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Week of May 1, 2006
Grant funding recognizes success of King County transportation programs
 The King County Department of Transportation (KCDOT) is a recognized leader when it comes to innovative transportation projects and programs. That’s not just our own opinion – it’s also backed up by a lot of monetary support at the state and federal levels.
“These days, there is a lot of competition for state and federal grant money,” said KCDOT Director Harold Taniguchi. “These grants are given to agencies with a proven track record for making effective and efficient use of funding in ways that deliver real transportation solutions and results.”
Taniguchi said KCDOT annually receives $70-$90 million in grant funding. It is used to develop and carry out projects that benefit communities and improve the way people travel or use public transportation. The funding is a much-needed financial boost as material and energy costs skyrocket, and local transportation projects are becoming increasingly costly. One such example is replacing the 75-year-old South Park Bridge in the industrial area just south of downtown Seattle, a project now estimated to cost $90 million.
Very few grants are large enough to cover the costs of an entire project or program. Frequently, KCDOT must gather funding from two or more federal and state grant programs, in addition to its own contribution, to be able to fund a project. In the past to fully fund a large-scale project like a bridge replacement or a new park-and-ride, the county has secured funding from several grant programs such as the Bridge Replacement Advisory Committee (BRAC), Congressional Earmark, and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Urbanized area formula funding. That’s in addition to grant funding from state programs, such as the Transportation Improvement Board (TIB) or Office of Transit Mobility.
Grant competitions also provide opportunities for local and regional jurisdictions to partner on projects, leveraging efficient transportation improvements across city and county boundaries. Metro Transit and the city of Seattle recently teamed up to secure a state transit mobility grant to improve bus operations on the Stewart Street, Yale Avenue, and Howell Street corridors in downtown Seattle.
Smaller grants – many are less than $200,000 – can be used to fund innovative community based projects at the local level. Sometimes these projects serve as a pilot and are later implemented on a larger scale. Metro’s popular “In Motion” programs that are aimed at increasing the use of transit, bicycling and footpower at the neighborhood level are partially funded by federal grants. It all started two years ago with a test project in the Madison-Miller neighborhood of Seattle.
Taniguchi said the grants received by KCDOT showcase the variety of ideas and innovations that the county hopes can be refined and then replicated to increase mobility. Here are just a few of the department’s recent grant awards:
 King County Metro - Vanpool Incentives Program
$175,000
King County Metro will use incentives to create 56 new vanpools and to keep existing vans filled during the 2006–2007 biennium. The incentives are expected to increase word-of-mouth advertising – the top motivation for joining a vanpool, according to survey data. The project is expected to reduce 571 annualized commute vehicle trips.
Military Road South
$250,000
The proposal will construct approximately 1,000 feet of curb, gutter and sidewalk along Military Road South that meet ADA requirements between Des Moines Memorial Drive South and South 116th Street.
 Bike locker enhancement at King County transit facilities
$75,000
This project will fund additional bicycle lockers at King County transit facilities where demand currently exceeds supply or where the current lockers are at capacity. Metro currently has bicycle locker spaces for 110 bicycles at 18 locations, with a waiting list of 59 bicyclists. Metro receives approximately 15 requests per month for bicycle lockers.
Cultural Resources Protection - phase 2
$460,000
The King County Cultural Resources Protection Project, Phase II, will integrate archaeological resource protection with transportation planning throughout King County, by enhancing Geographic Information System (GIS) modeling tools for prehistoric archaeological resources. This archaeological planning and research project will enhance King County’s transportation system by building state-of-the-art planning tools to improve and expedite review of all transportation projects countywide.
White Center Greenbridge Connector
$325,000
The project will establish a new pedestrian/bicycle corridor connection linking the Greenbridge housing development with the White Center business district on Southwest 98th Street between 11th Avenue Southwest and 16th Avenue Southwest. The project will enhance pedestrian and bicycle use through safety, street enhancements, education/information and other improvements to encourage greater use. The corridor will also provide connection to the White Center Transit Hub (11 routes) and link to community trails connecting to parks.
Safe wildlife/community mobility through Novelty Hill
$500,000
The King County Road Services Division will develop a comprehensive plan for separating vehicle traffic from wild animal travel on Novelty Hill. Because of human population growth in that area, there are many transportation improvements planned for the future. Roads staff feel these projects offer opportunities for planning and implementing specific roadway features - such as underpasses, overpasses, culverts, and motion-activated warning signals - that increase safe wildlife movement across roadways and subsequently decrease accidents between motorists and animals.
Gary Bachmeier, a King County Road Services Division crew chief, got a little more than he bargained for last week when he stepped forward for an animal rescue assignment. It was 5:30 on Friday night, when Bachmeier was called to respond to a report of a baby duck stuck in a county catch basin in the Panther Lake Ridge neighborhood. When he arrived, he found not one but three ducklings floating through the stormwater pipes under the roadway. Rescuing the moving little fluff balls meant that Bachmeier had to unlock catch basin lids in three different locations to catch up with them. He lowered a push broom through the opening, and brought it up under the ducklings so they could sit on the broom while he raised them to the surface. And, he did it while under attack from a very protective Momma Duck.“She finally settled down when I got the first one out,” said Bachmeier. “I think she knew I was trying to help her.” Once he got the three ducklings to the surface, the mother escorted them to a nearby fenced pond. Bachmeier was preparing to re-lock the catch basins, when the neighborhood kids informed them there was still one more baby to rescue. He said the fourth duckling took almost an hour to retrieve, which included time spent scaling the fence to reunite him with his siblings and mother.
“When she saw me inside the fence with the fourth one, she hurried over, put her wing around it, and off they went,” said Bachmeier. “It was a happy ending.” |
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There will be a community celebration for the new season of the Elliott Bay Water Taxi this Sunday, May 7. As part of the celebration, rides on the Water Taxi will be free all day Sunday. The celebration is hosted by King County Councilmember Dow Constantine. It will be held from noon to 2 p.m. at Seacrest Marina Park, 1660 Harbor Ave. SW. There will be refreshments and entertainment at the event. More Water Taxi information is available on Metro Online, or by calling (206) 553-3000 (TTY 206-684-1739). Water Taxi passengers can receive information about the current operating status of the boat by calling (206) 205-3866. The 2006 Water Taxi season began May 1 and will run through the end of September. |
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