BILL REQ. #:  S-0792.1 

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.