After six weeks of design effort, teams from Idaho, Oregon, and Washington presented their designs to a judging panel composed of City officials, Transpo engineers, and cycling and pedestrian advocates.  The results earned praise from the judging panel and will assist the City as it begins planning, designing, and implementing improvements along this new corridor.

Want to know more? Check out the Kirkland Reporter’s article about the competition.

The consolidated RCF is a noteworthy sustainably-focused project, and serves as the Aviation Division’s sustainable asset management pilot project.  The Port has targeted the RCF as the first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified port facility.

The Bow Lake Transfer Station required expansion and reconfiguration to handle an increased waste stream, and retrofitting to accommodate intermodal transfers due to the closure of a nearby landfill. Transpo provided traffic engineering for future access improvements necessary due to the proximity of the station to a busy I-5 interchange. Transpo investigated alternatives such as adjacent intersection realignment, conversion to a roundabout, and grade separation of left turns entering the transfer station. We worked with the project team to optimize the on-site circulation and queuing for current transfer operations and potential future intermodal transfers.

Based on our analysis, King County selected an automated traffic management system to control on-site circulation – minimizing long queues and need for major interchange modifications. Using an innovative application of ITS technology to optimize site operations, Transpo developed the functional requirements for an automated scale plaza and processing area, and assisted in the ITS system design and integration of barrier gates, traffic control signals, variable message signs, traffic detection equipment and an operator interface system.

Transpo assisted the Skagit Council of Governments in preparing the update of the joint 2010 – 2035 Skagit-Island Metropolitan/Regional Transportation Plan, which addresses federal and state requirements and ensures high priority projects are eligible for funding through the widest range of programs available.

As part of the plan update, Transpo worked with Skagit Transit and Island Transit to update the two-county Coordinated Public Transit-Human Services Transportation Plan. The plan was framed to address challenges posed by the land-use characteristics of both regions: Island County has unique requirements due to ferry service and its multi-island topography, and Skagit County has a predominately rural population. The updated plan establishes a baseline for coordinated transportation planning within the region, and will enable the counties to better serve rural patrons, persons with limited mobility and the elderly.  The plan identified the need for high priority projects such as new bus shelters at various locations, expanding operations to connect rural populations to existing commuter services, and replacing transit vehicles.

We will have some great new giveaway items at our booth. Please stop by to say hello and get some swag.  See you at the Spring 2012 APWA Conference!

In an ever-changing economy, many communities must make difficult decisions in how to invest limited resources to best serve the local community.  With today’s budgetary constraints, the City of Bellingham took a fresh look at infrastructure investments operations by conducting a benefit-cost analysis for their portion of the Waterfront District, a 215-acre mixed-use waterfront redevelopment project near the downtown core.

The City is considering a series of key infrastructure projects to help facilitate the redevelopment. These investments would help to keep new jobs and housing close to downtown, rather than in lower density suburban areas. By conducting a benefit-cost analysis, Transpo helped the City explore whether the livability and sustainability benefits City residents would receive from the projects in the Waterfront District would outweigh the costs to City.

Transpo applied connectivity tools to help monetize the benefits of walkability in communities, and confirmed that the advantages of walkability are significant; two of the three largest financial benefits of constructing the Waterfront District improvements pertained to walkability. This is one way Transpo has helped established a nexus between livability principles and hard-dollar budget considerations.

Click here to read the full article, which will be presented by Brent Turley at the 2012 ITE Technical Conference March 4–7 in Pasadena, CA.

As part of a team working closely with WSDOT and CWCOG, Transpo provided technical assistance in validating the need for improvements to the SR 432, as outlined in the SR 432 Route Development Plan. Transpo performed travel demand forecasting and traffic analysis to assist in identifying and evaluating future corridor improvement alternatives. Transpo then developed conceptual layouts of the interchange and a series of alternatives in order to make recommendations for improvement of traffic operations along SR 432. The goal was to reduce rail and vehicular traffic conflicts along the corridor. This analysis was the first step in determining the feasibility of planning, designing and implementing future transportation network improvements along the six-mile corridor. The study relied heavily on input from the corridor’s industrial and civic community, as well as rail users and providers, including the Port of Longview and BNSF.

The trail was previously detoured around the site, which closed for safety improvements in June 2011. The redeveloped trail is 12 feet wide with soft surface shoulders, enhanced traffic controls and intersection and crossing treatments, and improved lighting and trail signage. Other upgrades include a new stormwater system, retaining walls, slope stabilization, replacement of the Lyon Creek Bridge, and installation of native vegetation. As part of a team, Transpo provided the original safety study and signage plan for the project.

King County will hold an official grand re-opening event in late spring 2012. Visit the project website for more information on improvements to the Burke-Gilman. 

Transpo continues to assist Washington State Ferries (WSF) and the FTA in evaluating concepts to replace or relocate the Mukilteo Ferry Terminal. The new multimodal terminal will improve the operations and facilities serving the eastern terminus. The Mukilteo/Clinton ferry route is part of SR 525, connecting Whidbey Island to the Seattle-Everett metropolitan area. It is WSF’s second busiest route for vehicle traffic and has the third largest annual ridership. Future usage is expected to increase significantly by 2030.

As part of a team, Transpo led the transportation modeling and non-motorized analysis components of the project for both Mukilteo and Island County. The WSF travel demand model for Western Washington was utilized to evaluate long-term ferry ridership demand for four alternative terminal designs. The ferry level of service relies upon non-peak, average, and summer peak ridership projections to estimate the percentage of sailings that are over capacity. The ridership forecasting was used as a basis for fine tuning the terminal design concepts to provide the optimal circulation and operations for all modes of travel.  Transpo evaluated the refined terminal design concepts in detail for the transportation discipline element of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the project.

WSF and the Federal Transit Administration released the Mukilteo Multimodal Project Draft EIS for public comment in February 2012. Learn more on WSDOT’s project website.