Transportation and Community and System Preservation Pilot Program

Implementation of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21^st Century

The central Puget Sound region is in the initial stages of substantially expanding its network of high capacity transit services and facilities, including a $3.9 billion investment in light rail, commuter rail, and regional express bus improvements over the next ten years. The region’s policy makers have identified both land use changes and access improvements in the immediate vicinity of the intermodal stations as a key requirement to making the high capacity transit system work. This grant application focuses on using a variety of tools that will contribute to the success of these intermodal facilities by working with citizens, neighborhood groups, the business sector, developers, elected officials, and agency personnel to create more livable communities. The Transit Station Communities Project will organize and initiate both regionwide coordination as well as local technical assistance efforts. The Regional Coordination and Awareness component will focus on coordinating the numerous and disparate station area planning and development activities throughout the region. This component uses techniques to reach out to local jurisdictions, the development community, and the public to increase the level of awareness and understanding of the opportunities and challenges of intermodal station planning. The Local Technical Assistance and Outreach component will focus on a select group of intermodal station planning and development efforts to provide direct technical assistance and improve community outreach. This component will test a variety of different techniques aimed at advancing local implementation and expanding local community participation.

II. PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The central Puget Sound region has experienced significant growth over the last several decades. The population of the four county region is now 3.1 million people, double what it was in 1962. While many people move to the region to enjoy the high quality of life and environmental amenities, the rapid growth has placed stress on both the environment and the infrastructure of many communities. Within the next month, the region is expected to become the first major metropolitan area in the nation that must address the issues of an endangered species listing (Chinook salmon). According to several studies, the greater Seattle metropolitan area is one of the most congested regions in the nation.

The central Puget Sound region has long acknowledged the inherent and critical link between land use decisions and transportation system investments and performance. The Washington State Growth Management Act (GMA), the region’s VISION 2020 growth and transportation strategy, and the region’s Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP) provide a unique framework for coordinating land use and transportation decision-making. These coordinated federal, state, and regional initiatives are beginning to influence the way growth and transportation improvements are managed in the region. The GMA, passed in 1990, requires local jurisdictions to adopt comprehensive plans that designate urban growth areas; protect resource lands and sensitive areas; provide for affordable housing; facilitate cooperative planning between levels of government; identify transportation strategies and improvements, including concurrency in infrastructure development to support growth; support economic development; and address several other growth management objectives. The Act also mandated the development of a regional (multi-county) strategy to integrate transportation and growth objectives. This plan, called VISION 2020 and originally adopted in 1990, is intended to locate growth within defined urban growth areas, including urban centers, urban travel corridors, and compact communities. The plan is also designed to protect open space, foster a greater mix of land uses, a more efficient network of streets, and an urban environment which is more amenable to walking, biking, and using transit. Under GMA, all local comprehensive plans must be consistent with this regional vision.

Finally, as required by the passage of ISTEA in 1991, the region has developed a twenty year Metropolitan Transportation Plan that examines long-term transportation needs of local jurisdictions, ports, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), and other agencies in the region. Transportation elements of local plans developed under GMA are certified for consistency with the MTP by the Puget Sound Regional Council. This evaluation ensures that all jurisdictions in the region are working toward common goals to coordinate transportation planning with growth management.

To support the regional growth and transportation strategy, mobility investments focus on establishing a more balanced transportation system, shifting emphasis from highways and single-occupant-vehicles to transit, people and goods. A balanced system provides transportation choices including private automobile, public transit, ride-sharing, biking, and walking, and takes into account the distribution of jobs and people, and the movement of freight. One of the most critical steps in implementing the region’s vision is development of a regionwide system of high capacity transit services serving the areas of densest population and employment. In 1996, citizens in the region approved a local tax increase to fund a $3.9 billion investment in light rail, commuter rail, and regional express bus improvements over the next ten years. During the same ten year time period, the WSDOT will be expanding its already extensive system of ferry facilities and services across Puget Sound to link Kitsap County with Pierce, King, and Snohomish counties. The five local transit agencies in the region are adding and restructuring community bus services and building new transit facilities to compliment these regional investments.

