Kent Council adopts Transportation Improvement Program
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Michelle Wilmot, City of Kent, Community & Public Affairs
253-856-5709
Kent Council adopts Transportation Improvement Program
KENT, Wash. – December 14, 2011 – At its meeting last night, the Kent City Council adopted the city’s six-year Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) for 2012 to 2017.
The TIP is a state-mandated transportation planning document that lists Kent’s needed transportation projects and the expected revenue sources to pay for them, as well as those projects without complete funding, slated for as far out as six years.
Steve Mullen, transportation engineering manager for the city of Kent said for projects to receive state and federal money they must first be adopted in the TIP. Therefore, projects selected for the TIP must straddle a line of local need and the project’s ability to attract other money.
“What we do is look at projects and we try to choose the high priorities but also projects that are good grant funding candidates,” Mullen said. “It’s more important than ever to look for grants given the decline in funding sources for transportation projects.”
Projects on the TIP are generated from a larger list that was developed for the city’s Transportation Master Plan.
Mullen said the TIP is supposed to be an annual reality check when the city reconciles its current transportation needs with the available funding.
The total cost of the projects on the list is $159 million, a reduction of nearly $463 million compared to last year and includes 35 projects and programs ranging from street, bicycle, pedestrian, traffic signal and transit improvements to street maintenance and preservation projects.
According to Councilmember Debbie Raplee, the TIP incorporates recommendations by the Citizen Advisory Committee.
Raplee, who serves as Chair of the Public Works Committee said the group met 11 times during a four month period last summer and fall. “I appreciate the Citizen Advisory Committee working with staff to identify key priorities, as well as projects that can be deferred. The revised list is very much in line with today’s economic reality,” Raplee said.
Comprised of volunteers from the business community, the Citizen Advisory Committee will continue to review transportation issues as funding becomes available and projects move forward.
Details about the Transportation Improvement Plan, as well as the full project list, are available for review on the city’s website.
Kent is the sixth largest city in Washington with a population of 118,200. A culturally rich destination, Kent features captivating neighborhoods, award-winning parks, exceptional school districts and nationally accredited police and fire departments. In recent years, Kent has experienced impressive economic growth, and is nationally known as a prime location for manufacturing. For more information, visit KentWA.gov.
