Seattle-Lake Washington Corridor Urban Partnership Agreement National Evaluation Plan

2.0 Seattle/LWC Urban Partnership Agreement

This chapter describes the Seattle/LWC UPA. An overview of the transportation system in the Seattle region is provided first. The Seattle/LWC UPA partners and the local organizational structure are highlighted next. Finally, the Seattle/LWC UPA projects, funding, and deployment schedule are described.

2.1 The Transportation System and Congestion in the Seattle Urban Area

Congestion levels in the Puget Sound area continue to increase. According to WSDOT's Managing and Reducing Congestion in Puget Sound Performance Audit Report,³ over 40 percent of the traffic traveling in either the a.m. or p.m. peak periods is travelling below 45 mph. The reports also states that 49 to 79 percent of the commuters in the Puget Sound area (depending upon the route) drive alone. TTI's Urban Mobility Report⁴ ranks Seattle 18^th nationally in terms of total delay and 19^th in terms of delay per peak traveler, based on 2005 data. The report also estimates that 57 percent of the lane-miles in the Seattle area are congested, up from 47 percent the previous year.

Both SR 520 and I-90, which cross Lake Washington, represent two of the major east-west commuting corridors in the Seattle Area, linking communities east of Lake Washington (such as Bellevue, Redmond, and Issaquah) with downtown Seattle. Downtown Seattle remains the region's major center of population and employment, supporting approximately 500,000 jobs annually. Over the past 40 years, the population of Seattle has remained relatively constant, increasing from 467,591 in 1960 to 563,374 in 2000. Over the same time period, however, the Eastside communities have experienced tremendous growth, primarily supported by the SR 520 floating bridge and I-90 bridge structures. Between 1960 and 1970, the population of the Eastside more than tripled, growing from 24,184 to 84,287. From 1970 to 2000, the population of the Eastside has essentially doubled again. The 2000 Census placed the population of the Eastside at 161,967. Even more substantial has been the growth of employment in the Eastside. Today, SR 520 and I-405 corridors support some of the major high-tech businesses, bringing thousands of workers to the Eastside. As a result, the morning commute from Seattle to Eastside is just as important to the region's economic vitality and the morning commute as the commute from the eastside to Seattle.⁵

The following additional information on SR 520 is excerpted from WSDOT's Request for Proposals for the SR 520 Toll Collection System:

"SR 520 currently consists of two lanes eastbound and two lanes westbound, with the exception of a third HOV lane that starts west of I-405 and ends just before the eastern terminus of the SR 520 Bridge…The three major access points to the SR 520 Corridor are the I-5, I-405, and SR 908/Bellevue Way NE interchanges.

…The SR 520 Bridge opened to traffic in 1963 and was initially designed for a capacity of 65,000 vehicles per day, although it currently carries approximately 110,000 vehicles per day. Moreover, about seven times the number of vehicles cross the SR 520 Bridge than when it opened in 1963, and the traffic demand in both directions often exceeds the capacity during rush hours. Traffic on SR 520 grew steadily between the years 1975 and 2000, but has leveled off since then.

SR 520 traffic volumes have been relatively balanced in both directions since the late 1980s. Since 1993, however, peak morning traffic volumes have been slightly higher eastbound, and peak afternoon traffic volumes have been slightly higher westbound.

Travel times are not reliable on SR 520 due to traffic volume, incidents, weather, and special events, all which negatively affect congestion. Furthermore, congestion on this east-west corridor negatively affects the two major north-south corridors in the region (I-5 and I-405), as well as local arterials. As with most corridors, however, demand is not consistent throughout the day, which results in periods when the bridge is not being used to its capacity."⁶

Several agencies provide transit services throughout the entire Puget Sound area, but the two service providers that have the greatest ridership in the Lake Washington area are King County Metro Transit and Sound Transit. Metro Transit is one of the area's largest public transit providers, serving more than 1.8 million residents in King County. Through its more than 1300-vehicle fleet, Metro Transit services an annual ridership of 118 million passengers within a 2,134 square mile area. Metro Transit's fleet includes standard and articulated coaches, electronic trolleys, dual-powered buses, hybrid diesel-electric buses, and streetcars. Metro Transit also operates the largest publicly-owned vanpool program in the country, with about 1,000 vans.

