July 2005  [pdf version]

The Puget Sound Regional Council is proposing $28.8 million more for transportation projects in the region in 2005 than previously anticipated. The new funding comes from higher than expected levels of federal funding available through the PSRC. The additional funding would be spent on projects previously identified on a contingency list, an idea advanced by Tukwila Councilmember Pam Carter last fall to expedite projects if additional funds became available.

The contingency list contains projects that were previously assessed on their merits during the 2004 project selection process last year. The projects are selected to implement the region's overall transportation plan, Destination 2030. In many cases, projects that have already received funding will receive more. In other cases, new projects will proceed.

The recommended projects include:

Seven rural transportation projects have been identified to receive $1.9 million in funding available through PSRC's new Rural Town Centers and Corridors Program. The intent of the program is to provide a collaborative forum for rural towns, the state, counties, and transportation agencies to discuss centers planning and transportation needs in rural areas. Funding available through the program was approved last fall during the 2005 federal funding cycle.

The seven projects are:

Final action on these recommendations will occur this fall after completion of the air quality analysis and public involvement period on the new projects. For more information on the contingency list, contact Karen Richter at 206-464-6343 or krichter@psrc.org. The complete list of projects intended to receive funding is online at psrc.org. For more information on the Rural Town Centers and Corridors Program, contact King Cushman at 206-464-6174 or kcushman@psrc.org.

Transportation Policy Board Chair Councilmember Julia Patterson presents Councilmember Pam Carter with a plaque recognizing her for saving the region time and adding more predictability to project planning and delivery.

The Puget Sound Regional Council is moving forward in concert with King County on the study to acquire the 40-mile rail corridor that stretches from Snohomish to Renton and parallels Interstate 405. The study will examine all of the potential opportunities in the corridor, such as continued freight rail, bus rapid transit, light rail, commuter rail and trail sections.

"As a region we want to preserve this corridor, and preserve our flexibility for future transportation and multimodal transportation uses," said Councilmember Sonny Putter at the May 26 meeting of the PSRC's Executive Board, "It's important that we look at all options for acquiring this corridor."

The study will include an open and inclusive public process. "We will continue to involve all the cities and the other interests, including the rail lines, environmental groups, communication utilities and the dinner train company," says Bob Drewel Executive Director of PSRC. "As long as we think it's a viable corridor to be preserved for the region, then it will be a regional decision that will shape its ultimate use."

Several things need to be determined in the study. Beginning with the title search, cost appraisal and rail banking. Rail banking offers an opportunity to acquire this property at a much lower cost. However, approval of the purchase would have to come from the federal Surface Transportation Board and requires that the corridor be reserved in perpetuity for the potential of rail operations.

Other concerns have been raised, which PSRC will be addressing in the study. "The City of Renton has concerns about uses of the corridor within its city limits. A ground level high capacity transit system would be disruptive to our downtown, and near Kennydale the line goes within ten feet of people's houses." Said Mayor Keolker-Wheeler during discussion with the Executive Board.

Another issue to be worked out is future freight uses on the line, currently used by The Boeing Company and other freight companies.

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

The number of public vanpools in the region has grown from 9 in 1979 to a monthly average of 1,201 in 2004. That's an average growth rate of 22.6 percent a year. For the worksites participating in the Commute Trip Reduction (CTR) program since it began, the annual commuter vehicle miles traveled to CTR worksites in 2003 was 96 million less than in 1993.

These statistics are cited in a new Puget Sound Regional Council report that lays a foundation for measuring the progress of transportation demand strategies. This Puget Sound Milestones report provides background information and a baseline for monitoring demand strategies in the central Puget Sound region.

Transportation demand strategies encourage travelers to use alternatives to driving alone. Reducing the number of vehicles on the roadway means less congestion, air pollution and fuel consumption. It also means increased efficiency and longevity of the roadway system. In essence, it's roadway conservation. Demand strategies also increase the efficiency of public transportation by helping to provide a market for it.

Demand strategies measured on a regional basis include CTR, public vanpooling, state tax credits, Flexcar car-sharing program, and vanpool/carpool preferential ferry loading. Other programs that reduce vehicle travel demand, but whose effectiveness cannot currently be measured, are also discussed, as they generate important milestones to track over time. Those programs include demand strategies in corridor planning and public awareness campaigns.

The report, Metropolitan Transportation System: Transportation Demand Strategies, is available online at psrc.org or by calling the Information Center at 206-464-7532. For more information, contact Lindy Johnson at 206-464-6297 or ljohnson@psrc.org.

Puget Sound Trends
Housing Affordability Index: Prices on the Rise

Over the last ten years the region experienced two divergent sets of trends with respect to housing prices and affordability. On the one hand, a surge in demand for housing due to population growth and increases in wealth during the late 1990s collided with a relatively tight supply in the region's housing market to produce rapid annual increases in housing prices. For many, the increase in home prices exceeded income gains, raising the housing cost burden, particularly for lower income households. Falling interest rates translated into historically low mortgage and refinancing rates, bolstering consumer purchasing power for housing. As such, home prices continued to climb during the early 2000s, in spite of a lingering recession, as demand was bolstered by buyers seeking to take advantage of low interest rates and investors turning to real estate as an alternative to the stock markets.