The following terms are defined according to their intended use in this document.

Accessibility: A measure of the ability or ease of all people to travel among various origins and destinations.

Benchmark indicator: Key performance indicators for which quantifiable or directional targets may be set.

Benchmark objectives: Key objectives the region hopes to achieve through implementation of VISION 2020.

Benchmark target: A numerical goal or stated direction to be achieved that reflects the policy commitments of VISION 2020.

Centers: Compact, well-defined areas to which a mix of higher density growth or intensive land uses will be directed, connected and served by an efficient, transit-oriented, multi-modal transportation system.

Clean Air Act (CAA): The federal Clean Air Act identifies ̉mobile sources" (vehicles) as primary sources of pollution and calls for stringent new requirements in metropolitan areas and states where attainment of federal air quality standards is or could be a problem. A complementary law exists at the state level in Washington State, entitled the Clean Air Washington Act.

Clustering: Locating and organizing residential housing closer together at greater densities, to indefinitely protect and conserve open space, resource lands and environmentally critical areas.

Commuter rail service: Short-haul rail passenger service operated within metropolitan and suburban areas.

Compact communities: Urban locations outside of centers which offer transportation, housing and shopping choices that reduce the need for automobile travel and support an efficient development pattern.

Congestion: A condition which does not permit movement on a transportation facility at optimal legal speeds. Characterized by unstable traffic flows. Recurrent congestion is caused by excess volume capacity. Nonrecurring congestion is caused by actions such as special events and/or traffic accidents.

Congestion Management System (CMS): A federally mandated program directed at specific urbanized areas to provide for programs to reduce traffic congestion.

Consistency: Guidance concerning the term consistency is provided by WAC Chapter 365-195: "In general, the phrase 'not incompatible with' conveys the meaning of 'consistency' most suited to preserving flexibility for local variations.

Executive Board: The managerial and administrative body of the Puget Sound Regional Council. Members of the Executive Board are appointed by their General Assembly constituents to represent the member governments.

General Assembly: The governing body of the Puget Sound Regional Council, composed of all members including elected officials from the executive and legislative branches of member cities, towns and counties and representatives of statutory members.

Growth Management Act (GMA): State legislation passed in April 1990 which changed land-use planning in the State of Washington to provide for better growth management and transportation planning. The Act requires that local governments in fast growing and densely populated areas develop and adopt comprehensive plans. In 1991 the GMA was amended to further define requirements and to establish a framework for coordination among local governments through countywide and multicounty planning policies (RCW 36.70A).

High capacity transit: Transit systems operating, in whole or part, on a fixed guideway, dedicated right-of-way or freeway/express facility, designed to carry a large number of riders at higher speeds than conventional transit. Examples include express bus on HOV lanes, passenger ferry service, and light and heavy rail systems.

High-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane: Lanes on a highway or freeway which are restricted for use by vehicles carrying two or more passengers with the exception of motorcycles.

Implementation monitoring: Tracking actions considered key to the implementation of VISION 2020, e.g. refinement of the regional transportation plan, adoption or amendment of comprehensive plans, and investment in transportation programs

Intermodal: Accommodation or interconnection between different modes of transportation, both public and private, serving the movement of people and goods.

Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA): ISTEA is a federal law, enacted in 1991, that reauthorizes federal statutes on planning and funding for roadways and transit projects. ISTEA made broad changes in the manner that transportation decisions are made. It emphasizes diversity and balance of modes, and preservation of existing systems over construction of new facilities, especially roads. It adds a series of social, environmental, and energy factors that must be considered in addition to traditional considerations for transportation planning, programming, and project selection.

Jurisdiction: Includes counties and cities. As appropriate, the term "jurisdiction" also includes federal and state agencies and federally recognized tribes.

Measurable objectives: Objectives intended to demonstrate what the region hopes to achieve in implementing VISION 2020, and from which quantifiable performance indicators can be derived.

Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP): A detailed, long-range plan for future investments in the central Puget Sound region's regional transportation system, including roads, transit, marine (state ferries), freight and goods, non-motorized transportation and aviation. The MTP is the detailed transportation component of VISION 2020. The MTP responds to federal and state mandates contained in ISTEA, the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, and the Washington state Growth Management Act. For state planning purposes, the MTP is the region's Regional Transportation Plan.

Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO): The agency designated by the United States Department of Transportation and the governor, for each urban region in the nation, responsible for cooperating with the state and local elected officials to ensure that transportation planning is conducted through a "continuous, cooperative, and comprehensive" ("3-C") process. The process is stipulated in federal law.