The combined investment in the light rail, commuter rail, ferry, and express bus network will result in new intermodal facilities at over 60 locations throughout the region by 2010, and 120 by 2020. These intermodal facilities will include rail stations, ferry terminals, and major bus transit centers. Some facilities will be served by more than one high capacity transit mode. All locations will require transportation connections that provide safe and convenient access from the facilities to jobs, housing, and services. Agencies and jurisdictions in the region are only beginning to address the implementation challenges of incorporating these intermodal facilities within communities while ensuring they fulfill their regional transportation functions and support the objectives of growth management.

This grant application focuses on using a variety of tools that will contribute to the success of these intermodal facilities by working with citizens, neighborhood groups, the business sector, developers, elected officials, and agency personnel to create more livable communities. Intermodal station facilities have the opportunity to function as more than just major public transportation access points. They can serve as a focal point for land use development and access improvements that create transit station communities. At its core, a transit station community is a compact, mixed use activity area centered around an intermodal transportation station that by design encourages residents, workers, and shoppers to walk rather than drive to complete many of their daily trips. The Region Council has developed a workbook (Creating Transit Station Communities – sent under separate cover) that promotes strategies for community building at transit stations. The Transit Station Communities Project would provide resources to help implement these strategies.

The project addresses two scales of needs: 1) Regional Coordination and Awareness, and 2) Local Technical Assistance and Outreach.

The Regional Coordination and Awareness component will focus on coordinating the numerous and disparate station area planning and development activities throughout the region. This component uses techniques to reach out to local jurisdictions, community organizations, the development community, and the general public to increase the level of awareness and understanding of the opportunities, challenges, and potential of linking land use and transportation components in the process of developing intermodal stations.. The Local Technical Assistance and Outreach component will focus on a select group of intermodal stations to provide direct technical assistance and improve community outreach. This component will test a variety of techniques aimed at advancing local implementation and expanding community understanding. Below is a description of each component and proposed tasks.

The region has addressed many of the larger policy and planning issues associated with growth management and community preservation, including identification of urban growth areas, designation of urban centers, and delineation of a preliminary regional rapid transit network. The steps necessary to make these plans become reality now face the region. The primary objectives of the regional coordination and awareness campaign are to bring together and highlight the numerous and disparate efforts of many local jurisdictions involved in station area planning and development throughout the region and to help the general public understand how their behavior related to transportation activities directly affects the quality of regional life. Each of the 120 station areas expected by 2020 will struggle with similar issues related to improving access, optimizing travel connections to the facilities, and developing compatible and supportive land uses. Many local jurisdictions have indicated a desire to learn techniques and approaches from their neighboring jurisdictions to tackle these challenges, including means to reach out to community organizations, the development community, and the general public.

The Regional Council will facilitate this communication among the various local government efforts by providing forums to share information, discuss strategies, and learn from different experiences. Web pages, electronic and in-person forums, and an advertising campaign will be used to communicate with and educate the regional community. The statewide citizen’s group, 1000 Friends of Washington, which maintains a broad constituency of interests related to growth and transportation issues, will take the lead in conducting a strategic public outreach campaign that describes the purpose and benefits of intermodal station planning and development to the general public, development community, and policy makers. Together the efforts are designed to provide individual citizens, elected officials, interest groups, and professionals throughout the region with a better understanding of intermodal station area access and development issues. Outlined below are the techniques that will be used as part of the regional awareness campaign.

Interactive Electronic Forum. The Regional Council website will be expanded to include an area devoted exclusively to intermodal station area planning and implementation efforts. Additionally, an electronic newsletter will be developed for anyone wishing to be kept abreast of station planning and development activities. The website and newsletter will describe the progress of local planning activities, summarize successful techniques used in the central Puget Sound and other regions, profile successful transportation and land use projects and their developers, and provide contact numbers and additional resources. The website will serve as a central location for jurisdictions to share experiences, information, and progress. It will also provide a means to communicate with citizens and the development community about potential opportunities and challenges. The website will help to expand the dialogue among local, regional, and state agencies and serve as a sounding board for the general public.

