March 2004 [pdf version]
| Table of Contents |
| PSRC to Launch 2004 Funding Competition |
The Regional Council is about to launch competition for roughly $125 million in federal transportation funds. Over the next several months, state and local projects will compete under policies approved by the PSRC's Executive Board in February. The policies are intended to fund improvements identified in the region's long-range transportation plan, Destination 2030.
A large share of the PSRC funding will be targeted to projects that support the region's urban growth and manufacturing centers and the transportation systems that connect them -- a key Destination 2030 priority. There are two new PSRC Funding programs in 2004: one designed to better tackle rural transportation needs through a $2 million pilot program and a new $46 million regional competition for transit funds.
Competition for funding is expected to be intense in 2004. Local governments are feeling the strain of economic slump and initiatives that have seriously eroded city and county transportation accounts. Despite the substantial influx of funds approved by the state legislature in 2003, state highway planners also face severe funding shortfalls.
"We've had quite a debate about how to divide the money before we even know what the projects are," said PSRC President Richard McIver. "What that tells me is that these funds are vitally important to communities throughout our region. Our goal will be to find the projects where these dollars will provide the most benefits."
The STP/CMAQ Competition
An estimated $78 million is available. These are federal surface transportation program (STP) and congestion mitigation/air quality (CMAQ) funds. Under the 2004 PSRC policies, half of these funds will be subject to region-wide competition. The other half will be divided among the region's sub-areas for more localized countywide competition. Most any type of transportation project is eligible for STP funding. Eligibility for CMAQ funding is limited to projects with a demonstrated air quality benefit.
The Regional Transit Competition
Of an estimated $240 million in Federal Transit Administration funds about to be available via the PSRC, roughly $46 million will be subject to a region-wide competition among eligible transit agencies. This is a new competition. It applies to all the transit agencies within what's called the Seattle, Tacoma and Everett urbanized area (UZA).
The Rural Pilot
Rural roadways all over the region, and the communities they support, face unique challenges with growth. The new Rural Town Centers and Corridors Program is a cooperative effort between PSRC and the state transportation department to better address rural needs. The pilot is funded at $2 million to administer and fund projects identified through the program in a process that will commence after the two big 2004 competitions are complete.
Next Steps
The PSRC will announce the start of 2004 project competitions in Mid-March. Projects will undergo a rigorous technical evaluation. The PSRC funded projects will be included within the Regional Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), which will be modeled to assure that it meets the region's air quality requirements, and released for public comment in September. The Executive Board is expected to take final action in October.
PSRC Funding Workshops*
Four workshops have been scheduled to help projects sponsors learn more about federal transportation funding available via the PSRC.
Pierce County: March 29th  10 - 11:30am Pierce County Annex Building Conference Room A2401 South 35th Street Tacoma |
Snohomish County: April 9th 12 noon - 1:30 pm Everett Transportation Office Transit Training Room, 2nd Floor 3225 Cedar Everett |
| King County: April 2nd 9:30am - 12:15pm Puget Sound Regional Council Boardroom 1011 Western Avenue, Suite 500 Seattle |
Kitsap County: April 15th 3:30 - 5 pm Silverdale Community Center A-Frame, in back of main building 9729 Silverdale Way NW Silverdale |
| *The King County workshop will cover the same information on the regional STP/CMAQ funds as provided at the other three workshops. In addition, the King County workshop will also provides an in-depth review of the competitive process to be conducted for the Seattle-Tacoma-Everett (STE) Urbanized Area FTA funds. The STE UZA process will be summarized at the other three workshops. | |
Economic Development Funding Secured
John Wiedmann, Director of Distribution for Safeway's Seattle Division, Mayor Pete Lewis, City of Auburn, and Greg Sparks, President of Safeway's Seattle Division accept a $2 million check from the Economic Development Administration for the City of Auburn's "C" and 15th Street Improvements. The region's Economic Development District (EDD) selected the project for EDA funding, which was approved by congress. The City of Auburn and the Safeway Corporation are providing the matching funds to complete the project. The improvements will support truck traffic on the roadway, enabling Safeway to site their new 100 acre distribution center on "C" Street.
