Below are the minutes for the Regional Transportation Advisory Committee meeting, held on Friday, September 19, 2003, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. in Conference Room East (6A), at the Clark County Public Service Center, 1300 Franklin Street - Floor 4, Vancouver, Washington. The agenda for this meeting is also available.
I. Call to Order and Approval of Minutes
The meeting of the Regional Transportation Advisory Committee was called to order on Friday, September 19, 2003 at 9 a.m. in the Conference Room (6 Floor) at Public Service Center, 1300 Franklin Street Vancouver, Washington. Dale Robins, Senior Transportation Planner, served as Chair for the meeting. Those in attendance follow:
Randy Bombardier City of Ridgefield Mike Clark WSDOT John Cullerton Metro Lynda David RTC Evan Dust Clark County Mark Harrington RTC Bob Hart RTC Dale Miller C-TRAN Ed Pickering C-TRAN Sandi Roberts RTC Dale Robins RTC Ellen Rogers Port of Ridgefield Anne Sylvester Parametrix, Inc. Wade Strange SW Clean Air Agency Bill Wright Clark County Phil Wuest City of Vancouver Dale Robins asked for any changes or corrections to the August 15, 2003, Meeting Minutes.
EVAN DUST, CLARK COUNTY MOVED FOR APPROVAL OF THE AUGUST 15, 2003 MINUTES, AND PHIL WUEST, CITY OF VANCOUVER SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION WAS UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED.
II. 2004-2006 Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program, Action
Dale Robins, RTC, presented the 2004-2006 Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program. Dale clarified that the Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP) is a twenty-year plan for the future transportation needs of the Clark County’s regional transportation system. The Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program (MTIP) is a three-year program of funded transportation projects of regional significance. Projects programmed in the MTIP are drawn either directly from specific project recommendations made in the MTP or are developed from a more general series of recommendations (e.g. preservation, maintenance, safety, etc.)
Dale reviewed the MTIP development process that has three steps:
- Project Screening: Projects are reviewed for consistency with the Metropolitan Transportation Plan, land use plans, air quality goals, and regional screening criteria.
- Evaluation and Ranking by Needs Criteria: Each project is evaluated and ranked against a set of needs criteria, which have been adopted by the RTC Board.
- Project Selection and Programming: Projects are programmed for funding utilizing the project information generated by the previous steps.
Dale said that in July, RTAC and the RTC Board of Directors completed the first two steps of the project selection process and began the third step by proposing a set of projects for funding selection. The adoption of the 2004-2006 MTIP will complete the final step by programming federal funds for the selected list of projects.
Dale pointed out the MTIP development process includes a public participation process. This process builds upon the public participation process carried out by each jurisdiction in regard to their individual programs. MTIP information will be available at a public open house on Thursday, September 25, 2003 from 5-6 p.m. at the PSC, Vancouver.
Dale reviewed the attached sheet to the memorandum regarding 2004-2006 Prioritization of Federal Aid Projects by Year. Dale asked RTAC members to double check the list for their jurisdiction and notify him of any changes.
BILL WRIGHT, CLARK COUNTY, MADE THE MOTION TO RECOMMEND ADOPTION OF THE 2004-2006 METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM (MTIP) TO THE RTC BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND PHIL WUEST, CITY OF VANCOUVER, SECONDED THE MOTION. IT WAS UNANAIMOUSLY APPROVED.
III. Comprehensive Plan Update: Model Results, LOS and CFP, Discussion
Dale said last month RTAC members reviewed the results of the regional travel forecast model that used the “Proposed” Comprehensive Plan Map and existing MTP highway and transit networks as its basis. Since then, Mark Harrington has completed an additional model run. The latest model run uses the adopted MTP highway network with the addition of newly proposed Capital Facilities Plan (CFP) projects that member jurisdictions identified after evaluating the earlier model version for capacity deficiencies.
