DRAFT

Washington State Public Transportation Plan
Chapter Three: Goals and Action Strategies
MAKING COMMUNITIES WORK BETTER
Public transportation investments can also support the effectiveness of other infrastructure
improvements, increasing the overall yield of public benefit. Home ownership has been
traditionally seen as a positive economic indicator, allowing individuals to increase their
net worth and enjoy tax benefits. Ownership also provides a tool for stabilizing housing
costs during a period of economic growth. Since the 2005 worldwide recession, however,
home ownership rates have decreased significantly from 70 percent in 2004 to 64.3 percent
in 2014. During that same time, the number of renter-occupied units has increased by 25
percent. As the economy has rebounded, housing costs have increased faster in urban than
in rural areas in Washington State. The increase in housing costs have the potential to limit
lower income individuals from being able to purchase and benefit from the close proximity
of public transportation infrastructure investments. For lower income individuals in a
neighborhood experiencing “gentrification,” increasing rents and property taxes have the
potential to price out longtime residents to areas with reduced access to jobs and public
transportation. Consideration of affordable housing options is critical to any discussion
involving public transportation investments; communities thrive when everyone has access
to healthy transportation options. For example, integrating and coordinating multiple modes
of transportation at the front end saves money from expensive retrofits further down the
road. High-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes are another example of how public transportation
helps make better use of our roadway infrastructure In Washington state; HOV lanes move
more people in fewer vehicles, reducing the number of overall car trips in the transportation
system.
The “Complete Streets” movement supports integrating transportation choices into
broader community planning efforts, and is based on the premise that streets need to be
designed to accommodate more than cars to support greater transportation choices and
increased safety and efficiency for the travelling public. For example, vehicle collisions on
Fourth Plain Boulevard in Vancouver, Washington dropped 52 percent after using a Complete
Streets approach to turn four lanes with limited pedestrian/bicycle access into two through
lanes, a center turn lane, two bike lanes, and improved sidewalks.
Planning for community-based outcomes is at the core of what it means to establish
thriving communities. The perspectives and resources of multiple agencies and private
sector partners need to be integrated and aligned with community plans to bring success to
this approach and maximize the benefits of an alignment between parks, businesses, schools,
hospitals and other institutions and locales that are essential to thriving communities.
WSDOT | DRAFT October 2015 | WaTransPlan.com
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