BILL REQ. #: H-0872.1
State of Washington | 62nd Legislature | 2011 Regular Session |
Read first time 01/28/11. Referred to Committee on Transportation.
AN ACT Relating to state route number 522; and creating new sections.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1 The legislature finds that state route
number 522 is a vital transportation corridor in the Puget Sound region
for the following reasons:
(1) State route number 522: Has been designated a highway of
statewide significance; traverses the cities of Lake Forest Park,
Bothell, Kenmore, Seattle, and unincorporated King county; connects to
multiple main arterials, including Northeast 145th Street (state route
number 523) and Northeast Ballinger Way (state route number 104); and
provides an important link between Interstates 5 and 405;
(2) State route number 522 carries more than forty-eight thousand
vehicles per day and is forecasted to carry more than sixty-two
thousand vehicles per day in 2026;
(3) The corridor is a major route for transporting freight and
carries more than thirteen million tons of freight per year;
(4) State route number 522 is a key regional transit corridor for
five bus routes carrying three thousand three hundred seventy
passengers per day;
(5) State route number 522 serves employment centers that provide
jobs to more than fifty thousand workers;
(6) State route number 522 is the only direct link between the
designated urban centers of Canyon Park, Northgate, and the University
District;
(7) State route number 522 is regionally significant in that it
provides an alternative to the often-congested state route number 520
bridge across Lake Washington and is a designated emergency evacuation
route for the Puget Sound region; and
(8) The corridor serves the University of Washington Bothell
campus, an institution with approximately three thousand students, and
Bastyr University, an institution with approximately one thousand
students.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2 The legislature recognizes that there are
correctable traffic collisions on the state route number 522 corridor
and therefore finds that there is a need to improve safety in this
corridor.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3 The legislature acknowledges that the cities
along the state route number 522 corridor have formed a strong
partnership with federal and state representatives to address problems,
develop a list of improvements, and to fund and manage projects that
improve safety and mobility on this corridor. To this end, the city of
Kenmore has contributed more than nine million dollars, the city of
Bothell has contributed more than thirty-four million dollars, and the
transportation improvement board has contributed more than fifty
million dollars. Contributions for the corridor from the state have
also included thirteen million dollars of transportation partnership
account funds, one million dollars for roadway preservation, and five
million five hundred thousand dollars of transportation 2003 account
(nickel account) funds. In addition, forty million dollars of
transportation 2003 account (nickel account) and transportation
partnership account funds were expended to construct the University of
Washington Bothell campus access on state route number 522.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4 The 2010 legislature recognized state route
number 522 as an important link between Interstates 5 and 405 and noted
that state route number 522 will be impacted by diversion when the
state route number 520 floating bridge is tolled. The 2010 legislature
therefore expressed its intent to provide priority funding for the
corridor.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5 The 2011 legislature expresses its intent to
fund improvements to significantly increase the flow of people and
goods on the state route number 522 corridor and directs the state
department of transportation to continue to work with affected cities,
the Puget Sound regional council, the freight community, and the
federal government to secure the necessary funding and other resources
to continue improvements in the corridor. The state department of
transportation is further directed to review the projects recently
constructed or currently being designed, including business access and
transit (BAT) lanes, by the cities of Seattle, Bothell, Kenmore, and
Lake Forest Park and prepare a letter to the legislature on their
general consistency as well as identify improvements that remain
unfunded.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6 Given that tolling on state route number
520 is scheduled to begin in spring 2011, the 2011 legislature finds
that funding to mitigate this impact on the state route number 522
corridor is urgently needed.