Work Starting on Long-Range Transportation Plan

We made the Journal of Business today. That's because SRTC is starting an update to the long-range transportation program, Horizon 2040. So here's how it works; this summer we started talking to groups of stakeholders such as planning commissioners, neighborhood representatives, healthcare workers, major employers, emergency services staff, freight movement companies, education representatives, young people and senior citizens, transit users, people who bicycle or walk for transportation, and many others. We asked them a series of questions about what is working well for transportation in our area, what isn't, what they would like to see in the future, etc. That input will help to shape the plan. Plus, once we have a rough idea what will be in it, we will be out talking to the public MORE about Horizon 2040.

Local jurisdictions who do road construction projects will submit projects to us to be included in the plan that they consider to be priorities for their city or area. Staff will put them through a process to determine if they are considered "regionally significant" and appropriate for the plan. Unfortunately, the plan has to be "financially constrained," meaning that we have to prove that there are funds reasonably available to cover all the projects included in Horizon 2040. That means that the plan will only include a limited number of projects.

Being included in the plan doesn't guarantee a project will get funded though, just that it is a priority for our region. However, when applying for state or federal funds, one criteria is often being able to show that the project requesting funding is considered regionally significant, and inclusion in Horizon 2040 will do that.

Anyway, read the article, it explains a lot more about the long-range plan. Plus you will be hearing a lot about it for the next year! The Journal of Business article is here.

SRTC Board Meeting Next Thursday, Nov. 10

Got plans next Thursday afternoon? No? Cool, come to our very exciting Board meeting. The SRTC The agenda is here. 

Immediately prior to the meeting is a Board workshop to set funding levels for the update to Horizon 2040, the region's long -range transportation program, that staff has started work on. As at all of our committee meetings, members of the public are welcome to attend both sessions. There will be no opportunity to comment at the workshop though.
Board meets for it's monthly meeting at 1 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 10 at the SRTC office, 421 W. Riverside, Suite 500.

Looking To The Future of Transportation in our Area

A local planning commissioner examines a map of the area.

Every four years, SRTC is required by the federal government to update our long-range transportation plan, Horizon 2040. The plan was accepted by the SRTC Board in 2013, so we will be updating it in 2017. Before that though, SRTC staff is trying to get an idea on what has changed locally in the past four years, such as new trends (self-driving cars, electric vehicle highways, etc.), planning methods, land use ideas and rules, and more. We are doing this by sitting down with members of the public in a series of "roundtable" discussions with various groups.

Yesterday we met with members of local plan commissions, including the Liberty Lake, Millwood and Spokane County commissions, and heard some pretty interesting things. Here is a sample of what we heard:

• There are more single-family households than households with children in Spokane County now. One plan commissioner pointed out the houses on the market today are too big for single people.
• In 1976, Spokane County had the largest percentage of single-family homes in the country (which means there were few multi-family homes such as apartments).
• Oil prices in 1950 were the same as in 2000.
• Make STA bus rides free. A half-full bus costs just as much to run as a full bus.
• At $300 million, a light rail line isn't such a crazy idea when you consider what it will cost to complete the North Spokane Corridor ($1.5 billion total).
• We should be moving oil via pipeline rather than train.
• The North Spokane Corridor (NSC) is going to bring industry and all the vacant land along it will fill up.
• The NSC would have been built years ago but there was a "Stop the Corridor" coalition in the 1960s that didn't want the freeway because it feared it would split the Gonzaga neighborhood and cause economic hardship, similar to what happened in the East Central neighborhood as a result of the construction of Interstate 90.
• I90 was constructed so that the off-ramps would force people into downtown rather than away from it.
• Southeast Boulevard was originally planned to connect to a bridge that would go over I90.
• Downtown is hopping at night now, where it didn't used to be.
• Why not combine Fairchild Air Force Base and Spokane International Airport since SIA controls all the air space anyway?

More roundtables will be held throughout the summer and fall and we will present what we learned to the SRTC Board in approximately November. After that, the information will be used to shape the update to Horizon 2040 as we get to work on it in early 2017.

