The Washington State Legislature adjourned its 2020 session in the beginning days of the emergent COVID-19 pandemic. The three months that have followed have been challenging in myriad ways. Here is an update on the impacts to active transportation that we are aware of based on budget shortfalls projected due to COVID-19.  

Washington State Revenue Forecasts & Budget Shortfalls

Forecasted shortfalls for the next three years will impact every Washingtonian. Beyond the operating budget, the transportation budget shortfalls spell potential trouble for vulnerable road users. A 2021 transportation revenue package could provide relief.

Significant losses in the state operating budget revenue are anticipated for at least the next three years. That likely means cuts to services, education, healthcare, natural resources and other programs funded via the operating budget. Transportation, despite not being funded in the operating budget, will not be spared.

Due to reductions in anticipated transportation revenue including gas tax, ferry revenue, rental car tax and toll revenues, the transportation budget has a forecasted shortfall as well. The June Transportation budget forecast reflects the impacts of I-976 (the Tim Eyman initiative for $30 car tabs which passed at the ballot last November, although is currently being contested in court) and the COVID-19 shutdowns resulting in lower demand for the transportation services that generate revenue.

Work on a potential 2021 transportation revenue package has already started, largely in the form of a Statewide Transportation Needs Assessment, which shows that there is not enough money to fund Washington’s current transportation system. Also of note, the transportation needs assessment was conducted without factoring in the impacts of I-976.

There is a possibility that the Washington State Legislature will convene a special session in late 2020 to address the operating budget revenue shortfall. However, Gov. Jay Inslee has said the state will be able to maintain current appropriation levels until January 2021 when the Legislature is scheduled to return. There will be more to come as the recession and budget scenarios play out. Washington Bikes will continue to advocate for funding that supports people who bike, walk or roll. Amidst the global pandemic, Washingtonians are choosing to bike and walk more frequently. We want to ensure there are safe, comfortable places and routes to do so. 

New Scenic Bikeways Program Faces Potential Delay

Due to COVID-19 impacts on the state budget, state agencies were asked to come up with a 15 percent reduction to their individual budgets, and many new programs that had yet to be implemented have been identified for delay. In response to the budget crisis, State Parks has proposed delaying the implementation of the state Scenic Bikeways program that was created in the 2020 session. We understand the need to conserve state resources at this unprecedented moment in time. However, this potential change can not be solidified until the Legislature convenes and amends the timeline. Meantime, we would love to hear your thoughts about what trails and routes you’d like to see designated scenic bike routes!

Safety Stop Legislation to be Enacted Oct. 1 

We are excited that Washington Bikes’ priority legislation in the 2020 legislative session, the Safety Stop, is just months from becoming law. The date people bicycling will legally be allowed to treat a stop sign as a yield is Oct. 1, 2020. Check back here for more information as we approach the Safety Stop enactment date!

 

A newly launched state DOT program allows communities across Washington to temporarily convert lanes of state highways into public spaces. These highway lanes can serve as “Main Streets” for the public to hang out, walk, pedal, roll or even dine outdoors–and some communities have already taken advantage of the program.

Walking, bicycling, and shopping on East Main Street in Pullman, Wash. will be easier and less stressful this summer, thanks to a new Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) program. This program allows communities to temporarily convert lanes of state highways that run through downtowns into spaces for the public to recreate, stroll, roll, or even dine outdoors.

“We know pedestrians buy things. Cars don’t buy things,” Pullman City Council member Brandon Chapman told Oregon Public Broadcasting. “And the merchants can certainly appreciate this. People need to be able to walk around.”

As in many rural communities, Pullman’s Main Street is also a state highway with three lanes of traffic that barrel through town and make the downtown core less safe and appealing to people walking, biking, or shopping. But this summer, one of those lanes has been closed to through-traffic and converted to a bike lane and angled parking.

The goal of the WSDOT Safe, Healthy and Active Streets Program is to make it easier for patrons of stores and restaurants to spill out onto the sidewalk, help customers remain socially distant, and help businesses stay open during the pandemic. The program has been compared to the Stay Healthy Streets and Open Streets programs that cities and towns across the United States and in Washington have implemented.

“A number of communities across the state have already approached us about opening parking areas or lanes in their city’s commercial district for increased open space and business access,” said Secretary of Transportation Roger Millar in a press release. “We’re pleased to collaborate with them to find safe solutions that work for all users of the roadway.”

Options include temporarily closing a portion of the highway while maintaining at least one lane in each direction, or even a “complete highway reallocation” that closes a segment of highway for a short period, such as a weekend event, with traffic detours.