The PSRC supports the work of the region's EDD through a merger that took effect in 2003. The EDD's Annual Meeting will take place on March 23, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the PSRC Boardroom. In addition to the election of officers and chair appointments, the Annual Meeting will include a goal setting discussion facilitated by David Harrison, Senior Lecturer at the University of Washington's Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs.
 NewsThe draft Destination 2030 Review and Progress Report is now available on the PSRC Web site. The Progress Report is a three-year review of the region's long-range transportation plan and will cover the status of planning activities, projects and financing. The Progress Report will be discussed at the March and April meetings of the Transportation Policy Board and is scheduled to be adopted by the Executive Board on April 22, 2004. Comments are welcome and can be directed to Kathleen McMullen at (206) 464-6172 or kmcmullen@psrc.org. |
Yakima Valley Says "Thank You"
Local governments in the Yakima Valley will be getting federal funding for transportation projects this year, thanks in part to some timely assistance from technical talent at the PSRC.
Last November the Yakima Valley Council of Governments found it impossible to demonstrate federal air quality conformity requirements when its sole modeler was out of the area -- a situation that would have essentially halted federal funding for local projects in 2004.
YVCOG called on PSRC for assistance. The PSRC's Larry Blain was soon on a plane to Yakima. Blain spent the day with YVCOG's senior staff preparing data, running the model, and composing technical documents to successfully meet the federal requirement.
YVCOG's January newsletter tells the story best, and concludes: "this incident demonstrates the importance of interregional cooperation. On behalf of its member jurisdictions, the YVCOG extends a heartfelt "Thank you!" to PSRC for its assistance.
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| Commuting to the Region's Downtown Areas |
The Census Transportation Planning Package (CTPP) summarizes data collected by the Census in response to questions such as "At what location did you work last week?" and "How did you usually get to work last week?" Part 2 of the CTPP aggregates the data according to the locations at which workers reported that they worked. By focusing on central business districts (CBDs), we can look back to 1980 for comparisons. Due to changes in Census geography the boundaries don't match exactly over the years, but they are close enough to allow reasonable comparisons of mode shares.
A higher percentage of workers in central business districts (CBDs) are now commuting by transit than in 1990, but often not at rates as high as in 1980. Seattle CBD, Denny Regrade, and Bellevue have the highest percentages of people commuting by transit. Denny Regrade, Bellevue CBD, and Overlake have seen increases in the percentage of transit users since 1980.
Walking to work has increased significantly in Seattle CBD, Denny Regrade, Overlake, and Redmond CBD, but the share of walkers has declined elsewhere. Walking to work in Bellevue is up from 1990, but down from its peak in 1980. The share of driving alone to CBDs has generally declined, and car-pooling has shown little change. The share of motorcycle riders, always small, has decreased steadily. And the share of ferry riders to Seattle CBD and Denny Regrade has nearly doubled.
Overall, alternative modes are popular in the central Puget Sound region, accounting for at least 20% of commutes to downtown areas. At almost 60%, downtown Seattle has the highest percentage of people not arriving to work as the sole occupant of a car, followed by Denny Regrade at 50%, and downtown Bremerton at 40%.