Public Open House Tonight

Tonight is the night. We're hosting a public open house from 4-6 p.m. at SRTC, 221 W. 1^st Ave., Suite 310 to get input on a proposed amendment to the area’s Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP), Horizon 2040.

Horizon 2040 is the long-range transportation plan that guides how the regional transportation system will develop through 2040. It is based on projections for growth in population, housing and jobs and considers every mode of transportation, such as private vehicles, public transit, bicycling, walking, freight movement, rail and air travel.

The proposed amendment to Horizon 2040 adds three new City of Spokane projects. To be eligible for funding, these projects are required to be included in the plan. The projects being added include:

·         Main Ave. - Browne St. to Division St. - Reconfigure three lane arterial to two lanes with possible center lane angle parking, mid-block pedestrian crossing and streetscape improvements.

·         North Monroe St.- Indiana Ave. to Garland Ave.- Reconfigure a four lane arterial to one lane each direction with a center two-way left turn lane, sidewalk and pedestrian improvements, curb extensions and traffic signal modifications at the intersection with Montgomery.

·         Maxwell Ave.- Maple St. to Washington St.- Reconfigure to two lanes with a center two-way left turn lane.

More info on those projects and Horizon 2040 in general can be found at http://www.srtc.org/mtp_2040.html. We are looking for feedback on the proposed amendment and the projects to be added to the plan so show up and put in your two cents!

Attention Consultants- We're Requesting Proposals for our Horizon 2040 Implementation Toolkit Project

If you're with a consulting team, we may have a job for you! SRTC is requesting proposals from qualified consultants for the Horizon 2040 Implementation Toolkit. Horizon 2040 is the Metropolitan Transportation Plan for the Spokane Region. You can learn more about it at the link.

The Toolkit study will provide recommendations for establishing transportation performance measures and targets, as well as a tool for evaluating the performance of transportation projects and programs. If you're interested, contact Transportation Planner Eve Nelson for details  at (509) 343-6370 or by email at enelson@srtc.org. The deadline to submit proposals is 12 p.m. on June 6, 2014.

Study Says Area Bad Roads Are Hitting You Where It Hurts- In the Wallet

Not to sound like a broken record, but our local roads aren't in great shape. We told you that when developing our long term tranpsortation plan Horizon 2040, and now a new study by national transportation research group TRIP is telling you that.

TRIP says damaged roads costs the average Spokane driver $1,423 a year in increased maintenance, fuel, traffic accidents and time lost in traffic. But there's also costs incurred by collisions and the cost to the economy that bad roads take.

The Spokesman-Review looks at the numbers.

Spokesman-Review Summarizes Our Horizon 2040 Plan

Since our Horizon 2040 plan was adopted by the SRTC Board in December, I've been pretty quiet on
the topic. The Spokesman-Review followed up though with a recap of it in today's paper.
I'll let someone else talk about the plan for a change.

It's Official- SRTC Board Approves Horizon 2040 Plan

That sound you heard a little while ago was the sigh of relief staff let out when our Board approved our Horizon 2040 plan after almost two years of developing it.

This is a BIG day for us. Our Transportation Planner Ryan, the one with the crazy look in his eye to the left, put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into this plan. Actually that may have been my tears but I know Ryan invested a lot. And all he got was this lousy cake. And a lot of satisfaction.

So we celebrate tonight, Ryan takes an extended vacation, then we get back on the horse on January 1 putting the plan into action. So stay tuned, Horizon 2040 won't just go on a shelf now.

Less Than a Week Left to Comment On Horizon 2040

This is your warning that you have a little less than a week left to submit any thoughts or comments on the Horizon 2040 plan.

Horizon 2040 is a long-term, multimodal “blueprint” for transportation aimed at meeting the mobility needs of the area through the year 2040. It is based on projections for growth in population, housing and jobs and takes into consideration every mode of transportation, such as private vehicles, public transit, bicycling, walking, freight movement, rail and air travel.