Since the August RTAC meeting, the Comprehensive Growth Management Plan update process has continued apace. Clark County Planning Commission hearings on the Comprehensive Plan update will begin on September 25th and will continue on October 2nd when testimony is expected to focus on that of individual property owners and October 9th when the focus of testimony is expected to be on the Capital Facilities Plan (CFP). Results of the regional travel forecast model using the “Proposed” Comprehensive Plan map with MTP plus additional CFP projects as its basis were presented at the September 3, 2002 RTC Board meeting. Comparisons were also made with the existing MTP. Mark Harrington provided RTAC with an overview of the RTC Board Power Point presentation. The Proposed Comprehensive Plan Map has resulted from the DEIS analysis process as well as public comment. Mark highlighted the 2023 household and employment forecasts used in MTP and GMA model runs. It was noted that the average household size today is 2.69 people per household in Clark County. This is also assumed to be the household size in 2023 in the “Proposed” Comprehensive Plan update. It was pointed out that household size is significant in the regional travel forecast model process.
Mark reviewed the All-Day Columbia River Bridge Vehicle Crossings for both the existing MTP and “proposed” GMA plan. Mark explained that the higher population in the proposed GMA plan results in more vehicle trips crossing the Columbia River for a variety of trip purposes, including work, shopping, recreation etc. Mark also reviewed PM Peak Hour Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) and pointed out that the model runs for the “proposed” GMA plan update result in an increase in the total number of PM peak hour Vehicle Miles Traveled compared with the existing MTP. This VMT increase holds true across all highway facility types. The higher population of the proposed GMA plan drives the VMT increase. Mark said the proposed CFP projects help to reduce the total peak hour VMT generated by the “proposed” GMA plan compared with the earlier model run that included the “proposed” Plan update with only MTP projects. The new CFP list adds some minor arterials and collectors to the transportation network and this results in an increase in VMT in the CFP model run.
Mark also reviewed results showing P.M. Peak Hour Lane Miles of Congestion. Congestion is defined based on highway segments that operate with a volume to capacity ratio of 0.9 or greater. Lane Miles of Congestion is an indicator of the extent of congestion. Mark said that in comparison with the MTP, the overall higher travel demand generated by the proposed GMA plan demographic forecast increases the lane miles of congestion on the regional transportation system. The proposed CFP projects do help to alleviate congestion, particularly off the interstate or state system. Mark reviewed the PM Peak Hour Vehicle Hours of Delay. Mark also reviewed traffic volume forecast at various locations throughout Clark County. There was discussion about the traffic volumes projected on the I-205 Glenn Jackson Bridge and I-205 corridor as forecast volumes in the proposed GMA Plan are significantly higher than the MTP.
The Comprehensive Growth Management Plan update and MTP Update was reviewed. The land use changes incorporated into the update Comprehensive Growth Management Plan will be used as the basis for the 2004 update to the MTP for Clark County. Consistency between the Comprehensive Plan and the MTP is a requirement of the Growth Management Act.
Evan Dust, Clark County, distributed draft copies of the Clark County Transportation Capital Facilities Plan. Evan explained that the list of projects is a fiscally constrained twenty-year list. $536 million in revenue is projected to be available to fund the projects. Evan said that the proposed land use plan places a significant demand for north/south roadway capacity between Vancouver and Battle Ground. Evan said the draft Capital Facilities Plan is scheduled for consideration at a Planning Commission hearing on October 9, 2003. Evan anticipated that the Planning Commission will be presented with some broad policy choices. Policy decisions will need to be made on how to address capital project needs in the rural area. Current policy limits the road width for rural roads to two-lanes; should these facilities be wider or should LOS be lowered? Yet another policy option would be to partner with jurisdictions and development interests to make needed projects happen. Evan said there are also policy choices related to how public dollars should be invested; should projects that support job generation be prioritized for funding? Evan said that in the revenue projection the County has assumed 1/3 of its funding will come from grants. He also said the revenue projection includes traffic impact fees only for those urban districts within the Vancouver urban area that the County has either full or majority control of.