Mode: A particular form of travel (e.g., walking, bicycling, traveling by automobile, traveling by bus or traveling by train).

Mode split: The proportion of total person-trips using various modes of transportation.

Multimodal: Concerning or involving more than one transportation mode.

Multiplier: Multipliers account for the direct and indirect economic effects of employee earnings, purchases of goods and services, tax payments, and payments of principal and interest for a particular business sector of the economy. The impact of these effects on overall employment in the regional economy are referred to as the "multiplier" of a particular employment sector.

Nonmotorized: Generally referring to bicycle, pedestrian and other modes of transportation not involving a motor vehicle.

Performance indicator: The set of evidence that shows progress toward, movement away from, or static state in policy implementation or policy achievement.

Performance monitoring: A process of comparing actual performance against policies set by the planning process. It includes conducting the data collection and calculation procedures, and reporting the results on a specified regular and ongoing basis.

Region: Refers to the central Puget Sound region, including King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties and the cities within those counties.

Regional Transportation Improvement Program (TIP): The 3-year, specific multimodal program of regional transportation improvements for highways, transit and other modes. The TIP consists of projects drawn from the Metropolitan Transportation Plan as well as local plans and programs. The projects are directed at improving the overall efficiency and people-moving capabilities of the existing transportation system.

Regional Transportation Planning Organization (RTPO): An agency authorized under state law to develop and adopt a regional transportation plan, and to certify that the transportation elements of local comprehensive plans conform to requirements of state law and are consistent with the regional transportation plan.

In urbanized areas, the RTPO is the same as the MPO. (See also MPO)

Regionally significant transportation project: As defined by state law, such a project exhibits one or more of the following characteristics: 1) the project crosses boundaries of member jurisdictions; 2) the project is or will be used by a significant number of people who live or work outside the county in which the project is located; 3) significant impacts from the project are expected to be felt in more than one county; 4) potentially adverse impacts of the project can be better avoided or mitigated through adherence to regional policies; 5) transportation needs addressed by the project have been identified by the regional transportation planning process and the remedy is deemed to have regional significance.

Rural cottage industries: Rural cottage industries are small scale industrial (manufacturing), commercial and business uses that occur in rural areas and are operated in a dwelling or on the property where the residence is the primary use. Such uses are primarily dependent on local resources and raw materials for regional and local markets.

Examples of cottage industries, include: agriculture and forest-based products, such as, processed agriculture products (honey and jams), nurseries, and tree farms; value-added wood products (carvings and furniture); sculpturing, textile, and other home crafts; and tourism and recreation uses, such as, outdoor guide services.

Sustainable development: Also referred to as "sustainable communities" implies that growth and development occur in a manner that does not degrade and is balanced with the preservation and management of the natural environment and resources, and is supported by physical infrastructure and financial resources. Sustainable communities function within physical and biological limits of the environment, and support long-term use and reuse of natural resources.

Telecommunications: The conveyance of information by electronic means. Examples include the telephone, interactive cable facilities, computer networks and video conference centers. Its importance to transportation is that it may eliminate or shorten vehicle trips.

Transportation demand management: The concept of managing or reducing travel demand rather than increasing the supply of transportation facilities. It may include programs to shift demand from single-occupant vehicles to other modes such as transit and ridesharing, to shift demand to off-peak periods, or to eliminate demand for some trips.

Transportation system management: Increasing flow of travel on existing facilities through improvements such as ramp metering, signal synchronization, and removal of on-street parking, among others. Improvements typically have a low capital cost, do not call for major construction and can be implemented in a relatively short time frame.

Urban growth areas (UGAs): Those areas designated by counties pursuant to RCW 36.70A.110 (State of Washington Growth Management Act) to accommodate 20-year growth projections. As generally defined in state law, such areas are those within which urban growth shall be encouraged and outside of which growth can occur only if it is not urban in nature.

Urbanized area: An area defined by the U.S. Census Bureau according to the specific criteria designed to include the entire densely-settled area around each large city. An urbanized area must have a minimum population of 50,000 persons at a density of 1,000 persons per square mile.

Urban transportation corridor: A special type of transportation arterial distinguished by its potential to support centers or compact communities through redevelopment that is transit- and pedestrian-oriented. These corridors are located near significant concentrations of residences or employment and have the opportunity to support frequent transit service and increased pedestrian activity.

Vehicle miles traveled (VMT): On highways, a measurement of the total miles traveled by all vehicles in the area for a specified time period. It is calculated by the number of vehicles times the miles traveled in a given area or on a given highway during the time period. In transit, the number of vehicle miles operated on a given route or line or network during a specified time period.

<< Back        Next >>