 

The public comment period for the plan runs through November 16. After that, the plan goes to our Board for approval/acceptance in early December. In the meantime, watching the video below is a good way to get up to speed on the plan and what's included in it. Or you can read the entire plan and all the background materials at the link above.

 



Open House #2 This Week For Horizon 2040

You've got one more chance to speak to SRTC staff face-to-face about the Horizon 2040 plan and it's this Wednesday. Last week we hosted a public open house in Cheney and this week we're having one in north Spokane.

The open house is Wednesday, Nov. 6 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Northeast Community Center, 4001 N. Cook. You can come anytime during that timeframe. It's an open house format so there won't be an actual presentation. Just stop by, check out the map of projects recommended for completion by 2040, the projected growth numbers and areas (very interesting) and strategies to put the plan into action. Then make a comment or two, or ask questions if you have any, and leave whenever you need to. It's that simple.

More info on Horizon 2040 can be found here. There's also information there on how you can comment even if you don't attend the meeting.

What We Heard At A Public Open House Last Night

SRTC hosted the first of two public open houses yesterday on our long term transportation plan, Horizon 2040. We had a good turnout with lots of people showing up before the meeting even started and got lots of great input.

With the meeting located in Cheney, a lot of people wanted to talk about highway 904 that goes from I90 into Cheney. It is currently a two lane roadway with a lot of traffic from staff and students going to Eastern Washington University. There is a project included in Horizon 2040 that recommends widening it and adding a center turn lane between 2021 and 2030. So, here's some of what we heard last night:

• Move the proposed 904 widening project up sooner than 2021 at the earliest (heard this more than once).
• Raise the speed limit on 904 to 60 mph and shorten the 40 mph zone in and out of Four Lakes on the south end, starting the 40 mph zone about 300 feet before 6th Street (don't worry- if you plan to make comments you don't have to be this specific)
• Don't widen 904 as it could encourage speeding and higher accident rates. This came from a gentleman who said he'd been in one serious accident on 904 and narrowly avoided two others.
• Build an arterial corridor from 904 to the airport so Cheney residents can access available job opportunities.
• 904 is dangerous for garbage trucks and buses. There isn't much room to pull over to pick up people or refuse on the sides and other drivers pass at high speeds, or pass trucks and buses on the right.
• Put up more speed limit signs in general. It's hard to tell where speeds change.
• Build Hayford Road underground and under the new runway when Spokane International Airport builds their proposed third runway.
• Build right turn lanes on highways like 904 and Highway 2 through Airway Heights. People trying to turn into driveways and businesses cause backups behind them.

And finally, one woman confided to me that her aunt used to purposely drive close behind semis and buses in order to inhale their fumes. She said the aunt was a little strange. I suspect that may have had something to do with all those years of sniffing fumes. I'm not sure why people tell me this kind of thing but I love hearing it, really makes my night interesting.

Don't worry, if you missed last night's meeting, there's another chance to attend a Horizon 2040 open house. We'll host another one next Wednesday, Nov. 6, 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Northeast Community Center, 4001 N. Cook, Spokane, WA 99207.

Horizon 2040 Public Open House Next Tuesday

Day six of the public comment period for SRTC's Horizon 2040 Plan. Don't forget, on day 11 (Tuesday, Oct. 29) we're hosting a public open house so folks like yourself can get a chance to talk to staff one-on-one about the plan. Or if you don't want to talk to staff, it gives you a chance to view the maps and other materials full-size in a setting where you can take your time and absorb them. Or you can just hangout. It's your public meeting so do what you want.

 

So here are the details:

 

When: Tuesday, Oct. 29 4-6 p.m.

Where: Cheney Library, 610 Front St., Cheney, WA

Why: To talk about Horizon 2040! Are you not listening??

Who: You! Get your happy self to this meeting. At least it would make me happy if you did...

