BILL REQ. #:  H-0462.1 

Prefiled 01/05/11. Read first time 01/10/11.   Referred to Committee on Transportation.

     AN ACT Relating to creating a complete streets grant program; adding new sections to chapter 47.04 RCW; and creating a new section.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   Urban main streets should be designed to provide safe access to all users, including bicyclists, pedestrians, motorists, and public transportation users. Context sensitive design and engineering principles allow for flexible solutions depending on a community's needs, and result in many positive outcomes for cities and towns, including improving the health and safety of a community. It is the intent of the legislature to encourage street designs that safely meet the needs of all users and also protect and preserve a community's environment and character.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 47.04 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The department shall establish a complete streets grant program within the department's highways and local programs division, or its successor. The purpose of the grant program is to encourage local governments to adopt urban arterial retrofit street ordinances designed to provide safe access to all users, including bicyclists, pedestrians, motorists, and public transportation users, with the goals of:
     (a) Promoting healthy communities by encouraging walking, bicycling, and using public transportation;
     (b) Improving safety by designing major arterials to include features such as wider sidewalks, dedicated bicycle facilities, medians, and pedestrian streetscape features, including trees where appropriate.
     (c) Protecting the environment and reducing congestion by providing safe alternatives to single-occupancy driving; and
     (d) Preserving community character by involving local citizens and stakeholders to participate in planning and design decisions.
     (2) For purposes of this section:
     (a) "Eligible project" means a local government street retrofit project that includes the addition of, or significant repair to, facilities that provide street access with all users in mind, including pedestrians, bicyclists, and public transportation users. If the local government is the lead applicant to the department, an eligible project may also include locations that are served by both a local government and a city or incorporated town that is less than twenty thousand in population that has adopted a jurisdiction-wide complete streets ordinance.
     (b) "Local government" means incorporated cities and towns with populations of at least twenty thousand that have adopted a jurisdiction-wide complete streets ordinance that plans for the needs of all users and is consistent with sound engineering principles.
     (c) "Sound engineering principles" means the 2006 urban design principles and guidelines developed by the institute of transportation engineers, titled "Context Sensitive Solutions in Designing Major Urban Thoroughfares for Walkable Communities," or subsequent updates to these principles and guidelines published by the institute.
     (3) In carrying out the purposes of this section, the department may award funding, subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, only to eligible projects that are designed consistent with sound engineering principles.
     (4) The department must report annually to the transportation committees of the legislature on the status of any grant projects funded by the program created under this section.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 47.04 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The complete streets grant program account is created in the state treasury. Moneys in the account may be spent only after appropriation. Only the department may authorize expenditures from the account. Expenditures from the account may be used solely for the grants provided under section 2 of this act.
     (2) The department may solicit and receive gifts, grants, or endowments from private and other sources that are made, in trust or otherwise, for the use and benefit of the purposes of the complete streets grant program as provided in section 2 of this act.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   A new section is added to chapter 47.04 RCW to read as follows:
     When constructing, retrofitting, or making major repairs to streets described in RCW 47.24.010, the department must, for street projects initially planned or scoped after July 1, 2011, and subject to a local funding contribution as determined by the department:
     (1) Consult with local jurisdictions in the design and planning phases. Consultation with local jurisdictions must include public outreach and meetings with interested stakeholders in the predesign phase for the purpose of clarifying community goals and priorities through community design exercises prior to developing any designs or visualizations; and
     (2) Consider the needs of all users by applying context sensitive design solutions consistent with the institute of transportation engineers' 2006 principles and guidelines, titled "Context Sensitive Solutions in Designing Major Urban Thoroughfares for Walkable Communities," or subsequent updates to these principles and guidelines published by the institute.