Community In-Person Forums. Approximately five forums will be organized to discuss transportation, land use, and growth management concerns and to share information regionwide. 1000 Friends has conducted a number of these forums statewide, bringing in nationally recognized speakers such as Myron Orfield and Allan Jacobs to spark discussions on livable communities, smart growth, and the effects of sprawl. Each forum will be organized around a different issue that local jurisdictions are facing. The forums will be oriented towards different audiences, such as local professional staff, elected officials, developers, financial institutions, and the general public. For example, one forum will provide the development community an opportunity to hear from developers who have successfully addressed issues of redevelopment in station areas. Another forum for lending institutions might focus on the potential effects of "location efficient mortgages" in housing development in station areas. At least one forum will emphasize regional issues and facilitate discussion among all interested groups, agencies, and individuals.

Regionwide Awareness Campaign. Radio ads will be developed and broadcast on local public radio stations to increase general awareness of the importance of good intermodal station planning. Fifteen second spot ads will be developed by 1000 Friends of Washington, which will work with local businesses, neighborhood groups, and the development community to identify messages and themes to bring the issues to a broader audience. The expectation is that these ads will be aired at least 200 times in selected time-frames to coincide with other relevant regional activities (e.g. Sound Transit events, announcements of regional forums as discussed above). Editorial boards and journalists will be engaged in the discussion and provided with information to reach the print media.

The region’s policy makers have identified both land use changes and access improvements in the immediate vicinity of the intermodal stations as a key requirements to making the high capacity transit system work. The land use changes in station areas generally include increasing land use densities, introducing a broader mix of land use activities, and establishing a more pedestrian-friendly environment. Access improvements within station areas will include pedestrian and bicycle connections, bus transfer linkages, and roadway improvements especially near park-and-ride lots. Each of the individual intermodal facilities will demand a different approach depending on its role in the high capacity transit network and the community context.

Implementing the land use changes and transportation improvements to ensure that people can easily reach the many intermodal stations located throughout the system will require a substantial commitment to coordination among transit operators, local jurisdictions, state and regional agencies as well as community groups, businesses, local property owners, and the general public. Local jurisdictions may see station locations as excellent opportunities to encourage compact, mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly land use development to help achieve local growth management objectives. Transit operators will be pursuing access improvements that make it easy to use the transit system. Property owners may see opportunities for development or redevelopment. Business owners will be concerned about the economic impacts of construction. The general public may be concerned about changes in their life style or quality of life. All of these interests and opportunities require careful consideration and coordination.

The purpose of this component of the project is to focus efforts in a few locations throughout the region to test new and innovative technical assistance and outreach techniques. Jurisdictions will be selected that reflect a broad range of intermodal station area planning and development efforts. Specific issues to be addressed include activities such as determining the market potential for land use changes, modifying zoning regulations, addressing diverse perspectives on the impacts of transit community development, securing necessary funding for transportation improvements, and addressing specific design issues to improve livability in transit station communities. As many as ten diverse locations will be selected for one or more forms of targeted technical assistance as discussed below.

Many potential transit community sites have already expressed support for and interest in this local assistance component. The criteria that will be used to select local station locations to receive assistance include: 1) ability to address the five major TCSP purposes, 2) the ability of the location to provide lessons that can be transferred to other locations in the region and other regions in the country, 3) the willingness of the local government to contribute local funding or in-kind contributions as well as a commitment to future follow-up, and 4) the contribution the location will make in laying out a diverse set of station development issues, including variations in socio-economic population served, amount of neighborhood resistance, modes of transportation (e.g. bus, rail, ferry), and amount of new development versus redevelopment. The following activities summarize the approaches to be taken. At each site one or more of these activities will be used.

Technical Assistance Teams. Teams will be organized to work with jurisdictions for a short but concentrated period of time to identify important issues and suggest various approaches to specific problems that they may be facing. Referred to as SWAT teams, these teams will ‘attack’ issues head-on by using a group of professionals with a variety of interests and expertise. The SWAT team efforts will be customized to meet the unique needs of each location where they are used. This technique will draw upon the knowledge and experience of property owners, public officials, academics, local businessmen, financial institutions, and other interests, providing a complete look at all angles of the planning and development process to formulate realistic solutions to move projects forward. The objective is to find creative, practical solutions for a full range of transportation and development issues and build consensus and momentum to move implementation forward.

