Mobility

How is King County doing?

The ability to move freely and efficiently throughout the region contributes to the quality of life of King County residents. Traffic congestion causes stress, slows the movement of freight and goods, costs commuters time, increases pollution from tailpipe emissions, and decreases productivity. The average time it takes for residents to commute to work rose to 26.7 minutes in King County, after a brief decline due to slowdowns in the regional economy earlier this decade.

Commuting trends in King County have run counter to those seen nationally since 1990. While fewer county commuters drive to work alone (a decrease from 71 percent of commuters in 1990 to 66 percent in 2006), a greater share of national workforce drives alone to work (an increase from 73 percent of the workforce in 1990 to 76 percent in 2006). Reducing single-occupancy vehicle travel will not only enhance regional mobility, but it is also critical for improving air quality, reducing energy consumption, and decreasing greenhouse gas emissions.

What else influences these indicators?

Several factors contribute to the length of commute times and use of alternative transportation modes. Land use and development patterns, including the proximity of jobs, shopping, and services to housing affect transit agencies' ability to provide efficient service. Densely developed areas are easier to serve with transit and provide greater opportunities for residents to pursue other options, such as biking and walking. The real or perceived safety of alternative travel modes and the safety of the travel environment (e.g., presence of sidewalks and streetlights) influences the choices commuters make. In addition, the cost of travel, including gas prices, transit fares, tolls, and vehicle ownership and maintenance costs, is a factor that impacts travel mode choices.

The price people pay for transportation can also affect how they travel. Preliminary research indicates charging tolls on freeways will cause people to change their travel behavior, potential reducing vehicle miles traveled by 10 to 20 percent.

What role does King County government play?

A reliable road network and an effective transit system are key to keeping the people and economy of King County moving. Residents and businesses depend on the county's unincorporated area road network of approximately 1,800 centerline miles of arterial and local roads and more than 185 bridges. The county's Road Services Division plans, designs, builds, operates, and maintains most roads, bridges, pathways, traffic control systems, and other road-related infrastructure in the unincorporated area, excluding interstate and state highways. While the majority of cities in the county operate their own public works departments, the division provides road and bridge services by contract to supplement many city programs. Other agencies, such as utility districts, also contract for road services from the county.

In alignment with national and local climate change initiatives and the need to improve public health, King County Road Services Division developed a Transportation Programming Tool, allowing planners to predict the likely benefits of proposed non-motorized transportation projects such as bike lanes and walking trails. A benefits calculator created from the Land Use Transportation Air Quality and Health research results (2005) allows King County to weigh the likely increases in route connectivity and transit access, and decreases in pedestrian conflicts with vehicles associated with each project proposal. The result will be a score for each project's predicted transportation, safety, economic, air quality, and health benefits. King County is now working with other local jurisdictions to share the information and refine the tool.

The county is also maximizing the efficient use of existing roadways by employing Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) technology. Through advanced communication technologies, ITS systems can increase the transportation system's safety and efficiency, and help reduce air and noise pollution and fuel consumption. Examples of ITS include transit signal priority systems, emergency and incident response management, and real-time traveler information (including traffic cameras) on the county's MyCommute Web site. ITS technology helps to accommodate the ever increasing number of vehicles on the region's system of major arterial roadways at a time when there are insufficient transportation revenues to add more lanes.

On an average weekday, nearly 400,000 riders use the King County Metro bus system. One of the 10 largest bus systems in the nation, Metro operates 223 bus routes throughout the county, with nearly 10,000 bus stops and 132 park-and-ride facilities connecting riders with those routes. Metro also provides Access service for riders unable to ride regular transit.

In 2006, King County voters approved Transit Now, allowing Metro to expand service. Through September, 2009, Metro will have added about 125,000 hours of service in the county's most heavily used corridors, allowing buses to come more often or keep running longer into the day or evening. New routes are serving growing residential areas, and Metro has entered into innovative partnerships with 17 cities and businesses to create four new routes, add trips on 26 routes, and make improvements to roadways in two major corridors--one in West Seattle and another on the Eastside--to improve bus speed and reliability.

Metro is working closely with regional transit partners to make it easier for riders to travel throughout the central Puget Sound region. Metro was one of the seven transportation agencies that began rolling out the ORCA smart-card system for regional fare payment in April of 2009. Sound Transit's LINK light rail system will open in July, 2009. After considerable public outreach to get community feedback on early proposals, Metro will be changing bus service along Sound Transit's LINK light rail corridor to provide better connections with the new service and more options for riders in these neighborhoods.

Metro is also adding new buses to its fleet and replacing aging buses. Twenty-two new hybrid-electric coaches with the latest systems for comfort and safety were delivered in June 2008, and more are coming. Some of these will join Metro's regular fleet, while others will be painted in the distinctive red and yellow that have been chosen to mark RapidRide, the Transit Now-funded bus rapid transit service that Metro will launch on five busy corridors beginning in 2010.

King County plays a key role as a regional government by coordinating transportation decisions among state, regional and local agencies, staffing and participating in subregional forums, administering grant programs, and investigating new and innovative responses to transportation problems. In January 2009, King County Executive Ron Sims joined Governor Chris Gregoire and Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels to announce their recommendation to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct's central waterfront section with a bored tunnel beneath downtown, a new waterfront surface street, transit investments, and downtown waterfront and city street improvements. The state, county and city departments of transportation are working together to implement the bored tunnel and related projects.