• Creating Home-Grown Talent for High-Demand Fields
• Commute Trip Reduction Program Changes
• VISION 2020 Update - Don't Forget to Comment on the DEIS
• Ladenburg and Drewel Win 2006 Civic Awards
• Sultan's Visitor Information Center Wins Two Awards
• Major Park-and Ride Lots Keeping Up With Demand
• Back Issues

Prosperity Partnership Looking Up Regional leaders on the Prosperity Partnership's visit to Eastern Washington worked to enhance understanding on economic matters that unite the state. The trip included a stop at the Hopkins Ridge Wind project near Dayton. The Puget Sound Energy project is helping to power communities PSE serves, while also enhancing the economic vitality of Dayton and Columbia County. Clean Technology is one of five initial strategic economic clusters targeted by the Partnership to help boost the region's global competitiveness and grow jobs.

Washington is among the leading states with workers who currently hold bachelor's degrees, yet we rank 36th out of 50 states in per capita production of degrees. That means that to a large degree, our region's powerful hunger for highly educated workers is being filled by people coming from out of state, drawn by high wages and the opportunity to live in an area of extraordinary beauty. We are not adequately taking care of our own.

How serious is the shortfall? Consider a single example. Computer Specialists rank at the top of high-demand degree specialties in the coming decade. Annual openings for graduates with degrees in the field throughout the United States are estimated to be more than 1.1 million. In Washington state alone, there will be over 3,900 openings a year between 2007 and 2014. Yet colleges and universities in Washington produce 635 graduates a year in this field.

One bright spot is the tremendous contribution our state's community colleges make in preparing qualified degree candidates. Washington ranks among the top five states in the nation when it comes to community college enrollment.

Our community colleges serve two very important functions. First, they are a portal for up to 40 percent of the graduates from our four-year schools, including a large number of students from families that have had little or no opportunity to attend college in the past.

Second, our community colleges supply a large number of workers engaged in technical, advanced work that does not require a four-year degree, such as associate level nurses, lab technicians, therapists, and medical and research support staff. Community colleges must be an important part of our long-range strategy.

The Prosperity Partnership is developing a consensus proposal to develop and fund an educational system that produces more engineers, scientists and high-energy, adaptive thinkers to ensure our region maintains its place in the new global economy. The specific goal of this effort is to increase the number of students annually earning bachelor's degrees in Washington by 8,000 by 2010, and by an additional 2,000 students per year (for a total increase of 10,000 additional, degreed graduates per year) by 2020.

A high percentage of these degrees must come in the fields most demanded by the modern world economic marketplace - computer sciences, engineering, life sciences, medical research, nursing and secondary teachers in math, science, ESL and special education. We must also increase associate degree production in the fields of medical diagnosing and treating, and health technologists and technicians.

	Current Production in Washington's 4-Year System Source: Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board
Washington Job Openings 2007-2012 Source: Employment Security Department

To keep in touch with these efforts, visit the Prosperity Partnership at prosperitypartnership.org, or contact Angela Kerwin, 206-587-5061, akerwin@psrc.org.

Commute Trip Reduction Program Changes

On March 29, Governor Gregoire signed the Commute Trip Reduction Efficiency Act. The new law is designed to make the state's Commute Trip Reduction program more effective and efficient by focusing on areas of greatest need and strongest potential for success. It also incorporates the CTR program into the regional transportation planning process.

The goal of the CTR program is to reduce the number of vehicles on the roadway during the peak commute.

The 1991 law that created the CTR program currently applies to counties with a population of 150,000 and jurisdictions with at least one employer with 100 or more employees who begin work at a single worksite between 6:00 and 9:00 am. The new act shifts the program to urban growth areas with the most congested state highways.

The law also gives local jurisdictions the opportunity to establish Growth and Transportation Efficiency Centers, which are defined, compact urban areas that contain jobs and/or housing and support multiple types of transportation. By designating a center, a jurisdiction will be able to implement a more aggressive and flexible program. The city or county will also be eligible for additional state funding.

The state's CTR Board is drafting new rules and guidance for implementation of the new program. They will be available for public review in August. To see the rules and learn how you can have input, or to learn more about the law and the changes being made at the local, regional and state levels, visit http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/tdm/taskforce/tfmaterials.cfm#program. Your contact at the Regional Council is Lindy Johnson, 206-464-6297, ljohnson@psrc.org.

VISION 2020 Update - Don't Forget to Comment on the DEIS!

The Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the VISION 2020 Update was released at the end of May. The DEIS examines four alternatives for accommodating an additional 1.6 million people and 1.1 million more jobs. Everything is available online at psrc.org. We need your comments by July 31, 2006.

The Municipal League of King County honored PSRC President and Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg and PSRC Executive Director Bob Drewel with 2006 Civic Awards. The Civic Awards were created in 1960 as a way to focus attention on efforts to improve local government. Executive Ladenburg received the honor of Public Official of the Year. Drewel was named Public Employee of the Year. The duo were honored for their leadership in bringing the region together at the Puget Sound Regional Council table as well as the regional collaboration being accomplished through the Prosperity Partnership.

The project used $370,000 in transportation enhancement funds via PSRC to transform an old bank building into the visitor center, and is part of the city's plan to revitalize downtown. Sultan, population 4,225, is located along Highway 2 in eastern Snohomish County.

On a usual weekday in the region, more than 19,000 vehicles are parked at major park-and-ride lots while their owners hop a bus or train to work or other destinations. The latest data on the use of the region's major park-and-rides (lots with over 250 stalls) show that in 2005, an average of 19,881 vehicles occupied spots in these lots. That represents a significant increase from 1995, when an average of 12,720 vehicles used the lots on weekdays.

At some of the park-and-rides, a parking spot may be easier to find because approximately 7,983 new spaces have been added regionwide since 1995. Parking supply at the lots has increased faster than demand, resulting in a slight drop in the utilization rate from 76 percent in 1995 to 73 percent in 2005.

Major Park-and-Ride Lot Utilization, 1995-2005

Regionally significant locations such as the Northgate Transit Center, Kent Station, and the Redondo Heights Park-and-Ride added approximately 2,400 parking stalls. The substantial increase in parking supply at these locations resulted in a decrease in utilization due to the initial under-use of these large new facilities. Following are trends in each county:

• Northwest King County park-and-ride lots had the highest average utilization rates for 2004 and 2005, with 84.5 percent occupancy between the two years. Northwest King County added 417 new parking stalls during this time.
• Snohomish County had an 84 percent countywide occupancy rate during the same period. The county's only increase in capacity occurred with the completion of the Lynnwood Transit Center in 2004. The total number of spaces at this facility increased from 965 to 1,260 and has a 97 percent occupancy rate.
• Pierce County experienced the largest jump in utilization with a 15 percent increase between the years 2003 and 2005. This increase in utilization occurred as capacity remained stagnant. Occupancy rose dramatically from approximately 2,700 stalls occupied in 2003 to just over 3,300 in 2005.
• Kitsap County has experienced a small amount of growth in terms of park-and-ride stall availability and utilization. Overall, the county has experienced a relatively constant occupancy rate averaging about 60 percent for each of the last three years.

For more information on this issue of Puget Sound Trends, please contact Benjamin Brackett, 206-389-2162, bbrackett@psrc.org. A park-and-ride inventory will be conducted for the entire central Puget Sound region later this year including all lots (large and small) in the region.

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