State Transportation Commission to Meet on
December 12 and 13
Posted 12.08.06

Transportation Commission Office - PO Box 47308 - Olympia, WA 98504-7308
(360) 705-7070

Date: December 8, 2006

OLYMPIA – Next week in Olympia, the Washington State Transportation Commission will discuss innovative transportation partnerships, ferry financing, and rail transportation. The Commission’s regular monthly meeting starts at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, December 12 and reconvenes at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, December 13. The meeting will be held at the Transportation Building, Commission Board Room, 310 Maple Park Avenue SE, Olympia, and is open to the public.

On Tuesday, Washington State Department of Transportation staff will present the agency’s response to comments received in November, when the Commission held a public hearing for the proposed administrative rules to implement the Transportation Innovative Partnerships Act. Passed in 2005, the law authorizes public-private partnerships for the development of transportation-related projects in Washington. These partnerships seek to combine public and private sector resources to design, construct and sometimes finance transportation projects for the state. The proposed administrative rules will provide guidance over how WSDOT seeks out and negotiates potential public-private partnership agreements. The Transportation Commission oversees the program and has final authority to enter into public-private partnership agreements on behalf of the state.

Commissioners will hear preliminary recommendations of a Ferry Finance Study being conducted by the legislative Joint Transportation Committee (JTC). The study is to examine the Washington State Ferry’s future operating and capital costs, as well as ridership and revenue estimates. A consultant for the JTC will provide an overview of the study, with discussion of ferry fares, role of the Tariff Policy Committee and next steps.

The Commission will be taking action on their Statewide Rail Capacity and Systems Needs Study. Cambridge Systematics, the consulting firm hired to conduct the study, will present the draft final report on Tuesday afternoon for review and adoption. The study examined the current powers, authorities and interest that the state has in freight and passenger rail. It also recommends policies and guidelines for state participation and ownership of rail facilities and service delivery. The Commission’s final report and recommendations will be delivered to the legislature in January.

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