I'm Going To Take It Personal If You Don't Have Something To Say About Horizon 2040

I can die happy now. After two years, a final draft of SRTC's Horizon 2040 plan is finally complete and out to an official 30-day public comment period.

Horizon 2040 is a long-term “blueprint” that guides how the regional transportation system will grow and develop through the year 2040. It is based on projections for growth in population, housing and jobs and takes into consideration every mode of transportation, such as private vehicles, public transit, bicycling, walking, freight movement, rail and air travel. Horizon 2040 includes:

• The projected demand expected to be placed on the regional transportation system between 2014 and 2040;

• the condition of existing transportation facilities;

• strategies to operate and maintain regional transportation facilities and manage congestion;

• assessments of area pedestrian and bicycle facilities;

• a list of transportation projects and programs to be constructed or completed by 2040; and

• a financial plan to carry out all of the above activities.

So, we've done our part. Now it's time to do yours. We're giving you 30 days to review the plan, plus two open houses if you want to come talk to us about it in person, and submit comments. Here are the details on the open houses:

• Tuesday, October 29 from 4-6 p.m. at the Cheney Library at 610 First Street, Cheney, WA
• Wednesday, November 6, 2013 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Northeast Community Center, 4001 N. Cook St. Spokane, WA, in the Assembly Room
  

Horizon 2040 is available for review and comment before then at http://www.srtc.org/mtp_2040.html. Hard copies can be viewed at the SRTC office at 221 W. First Ave., Suite 310, Spokane, WA. Comments can be submitted by emailing contact.srtc@srtc.org, mailing to SRTC or by calling (509) 343-6370. The public comment period for Horizon 2040 runs from October 18 to November 16, 2013.

Spokesman Article Summarizes Horizon 2040

So do you believe me now? About the future of population growth and the impacts on our transportation system, I mean? Because it's in the newspaper, I mean. Sometimes, like with my dad, I can talk until I'm blue in the face about something and no one absorbs it. Two days later though I'll get a call saying, "So I saw in the newspaper that there's supposed to be an increase in vehicle travel in our area by 2040..." Really, dad? That's facinating.

 

Anyway, our Horizon 2040 plan is the subject of the bulk of the Spokesman-Review's "Getting There" column today, so if you haven't looked through our actual plan, you can read   

the article to pick up some of the highlights I suppose.

 

There's also the option of watching the cool video on Horizon 2040 that City Cable 5 put together for us...

 

All the Highlights Of Horizon 2040 In A New Video!

Have I mentioned just how much I love those guys at the Cable 5 channel at the City of Spokane? They're always willing to work with me on putting together videos for our projects and always do a fantastic job. Eric dealt with my endless edits to produce this beauty about our Horizon 2040 plan. So now, if you'd prefer, you can watch a video with highlights from the plan instead of reading about it.

Small Town, Some Big Transportation Ideas

I had the pleasure of hanging out in the small town of Fairfield this past Saturday for their annual Flag Day celebration. I had a table in the vendor area at the event, to talk to people about our Metropolitan Transportation  Plan, Horizon 2040.

My secret weapon was this child-sized transportation system rug. It sucked the kids in and while they were playing, it left the parents with little to do besides talk to me. Diabolical, I know. But effective.

I got a good variety of input and thoughts too. It was a nice cross section of folks who live in Fairfield and provided perspective on small town transportation issues, people who travelled there for the day from Spokane and even a gentleman from the west side who said even he believes Eastern Washington gets overlooked when it comes to transportation funding.

