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Streets and Highways Component - 1995 Update of the Metropolitan Transportation Plan for the Central Puget Sound Region, MTP-6, May 1994
Click HERE for graphic. TABLE OF CONTENTS SECTION PAGE Overview/Background. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 VISION 2020 Policy Direction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Implementing VISION 2020 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Major Outstanding Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 TABLE PAGE VISION 2020 Policies - Identified Highway Improvements . . . . . . 2 STREETS AND HIGHWAYS COMPONENT OVERVIEW / BACKGROUND Streets and highways are the backbone of the region's transportation system and will continue to be into the foreseeable future. The Regional Council estimates that in 1990, about 93 percent of all trips, on an average weekday, are made by private vehicle; 72 percent as drivers, and 21 percent as passengers. In 1990, the Bureau of the Census documented that almost 80 percent of the region's trips from home to work were in a private auto. The Regional Council estimates that 73 percent of all trips were in single-occupant vehicles (SOV), 17 percent in 2-person carpools, and 2 percent in 3-person carpool. Accommodating these auto trips is a roadway network totalling 16,700 miles in the four-county region. About 7 percent of this mileage is under the state's jurisdiction, 76 percent under local jurisdictions, and 17 percent under the jurisdiction of parks, reservations, or other public lands. Expenditures on transportation facilities have declined dramatically relative to growth in vehicle miles of travel (VMT). The central Puget Sound region experienced the national "freeway revolt" during the past 25 years as did many metropolitan regions. The long-term trend of resisting the placement of new highways through built-up areas has firmly and clearly established a public policy in this region that is unambiguous: major new or expanded thoroughfares through developed urban and suburban areas are not supported. Recent efforts to reintroduce new road alignments have met with strong opposition and eventual abandonment of proposals. Options for new or substantially widened highway alignments through residential areas, even if they were affordable, are limited by public sentiment and policy. Historical Perspective and Future Trends The present transportation system was not designed for the current levels of urbanization that continued growth has caused. The freeway system designs of the 1950s and '60s were planned to accommodate slower rates of growth. Moreover, due to fiscal, environmental, and energy conservation concerns in the 1970s, transportation plans were revised to reflect a regionwide policy of fewer freeways in favor of higher capacity forms of transportation. In the process, 125 miles of proposed freeways or limited access roadways were dropped from the plans. Continued growth in the region is expected to result in a year 2020 population of more than 4 million with more than 2.4 million employed. If existing travel behavior and conditions were to persist, estimates show that this is likely to cause a doubling of daily VMT in the region by year 2020. Consequently, congestion over the next 25 years is expected to worsen considerably demonstrated by several performance indicators. Trends reflecting low auto-occupancy rates, tolerable gas prices, increases in per capita income, inexpensive and available parking, more women entering the workplace, more registered vehicles, and new housing and employment located in suburban areas, are an indication that the propensity to travel by automobile will MTP Baseline/Framework Report Background Information Page I Continue. Without implementation of aggressive demand management and system management policies, this anticipated congestion may have severe impacts on air quality, and economic growth. The focus on accommodating travel increases has already shifted to transit, ridesharing, and other public policies emphasizing alternatives to private auto use. VISION 2020 POLICY DIRECTION VISION 2020 clearly establishes a transportation policy objective of reducing dependence on the single-occupant vehicle, and encouraging alternative modes of travel. VISION 2020 recognizes that use of the auto as a relatively low-priced means of travel does not support more geographically compact and transit-oriented development patterns. Limited public works funding and local resistance to new or wider freeways are forcing new ways of looking at travel. The region is committed to reducing dependence on the automobile, improving air quality, saving energy, preserving land as open space, and making neighborhoods more livable. However, VISION 2020 also recognizes that some highway improvements and capacity enhancements are needed and has therefore embraced the following policies: - Recognition of the mobility and accessibility needs of people, freight and goods; - Recognition of the specific mobility needs of business and industry; - Completion of key network linkages to provide continuity in circulation on the region's highway system; - Support for centers and provision of access to non-center job and residential areas within designated urban growth areas and rural center. VISION 2020 further details the types of capacity improvements that are consistent with the overall plan, and these are outlined in the following table: Click HERE for graphic. MTP Baseline/Framework Report Background Information Page 2 Click HERE for graphic. (1) Transportation System Management (2) Regional Transportation System IMPLEMENTING VISION 2020 Identifying the Streets and Highways Facilities Component of the Metropolitan Transportation System (MTS) The Regional Council has several state and federal mandates to identify regional facilities and services which comprise its metropolitan transportation system. ISTEA requires the MPO to MTP Baseline/Framework Report Background Information Page 3 identify "an integrated metropolitan transportation system giving emphasis to those facilities that serve important national and regional transportation functions'. The Growth Management Act (1990) and the Interlocal Agreement for Regional Planning (which established the Regional Council) reinforce the need for identical regionally significant facilities and services by the Regional Transportation Planning Organization (RTPO). As part of a cooperative effort by the Regional Council, WSDOT, local jurisdiction, and other interested parties, an initial draft of the highway component of the MTS is being developed. A consensus has been developing over the past several months, and a core system identified. Agreement on this core system has been relatively