Part 3 of the CTPP, which shows the flows between residences and work locations, is expected to be released around the end of March 2004. If you have further questions about these data, contact Larry Blain at 206-464-5402 or lblain@psrc.org.
| Drive Alone | Carpool |
Transit | Motor- cycle | Bike | Walk | Ferry* | Other | Work at Home | ||
| Seattle CBD | ||||||||||
| 1980 | 35.7% | 16.6% | 43.7% | 0.4% | 0.3% | 2.9% | N/A | 0.3% | 0.1% | |
| 1990 | 45.5% | 13.7% | 34.3% | 0.3% | 0.8% | 2.9% | 1.9% | 0.4% | 0.1% | |
| 2000 | 40.9% | 13.3% | 36.9% | 0.3% | 1.0% | 3.9% | 3.1% | 0.4% | 0.1% | |
| Bellevue CBD | ||||||||||
| 1980 | 78.6% | 13.8% | 4.7% | 0.3% | 0.1% | 2.2% | N/A | 0.3% | 0.0% | |
| 1990 | 82.2% | 11.5% | 5.1% | 0.2% | 0.0% | 0.4% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.0% | |
| 2000 | 76.9% | 12.7% | 8.0% | 0.1% | 0.3% | 1.5% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 0.1% | |
| Everett CBD | ||||||||||
| 1980 | 70.4% | 18.5% | 4.3% | 0.7% | 0.4% | 4.6% | N/A | 0.6% | 0.6% | |
| 1990 | 83.7% | 10.0% | 2.3% | 0.4% | 0.2% | 2.4% | 0.2% | 0.5% | 0.3% | |
| 2000 | 79.9% | 14.0% | 2.6% | 0.1% | 0.4% | 1.7% | 0.2% | 0.4% | 0.7% | |
| Tacoma CBD | ||||||||||
| 1980 | 73.8% | 16.6% | 6.0% | 0.8% | 0.4% | 1.6% | N/A | 0.4% | 0.5% | |
| 1990 | 80.9% | 12.2% | 3.4% | 0.4% | 0.3% | 2.0% | 0.0% | 0.3% | 0.5% | |
| 2000 | 81.9% | 12.1% | 3.4% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 1.3% | 0.0% | 0.5% | 0.4% | |
| Bremerton CBD | ||||||||||
| 1980 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
| 1990 | 44.7% | 23.4% | 7.8% | 1.0% | 1.4% | 6.4% | 3.3% | 0.6% | 11.4% | |
| 2000 | 59.4% | 23.4% | 5.2% | 0.5% | 0.7% | 6.6% | 1.5% | 1.4% | 1.2% | |
| Denny Regrade | ||||||||||
| 1980 | 55.6% | 19.1% | 20.0% | 0.7% | 0.2% | 3.4% | N/A | 0.5% | 0.3% | |
| 1990 | 56.2% | 15.6% | 20.5% | 0.4% | 1.0% | 4.1% | 1.0% | 0.7% | 0.7% | |
| 2000 | 50.4% | 14.1% | 24.8% | 0.3% | 1.1% | 5.7% | 2.1% | 0.6% | 1.0% | |
| Overlake | ||||||||||
| 1980 | 77.0% | 15.2% | 1.1% | 1.8% | 0.8% | 1.6% | N/A | 0.4% | 2.0% | |
| 1990 | 83.6% | 11.4% | 2.1% | 0.5% | 0.2% | 0.9% | 0.0% | 0.3% | 0.9% | |
| 2000 | 77.7% | 14.4% | 3.9% | 0.3% | 0.8% | 1.6% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 1.0% | |
| Redmond CBD | ||||||||||
| 1980 | 74.5% | 15.5% | 3.2% | 2.5% | 0.3% | 1.8% | N/A | 0.8% | 1.4% | |
| 1990 | 85.9% | 8.1% | 1.3% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 1.3% | 0.0% | 0.4% | 2.5% | |
| 2000 | 80.6% | 12.3% | 1.7% | 0.3% | 0.6% | 1.9% | 0.1% | 0.3% | 2.2% | |
| * "Ferry" included on "Other" in 1980. | ||||||||||
Note: We have updated employment numbers for the City of North Bend. February's Trend has been updated accordingly and is available online at psrc.org or from the Information Center at (206) 464-7532, infoctr@psrc.org.
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| 206-464-7532 - FAX 206-587-4825 - infoctr@psrc.org |
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