Physical Urban Simulation. Through the use of three-dimensional computer simulations, potential implementation strategies can be more clearly understood by a broad audience. The current technology allows existing environments to be realistically modified to include new buildings, transportation facilities, and public amenities. Individuals can immerse themselves in an alternative environment to experience proposed changes in their communities resulting from transportation or land use investments. The Regional Council will work with the Community and Environmental Design and Simulation (CEDeS) Laboratory at the University of Washington. The CEDeS Lab is one of a few programs in the nation with a curriculum focused on virtual design and planning. Two projects already completed by the Lab include a simulation of a downtown park for the city of Seattle (Seattle Commons) and simulation of proposed private construction projects in a small town north of Seattle. Both of these have proved successful in educating a variety of interest groups.

Simulated Interactive Station Development Process. The Puget Sound Regional Council has developed an interactive ‘game’ to help local communities understand the numerous and complex strategies for creating a compact, pedestrian-friendly town center. The game and companion document – Creating your Urban Center: A step-by–step approach – walk participants through the entire process of creating a vision, organizing various players, reaching consensus, and developing specific implementation actions. The tool is a hands-on introduction to center development, designed for community leaders, developers, planners and actively involved citizens. This tool will be used in conjunction with the other techniques to provide a learning experience for a wide range of community interests that are trying to develop specific transportation and land use strategies at intermodal station facilities. The game has been successfully used in many Leadership Training programs throughout the region to help educate community leaders on the challenges of bringing diverse interests together to effect land use changes. The game will be refined to more closely reflect the intermodal station area development issues in specific Puget Sound communities.

Profiles of Community Station Locations. Information packets and maps will be developed for communities where more information is needed by developers, citizens, and elected officials to increase the understanding and awareness of the potential opportunities in station area development. Station Community Profiles will contain maps, lists of existing and planned access improvements, planned land use developments, inventories of underutilized parcels, demographic data, local market conditions, and other information as needed.

The Transit Station Communities project is a comprehensive approach focused on influencing land use patterns and improving access to major intermodal station locations. As just described this project addresses land use, growth management, and transportation interactions at two scales - regional and site specific. This section describes: 1) the primary objectives of the Transit Station Communities Project, 2) support for the major objectives and other criteria of the TCSP Pilot Program, and 3) background on other regional transportation practices that address these objectives.

Create more livable communities near station facilities. Intermodal station facilities can function as more than just major public transportation access points. They can serve as a focal point for a more livable and functional community. At its core, a transit station community is a compact, mixed use activity area centered around a transit station that by design encourages residents, workers, and shoppers to walk rather than drive to complete many of their daily trips. This project will raise the level awareness about this potential among all affected parties.

Increase the number of jobs, households, and commercial services located near stations. More activities near stations will provide a greater incentive and reason for residents of the region to use transit for commuting, shopping, or other daily travel. Households near stations can provide an excellent source of regular and frequent transit riders. This includes all forms of transit such as bus, train, and ferry. Station communities allow residents to maintain good access to jobs and services without depending on cars. This project will explore in depth these opportunities with developers, lending institutions, citizens, staff, and elected officials.

Improve access to station facilities for all travel modes. Providing more and better options for access to intermodal transportation facilities will increase regional transit use and enhance the productivity of the system. A variety of travel options are needed if the system is to address the broad travel needs of residents throughout the region. The region already maintains a significant network of park and ride lots, intermodal ferry and bus terminals, and bike trails. This project will enhance the connectivity among all of these modes.

Increase total regional transit system ridership. Long-term system-wide ridership will be an outgrowth of land use changes at stations and improved access. Meeting this objective will also directly affect some of the indirect benefits of a productive regional transit system such as reduced auto dependency, improved system efficiency, and reduced environmental impacts. This project will enhance awareness of the opportunities for use of public transportation.

Test new and innovative station planning and development activities. The project will address a variety of issues within many different land use contexts throughout the region. Techniques that go beyond the traditional "town meeting" or city council discussion will explore opportunities to use interactive technologies and games to engage multiple participants, including public and private sector interests.

Build a knowledge base that will help shape communities into the future. Through the evaluation and dissemination of results the project will increase awareness, knowledge, and understanding of station area planning and development efforts locally, regionally, and nationwide.