WSDOT will work with local city or county governments to identify, plan, design, install, and maintain the temporary highway reallocations, which are limited to 90 days of operation. WSDOT Active Transportation Division Director Barb Chamberlain says 458 miles of state routes are eligible for the program, and the criteria requires that the highways must be in downtown areas and have speed limits of less than 35 miles per hour.

For people who bike, this means more space for riding to get to local businesses.

“The WSDOT Safe, Healthy and Active Streets program is a much needed tool for communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Existing space for people walking and biking is not enough when you factor in physical distancing needs,” said Vicky Clarke, Cascade’s Policy Director.

“The program is also an exciting opportunity to re-image Main Street’s across the state. In many towns, cities and unincorporated areas across Washington, most major thoroughfares are also state highways. For communities who’ve long-imagined reclaiming a little bit of Main Street from through traffic, for better walking, biking, and local access to our beloved small businesses, here’s the chance to experiment.

“And to advocates, I say, call your local council member, take a stroll through town with them. Imagine together how even just one lane of that state highway could better serve the local needs of the community – during the pandemic, and potentially beyond.”

Chamberlain says other interested municipalities include White Salmon.

In Pullman, the trial program, which will run through September, cost less than $5,000 to implement, according to The Daily Evergreen.

Read More:
WSDOT Supporting Low-Stress Streets and Pop-Up Commerce on State Highways During Pandemic. Urbanist
Take Your Horse (And Bike) To The Old Moscow-Pullman Town Road To See The Changes Oregon Public Broadcasting
WSDOT will reallocate space on some state highways for walking, biking and commercial use during the outbreak. Seattle Bike Blog
New plan would close some highway lanes to traffic, open them to pedestrians. KOMO
WSDOT Press release
Steal This Idea: Washington DOT to Give Lanes Back to People

Despite 2020 being a “short session” in Olympia, there is no shortage of bills that intend to increase safety for people biking through new policies, increase funding to connect communities by bike, or remove other barriers to biking. Read on for a rundown of bills, and how they are progressing through the state Legislature.

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This coming week marks the half-way point of the 2020 60-day short session in Olympia. Bills not related to the budget must have passed out of their committee of origin by Friday, February 7 in order to continue moving through the legislative process. Much of the short session thus far has been focused on policy; there will be a pivot to focusing on the budget in the coming weeks.

Washington Bikes’ priority legislation, the Safety Stop, (a potential new law similar to the “Idaho Stop” to keep people on bikes safer at stop signs) has cleared the first cutoff and is moving forward in the legislative process! Here’s an update on legislation that will improve safety for people who bike as well as improve Washington’s transportation system: 

SB 6208/HB 2358: Allowing people who bike the option to treat a stop sign as a yield, known as “the Safety Stop.” Both bills have been amended to require a complete stop at a school bus stop sign signal.

• SB 6208 (Sen. Billig, 3rd LD – Spokane) unanimously passed out of the state Senate Transportation committee February 3. The bill has been referred to the Rules committee where it is eligible to be pulled to the floor calendar.
  
• HB 2358 (Rep. Fitzgibbon, 34th LD – Burien)  passed out of the House Transportation committee Jan. 29 with a vote of 24-7. The bill was pulled from the Rules committee to the floor calendar by Rep. Pettigrew Feb. 4. 

SB 6452/HB 2461: Adding health as a Washington State Department of Transportation policy goal. The House bill was the intended vehicle for the legislation; the bill would need to be scheduled for executive session by February 11 in order to move along in the process.

• SB 6452 (Sen. Billig, 3rd LD – Spokane) this bill has not had a public hearing as the House version is the vehicle.
  
• HB 2461 (Rep. Riccelli, 3rd LD – Spokane) had a public hearing in the House Transportation committee January 22. It has not been scheduled for executive session at this time.

HB 2587: Establishing a program for the designation of state scenic bikeways. This bill is modeled after Oregon’s scenic bikeways program.

• HB 2587 (Rep. Ramel, 40th LD) passed out of the Committee on Housing, Community Development & Veterans and was referred to Appropriations for further consideration. The bill is scheduled for a public hearing in House Appropriations Feb. 8.

HB 2481: Establishing exceptions to trailer license plate display requirements (allowing temporary obstruction of a car license plate for a bike rack, trailor, etc)

• HB 2481 (Rep. Thai, 41st LD – Bellevue) had a public hearing in the House Transportation committee January 22. It has not been scheduled for executive session at this time.

SB 6493: A technical fix bill for the legislation that created the Cooper Jones Active Transportation Safety Council.

• SB 6492 (Sen. Liias, 21st LD – Mukilteo) had a public hearing in Senate Transportation committee Jan. 29 and was scheduled for executive action Feb. 5, but no action was taken.