26 Washington State Transportation Planning Context The framework for transportation planning in Washington State warrants the use of non-motorized transportation prioritization tools. The Washington State Growth Management Act requires jurisdictions fully planning under the GMA to develop a non-motorized element to their transportation and comprehensive plans. In addition, cities are required to include a Capital Facilities element in their Comprehensive Plan and to update a Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) and Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), listing all projects planned for a six-year time period. Also, projects proposed in local jurisdictional plans are submitted to county and region-wide plans, ultimately enabling funding to be allocated to specific projects. A list of prioritized non-motorized projects will help agencies in all of these aspects of transportation planning and funding. Capital Improvement Plan & Transportation Improvement Program The State Growth Management Act (GMA) requires that communities plan for capital facilities to ensure there is an adequate level of service in place at the time of development. The Capital Facilities Element of the City Comprehensive Plan is a long-range financial plan that allows the City to prioritize public projects and identify adequate funding sources. Although the TIP is technically part of the CIP, GMA requires that transportation be addressed through the Transportation Element of the City Comprehensive Plan, which includes the TIP. Washington State Law also requires that every municipality annually update their TIP for the following six years – this is a list of projects that are both funded and unfunded, but planned for the following six years. In most cases, projects must be included in the city’s TIP in order to be eligible for state and federal funding sources.
identifies the need and opportunity based on a variety of factors. Complete Streets and Multimodal Level of Service Level of Service and Multimodal Level of Service – and its connection to Complete Streets -- is discussed extensively in Cascade Bicycle Club’s Multimodal Level of Service Guide and Complete Streets Guide. Adopting and achieving LOS standards is a requirement for cities planning under the Growth Management Act. Having LOS standards and LOS procedures that address and reflect all modes of transportation can assist agencies in identifying multimodal deficiencies in the system, prioritizing improvements and ultimately facilitating the building of Complete Streets. There are methodologies that provide a framework for calculating the LOS for each mode. Most recently, the 2010 Highway Capacity Manual recommends an integrating approach for evaluating the multimodal level of service for urban arterials and intersections. While Multimodal LOS calculations can be used as a tool to prioritize improvements, the calculations evaluate existing condition factors, rather than provide information about how a project would impact public health or the environment. Multimodal LOS calculations and standards are important for assessing the existing level of performance and safety provided for each mode on a given roadway, while ensuring that cities have the opportunity to build and fund complete streets; this information can help to determine roadway improvements that will improve the functionality and safety for all modes. The project prioritization tools discussed in this guide provide a more complete picture of where the demand is based on a broader set of goals. An entire project list, or complete city street network, can be evaluated through some of the approaches discussed in the following section.
While a City may have a long-range non-motorized plan, all of the projects listed in this plan will likely not end up in a 6-year CIP or TIP. Both the TIP and CIP provide the opportunity and need for an adopted transportation project prioritization methodology. Projects that are listed in these programs are those eligible for funding and ultimately a road-map for what the City intends to build. The projects listed in these plans should be based in a process that quantifying
& prioritizing non-motorized transportation investments