Recognizing that rural area transportation and town center development needs can sometimes be overshadowed by focus on the urban area, the Regional Council has created a new program to help provide technical and project development assistance to the region's Rural Town Centers and Corridors.

Highways outside the urban area serve a diverse group of needs. They connect communities, such as Granite Falls, Duvall, Enumclaw, Graham, and Kingston, to the urban area. They serve as main streets, providing the location for the economic center of their community. They are essential freight routes for the majority of the region's resource-based industries that provide gravel, timber and agricultural products to the urban area. And they link us with the majority of our region's open and green spaces, linking us to our ski resorts, hiking trails, waterfront retreats and U-pick produce fields. Rural areas are home to 14 percent of the region's population and include 84 percent of the region's land area.

Despite their importance to the region, these highways often do not receive the attention they deserve. Funding proposals for critical safety and congestion improvement projects in rural communities have trouble competing with large urban transportation projects, even though most rural projects typically cost a fraction of their urban counterparts. Equally difficult is the coordination of efforts among the different stakeholders involved in rural corridor planning.

With the Regional Council's new program there will be new funding opportunities to address these rural issues over the next several years. This will come about through the Regional Council's Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) process. Opportunities for transportation planning and project implementation activities will be available through a collaborative process involving rural towns/communities, counties, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) and other parties such as transit agencies or tribal interests in a given corridor area. Additional information will be provided in early 2004 about this new program related to financial incentives, enhanced communications, clarification of existing rural policies, and coordinated funding opportunities. The new program will begin with a pilot project on SR 203 from Monroe to Fall City to launch coordination efforts and evaluate how this new program can best facilitate coordinated improvements for rural corridors and town/community centers.

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

Mary McCumber Presented Lifetime Achievement Award

The Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations (AMPO) has honored Mary McCumber with the Larry Dahms Lifetime Achievement Award.

Mary McCumber has served as the Executive Director of the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) since 1992. "Under her outstanding leadership, PSRC has become one of the nation's most respected metropolitan planning organizations," says City of Lauderhill, Florida Mayor Richard Kaplan and AMPO Board Member.

Mary's comprehensive knowledge of growth and transportation issues was integral to the development of VISION 2020, a pioneering regional growth, economic and transportation strategy. A hallmark of VISION 2020 is the strong link between land use and transportation planning. Building on this regional strategy, the region unanimously adopted the award winning long-range transportation plan, Destination 2030.

"She's set the tone for regional planning--PSRC is known for being objective, fair, accurate, and willing to take on tough regional issues," says City of Seattle Councilmember Richard McIver and PSRC President, "Under her leadership, PSRC has become a place where local leaders can work together effectively to address complex growth and transportation problems."

Prior to her appointment as PSRC Executive Director, Mary played a leadership role in developing growth management legislation for Washington State as Executive Director of the Governor's Growth Strategies Commission, and in the central Puget Sound region as a local government planning director. Mary also served ten years on Seattle historic preservation boards, was the first president of 1000 Friends of Washington, and has a Master's of Urban Planning degree from the University of Washington.

Mary McCumber plans to retire from her role as Executive Director at the end of 2003. A regional celebration in her honor will be held on December 18th at the Grand Central Arcade in Seattle. For more information, contact Sylvia Nelson at 206-464-7518.

The workshop provides a forum for agencies and the public to discuss issues related to air transportation and to report on the past year's activities. Staff from the Regional Council, Port of Seattle, Highline School District, and Washington State Department of Transportation presented at the workshop. Public comments were also heard. A summary of the annual workshop will be presented at the January 22 Executive Board Meeting.

The air transportation progress workshops are mandated by PSRC Resolution A-96-02, which added planning for the third runway at Sea-Tac Airport to the Metropolitan Transportation Plan. The Resolution requires several agencies to take steps to reduce the effects of airport noise on communities around the airport, and report each year on their progress.

Information about Resolution A-96-02 and this year's workshop can be found on the Regional Council's Web site at psrc.org. For more information, contact Stephen Kiehl at 206-464-6715 or skiehl@psrc.org.

Population Growth Continues to Slow in the Central Puget Sound Region

Growth levels declined for the fourth consecutive year during 2002-03. Since last peaking during 1998-99, the region has seen a gradual downward trend in population growth resulting from the progressive weakening of the region's economy and labor market. The population of the central Puget Sound region was estimated to have reached 3,387,500 as of April 1, 2003, an increase of just 25,490 persons or 0.8 percent over the previous year. This was the smallest one-year increase in population, both in nominal and percentage terms, experienced by the region in two decades.

Growth in the last year slowed most noticeably in King County, where population grew by a mere 4,990 persons or 0.3 percent. Growth also slowed in Pierce County from a rate of 1.6 percent during the previous year to 1.2 percent during 2002-03. Growth in Snohomish County stayed level at 1.5 percent over the last two years. Kitsap County, on the other hand, where growth had lagged for several years relative to the region's other counties, saw its growth rate pick up from 0.6 percent during the previous year to 1.0 percent during 2002-03.

Population of Cities and Towns
2,234,950 persons or 66 percent of the region's current population resides in its incorporated cities and towns. Since 2000, the region's municipalities are estimated to have grown by 75,350 persons or 3.5 percent. Annexations of previously unincorporated communities accounted for about 13,000 persons, or 17 percent of the increase. Positive net migration and natural population change (births minus deaths) accounted for the remainder.

The region's cities and towns varied widely in the rates of population change they experienced since 2000. Consistent with the overall slowdown in growth across the region, most cities experienced flat to moderate population change. Not surprisingly, some cities lost population during this period. On the other hand, a number of cities grew at extraordinary rates. Table 3 presents a list of cities and towns that experienced the fastest growth rates during 2000-03.