SR 19/20 Corridor Plan Open House #3

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) will host an Open House this Thursday, August 27, from 4:00 to 7:00 PM at the Chimacum Creek Primary School in Port Hadlock.

This is the third Open House scheduled as part of the corridor planning process. There will be a fourth once the draft plan is prepared late this year.

The agency is interested in public comments on a preliminary list of potential transportation improvement projects along the SR 19/20 corridor from SR 104 to the Port Townsend ferry terminal.

For more information on the Open House and on the corridor planning process in general, visit this website: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/sr19/corridorplan.

The poster boards to be presented at the Open House can be accessed on the WSDOT website, as well.

There are eight "projects of special interest" about which WSDOT is looking for feedback in particular. These are:

1. SR 20/Kearney Street intersection control
2. SR 20/Port Townsend entryway study (Discovery-Mill-Jacob Miller vicinity)
3. SR 19/SR 20 intersection control
4. SR 19/Prospect Avenue intersection control
5. SR 19/Irondale Road intersection control
6. SR 19/SR 116 intersection control
7. SR 19/West Valley Road intersection control
8. SR 19/SR 104 intersection control

"Intersection control" could mean a traffic signal or a roundabout.

For more information, plan on attending the Open House and/or continue to visit the WSDOT website linked above.

NJ FIT: Future in Transportation

New Jersey is developing a new program oriented toward creating greater synergy between land use and transportation, which will yield environmental and health benefits. It's called Future in Transportation.

The program was developed after an Integrated Land Use and Transportation Plan for Route 31 in Flemington, New Jersey, included a robust trip reduction program in connect with public transit. Extensive public involvement was key to the corridor planning process. The project was recognized by the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) with a "Best Project Award." The Project for Public Spaces (PPS) has also offered congratulations to the New Jersey Department of Transportation for this exemplary work, and included Route 31 as a case study in its Building Community through Transportation program.

Question: While recognizing that we are in a different geographic and demographic context, can we still learn something valuable from effort on the other coast?

Smart Trips Workshop 1/23/09

From the Sponsors' Event Flyer...

Jefferson Smart Trips -

A Visioning Workshop

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Friday, January 23, 12- 2 p.m.
Masonic Hall, Jefferson & Van Buren, Port Townsend

Featuring

Vicki Steigner for WA State Dept. of Transportation

Dave Turissini for Jefferson Transit

Josh Peters for Jefferson County

Rick Sepler for City of Port Townsend

What could a Smart Trips program look like in Jefferson County?

Whatcom Smart Trips uses an innovative rewards campaign to get people walking, biking, sharing rides, and taking the bus. Although the Whatcom Smart Trips program is designed for the Bellingham metropolitan area, we could be the test case for a program in a rural area. Our goal would be to decrease congestion in the SR 19/20 Corridor. The program would dovetail well with the new commuter-oriented bus routes being planned by Jefferson Transit. We need to figure out better ways to incorporate bicycles with buses, to encourage use of park-and-rides, and promote transit and ride-sharing alternatives for trips between Port Townsend, Port
Hadlock and points further south (particularly ferries). Here are a few more ideas:

Walk
Installing complete streets, more trails and better interconnections

Bike
Bike commuting classes
Free bike repairs and tune-ups

Share a Ride
Promoting Rideshare Online for commuters
Providing Emergency Ride Home for commuters
Subsidizing the Vanpool program
Developing a Community Car Share program

Ride the Bus
Improving routes on Jefferson Transit, especially for commuters
Relieving congested sections of SR 19/20 corridor
Subsidizing transit passes for employees
Better provisions for bicycles, on-board folding bikes

Exhibits: Come early at 11:30 a.m. to learn more about folding bicycles, ride-sharing programs, walking and biking trails, and proposed transit commuter routes.

Sponsored by the Transportation Lab, Local 20/20 & Jefferson Transit

Contact 360-385-6579 or info@JeffersonCAN.org

For complimentary transportation to meeting, call Jefferson Transit at 360-385-4777

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PRESS RELEASE

January 14, 2009

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JEFFERSON SMART TRIPS – A VISIONING WORKSHOP
Joining forces to reduce congestion

A public workshop on January 23 will offer a look at a program of innovative alternatives for getting around East Jefferson County efficiently. Whether commuting on State Route 19/20 or taking a shopping and entertainment trip, Smart Trips can help. Successful implementation of a Smart Trips program in this area will provide choices beyond reliance on a single-occupancy vehicle (SOV).

The Washington State Department of Transportation (DOT) is in the beginning stages of planning to address safety and congestion issues along the SR 19/20 corridor from SR 104 to the Port Townsend ferry. Traffic forecasting for the year 2031 shows that during the "peak hour," which is generally 4:30-5:30 p.m., we could see 50-70% more traffic volume on the State Routes and 60-75 % more traffic at the major intersections along the corridor.

Traditional solutions to this type of volume-to-capacity problem have involved additional travel lanes and traffic signals. Widening the highway may not be what this community desires for the future. If we are to create an alternative solution to our challenge, it must involve transportation demand management (TDM), including innovative programs like Smart Trips, which help reduce the number of SOV’s on the roadways. The sponsors of this workshop, with the support and encouragement of DOT, are undertaking to bring a Smart Trips program to Jefferson County.

Vicki Steigner of DOT will present the Smart Trips program as pioneered in Whatcom County as a strategy for reducing congestion and increasing safety on Highway 19/20. Ms. Steigner will show how the program has significantly increased ride-sharing, transit use, van-pooling, walking and bicycling in four years.

Dave Turissini of Jefferson Transit will present possibilities for commuter routes and Park & Ride locations as part of the effort to reduce congestion.

Josh Peters for Jefferson County and Rick Sepler for the City of Port Townsend will facilitate discussions about the transportation alternatives needed to help commuters, residents and visitors get where they need to go in the next couple of decades without facing gridlock on the highway. The workshop discussion will generate ideas for putting together a Smart Trips program suited to East Jefferson County.

Port Townsend Transportation Lab, Local 20/20 and Jefferson Transit are co-sponsoring the Jefferson Smart Trips Visioning Workshop. If you are concerned about gas prices, want to reduce the congestion on the roads and reduce your carbon footprint, Smart Trips can help.

The workshop will take place on January 23 from Noon to 2 p.m. at the Masonic Hall located at Jefferson and Van Buren Streets. As a lead-in to the workshop, information will be available at 11:30 a.m. about a variety of alternative transportation modes including Jefferson Transit’s proposed commuter routes, folding bikes for convenient use on Transit, walking and bicycling in Jefferson County and how to use rideshare online and van-pooling.

For complimentary transportation to the workshop, call Jefferson Transit at 360-385-4777. For information, contact Marion Huxtable at 379-9527.

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