Olympia Planning Commission: No to the adoption of the 2023 Preliminary Capital Facilities Plan

The Olympia Planning Commission cautioned against adopting the 2023-2028 Preliminary Capital Plans Facilities (CFP) unless revisions are done to the transportation section, which "lacks progress around safe infrastructure for walking, biking, and transit, particularly sidewalks."

In a letter submitted to the Olympia City Council, commission chair Zainab Nejati and Greg Quetin, finance subcommittee chair, stated that the CFP has no sufficient prioritization that supports active transportation.

During the public hearing for the 2023 Preliminary CFP held Tuesday, October 18, Nejati commented that there is slow progress on sidewalks. "When we talk about the slow progress on sidewalks, we compare it to what Olympia has been promising in various plans."

She pointed out that in 2003 sidewalk programs, it plans to do 28 sidewalk projects with existing funding in the next 20 years.

"In those 20 years, we've only done 13," Nejati said.

Quetin, who penned the letter on behalf of the commission, stated that investments in transportation are critical in realizing Olympia's vision:

• to have walkable, accessible streets that move people
• reduce pollution and energy consumption by promoting the use of electric vehicles
• expanding accessible and inviting alternatives that reduce vehicle miles traveled, including transit, walking, and cycling

However, Quetin said most investments continue to go to automobile street repair and major road reconstructions, which combined for about 80% of spending in the next six years. "These investment choices leave the safety, bicycle, and sidewalk projects underfunded and highly dependent on grants, resulting in slow progress on a long list of critical projects."

Quetin added that the voted utility tax (VUT), which was voted on to increase funds for sidewalks, has become the only guaranteed money for the project and no longer has general fund support.

In 2004, the majority of electors voted for the increase of a 3% utility tax authorized by Ordinance No. 6314. Utility tax monies collected under this ordinance may be used to fund parks and sidewalks.

He pointed out the city ordinance language that the VUT tax should be in addition to other support from the general fund. "However, rather than this tax being in addition to the general funding - $200K - which was there previously, general funding has been invested elsewhere – primarily in support of car travel."

'Not realistic' to revise

Sophie Stimson, interim Transportation director, said it is unrealistic to revise the 2023 Preliminary CFP in the short time frame suggested by the commission. In the CFP, she noted some projects tied to grants.

"Revising the document this year could affect our ability to match those grants and, in the case of Fones Road, meet critical funding obligation timelines for federal grants. We believe that the solution is to take a comprehensive look at transportation funding, which we can begin to do with the council next year," Stimson said.

Stimson added that funding is a barrier for the Transportation Master Plan (TMP) to make significant progress in supporting multimodal transportation systems, such as walking, biking, and transit. Some programs in the CFP lack a reliable funding source, such as the Access and Safety Improvements and the Bicycle Improvements Program. "In all programs, we continue to maximize the use of grants and have had significant success with state and federal grants over the past several years."

According to Stimson, the city council accepted – and confirmed by legal staff – that Olympia can use the VUT revenue - approximately $1 million annually for sidewalk constructions – for projects identified in 2004.  

She said that issues such as design and right-of-way acquisition are some reasons that slow down the progress in building sidewalks.  

"Some examples of the costs of past sidewalk projects are $2.9M for West Bay Drive and $1.4M for 22nd/Eastside Street. With $1M for sidewalk construction annually, it can take multiple years to have enough revenue to construct a project," she explained.

Based on this direction, Stimson said they do not focus construction of sidewalks on smaller, low-volume neighborhood streets. "Sidewalk construction is concentrated in major streets because this is where the safety needs for pedestrians are greatest. These streets have high vehicle volumes and speeds that pose a risk to pedestrians."