A Message From The County Executive

Taking an innovative approach to transportation

Ron Sims
King County Executive

Transportation is vital to our region’s economy and quality of life. When surveyed, our residents consistently rank effective transportation systems as one of our most pressing needs.

The good news is that our own King County Department of Transportation is already in the national forefront for using innovative approaches and new strategies to tackle our toughest transportation challenges.

Together — with the private sector and our partners at the local, state, and federal levels — we are finding we can gain many benefits by taking a broad and holistic approach to improving our transportation systems.

A holistic approach means that transportation decisions must take into account the larger role of transportation in society. High-quality public transit gives people more options to cope as rising fuel prices affect household budgets. Land use and transportation are also inextricably linked.

Reducing urban sprawl and long drive times can improve our quality of life by easing stress and providing people more time at home with their families. It also plays a critical role in protecting the environment and achieving meaningful climate-change solutions.

We cannot rely on our past successes. We must move forward with innovation and creativity to keep pace with changing transportation needs. Many new tools are available to us.

Variable tolling, in combination with increased transit services, holds particular promise as a tool for reducing traffic congestion and paying for infrastructure improvements.

Our planned Bus Rapid Transit program will get more people out of their cars and onto public transportation. Increased use of “smart” technology can speed up travel times on our roads for all vehicles. And, King County is part of several national efforts working to reform state and federal transportation funding and policies.

No one method is enough. We need across-the-board changes, if we are going to transform our daily travel habits to improve our own lives and the world around us.

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