• Public Interest Study of Eastside Rail Corridor
• High Capacity Transit Study to Assist Sound Transit is Nearly Complete
• Public Works Program Funding Competition
• Puget Sound Trends: Ferry Ridership Continues Decline, Rebound May Be In Sight
• Back Issues

PSRC has formed an ad hoc committee to oversee a public interest study in the 40 mile rail corridor that stretches from Renton to Snohomish, currently being used by a couple of short freight trains each day and the Spirit of Washington Dinner Train. Tukwila Councilmember Pam Carter, the chair of the committee, introduced the subject at the committee's first meeting on May 6, saying "This is a unique opportunity that the railroad has approached the region with, and we need to be sure that the interests and concerns of local communities along the corridor are carefully considered in making any recommendations about corridor preservation."

Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) approached the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) with the intent to sell the underutilized line. WSDOT asked PSRC to help determine the level of regional interest in preserving the corridor for regional transportation purposes. This initial study is limited to identifying the public interest. Further study is needed to look at possible uses, funding sources, and other implementation details.

Transportation Policy Board representatives have already weighed in on the topic. "I think it's one of the most exciting opportunities that has come to this region," says Sumner Councilmember David Enslow, "I hope that we can proceed with this and talk about what to do with it sometime later. Just getting this corridor into the public hands would be a huge benefit to the region."

The ad hoc committee was formed by the PSRC to ensure that all communities along the corridor are represented and to look at the broad range of public interests and needs. The corridor traverses very diverse landscapes, from highly developed urban residential, commercial and industrial properties to very rural farmlands and wildlife refuge areas.

Given the positive initial interest in corridor preservation expressed by staff and elected officials from communities all along the corridor, the PSRC is working with WSDOT to submit an application for financing additional implementation studies from the region's various competitive federal funding competitions. The Transportation Policy Board will consider the ad hoc committee's corridor recommendation and provide guidance on the grant application at its June 10 meeting.

For more information, contact King Cushman at 206-464-6174 or kcushman@psrc.org.

High Capacity Transit Study to Assist Sound Transit is Nearly Complete

PSRC is in the last stages of completing five tasks to assist Sound Transit in the update of the region's long range High Capacity Transit (HCT) planning. The tasks are to analyze relevant data to identify geographic areas most supportive of future high capacity transit extensions, analyze corridors to determine appropriate operating characteristics of potential extensions, conduct a survey of transit technologies, convene an independent technology review committee to evaluate the identified potential corridors and technologies, and prepare a report on the economic development impacts of the HCT extensions. The scope of work is limited to HCT, but the study will be integrated with corridor studies underway as well as future updates to the region's multimodal plans.

The first four tasks are complete. The analysis was presented to an Independent Review Committee from the American Public Transit Association in Mid-March. Comments from the committee addressed the need for seamless transition between transit systems and in some cases it was pointed out that identified capacity needs were greater than some technologies could provide. The analysis and comments from the review committee will be incorporated into the Corridors and Technology Assessment Workbook, which will be finalized and available on the PSRC Website this summer. The last step is to review the economic issues related to high capacity transit corridors, including land use influences, community response, and the best practices of this kind of development.

For more information, contact Kathleen McMullen at 206-464-6172 or kmcmullen@psrc.org.

The Economic Development District (EDD) is currently accepting applications to compete for federal Economic Development Administration (EDA) public works funding. The application deadline is noon, Monday, June 14, 2004. The EDD Board will select the top projects at their July 14 meeting.

Each year projects are submitted to the EDD for ranking and the top projects are then submitted to the EDA. Ten projects have received a total of $17 million in EDA funding in the last decade. The rankings are also provided to the region's Congressional delegation for their use in prioritizing regional projects to fund. High rankings can also be used to leverage funding from other sources.

The goal of the Public Works Program is to support long-term economic development through investments in public infrastructure and facilities necessary to generate private investments that provide higher-skill, higher-wage jobs.

Applications and more information are available online at psrc.org or contact Richard Berndt at 206-587-5061 or rberndt@psrc.org.

Ridership on Washington State Ferries in the Puget Sound region decreased for the fourth straight year in 2003. For all Puget Sound ferry routes, 2003 ridership was down by over 700,000 from 2002, a decrease of 3.1%. This was a smaller decrease than last year (4.0%), but still represents the second largest decline since the 6.3% decrease in ferry riders in 1979.

Increased ferry fares and a continuing economic dip continue to explain this trend. Focusing on improving the fare-box recovery rate, WSF increased its fares by 5% in May of 2003. This was the third straight year of fare increases, and the fares will increase by another 5% in May of 2004. Since June of 2001, fares will have increased by almost 50%. In another cost-cutting measure, the Bremerton-Seattle passenger-only ferry service was discontinued in September of 2003. A decision on the Vashon-Seattle passenger-only boats will be made after a two-year review period.

Every ferry route decreased in ridership in 2003, except the Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth route, which increased by 1% (see Figure 1). The Bremerton-Seattle passenger ferry, as expected, had the largest decrease (34.9%) due to its discontinuation. Even comparing only the first 9 months of data until its removal from service, the number of riders was down 13.9% from 2002. The removal of the Bremerton passenger service resulted in increases on the Bremerton auto ferries (+18.4% in the last three months of the year, +31% for walk-ons) and the Fauntleroy-Southworth-Vashon boat (+5.6% in the same period). When viewed cumulatively (passenger & auto ferries), the number of Bremerton-Seattle riders decreased by 8.4% in 2003.

Despite the almost system-wide decrease in ferry usage, a closer look at the figures show that ferry ridership may be rebounding soon. The decrease for the first six months of 2003 compared to the first six months of 2002 was 5.3%. For the last six months of the year, however, the decrease was only 1.1%. In addition, for the first three months of 2004, ridership was up overall by 0.2%. Whether this trend continues after another fare increase remains to be seen.

For more information, contact Kris Overby at 206-464-6661 or koverby@psrc.org.

206-464-7532 - FAX 206-587-4825 - infoctr@psrc.org

Servicios de Traduccion Disponible: 206-587-5062.

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