Title
Briefing on the Scoping of a new Multimodal Concurrency Program
Recommended Action
Information only. No action requested.
Report
Issue:
Receive a briefing on the scoping of a new Multimodal Concurrency Program and the planned development of a Transportation Master Plan.
Staff Contact:
Sophie Stimson, Senior Planner, Public Works | Transportation, 360.753.8497
Presenter(s):
Mark Russell, Director of Transportation, Public Works | Transportation, 360.753.8762
Background and Analysis:
Under the State's Growth Management Act, cities in Washington are required to build new transportation infrastructure "concurrent" with new development, which means within 6 years of the development. These "concurrency programs" are used to evaluate how much growth the new development is expected to bring to a community and what street improvements are needed to manage the new trips. The City collects transportation impact fees from the developer to help pay for these improvements. Olympia's concurrency program is focused on improving our streets for motor vehicles to lessen congestion.
The community is interested in broadening our concurrency program to place greater emphasis on improvements for walking, biking and transit. This "multimodal concurrency" program would add capacity to our street system for all modes of transportation, not just motor vehicles. Many cities in Washington have implemented such programs. A new multimodal concurrency program is intended to enable the City to spend funds from transportation impact fees on bicycle, pedestrian, and transit improvements.
A consulting firm, Fehr and Peers, worked with the City from March to July 2016 to scope a new program. A working group of citizens and key stakeholders met three times to provide input in this scoping process.
The outcome of the scoping process is to proceed with a "system completeness" approach to concurrency. This is a process whereby a complete system is defined for all modes of transportati...
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