Puget Sound Regional Council - Transportation Policy Board Minutes, October 12, 2000

POLICY BOARD MEETING HIGHLIGHTS

October 12, 2000

Transportation Policy Board

Councilmember Richard J. McIver, Chair
Councilmember Dave Earling, Vice Chair

Councilmember Richard McIver chaired the meeting which was held in the Puget Sound Regional Council's Fifth Floor Boardroom beginning at 9:30 a.m.

Remembrance of Wally Toner

Councilmember McIver took a minute to share the sad news about the passing of Wally Toner. Wally had been involved in the community education efforts of the Regional Council through APCO Consultants. Chairman McIver noted that Wally's wonderful ability to communicate and his warm personality will be missed by the many who knew him.

Discussion on the Development of a Preferred Alternative for the DESTINATION 2030 Plan (2001 MTP Update)

Related to the process for the update of the MTP, a citizen presented comments and a letter to the Policy Board raising questions about the agency's proposed approach to state-mandated least-cost planning for the regional plan update. This formal analysis of least-cost planning is a new state requirement and has yet to be applied any place in the United States for a transportation planning effort. Staff has just completed this analysis and will work with the agency's legal counsel to review the adequacy of the analysis as well as to consider the request to extend the public comment period solely to enable public review of this least-cost planning analysis as an additional technical appendix to the MTP Alternatives Analysis.

Working to craft a preferred draft Destination 2030 plan to recommend to the Executive Board at the Joint Policy Board's Dec. 14 meeting, the members of the Policy Board initiated this process by concurring on foundation elements for development of the Destination 2030 plan. These are:

Support current regional growth & transportation strategy (VISION 2020)
Support local growth management plans
Support 1995 MTP policies
Meet federal & state Clean Air Act requirements

Comply with financial feasibility requirements

Supporting these foundations are an extensive number of currently planned, publicly endorsed transportation investments. There was further discussion and questions in reviewing many of these project investments. A commitment to existing program investment categories was reaffirmed by Board Members. These program categories include:

Maintenance & preservation of current transportation system
Freeway and arterial HOV completion
Sound Transit Phase I and Future Phases/Vision Plan
Completion of freeway network missing links
Maintain existing ferry system
Implement the Washington State Ferry System Plan
Complete arterial network missing links (from GMA plans)
Restore local transit systems to 1998 levels
Freight access system improvements
Non-motorized (pedestrian and bicycle) network development
Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS); such as freeway ramp metering, electronic monitoring and surveillance
"Full-time" (24/7) HOV operation and speed/reliability/ occupancy policies
"Smart Cards" for all transit systems

Workshop Schedule for the Development of the final Destination 2030 Plan

A calendar was given to Board members indicating additional workshop dates for continued work on development of the Destination 2030 Plan. Thursday, November 30, 8:00 a.m.-12:00 noon, will be an additional workshop date. In early January, the Executive Board will join with the Policy Boards for a work session to review the Plan. On January 25, 2001, the Executive Board will meet with the Policy Boards to discuss any refinements to the Destination 2030 Plan. At the February 22, 2001, Executive Board meeting, the final Destination 2030 Plan, if it is approved, will be sent to the General Assembly for their approval during the last week of March 2001.

Notice of Smart Growth Conference in Kitsap County, November 28, 2000

Councilmember McIver drew attention to the upcoming Regional Conference on "Smart Growth in Puget Sound" which takes place in Bremerton at the Admiral Theater, November 28, 2000, 1:30 - 8:30 p.m.. Governor Parris Glendenning of Maryland is the guest speaker. Governor Glendenning is a founder of "Smart Growth" concepts. Other presenters include Peter Calthorpe, FAIA, the lead planner for the Port Blakely project; and Gary Garzynski, Vice President of the National Association of Home Builders, an authority on the developer perspective on Smart Growth.

Next Policy Board Meeting

The next regular meeting of the Transportation Policy Board will be a meeting jointly held with the Growth Management Policy Board on Thursday, November 9, 2000, from 9:00 until 12:00 noon. For further information on any of these topics, contact King Cushman at (206) 464-6174 or kcushman@psrc.org.