Near-Term and Long-Term Projects

44.1Near-Term and Long-Term Projects

For planning purposes, the near-term Transportation Improvement Plan represents years 0 to 6 (2016-2021) and is financially constrained to only those projects that could realistically receive funding over the next six years. It is unlikely that all of the projects on the six year list would receive funding because they total over $257 million. Projects included on the SixYear Project List are considered community priorities that the City would move forward in the near-term should funds become available. The Transportation Improvement Plan counts on strong coordination with other agencies to help finance needed improvements on the state highway system, facilities in adjacent jurisdictions, along with expanded transit services provided by Metro. These projects provide a starting point for the City in developing its financial constrained Six-Year Transportation Improvement Plan, which is updated every year and is developed based on more updated knowledge related to project feasibility and funding availability.

The long-term Capital Improvement Program list (7-20+ years) reaches out to and potentially beyond the 2040 year time horizon and represents important projects that tend not to have identified funding or are only necessary to address future growth.

The Transportation Improvement Plan and Capital Improvement Program were developed to create a transportation system that realizes Federal Way’s ultimate transportation goals:

Goal 1: Maintain mobility through a safe, balanced, and integrated transportation system.

Goal 2: Be fiscally and environmentally sustainable

Goal 3: Enhance community health, livability, and transportation by providing a connected system of pedestrian, bicycle, and transit ways that are integrated into a coordinated regional network.

Goal 4: Support the City’s land use vision and plan.

Goal 5: Develop and implement transportation systems management strategies and programs that contribute to the overall effectiveness of the multimodal transportation system.

Goal 6: Be an active partner by coordinating with a broad range of groups to help meet Federal Way’s transportation goals.

With these goals in mind, as well as completing the layered network, the respective project lists were developed.

The Six-Year Project List, Table III-9 (Transportation Improvement Plan – 2016 to 2021) seeks to maintain concurrency, focus on projects that provide the most benefit to Federal Way residents, and leverage outside funds to the maximum extent possible. Map III-18 (Transportation Improvement Plan 2016 – 2021) displays the locations of these projects in Federal Way. None of these projects conflict with the goals listed above. It is recognized that the availability of outside funds is not always predictable. As a result, any of the projects on the near term list are high priority projects that the City would consider moving forward should funding become available.

The full list of projects that the City would like to complete during the 20 year planning horizon (including the 6 year projects) are shown in Table III-10 (Capital Improvement Program – 2016 to 2040) and illustrated in Map III-19 (Capital Improvement Plan). While all of these projects would help complete the layered network and realize the City’s transportation vision, many are deemed to be longer-term.

Map III-19. 2016 – 2040 Capital Improvement Plan