Sound Transit is the other major transit provider in the corridor. Created in 1996, Sound Transit provides regional express bus, commuter rail, and light rail services between major commuting destinations in the region. Sound Transit operates a total of 25 express bus routes with 7 routes directly utilizing either SR 520, I-90, and SR 522.

According to the Congestion Report, one possible reason why eastbound trips out of Seattle did not change between 2005 and 2007 was the dramatic change in transit ridership. Sound Transit bus routes heading eastbound out of Seattle experienced a ridership increase of approximately 23 percent between 2005 and 2007. Similarly, King County Metro experienced a 12 percent increase in ridership on the eastbound services.

The Seattle/Lake Washington UPA projects discussed in Section 2.2 represent one of the many efforts being pursued in the Puget Sound area to fight the growth of congestion. Other initiatives include expansion of bus, light rail, and ferry services, integrated corridor management on I-5, use of innovative traffic management and traffic control procedures, improvement in travel demand and telecommuting services, and the elimination of capacity bottlenecks.

2.2 The Seattle/LWC UPA Local Partners

The Seattle/LWC local UPA partners consist of the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC); and King County, Washington. These partners are coordinating planning, implementation and/or operation of various UPA projects with a number of other local agencies such as the City of Seattle and Sound Transit.

WSDOT is responsible for the overall project schedule and financial management, coordinating project activities and reporting to Federal agencies. WSDOT is leading the SR 520 bridge variable tolling, real-time travel time signage, and SR 520/I-90 active traffic management projects.

King County operates the Metro transit service, which comprises the majority of the transit service in the SR 520 corridor. King County is leading the Seattle/LWC UPA bus transit projects, consisting of enhanced bus service along SR 520 and real-time information signs at transit stations, and expansion of two existing park-and-ride facilities.

The Puget Sound Regional Council is the Metropolitan Planning Organization for the Seattle urban area including King, Pierce, Snohomish and Kitsap Counties. PSRC is leading the telecommuting/travel demand management projects which are part of the UPA but are being implemented without Federal UPA funds.

Figure 2-1 presents the Seattle/LWC UPA team. The three Seattle/LWC UPA local partner agencies (WSDOT, PSRC and King County) coordinate their UPA activities with U.S. DOT headquarters in Washington, D.C., the Federal Highway Administration Washington State Division, and with the Federal Transit Administration Region 10 office in Seattle.

2.3 Seattle/LWC UPA Projects and Deployment Schedules

The Seattle/LWC UPA projects are intended primarily to reduce congestion—improve average travel speeds while increasing the person throughput—on SR 520 between I-405 to the east and I-5 to the west. SR 520 interchanges with I-5, the major north-south route in and out of downtown Seattle, about three miles north of the Seattle central business district. The centerpiece of that approximately 6-mile segment is the approximately 1.4-mile long SR 520 (officially, the "Governor Albert D. Rosellini Bridge—Evergreen Point") floating bridge across Lake Washington. Interstate 90 parallels SR 520, about three miles to the south, between I-405 and I-5 and constitutes a primary alternate route. Figure 2-2 shows the location of SR 520.

Bi-directional, all-lane variable tolls on all lanes of SR 520 constitute the congestion pricing component of the Seattle/LWC UPA and are supported by transit, technology and travel demand management projects. Table 2-1 is adapted from the September 30, 2009 amended and restated Urban Partnership Agreement Term Sheet⁷ and summarizes the Federally-funded Seattle/LWC UPA projects. Additional information on those as well as the locally-funded travel demand management projects follow Table 2-1. Figure 2-3 shows the locations of the WSDOT UPA tolling and technology projects and Figure 2-4 shows the location of the UPA transit projects.

Table 2-1, which quotes project description language directly from the latest term sheet, shows that vehicles with 3 or more passengers will pay discounted tolls or no tolls. However, that issue in general as well as any specific approaches to high occupancy vehicles are still being considered by the local partners and U.S. DOT. Although this evaluation plan includes vehicle occupancy and other data collection relevant to HOV-related inquiries, it does not necessarily contain all of the HOV-related evaluation activities that may be needed, depending on the final approach taken by the local partners. When the local partners and U.S. DOT have resolved this issue the evaluation approach will be adjusted as necessary and reflected in the test plans.

