One Region, One Transportation Plan!

I’m encouraged to report to you that we’ve cleared a major hurdle on the road to addressing our region’s terrible traffic problems. At the Jan. 26 RTID Executive Board meeting we unanimously approved a draft plan for major road and bridge improvements in the most congested corridors in Snohomish, King and Pierce counties.

You and I both know that the opportunity to make these investments isn’t once in a decade or even once in 20 years. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get people through traffic, reduce congestion, provide more options than driving a car, improve the flow of goods into and out of our region, and fix urgent safety problems on major highways and bridges.

We’re proud to be going one step further by making sure these investments are connected with Sound Transit’s light rail, bus, and commuter rail improvements. We are one region, and now we will have one transportation plan.

The next step is to take the updated Blueprint for Progress to you and get your feedback and ideas. Read the Blueprint and tell us what you think! In late April the RTID Executive Board will adopt a final Blueprint to submit to the RTID Planning committee and then to the Snohomish, King and Pierce county councils to place it on the November ballot.

We are grateful for your input to help us build a plan that addresses our traffic problems, today and for the future.  

Sincerely,

Regional Transportation Investment District

February 2007 Update

RTID Exec. Board Unanimously Approves Draft Roads Plan

At the Jan. 26 board meeting, the RTID Executive Board took a major step forward for the Roads & Transit package to be placed on the November 2007 ballot. The board unanimously approved a draft plan that is the next step in making major road and bridge improvements in the most congested corridors in Snohomish, King and Pierce counties. In addition, an RTID district boundary was approved.

The plan, known as the Blueprint for Progress, invests in the most congested corridors in Snohomish, King and Pierce counties, such as I-405 between Renton and Bellevue, which experiences up to 14 hours of congestion a day. The Blueprint will improve the flow of traffic and freight by linking SR 167 from Puyallup to the Port of Tacoma, and by connecting SR 509 to I-5 near SeaTac Airport.

The Blueprint also invests in improvements to heavily congested roads in fast-growing suburban areas, such as SR 9 and the US 2 Trestle in Snohomish County. The Blueprint now has an additional $300 for the SR 520 Bridge replacement, for a total regional contribution of $1.1 billion. This would fund the new capacity for the six-lane bridge proposal. A summary of the board’s actions and materials from the meeting are available on our website.

The Blueprint is being coordinated with Sound Transit 2 investments that will expand the regional light rail, bus and commuter rail system. For the first time in our region’s history, the Roads & Transit package will be a unified program of investments in freeways, light- and commuter-rail, HOV lanes, park and ride lots, and express and local bus service.

RTID Reaffirms Guiding Principles

At the Jan. 26 board meeting, the RTID Executive Board reaffirmed the guiding principles behind its road and bridge investment plan:

• Improve safety and reduce congestion chokepoints;
• Add to existing investments in key highway corridors;
• Integrate with Sound Transit’s investments to improve mobility for citizens with both roads and transit;
• Make investments throughout the three-county region, so that every area benefits;
• Maximize financial resources by prioritizing investments in critical corridors;
• Keep the Roads & Transit package affordable;
• Work with the state to add capacity to the SR 520 Bridge.

Funding the Blueprint for Progress

The Blueprint would fund approximately $8.8 billion in regional highway, road and bridge investments which would be generated by taxes and bond sales.

Every dollar raised in each county would stay in that county. Investments would be funded by two sources:

• .8 percent on the Motor Vehicle Excise Tax (MVET) or car license fee (about $80 on every $10,000 of assessed value of a vehicle). In the tri-county area, the average taxable car value will be $8,500 in 2008, when the proposed taxes would go into effect.
  
• .1 percent local sales-and-use tax, which is 1¢ on every $10 purchase, or about $25 a year for the average household.

Share Your Comments Before Plan is Finalized

Over the next few months RTID will provide more opportunities for citizens to comment, and asks that you—residents, community leaders, businesses and others—take the time to share your ideas.

When the Blueprint is finalized, it will go to the RTID Planning Committee and then to Snohomish, King and Pierce county councils to place it on the November 2007 ballot.

Feb. 8 Meeting Postponed

The joint meeting of the RTID and Sound Transit executive boards that had been scheduled for Feb. 8 has been postponed out of respect for the victims of an accident at the Sound Transit tunnel construction site. The meeting will be rescheduled; please check www.rtid.org.

The next RTID Executive Board meeting is tentatively scheduled for March 9, 2007 from 9:30 AM - 12:30 PM at the King County Council Chambers, on the 10th floor of the King County Courthouse. The address is 516 3rd Ave., Seattle, WA 98104.

Next Steps

• January-April 2007:

  RTID gathers public input on draft plan

  RTID & Sound Transit continue integrating road and transit plans

• Late spring 2007: RTID & Sound Transit finalize plans
• Summer 2007: County councils vote to place road plan on ballot
• November 2007: Public votes on Roads & Transit package

For more information or to have the newsletter e-mailed to you, please contact info@rtid.org

RTID web site