Lynda David, RTC, reviewed current Level of Service (LOS) standards by facility category and asked RTAC members to consider whether changes should be made to these LOS standards given regional travel forecast model results. Lynda highlighted the chart that was attached to the memorandum titled “Level of Service: Current Status”. Evan Dust said that the same LOS will be reflected in the GMA update. He also said there needs to be a regional discussion on whether the region should consider using a 2-hour peak rather than a 1-hour peak. He said there is inadequate funding to maintain the current LOS standards in a 1-hour peak period.
IV. MTP Update Process, Discussion
Lynda David, RTC, distributed a handout titled “MTP Amendment/Update”. Lynda explained that RTC is proposing to carry out a minor amendment to the MTP in December 2003 and follow with a comprehensive update to bring in the updated demographic forecasts and land use from the Comprehensive Growth Management Plan update in June 2004.
The proposed minor amendment to take to the RTC Board in December 2003 is to be confined to adding one project and editing the MTP’s Strategic Plan. The project proposed for inclusion in the MTP is the Ridgefield project to improve access to the Port of Ridgefield and Wildlife refuge via a new bridge. This project addresses safety issues as it replaces three at-grade crossings of the main line railroad. The project is air quality conformity exempt and does not require re-doing the MTP’s air quality conformity analysis. Another component of the MTP amendment is to edit the MTP’s Strategic Plan section to reflect the New Starts Alternatives Analysis process for High Capacity Transit in the I-5 corridor. Lynda explained that air quality conformity analysis takes a significant amount of time to process. Therefore, any further project additions to the MTP would be dealt with in the comprehensive MTP update scheduled for June 2004.
Lynda directed attention to the handout titled “MTP Amendment/Update” and reviewed some of the issues that are relevant to the MTP update proposed for June 2004. Lynda explained that the goal for the update will be to make the MTP current with the comprehensive plan update and will incorporate the land use changes and the capital facilities plan projects from the County and local jurisdictions’ Comprehensive Plans. Lynda said that we need to make the horizon year for the MTP as close as we can to the Comprehensive Plan update horizon yet meet federal requirements that the MTP have at least a 20-year horizon. Lynda asked whether the County will review the demographic allocations following the Comprehensive Plan adoption if there are changes to the proposed land use during the Comprehensive Plan adoption process. John Cullerton, Metro, said Metro is using a 2025 horizon year for Metro’s RTP update. Lynda noted the need for continued bi-state coordination on these issues.
Lynda pointed out that there needs to be coordination between the MTP and MTIP process. Before projects can be programmed for funding in the MTIP they must be identified in an air quality conforming MTP. MTIP air quality conformity must be updated within 6 months of MTP conformity determination. It is anticipated that a checklist will be prepared as part of the MTP environmental review process. However, the MTP environmental review process relies heavily on the detailed Comprehensive Plan EIS process. Lynda also reviewed the public outreach requirements for the MTP update.
There was concern expressed about the required use of Mobile 6 for air quality conformity analysis beginning in February 2004, yet air emissions budgets were derived from use of Mobile 5. Lynda said other MTP update issues include WSDOT’s Congestion Relief Analysis due in mid-2004 and Washington’s Transportation Plan (WTP) update due in mid-2005.
V. Other Business
Phil Wuest, City of Vancouver, said RTAC should have an agenda item on Congestion Relief Analysis. Mike Clark, WSDOT, said John McConnaughey could provide a Congestion Relief presentation.
A. RTAC Members
Dale Miller, C-TRAN, spoke of C-TRAN’s decision not to serve the Interstate MAX station when it opens in May 2004. He said that C-TRAN needs to take into consideration the fare reciprocity agreement with Tri-Met made in 1984.
B. RTC Staff
Dale Robins said copies of the MTIP will be available at the October meeting.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:45 a.m. The next meeting will be Friday, October 17, 2003.
For More Information Contact:
Regional Transportation Council
1300 Franklin Street, Floor 4
Vancouver, Washington 98660Tel: 360-397-6067
Fax: 360-397-6132
E-mail: info@rtc.wa.govServed by C-TRAN Route 3.
If you have special needs, please contact RTC.
       
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