Table 2-1.? Seattle/LWC UPA Projects and Funding

Project	Federal Funding
Tolling (Congestion Pricing) Projects
Variable pricing on SR 520.? The Urban Partner will implement variable pricing (based on the level of demand) on all through lanes of SR 520 between I-5 and I-405 and, to the extent necessary to maintain free flow traffic in the through-lanes, on all collectors and distributors for SR 520 between I-5 and I-405.? The Urban Partner will provide discounted or free access for vehicles with 3+ occupants.	$63.0M
Transit Projects
Enhanced bus service along SR 520.? The Urban Partner will expand transit capacity along SR 520 by adding 90 one-way peak period trips on core and other supporting bus routes operated by King County Metro and Sound Transit. New transit improvements along SR 520 corridor.? The Urban Partner will construct transit facilities to include stops/stations/terminals, expansion of existing park-n-ride lots, and the provision of real time information signs at transit stations to support the tolling of SR 520.	$41.0M
Improvements to regional ferry service.? The Urban Partner will carry out a number of projects to improve regional ferry boat service, as described in applications filed for funding under FHWA's Ferry Boat Discretionary Program.	$27.4M
Technology Projects
Real-time multi-modal traveler information.? The Urban Partner will use intelligent transportation system ("ITS") technology to provide real-time traveler information (including current toll rates) for SR 520 and the Lake Washington corridor.? Dynamic message signage prior to traveler decision points will provide opportunities for re-routing in order to access alternate travel routes (I-90, I-405, I-5). SR 520 active traffic management. ?The Urban Partner will implement technology to provide active traffic management of the Lake Washington Corridor (SR 520, I-90, I-5 and I-405).	$23.1M

The Seattle/LWC local partners and U.S. DOT have agreed that since the regional ferry services are not expected to significantly impact traffic conditions in the SR 520 corridor the ferry projects will not be included in the national evaluation.

SR 520 Variable Tolls

The following information on the SR 520 toll system is excerpted from the WSDOT Toll Collection System Request for Proposals (June 15, 2009):

"When open to tolling, motorists will be charged a toll to cross the SR 520 Bridge in both directions. The toll rates, including any discounts for High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) use, will be determined later in 2009 or in 2010 by the Washington State Transportation Commission but will depend upon the time of day (i.e., variable tolling), the type of vehicle (i.e., vehicle classification), and possibly the occupancy of the vehicle (e.g., Single-occupant Vehicle [SOV], high-occupancy vehicle containing two or more travelers [HOV 2+], and high-occupancy vehicle containing three or more travelers [HOV 3+]). WSDOT will communicate the toll rates to the public via Internet, static and dynamic message signs and various public education and outreach efforts.

The toll collection system (TCS) will automatically identify and classify each vehicle traveling in both directions at a single location on the highway, capture the Transponder identification number (if any) and license plate image and number of each vehicle, build a Toll Transaction, and send this information to WSDOT's Customer Service Center (CSC) back office for processing and collection. No toll booths will be provided; therefore, motorists will not be required to stop to pay. Motorists can pay by either 1) establishing a pre-paid, Transponder-based Good To Go!™ customer account with WSDOT from which tolls can be debited, or 2) paying (pre-pay or post-pay) for each Toll Transaction through a number of methods, including by mail, on the web, over the phone, or in person at one of three customer service storefronts. Doing so will allow vehicles to travel through the corridor at highway speeds without stopping to pay a toll.

WSDOT expects that, in time, most users of the SR 520 Bridge will pay using a Good To Go!™ customer account; however, a significant amount of users will not have Good To Go!™ accounts or Transponders and therefore must be identified by the TCS via their license plates. This information will be used by the WSDOT CSC back office to match Toll Transactions with customer pre-payments or bill customers for post-payment. WSDOT, through its CSC provider, will handle Toll Transactions received from all State toll facilities, including the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, the SR 167 HOT Lanes, and the new SR 520 toll lanes (i.e., the TCS).

It is anticipated that the toll rate structure of the SR 520 toll lanes will encourage motorists to either shift their travel times from the peak periods into less congested periods or to shift their travel mode from single occupant vehicles to either HOV or transit. Some motorists may also elect to cancel or consolidate some or all of their trips or to take an alternate route altogether. Over time, travel patterns may change significantly from opening day scenarios due to various factors, including tolling, and the TCS is expected to be able to accommodate these changing conditions. Although toll rates have not yet been established, they would likely vary based on historical traffic demand, with higher toll rates during peak travel periods and lower toll rates during off peak travel periods. The toll rates may be adjusted several times a year to accommodate seasonal demand and from year to year as travel patterns change."⁸

The SR 520 tolling is planned to utilize a single toll collection point located on the far eastern portion of the bridge span. Figure 2-5 shows the proposed tolling point location.