Here's a sampling of what I heard:

• Toll the North Spokane Corridor to help pay to complete it.
• Many of the smaller towns 'fix' their own transportation issues. For instance, if a large pothole develops, someone will generally use their own equipment to fill it and tamp it down.
• Most people in Fairfield and the surrounding small towns commute to Spokane for jobs.
• Teach kids in Drivers Ed about how to share the road with semis. I talked to a couple truck drivers who said their main problem is other drivers speeding up to pass them, then cutting in front of them and throwing on their brakes. It's not easy for a semi to stop under those conditions.
• Get rid of the split speed limit that says semis need to go five miles per hour slower than other traffic. This causes a bottleneck which can create dangerous situations.
• Start a shuttle from Spokane through all the small towns as a kind of public transit.
• The intersection on Highway 27 where you turn to go to Rockford needs a dedicated turn lane. People come around the corner and sometimes there is a big backup because someone is waiting to turn to go to Rockford. This is an accident waiting to happen.
• Where 195 merges onto I90 put a dedicated through lane from south to east to reduce safety issues caused by cars trying to merge with freeway traffic.
• Don't put any more money towards studying lightrail. Instead use it to study how to create a transporter like on Star Trek.

Yes, I actually did get that last comment. It came from two gentlemen whom I suspect had been in the beer garden before talking to me. And apparently there is fun rivalry between Fairfield and Rockford. I pointed out that in the movie Space Balls, a spoof on Star Wars and Star Trek, a haywire transporter put one character's head on backwords. One of those guys suggested we practice on Rockford residents in that case and the other said, "That would put their heads on right."

Now I guess I have to go to Rockford to get their side of the story. 

Does A Propsed Transportation Funding Package Even Address Our Major Issues?

I have had two different transportation planners now send me this Crosscut article on whether a transportation funding package proposed in Olympia would really meet our needs. So that must mean it's a very relevant article right?

The article, authored by former Washington State Secretary of Transportation Doug MacDonald, is the first in a four-part series. It discusses how the proposed package does little to pick up the pace of maintaining our transportation infrastructure, although that's what would need to happen to prevent further deterioration of our roadways and other facilities.
Considering that Washington Governor Jay Inslee allegedly adopted a "fix it first" attitude, many are also surprised to see the proposed package includes funding for a bunch of new projects.

The comments following the article are worth a read too, so enjoy.

And just a heads up, we've been crunching the numbers in our office as part of the Horizon 2040 planning effort to see what it would cost locally to get ahead of the deterioration of our transportation infrastructure and the numbers are truly mind numbing. You'll be hearing more about that soon.

Don't Forget- Public Open House Wednesday Night

Don't forget- you've got plans tomorrow night to attend the joint public open house for Spokane Transit and SRTC. STA will be filling people in on their proposed High Performance Transit network while we at SRTC will be talking about our Horizon 2040 plan and the impact it could have on you in the future.

The open house is at the Lincoln Center, 1316 N. Lincoln St., from 4:30 to 7 p.m. The beauty of holding "open houses" versus "public meetings" is that you can come anytime during the open house hours, get the information you need and leave at any time. There will be a series of "stations" you work your way around to so the informal format works a lot better for busy folks.

SRTC Board Meets Thursday, April 11

SRTC's monthly Policy Board meeting is next Thursday, April 11 at 1 p.m. The agenda is here. This could be an interesting one because the Board will be discussing indepth the draft first three chapters of Horizon 2040, our Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP). The plan includes information on the current state of the regional transportation system, such as pavement condition and how much it would cost to bring it up to a "good" state of repair. Considering that there's not enough money to fix everything, it could be interesting to hear Board members' reactions to that and how they propose to spread the money there is around.

SRTC Joins With STA For Public Open House

We've been working on Horizon 2040 for about a year now at SRTC, our long term plan for the future of transportation in Spokane County. We're not the only ones looking down the road though. Spokane Transit is also going through a comprehensive planning process with their "STA Moving Forward" initiative.

They deal with transportation and we deal with transportation right? So it seemed to make sense that we join forces for a public open house so people can get information on both of our plans at one place, and see how they work together.
So mark your calendar. Next Wednesday, April 10 is the open house. STA will fill you in on their proposed High Performance Transit Network while we'll be talking about the area's where we feel transportation funds should be spent in the area over the next 20+ years.
The open house is at the Lincoln Center, 1316 N. Lincoln St. from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Because it is an open house format, you can come anytime during that timeframe that works for you.
Here's a little more info in case you need it. See you Wednesday.