August 10, 2000
Transportation Policy Board Business MeetingCouncilmember Richard McIver, Chair
Review and Release Draft 2001-2004 Regional Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) for Public Review
The Transportation Policy Board released the Draft 2001-2004 Regional Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) for public review.
Following Councilmember McIver's introduction to this action item, Karen Richter, Regional Council, presented a summary of the processes employed in developing the TIP and the next steps to be taken in the review and final approval process.
Earlier this year the Regional Council was at risk of losing federal funds to other regions and states due to delays caused by the Endangered Species listing for the central Puget Sound and by passage of I-695.
The Regional Council took action to reallocate $110 million of the region's Surface Transportation Program (STP) funds from delayed projects to projects that would be ready to go if funding were available.
Since that time the Regional Project Evaluation Committee (RPEC), Regional Council staff and each of the counties, through countywide forums, have been working to rebalance the TIP to equal the amount of federal funds available on an annual basis.
At its June 8 meeting the Policy Board approved extending the TIP through 2004 to achieve rebalancing and avoid removing delayed projects from the TIP. Taking this action allows all projects to remain in the TIP; however, projects delayed until 2004 cannot access funding until TEA-21 is reauthorized in 2003/2004.
Policy Board action also approved using $15.1 million of the region's 2003 Congestion Mitigation & Air Quality (CMAQ) allocation to allow CMAQ-eligible STP projects to move forward prior to 2004. Regional Council staff is working with staff from Sound Transit, the State Department of Transportation, the Freight Mobility Strategic Investment Board and Transportation Improvement Board on additional strategies to help STP-funded projects move forward before 2004 if they are able to do so.
The Draft 2001-2004 TIP includes projects funded through the state's funding sources (state and federal) and locally funded projects of regional significance.
All projects included in the 2001-2004 TIP have been regionally modeled for air quality conformity, and a positive air quality conformity finding has been made. No new regionally managed federal funds are available for programming at this time; therefore, no new regionally funded projects are included in the Draft 2001-2004 TIP. The public comment period begins August 10 and continues through September 14, 2000.
At the September 14, 2000, Transportation Policy Board meeting, board members will receive a summary of the public comments for their consideration. Following this step, they will make a recommendation of the final TIP to the Executive Board for its approval and submittal to the State.
It was noted that one project included in the Draft 2001-2004 TIP, the second SR-16/Narrows Bridge, has not yet received Executive Board approval to move from "Candidate" to "Approved" status in the Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP).
Projects must have an "Approved" status in the MTP to be included as a "Candidate" in the final TIP. This project was included as a "Candidate" by the Washington State DOT in the MTP during the project's early planning stages, before a final alternative was known and could be reviewed for consistency with the MTP. A final alternative has since been selected and the Policy Board will consider taking action to recommend changing the project's status to "Approved" at the September 14 meeting, subject to a positive finding of consistency with the MTP and its policies.
Staff is reviewing input and comments from Kitsap and Pierce counties to help make this determination of consistency prior to recommending Transportation Policy Board and Executive Board approval of the 2001-2004 Regional TIP in September.
For further information on this item, please contact Karen Richter at (206) 464-6343 or krichter@psrc.org.
Joint Meeting of the
Transportation and Growth Management Policy Boards
Commissioner Charlotte Garrido, Chair, Growth Management Policy Board
Councilmember Richard McIver, Chair, Transportation Policy Board
On August 10, the Transportation and Growth Management Policy Boards authorized release of the 2001 Draft Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP) Alternatives Analysis and Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) document.
The action taken by the joint Policy Boards authorizes release of the document for public review, comment, and discussion for consideration of the strategies, options, programs, and projects described in the document. It was stressed that the Boards' action did not endorse a specific alternative.
The draft analysis of MTP alternatives was prepared to help focus public discussion of a wide range of options which could be considered to improve the region's transportation system through the year 2030. The three MTP alternatives for environmental analysis include:
The options are defined and analyzed in considerable detail in the draft alternatives analysis document.
The document is a primary tool to assist the public and region's policy makers in developing a "preferred alternative" to recommend for adoption as the 2001 MTP in March 2001.
After the completion of the public review process in October, Regional Council staff will work with all feedback received on the Draft MTP Alternatives and Draft EIS, and begin crafting a preferred alternative with the Policy Boards in November and December that will become the draft MTP to be released in December 2000. The MTP update is scheduled for action by the General Assembly in March 2001.
There is a short-term strategy to take the most "ready-to-go" high priority regional projects from the MTP work and begin moving them forward in 2001. Later this year the Regional Council will finalize the region's "Six-Year Action Strategy" and communicate that strategy to the State Legislature. The "Action Strategy" will include priority investments identified by the state, and by cities, counties and transit agencies within the region. The "Action Strategy" represents regional agreement on the first tangible steps required to implement the updated Metropolitan Transportation Plan.
For a copy of the Summary of the 2001 Draft Metropolitan Transportation Plan Alternatives, contact the Regional Council's Information Center, (206) 464-7532.
For more information about the 2001 MTP Update, contact Ralph Cipriani, MTP Manager, (206) 464-7122 , e-mail rcipriani@psrc.org, or Norman Abbott, SEPA Officer, (206) 464-7134, e-mail nabbott@psrc.org.