Transit Projects

Bus service along SR 520 will be expanded by adding 90 one-way peak period trips on bus routes operated by King County Metro and Sound Transit. Service expansion will include purchasing 45 new buses. The new bus service is focusing in particular on the reverse commute direction, e.g., west to east in the AM and east to west in the p.m., building upon existing all-day, two-way services and peak commuter routes currently provided by Metro and Sound Transit.

Two park-and-ride lots are being modified, the South Kirkland lot located at the I-405/SR 520 interchange and the Redmond lot located farther east. At both locations, existing surface lots are being replaced by new parking garages. The Kirkland location will not be complete until after the UPA evaluation data collection has been completed and so it will not be included in the evaluation. The Redmond park-and-ride lot changes are a critical part of a larger redevelopment of the Redmond station that includes a new transit center and a transit oriented development (TOD) project. Converting the existing surface lot to garage parking (with no change in the total number of spaces) made room for the addition of a 6-story mixed use building containing 322 apartments and 12,000 square feet of commercial space. In conjunction with this project a new transit center is being developed adjacent to the parcel. The transit center features new passenger amenities and loading facilities. Collectively, these projects are intended to increase ridership on the SR 520 corridor due to better passenger facilities and ridership from the TOD project.

Other transit improvements include new bus shelters and new real-time information at bus shelters/stations, both at locations to be determined.

Technology Projects

Advanced technologies, e.g., Intelligent Transportation Systems, play a significant role in almost all of the Seattle/LWC UPA projects. In addition to the pervasive, enabling role for technology throughout the deployment, there are two specific technology projects being implemented. The first project is the Active Traffic Management (ATM) system that will be installed on SR 520 and I-90 (an ATM is also being installed on I-5 although it is not included in the UPA). The system will consist of a series of electronic speed-limit, lane status, and mini-dynamic message signs over each lane on the SR 520 and I-90 bridges over Lake Washington. Figures 2-6 show the planned SR 520 and I-90 ATM gantry locations. Figure 2-7 shows a visualization of the gantries. The depiction in Figure 2-7 is of a two-cycle message gantry where temporary traffic control begins, showing how displays used for advisory speeds (bottom image) would convert to lane control displays.

The second type of UPA technology project is real-time, multi-modal traveler information. The project identified to date in this area consist of several new travel time signs in the SR 520 corridor. WSDOT will use the signs to provide up-to-the-minute, comparative travel times (e.g., for alternate routes) for travel to Seattle. The signs are intended to reduce collisions, as well as the congestion caused by collisions, by warning drivers of slow-moving traffic ahead. The information is also intended to signal drivers to use alternative routes. Signs will be installed at three locations (locations are shown in the previous Figure 2-3):

• Westbound SR 520, one mile east of I-405
• Southbound I-405 at the NE 72nd Place overpass, 1.3 miles north of the SR 520
• Westbound SR 522 at the SR 202 overpass, one mile east of the I-405 northbound exit.

Figure 2-8 shows two possible designs for the UPA travel time signs.

Travel Demand Management Projects

There are no travel demand management projects that are funded through the UPA. However, the Seattle/LWC UPA partners are considering options for enhancing a wide range of regional travel demand management strategies which, in the SR 520 corridor, are intended to complement the UPA projects. Further, through a related but non-UPA exercise (the local partners' "Travel Demand Target Setting" study), the SR 520 corridor is being used by the local partners as a test case for applying TDM strategies to achieve specific, pre-defined traffic reduction targets on major highway corridors. Most of the TDM strategies under consideration consist of expanding or enhancing existing programs. The specific TDM strategies to be implemented have not been identified yet and therefore the evaluation plans presented in this document are high level. As specific TDM strategies and targets are identified more specific evaluation approaches will be developed and reflected in the Telecommuting/TDM Test Plan.