straightforward due to recent completion of several federal and state planning programs. The core system comprises all of the region's designated National Highway System; all other state highways; and other local principal arterials. Discussion is still continuing to determine if any local system non-principal arterials warrant consideration as having regional significance. Conceptual Basis for Defining "Metropolitan" Facilities and Services MTS facilities are to be defined both functionally as well as geographically. A facility should be part of the MTS if it provides access to any activities crucial to the social or economic health of the central Puget Sound region. Facilities that weave parts of the region together by crossing county or city lines are critical to the MTS concept. In addition to these links, any link that accesses major regional activity centers, regardless of trip length or origin, is also critical in def@g the MTS. The criteria for determining elements of the MTS should focus on what the different parts of the MTS do, rather than their geometric design or physical characteristics. Thus the process for identifying the final MTS will be based on its various modal components and serve as a multi- purpose planning tool. The National Highway System (NHS) The purpose of the NHS is to provide an interconnected system of principal routes which will serve major population centers, international border crossings, ports, airports, public transportation facilities, and other intermodal transportation facilities. The NHS is to provide access to ma or travel destinations; meet national defense requirements; and serve interstate and interregional travel. Although based on more select "national importance" criteria, it is clear that the NHS represents the backbone of the regional system since several criteria used for identifying the NHS are a prerequisite for those that would be suggested for identifying the of metropolitan' system. WSDOT, working in cooperation with the Regional Council, has proposed a system of routes for this region. Following technical and public review and discussion, the regional portion of the NHS was endorsed by the Regional Council in February 1993, and transmitted to the State Transportation Commission for its endorsement in April. WSDOT then transmitted the proposed NHS to the Federal Highway Administration. (1) Such as the identification of the National Highway System, and the comprehensive update of the Federal Functional Classification System (Approved by FHWA in April 1993). MTP Baseline/Framework Report Background Information Page 4 Other Facilities State highways (and ferry routes) are inherently of regional significance since inclusion in the state system requires that these routes function as the most important inter-regional, intra- regional, and urban-rural connectors. Local jurisdictions have identified their most important roads - principal arterials - based on traffic volumes, VMT, connectivity to travel generators, directness of travel, and system continuity. These principal arterials will be a component of the MTS. Principal arterials are classified by the state for federal purposes, and by local jurisdictions for developing comprehensive or arterial plans. Classification as a principal arterial in either system denotes a facility of regional significance. Recently, ISTEA required that all jurisdictions undertake a review of their federal-aid functionally classified roadways. This review process was coordinated, endorsed, and transmitted to FHWA by WSDOT and the MPOs on October 31, 1992. This effort provided the basis for most cities' classification of their principal arterials. The Regional Council and its technical review committees are currently in the process of identifying other roadways that serve a "regional" function. The task of the committees is to focus on identifying if any local system non-principal arterials warrant consideration as having regional significance. Criteria for defining regional significance will be refined over the next several months and a consensus will be developed to ensure that the selection of roadways in this component will be consistent and equitable throughout the four counties. The review process will continue until the final draft of the MTP is presented in December 1994. At this time, the Regional Council is recommending that the following criteria be applied to candidate routes for determining "regional significance"': - Provides important connections for principal arterial system continuity. - Provides a connection to a major regional activity center or travel generator. - Serves as a reliever for a freeway or expressway. - Serves as a major crosstown arterial for relieving congestion. - Serves as an important goods-movement route - if not already included in the above components. - Provides continuity of access to regional transit transfer facilities. - Provides major access to a regional port or airport - in addition to proposed NHS connectors. (2) As part of this cooperative effort between the PSRC, WSDOT, local jurisdictions, and other interested parties, the region must identify and agree on which local arterials are serving "regional" functions. MTP Baseline/Framework Report Background Information Page 5 - Provides access to, or incorporates, regional non-motorized facilities. Calculations show that a highway component of the MTS, when based on the criteria described above, would consist of about 1,500 miles of highway, and result in 45 million daily VMT. These figures represent about 9 percent and 62 percent, respectively, of the total four-county roadway system.(3) MAJOR OUTSTANDING ISSUES Setting Future Highway Service Objectives Given the trend of continued auto use, highway service objectives need to reflect the probability that demand for private auto use and consequent VMT will increase if current trends persist. Federal and state legislation mandate reductions in VMT growth in order to meet federal air quality conformity standards. The MTP as a financially constrained plan will include a limited number of highway capacity improvements. Approximately 50 - 65 miles of new "regional highway" additions(4) are currently programmed or planned for the long-term. Clearly, these improvements can only have a negligible impact on reducing overall regional congestion. The short-term Transportation Improvement Program will program funds according to the most important priorities identified in the financially constrained plan. VISION 2020 currently assumes that congestion and delays will worsen without major changes to the operating environment in which transportation choices are made. VISION 2020 also assumes that there will be limited highway-related capacity improvements from a systemwide perspective. This