The Draft Transportation 2040 Plan is now available for review and comment. Transportation 2040 is an action plan for transportation in the central Puget Sound region for the next 30 years. The comment period will run from January 22 to March 9, 2010. Comments received will be summarized for the Transportation Policy Board on March 11, 2010.

By the year 2040, the region is expected to grow by roughly 1.5 million people and support more than 1.2 million new jobs. All of these new people and new jobs are expected to boost demand for travel within and through the region by about 40%. Recognizing that some uncertainties exist regarding the economy, transportation funding, energy supply, technology and climate change, Transportation 2040 outlines a long-term template for how this region should invest in transportation to accommodate rising travel demand, while at the same time embracing the need to be flexible and responsive to the ways people – and the world — actually will change.

Transportation 2040 identifies investments to support our expected growth and improve the service transportation provides to people and businesses, lays out a financing plan that suggests a long-term shift in how we fund transportation improvements, with more reliance on users paying for transportation improvements, and proposes a strategy for reducing transportation’s contribution to climate change and its impact on important regional concerns such as air pollution and the health of Puget Sound.

By being clear about this regional long-term vision, the Puget Sound region will be better able to influence the shorter term decisions that will be made at the state and federal levels on finance, environmental protection, and the future direction of the nation’s transportation programs.

For more information, contact Transportation 2040 at 206-464-7090 or transportation2040@psrc.org.