Increase awareness among and engage a wide variety of interest groups. This objective focuses on both passive (e.g., radio ads) and active involvement of a wide range of stakeholders. Actual partners range from statewide non-profit organizations to small local governments to individual citizens. The project provides mechanisms for and encourages private sector as well as public involvement.

Complement, improve, and enhance state/MPO plan process. The project will broaden the scope and impact of the state and regional efforts initiated under ISTEA (now TEA-21). The project will strengthen the link between land use development and transportation investments by raising the awareness of the land use-transportation linkages and actually encouraging specific land development at intermodal stations.

Improves the efficiency of the transportation system. Fostering land use changes in station areas will maximize the use of transportation infrastructure by increasing transit ridership and providing more linkages to various modes of transportation by concentrating people, jobs, and services at stations. The various approaches in the project specifically focus on people, services provided, and access rather than number of vehicles moved or vehicle miles traveled.

Reduces the impacts on the environment. More people and jobs in close proximity to transit facilities and increased transit use helps reduce auto emissions (and degraded air and water quality) through decreases in the growth of vehicle miles traveled. Additionally, specific regional and statewide strategies to focus growth in Urban Growth Areas are designed to protect the environment by maintaining open and green space, preserving wetlands, and avoiding critical areas. Station area development activities are critical infrastructure components that will help maintain the quality of life within the UGA as population continues to grow.

Reduces the need for costly infrastructure. Reducing the need for some auto trips by increasing the attractiveness and convenience of transit will eliminate the need for dramatically expanding automobile capacity throughout the region. Also, as a result of more compact land use patterns in urban areas additional savings will result from reducing the need to expand other costly urban infrastructure – schools, libraries, utilities, and other – to currently undeveloped areas. The project will measure reductions in the need for costly infrastructure through regionwide life-cycle savings that could be realized through avoided future investments and/or reduced maintenance.

Ensures efficient access to jobs, services, and centers of trade. Developing intermodal station areas within easy access of jobs, services, and housing will result in more efficient and equitable travel connections. Station area development will not only foster more transit commute trips but will also eliminate the need for additional linked auto trips resulting from more dispersed land development patterns. Station locations will also become centers of trade, facilitating freight and good deliveries at more centralized locations. Measures of performance will focus on increase in the number of households with viable transit connections to work and on the reduction and consolidation of freight trips due to more centralized deliveries.

Encourages private sector development patterns that achieve the goals above. A major focus of the project is on facilitating and encouraging private sector development patterns at station locations that work to achieve the program goals, which are mirrored in the region’s growth and transportation strategy (VISION 2020) and in the state Growth Management Act. Performance measures will evaluate trends in private sector development patterns that support sustainable land use and their influence on the other program goals – efficiency, cost-savings, environment, and access.

Demonstrated commitment of non-federal funding sources. The region has already committed significant investments in linking land use and transportation decisions through all of the comprehensive planning activities of local jurisdictions and tax-payer initiatives such as Sound Transit developments. This project will specifically move beyond the planning activities to involve the development community and citizen groups in the decision-making and implementation process. Non-federal funding commitments are shown on the budget.

Project is centered around the evaluation component. Evaluation (as described later in this document) is an integral part of the program – all project activities will be structured to create a learning experience for other parts of the region, state, and nation. Given that the state and region have been actively involved in promoting many of the concepts of integrated growth management and transportation planning since 1990 and that many approaches to be used in this project have already been developed (e.g. interactive simulation - centers game) or are in use for other purposes (e.g. computer simulation - University of WA), this project can immediately begin to monitor the success of using these approaches to reach a broader audience.

Provide an equitable distribution of assistance. A major part of this project is focused on overall regional coordination and outreach providing benefits to jurisdictions throughout the region. Targeted technical assistance will be channeled to ensure that a variety of diverse locations are served, including communities reflecting a range of income levels and racial/ethnic backgrounds.

Include participation of many traditional and non-traditional partners. As part of its project team the Puget Sound Regional Council has specifically enlisted the aid of 1000 Friends of Washington. This organization represents diverse interests including developers, environmentalists, citizen activists, as well as public agency officials and staff. Additionally, through the various activities in the project, numerous partners such as local jurisdictions, Sound Transit, the University of Washington, private developers, lending institutions, employers, and citizen groups will be involved.