will mean that most major facilities may eventually operate well beyond their designed capacity. Some of the excessive demand may shift to transit and ridesharing. Some users may seek alternate and often circuitous routes. Some travel may be distributed into increasingly longer peak periods. Some travel may be eliminated, particularly discretionary trips that can be deferred. VISION 2020 recognizes that public policy cannot control most individual transportation decisions nor can the region afford to build enough capacity to respond to projected mobility demands. The MTP must establish service expectations that realistically represent what can be achieved to support VISION 2020's transportation/growth objectives with a public investment and policy framework that carefully manages demand and advances efficiency. Major issues which will be addressed in the metropolitan transportation planning process include: - The Role of the Regional Highway System. The current and future role of the region's highway system is somewhat downplayed in VISION 2020. The freeways, state routes, and principal arterials that comprise the regionally significant system are the backbone of the region's transportation system and will continue to be for many years. The issue to be resolved involves clarifying the most effective role the street and highway system should play in meeting regional (3) Based on HPMS estimates for all roadways - including local access. (4) Estimates are based on long-term planned major highways supplied by WSDOT and local jurisdictions. MTP Baseline/Framework Report Background Information Page 6 policy goals in other areas such as economic development and congestion management. - Highway Performance Objectives. Current trends indicate increasing use of and reliance on the private automobile. In establishing performance objectives for the street and highway system, the region could assume that current trends will continue or could develop policy-driven performance objectives based upon assumptions reflecting a tapering off of future growth in automobile use. These would include assumptions of a reduction in the rate of growth for auto travel due to demographic changes, intervention in the pricing of transportation services, increased travel options, and applications of new technologies. The MTP should test the technical and political viability of such assumptions. - Deteriorating Service Levels. The MTP is required to be a financially constrained plan. Relative to other modes, VISION 2020 specifies limited highway capacity improvements on the regional system over the long-term. Without incorporating major travel demand management programs, highway improvements and additions alone would have a negligible impact on overall regional congestion, as projected future growth will more than offset planned increases in capacity. Is the region ready to accept and live with lower system performance in the form of decreased average speeds, increased delay, and increased congestion for general purpose highway travel? Most surveys suggest the public is already aware that this is a future probability. - The Role of Transportation Demand Management and Transportation System Management in Accommodating Future Travel Demand. Given that highway capacity improvements alone will not be able to maintain current service levels on the region's street and highway system in the long-term, what changes in public policy are necessary to integrate demand management and system management into the region's street and highway planning? A clear statement of performance expectations for the highway system will be an essential element of the required Congestion Management System (CMS). - The Implications of Business As Usual. If the region were to maintain its present levels of effort in terms of capacity expansion, demand management, and system management in light of forecasted population/employment growth, deteriorating service levels would be inevitable. One default option the region has is to conduct business as usual and assume that the travelling public will automatically avail itself of all options that avoid the capacity "wall". VISION 2020 recognizes that the region cannot control individual mobility decisions, nor can it afford to build enough capacity to respond to future travel demand. The implications of a business as usual strategy for the regional economy and adjacent counties is unknown. The MTP must set performance expectations that establish a public policy/investment framework that realistically represents what can be achieved to support VISION 2020's growth management/transportation objectives. - Highway Improvements/Growth Management Compatibility. It is critical to assure that both state and local transportation system plans be developed in concert with the MTP, so that the objectives of all efforts are consistent and mutually supportive. These transportation plans should address other concurrent planning activities required under the state Growth Management Act (GMA), ISTEA, and state and federal Clean Air Acts. The Regional Council, the WSDOT and local governments will be cooperating on the development of state highway system MTP Baseline/Framework Report Background Information Page 7 performance objectives, standards and ongoing system monitoring procedures to be part of the final MTP. - Rural Areas. Where highway widening solutions are proposed to address safety and existing capacity deficiency concerns in rural areas, there is a need to evaluate and integrate these solutions with appropriate plans or conditions for controlled access and potential local zoning controls to avoid unintended new development pressures in rural areas. In some cases, there may be a need to revise conceptual solutions developed by state and local agencies in highway corridors for different access controls or to defer development of the highway improvement until coordinated state and local planning concludes that land use plans are compatible, to assure maintenance of the rural character. These revisions should be in concert with broader policy considerations. Compatibility of Highway Improvements Recommended in the MTP Local Growth Management Plans. It is critical that both state and local transportation system plans be developed in concert with the MTP--so that the objectives of all efforts are consistent, and mutually supportive. These transportation plans must address other concurrent planning activities required under the state Growth Management Act (GMA), ISTEA, and the federal Clean Air Act. Cooperation on the development of highway system service objectives, standards, and ongoing system monitoring procedures is presently being addressed through a number of forums. MTP Baseline/Framework Report Background Information Page 8