Potential TDM strategies under consideration by the Seattle/LWC UPA partners include:

• Growth and Transportation Efficiency Center (GTEC) – Continued funding to existing or new centers in the SR 520 corridor ("centers" are designated geographic areas within growing urban regions where WSDOT is working with partners on economic development, transportation efficiency, and land use changes). GTEC provides a framework for establishing goals and creating strong partnerships between local government, the business community, and transit agencies. GTEC programs reach out beyond the major employers under the CTR program to smaller employers, students and residents. The program also provides a mechanism for local governments to tie their land use policies, including parking management, concurrency requirements, and development standards, to trip reduction goals.
• Parking Management Programs – Employer incentives to reduce or eliminate employee parking subsidies.
• Parking Supply – New or expanded park-and-ride lots.
• Travel Alternatives Promotion – Including using the existing Commute Trip Reduction (CTR), King County Metro InMotion, Rideshareonline.com, vanpools, and ORCA/Smart Card (regional integrated fare payment cards).
• Land Use – New activities that could include HOV or transit supportive land use decisions, guidance to local government and developers and possible bonuses for developments meeting standards, or employer bus pass requirements.
• Employer Based Strategies – Enhancing or expanding the existing CTR, Redmond Trip Reduction Incentive Program, Transportation Management Program and University of Washington UPASS.
• Carsharing – Expanding carsharing (e.g., "Zipcars") locations.
• Data Collection and Performance Management – Building on the existing tools and processes used for the CTR and GTEC commuter surveys and the new daily trip log that will be offered by the new Rideshareonline to measure the effectiveness of SR 520 TDM strategies.

Table 2-2 presents the deployment timeline for the various Seattle/LWC UPA projects (ferry service, which will not be evaluated, is not shown). Most of the projects, including the tolling and enhanced transit service, are scheduled to become operational no later than June 30, 2011 and potentially as early as November 1, 2010. WSDOT is allowing prospective toll system contractors to propose their own delivery date within this 8-month window (November 2010 to June 30, 2011) and is providing an incentive for completion earlier within this window. Given this current uncertainty, the schedule-related discussions in this evaluation plan leave the exact timing of evaluation activities unspecified. The full test plan documents to be developed in the next few months will refine the data collection schedule once the specific deployment dates are provided by WSDOT. One project, the Redmond P&R/TOD is already operational. The South Kirkland park-and-ride lot expansion will not become operational in time to be considered in the UPA national evaluation. A schedule for travel demand management projects has not yet been identified.

Table 2-2.? UPA Project Schedules

Projects	Operational Date
Redmond Park-and-Ride/Transit Oriented Development	June 30, 2009
Variable Pricing on SR 520	June 30, 2011
Enhanced Bus Service on SR 520	June 30, 2011
Transit Real-time Information Signs	June 30, 2011
Travel Time Signs (and any other real-time multi-modal information)	June 30, 2011
SR 520 Active Traffic Management	June 30, 2011
I-90 Active Traffic Management	June 30, 2011
South Kirkland Park-and-Ride Lot Expansion	October 15, 2014
Travel Demand Management	Existing programs are on-going; timing of specific enhancements supporting the UPA is to be determined

³Washington State Department of Transportation Managing and Reducing Congestion in Puget Sound Performance Audit. Prepared by Talbot, Korvola, and Warwick for the Washington State Auditor. October 2007. Available at http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/NR/rdonlyres/6CC095B5-2B01-4B5B-B2D7-9F773268F80D/0/ar1000006.pdf. Accessed May 27, 2009.
⁴D. Schrank and T. Lomax. The 2007 Urban Mobility Report. Texas Transportation Institute, The Texas A&M University System, September 2007. Available at http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/mobility_report_2007_wappx.pdf. Accessed May 27, 2009.
⁵SR 520 Bridge Replacement and HOV Project: Draft Environmental Impact Statement. Report No. FHWA-WA-EIS-O6-02-D. Washington State Department of Transportation. August 18, 2006. Available at http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/sr520bridge/DraftEIS.htm. Accessed June 11, 2009.
⁶Request for Proposal ACQ-2009-0530-RFP, Supply, Install, Maintain a Toll Collection System, Appendix 2 - Project Description, WSDOT, July 15, 2009
⁷"Amended and Restated Urban Partnership Agreement by and between U.S. Department of Transportation and its Seattle-Area Urban Partner," United States Department of Transportation, September 30, 2009.
⁸"Request for Proposal ACQ-2009-0530-RFP - Supply, Install, Maintain a Toll Collection System, Appendix 2 - Project Description," Washington State Department of Transportation, June 15, 2009.