Transportation Commission to meet March 18 & 19 in Olympia
Posted
3.13.09
Transportation Commission
Office - PO Box 47308 -
Olympia, WA 98504-7308
(360) 705-7070
Date: March 13, 2009
| Contact: |
Reema
Griffith, Transportation
Commission Executive
Director, 360-705-7070 |
OLYMPIA – Washington’s national ranking for traffic congestion, the status of the Columbia River Crossing project, tolling operations, and motorcycle safety will be among the topics of discussion when the Washington State Transportation Commission meets next week in Olympia.
The meeting will be held on Wednesday and Thursday, March 18 and 19. Both days’ sessions will begin at 9 a.m. at the Transportation Building, Commission Boardroom, 310 Maple Park Avenue SE, in Olympia. Commission meetings are open to the public and persons wishing to address the Commission may do so during the public comment period scheduled for Thursday at 2:45 p.m.
On Wednesday, the Commission will hear a presentation by Brian Mistele, INRIX president and CEO, regarding the INRIX National Traffic Scorecard. This report looked at congestion and the worst bottlenecks in cities across the nation. The report ranked the top 100 worst metropolitan areas, including Seattle/Tacoma, which ranked as the ninth worst-congested region. Los Angeles and New York, respectively, took the top two spots.
Also on Wednesday, Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) Region Administrator Don Wagner will give the Commission an update on the Columbia River Crossing project. Columbia River Crossing (CRC) is a bridge, transit and highway improvement project of the Washington and Oregon departments of transportation. The project is designed to reduce congestion and improve safety on a five-mile segment of Interstate 5 (I-5) between Vancouver and Portland. The Columbia River Crossing project team is currently refining the Locally Preferred Alternative, a replacement bridge with light rail, which was chosen based on public and local partner agency input.
During Thursday’s meeting, Office of Financial Management and WSDOT staffs will present information about how WSDOT compares with other tolling agencies’ operations. Staff will provide the results of an evaluation of toll-operation costs on the Tacoma Narrows Bridge and State Route 167 in comparison to other tolled facilities across the country. Commissioners will consider recommendations for developing toll operating-cost benchmarks based on that evaluation. They will also discuss incentives to reduce and control tolling-operation costs.
With traffic deaths declining steadily, but a continued rise in the number of motorcycle deaths and injuries, Washington Traffic Safety Commission Director Lowell Porter will discuss with the Commission reasons for this trend and what is being done to address this safety issue.
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