identify how existing and specifically recommended new revenue sources can reasonably assure implementation of the entire MTP.

An important part of the financial component for the 2001 MTP will be principles to guide the development of financial strategies, revenue sources, and implementation actions.

The Board provided much input on the guiding principles listed below. These guiding principles build on planning efforts undertaken since the adoption of the 1995 MTP and are proposed to guide the development of the 2001 MTP financial component:

• Additional revenues must address local, regional and state comprehensive plan needs. Financial solutions need to relate to a full range of transportation needs and not merely address a single
• New revenues must bear a relationship to system cost and system use. Transportation has a history of use-based financing but has strayed from such over the past several decades. Use-based financing ensures that investments can efficiently respond to demand, improve funding predictability, and be more equitable.
• The financial structure should support multi-modal mobility. The finance structure should support multi-modal investments that improve the availability of mobility options where and when they are needed.
• System financing must be sustainable. Predictability over time is a critical element of a sound financial plan. Our region must be confident that our transportation financing tools will not be eroded from one year to the next and that existing systems can have predictable dedicated resources for basic maintenance and preservation needs.
• New financing tools or changes to the financing structure should strive to simplify and add flexibility to the overall structure. The transportation finance structure is immensely complex, fragmented, and restrictive. It is almost impossible to explain the current convoluted process to the public to enable greater accountability. Changes to this system should improve the understandability and responsiveness of our finance mechanisms.

Growth Strategies Analytical Work for MTP Update

Staff provided a briefing on the results of several analytical tasks being directed by the Growth Management Policy Board. The tasks focus on three geographical areas: (1) designated urban centers, (2) areas of concentrated development, and (3) station areas. Staff provided information and maps to describe highlights from the following reports:

• Growth Context Paper, provides a framework for addressing land use and growth management issues that affect transportation systems planning in the central Puget Sound region;
• Concentrated Urban Development in the Central Puget Sound Region, describes the Regional Council's investigative work on centers, "suburban clusters," and station areas;
• Summary of Centers-Related Policies; and
• Summary of Small Group Discussions with Local Staff.

Regional Council staff has taken the findings and conclusions from this analytical work and is now developing selected growth strategies initiatives that could be incorporated into the 2001 MTP Update. A workshop with the Regional Staff Committee on these initiatives is scheduled for April 26^th. The Growth Management Policy Board will work through these initiatives at their May and June meetings.

For more information contact Rocky Piro at (206) 464-6360 or rpiro@psrc.org. For copies of any of the reports listed above, contact the Regional Council's Information Center at (206) 464-7532 or infoctr@psrc.org.

Growth Management Policy Board Tour of South King/North Pierce Counties, May 11, 2000