Regional Arterial Network (RAN)
Many main traffic corridors pass through and are managed by multiple jurisdictions, making interjurisdictional planning essential to addressing traffic congestion. The Regional Arterial Network treats specified arterial corridors as a single unified system that, with regional support, will function as the regional lifeline for travel. This arterial system will become a focal point for effective road and transit improvements designed to move people and goods safely and efficiently from community to community.

What We've Done:

• Since 1998, the Executive has raised awareness of the need for a system-wide approach by engaging in discussions with the state, local jurisdictions and private sector groups.

• One result has been the creation of a $20 million congestion relief fund by the state legislature. These revenues, available only to counties statewide, will be used to implement projects that provide improvements along critical transportation corridors. The state legislature also provided funding for RAN projects in Referendum 49 during its last session.

• In addition, several regional and state grant agencies have revised their funding criteria which favor corridor level improvements over spot improvements.

• The Regional Project Evaluation Committee of the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) has recommended $1.1 million in federal funds be used for improvements on the Trans-Valley corridor.

• King County, Renton, Tukwila, and SeaTac received initial grant funding for planning, design and construction of a corridor from the Soos Creek Plateau to SeaTac Airport. Plans include a major intersection improvement at Benson Highway, arterial improvements in the northern Kent Valley and a railroad grade separation in Tukwila at South 180th Street.

• King County, Federal Way, Des Moines, Kent, SeaTac and Tukwila have secured funding for a multi-year effort to widen Pacific Highway with HOV lanes, sidewalks, lighting, access control to increase capacity and improve the highway's visual appeal.

• King County, Redmond and Bellevue received grant funding to improve traffic signals and provide priority for transit vehicles as part of the Bellevue-Redmond-Overlake Transportation Study.

What We're Doing:

• King County and the City of Seattle are collaborating on a project in the Duwamish industrial area that will apply transportation smart technology to move trucks and other vehicles more efficiently through this important job center.

• This fall King County, in cooperation with selected cities, will seek additional grant funds from the Transportation Improvement Board, which has approximately $170 million available for road and transit projects.

• The Department of Transportation has budgeted over $136,000 in operating funds for RAN projects in 2000. An additional $152 million are programmed in the Roads Services and Transit capital programs for RAN related improvements.

For More Information:
Please contact Roy Francis, (206) 684-1644.

Freight Mobility
International trade and efficient transportation of goods from King County to the rest of the nation makes this one of the top exporting regions in the country. To maintain this competitive edge, our transportation infrastructure must allow easy movement of goods and freight to and from our port and industrial areas.

What We've Done:

• Shared bridge design expertise with Auburn and Tukwila on their grade separation design projects.

• Budgeted $150,000 toward three partnership grants to support the design of additional grade separation projects in Kent, Tukwila and Seattle.

• Worked with Seattle and Tukwila to resolve a longstanding issue over bridge replacement for the 16th Avenue South Bridge in South Park.

What We're Doing:

• Working with the State, the Ports of Seattle and Tacoma, key cities and the railroads to focus investments on the freight action strategy (FAST) corridor, from Everett to Tacoma. During the past year, the FAST Corridor program has attracted $ 266 million in direct federal, state and regional grant support.

• Investigating the feasibility of a truck corridor linking the Duwamish with the Green River Valley in cooperation with the Puget Sound Regional Council and the City of Seattle.

• Working with the City of Seattle, and cities in south King County, as well as with the private sector to implement intelligent transportation systems (ITS) technology to improve truck mobility from Seattle to the Kent Valley.

• Including truck movements as part of the Regional Arterial Network.

For More Information:
Please contact Roy Francis, (206) 684-1644.

Transit
Winner of several national transit awards, King County Transit continues to build on its success to increase ridership and service for the region. In the face of a booming economy and limited funding, King County Transit is a key player with helping to solve the transportation demands in the region.

What We've Done:

• Implemented the Six-Year Transit Development Plan in three years, adding more than 420,000 annual hours of bus service to the system between 1995 and 1998.
• Set a new ridership record, with 80.3 million passenger trips in 1998, the fourth straight year of ridership increases.
• Expanded efforts with cities for buses to transmit signals for green lights as they approach, including working with the City of Seattle on transit signal priority projects on Aurora Avenue North and Rainier Avenue South; demonstration project at Rainier Avenue South and South Genesee Street scheduled to begin in late summer 1999 and working the cities of Bellevue and Redmond to successfully secure a grant which will improve traffic signals and provide priority for transit in the Overlake area.

What We're Doing:

• Expanding HOV lanes to ensure the speed and reliability for transit riders.
• Developing dedicated rights-of-way for transit busways and expansion of existing busways.
• King County has a unique opportunity to better link transit service and land use with development of the new 6-Year Transit Plan concurrent with the 2000 Update of the Comprehensive Plan. The overall goal is to target new public transit investments where the investments could generate the highest ridership.
• Developing a new 6-Year Transit Plan, which will incorporate the new park and ride plan adopted by the King County Council and Sound Transit's regional system plan. It will also provide a revised policy framework for allocating new transit service.