WSDOT-led study on south Pierce County’s transportation woes wants to hear from you
Whether it’s hiking trails or freeways, the state Department of Transportation (WSDOT) wants to know what you think about south Pierce County’s transportation networks.
A study involving numerous governmental agencies is looking at transportation connectivity that covers Puyallup, Orting, Roy, Spanaway, Fredrickson, Graham, Elk Plain, Parkland and South Hill.
An online open house runs now through Dec. 16 at Engage.wsdot.wa.gov.
The area under study is between state Routes 161, 7, 507 and Interstate 5 in south Pierce County. The study is also looking at the need for additional connectivity in the area between SR 162, south of Military Road East and north of Orting and SR 161.
The goal is to create a plan that involves WSDOT, Pierce County and local jurisdictions agreeing on infrastructure investments. Those can include state highways, local arterials, transit systems and trails, WSDOT said.
WSDOT region planning director George Mazur said the study is unusual because it looks at multiple highways and systems at the same time.
“We normally only tackle one corridor at a time,” he said. East-west connectivity is a major part of the study, as is congestion and safety on north-south routes.
The $1.5 million study, which is about one-third complete, is scheduled to be wrapped up in spring.
Public input
“We’ve done a lot of our assessment of our baseline conditions and started to think through what what might be some of the strategies we want to begin to approach,” Mazur said. “And so this seemed like the right time to to go out to the public.”
The study doesn’t include the now mothballed Cross Base Highway but will incorporate Pierce Transit’s long-planned bus rapid transit (BRT) system for Pacific Avenue that will run from Tacoma to Parkland.
“We all want to be on the same page as to how the next 20 to 30 years of transportation infrastructure should look in south Pierce County,” Mazur said.
Much of WSDOT’s work is done at a high level, Mazur said. So, that’s why the agency wants to hear from users, commuters, travelers and others who use transportation in the study area on a daily basis.
Mazur said public input can have a big impact on transportation planning. He cited the diverging diamond interchange at Marvin Road and I-5 as an example. That idea came from citizen input rather than WSDOT.
“We actually read all the comments because we know the people that are commuting through the area or living there and visiting have experiences that are valuable,” said WSDOT spokesperson Cara Mitchell.
Mitchell said a survey at the study website takes about 10 minutes to complete.