To implement the planning initiatives in the region, the Regional Council has established a Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) that channels federal, state, and local funds to projects that best advance the regional strategy. Federal funding sources have been put to good work on projects that emphasize the movement of people and goods over vehicle travel. Some of the projects that have been funded include:

1. equipping virtually all buses (totaling over 2000) in the region with bike racks
2. supporting numerous business district revitalization projects
3. completing extensive bike lane and pedestrian facility improvements
4. constructing a number of multimodal transportation terminals
5. expanding the region’s fleet of transit vehicles, and
6. establishing the EZ Rider customer information system and other intelligent transportation system (ITS) improvements

A primary provision in TEA-21 (and formerly in ISTEA) is the link between the preservation of the natural environment, cultural, and historic resources and transportation decisions. The transportation enhancements program was established to strengthen this link through funding for historic preservation, scenic easements, bike and pedestrian facilities, and other community preservation practices. In the central Puget Sound region, transportation enhancement projects are supported by both the 10 percent set aside of Surface Transportation Program (STP) dollars statewide as required by TEA-21 (and previously ISTEA) in addition to another 10 percent set aside as directed by regional policy. From 1992-98, more than $60 million has been programmed for enhancement projects, including $22 million from statewide enhancement funds and over $40 million from regional funds.

These new transportation programming activities involve many new players. The process enables more community-based participation in the review and selection of projects and community support of projects is stressed in the selection criteria. The Regional Council mails hundreds of application packets to community groups, ports, tribes, as well as local agencies. The Transportation Enhancement Committee, responsible for making final selection decisions is composed of community groups and private sector businesses. Groups such as Mountains to Sound Greenway, Stevens Pass Greenway, and Cascade Bicycle Club have all participated.

As indicated previously, the project is fully consistent with and supported by the adopted plans and policies of the Puget Sound Regional Council, Washington State Department of Transportation, Sound Transit, local governments, and local transit agencies. Regional planning initiatives have already resulted in strong local plans, all of which will, given a chance to proceed, protect the environment, collectively improve mobility and access, strengthen the region’s economy, and better manage future growth and development in urban and rural areas in order to protect and enhance the region’s quality of life. GMA requirements have already significantly improved local implementation efforts by linking local comprehensive plans with infrastructure needs, especially for transportation, by requiring "concurrency". GMA concurrency requires that transportation improvements be in place at the time or development or within six years, before additional development is allowed.

The Puget Sound Regional Council will manage this project in conjunction with its partners as discussed in the next section.

* organizations in bold have supplied letters of support for the project which are attached

This budget reflects direct project costs. Other significant investments are being made throughout the region by local jurisdictions, transit operators, private property owners and others that will complement project activities and leverage the impact of TCSP funding.

The Puget Sound Regional Council, with its partners, is committed to undertaking a comprehensive and systematic evaluation of all project activities. The purpose of the evaluation of the Transit Station Communities Project will be to determine the effectiveness of various approaches in raising awareness, changing behavior, and affecting outcomes related to integrating transportation investments and land use activities. Additionally, attempts will be made to quantify the costs and benefits of these approaches. The evaluation component will play an integral part in the structure of the project and the implementation techniques that are used. All project activities will be selected and structured in a way to ensure a learning experience for organizations in other parts of the region, state, and nation.

Activities described previously will be examined from a variety of perspectives, including regional surveys, specific activity surveys, web analyses, case studies, and personal interviews. Additionally, over the long-term outcome measures such as level of investment in station areas, number of partnerships, amount of housing development within station areas, transit ridership, etc. will be measured. The Regional Council is committed to both the short and long term evaluation of the effectiveness and costs of the approaches described herein. The evaluation will be conducted by the Puget Sound Regional Council with assistance from the University of Washington College of Architecture and Urban Planning. The University will bring expertise and objectivity to the evaluation effort. Local jurisdictions, transit agencies, community groups, and other partners will be consulted throughout the evaluation process.

