In Our View: Let’s Get Moving

The timing would seem to be fortuitous, although it more likely is coincidental.

Just as C-Tran begins putting shovel to dirt for the construction of its future bus rapid transit line, The Vine, the state of Washington wants to talk about transit. And while the timing of those developments is unrelated, the topics combine to involve necessary discussions that must be held in this community and in this state.

The Vine will mark a vast alteration of mass transit in Clark County, using larger buses and elevated boarding platforms to, as C-Tran explains: “Reduce travel time; improve reliability; and control costs.” The line will replace traditional bus routes between downtown Vancouver and Westfield Vancouver mall, running primarily along Fourth Plain Boulevard, and construction began recently at the downtown plaza known as Turtle Place.

Most of the funding for the $53 million project is coming from the Federal Transportation Administration, money that is earmarked for mass transit projects rather than the rebuilding of highways or bridges. While one can reasonably question whether the federal government should be providing that kind of money for mass transit rather than seemingly more pressing infrastructure needs, if the money is going to be spent we would prefer that it be spent in our community instead of elsewhere.

All of which plays into a project being undertaken by the Department of Transportation. Officials have released a draft version of the statewide Public Transportation Plan (http://tinyurl.com/p2qatuv), which will be designed to guide the development of various modes of getting people from one place to another for the next 20 years. As Secretary of Transportation Lynn Peterson writes: “The plan defines public transportation in its broadest sense, considering any alternative to a single-driver car as a part of a vast toolkit of public transportation options.”

At this point, some critics might be rolling their eyes at this nation’s inability to address infrastructure that involves its preferred mode of transportation — single-driver cars. But failing to prepare for a vastly different future would be to ignore the realities of a growing population that is increasingly concentrated in urban areas. As the draft plan notes: “The state’s population is projected to grow more than 20 percent during the next 20 years. In Spokane and Clark counties, the population is expected to grow to more than 500,000 people and Central Puget Sound is expected to add another million people in coming decades.”

The availability and efficiency of public transportation also will play a crucial role in necessary efforts to limit the consumption of fossil fuels and the production of environmentally damaging carbon, particularly in those urban areas.

With that in mind, the state’s plan focuses on four bullet points: Access to jobs and schools; reduction of congestion that hampers the economy; sustainable modes of transportation; and emerging technologies and business models. Officials are inviting the public to review the plan and complete a survey about it (http://tinyurl.com/qdd7tna).

Deftly managed transportation will be essential to the future of a well-run and prosperous Washington, including in Clark County. The state report notes that local transit agencies and local governments provide about 81 percent of transit agency funding, primarily from sales-tax revenue, demonstrating that the burden and the planning will be most important at the local level. When it comes to transportation planning, it is time to get moving.