The process of evaluation will follow the two major components of the project, evaluating both regional and local effectiveness. The Regional Coordination and Awareness Campaign will be evaluated on a regionwide basis primarily through three techniques. The first is a household survey questionnaire that builds on an activity already underway in the Regional Council’s work program. A Household Survey questionnaire will be issued to approximately 7000 households in the region in the next two months. This survey requires recipients to fill in a two-day travel diary as well as respond to a number of questions that explore their attitudes towards growth management and transportation issues in the region. The Regional Council plans to repeat this survey in 2001, again as part of its discretional work program. The public outreach efforts - radio advertising, web page interactions, and public forums - can be evaluated through a variety of questions on the future Household Survey. Did people hear these spots? Did they change their thinking? Did they attend any of the forums?, etc. Analysis of this year’s and the future year’s survey will provide some indication of change in regional awareness.

A second approach will be through a more focused interaction with specific participants in the forums. People will be asked to fill out an evaluation form as they participate. Likewise, participants who choose to participate in the web discussions will also be asked to evaluate the effect of the discussions on their thinking. Finally, the Regional Council will attempt a regional comparison through personal interviews with the various local planning departments and elected officials to identify the differences in discussions and actions in those jurisdictions where resources from this project are focused locally and those where no additional assistance is provided.

The Local Technical Assistance and Outreach Effort will be evaluated on a site specific basis within the jurisdictions that are selected for targeted technical assistance. The University of Washington will assist in a case study approach to evaluate the local efforts. Interviews and surveys of participants and local staff will be conducted, asking questions such as: were the techniques used in the station area appropriate for that situation? was the local community engaged in the process? were projects advanced or decisions made as a result of project activities? A few sites, depending on the techniques used and audience participation, will be selected as case studies to be examined in more detail.

Given the long term nature of the development process that this short-term project is attempting to influence, the evaluation will of necessity be considered in two time frames. In the short term the emphasis will be on the "process" and its perceived effectiveness in enhancing awareness and communication. In the long run, outcomes such as changed travel behavior or development patterns, that are generated at site specific locations and regionally, will be evaluated. The short-term evaluation will provide a source of information about potential techniques to move the implementation process forward for organizations and agencies that are in various stages of station area plans and development. Real world "outcomes" that result from site specific project activities may not be readily apparent during the proposed time frame of the grant. However, the Regional Council is committed to follow-up with a long-term evaluation of outcomes as part of the agency’s existing performance monitoring effort.

Table 1 identifies the focus for the short-term evaluation effort that will address process and attitudes. Table 2 outlines long-term evaluation activities. Both of these tables are based on criteria defined by the project objectives as described in Section III of this proposal.

The objectives span a cross section of influences on transportation, land use, and community building The objectives address process issues (e.g., public involvement), physical forms (e.g., land use changes), social and economic characteristics (e.g., travel behavior, incomes), and the local policy environment (e.g., regulations, incentives).

The Puget Sound Regional Council is able to commit to long-term evaluation as this is already a responsibility that rests with the Council. Annually, the agency publishes "Regional Review" which attempts to document progress that’s been made in meeting the objectives of the Growth Management Act, the region’s VISION 2020, and the Metropolitan Transportation Plan. A variety of indicators are measured, including progress in focusing growth within the Urban Growth Area (building permit assessment), patterns of development in urban centers (numbers of jobs and housing), and amounts of congestion on various road segments (lane occupancy as measured with the region’s Congestion Management System). Activities in station areas (economic and housing development), transit ridership, and access to stations will also be monitored based on the long range objectives identified as part of this project.

Recommendations will be drawn from the analysis to support TCSP purposes and regional and local planning policies. The recommendations will be a result of a collaborative effort working with traditional and non-traditional partners who were involved in the project. Forums and meetings will be organized to provide direct feed back to the program participants. Written reports will be prepared that provide other regions with the information necessary to determine whether similar techniques/strategies would be useful to them and how they would go about implementing them. Two evaluation reports will be issued: one at the end of the first year of activities (early 2000) and another at the completion of the project in early 2001. Initial long range outcomes will be reported in 2003 in the region’s existing monitoring report – Regional Review.

The project budget includes funding for Regional Council attendance at least two FHWA conferences during the project time frame where initial results and ongoing analysis will be presented to other TCSP participants. In addition, the Regional Council is committed to attending future FHWA conferences (to be budgeted through the regular Regional Council work program) to report on longer term impacts of the project and continue to contribute to the national learning experience that this project will help advance.

Map of Regional Transit Station Locations

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