Drafter
Clerk 09/27/2011
title
A MOTION approving the criteria for tiered service levels on unincorporated King County roads and bridges.
body
WHEREAS, in 2010, the road services division completed a Strategic Plan for Road Services that identified several serious challenges facing the road system over the next five years, including rising costs and declining revenues, and
WHEREAS, the revenues for the King County road fund have fallen seventeen percent in the past two years primarily due to lower property values and a decline in gas tax revenue, and
WHEREAS, over the next four years, with more annexations anticipated to occur and further declines in property and gas tax revenue forecast, the road fund is expected to fall another twenty-five percent, and
WHEREAS, the base of funding to maintain and preserve the one thousand five hundred thirty-four miles of road network remaining in the unincorporated area has shrunk dramatically, and
WHEREAS, these challenges have had a profound impact on the county's ability to maintain its road system, including an overall reduction in road crews and staff of approximately eighteen percent over the last year, and
WHEREAS, the Strategic Plan for Road Services sets clear priorities to guide the road services division as it manages the road system into the future, and
WHEREAS, the King County council approved Motion 13393 directing the road services division to develop an implementation plan in 2011 for delivering the programs and services provided by the division within the policy framework of the Strategic Plan for Road Services and within current financial constraints, and
WHEREAS, one of the key deliverables in the implementation plan included an articulation of service levels using policy guidance from the Strategic Plan for Road Services, and
WHEREAS, the road services division created an interdisciplinary team to develop criteria for designating all of the roads and bridges in the unincorporated area into five distinct tiers based on industry standards such as functional road classification and average daily traffic volumes, and
WHEREAS, other factors were considered in this designation process such as projected length of detours, whether alternate routes are available, and considerations related to transit and freight use, and
WHEREAS, the criteria for the tiers generally account for the importance of each road and bridge according to the performance of the overall network, and
WHEREAS, the tier designations will be updated at least once per year and perhaps more frequently if a road or bridge becomes sole access due to an extreme storm or other emergency event, and
WHEREAS, many users of the unincorporated road network will likely notice a change in the way certain roads and bridges are maintained and preserved based on the designation of tiers, and
WHEREAS, the designation of tiers is the preferred method for maintaining and preserving roads and bridges in the unincorporated area with the limited resources available;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT MOVED by the Council of King County:
The criteria for tiered service levels on unincorporated roads and bridges, as outlined in Attachment A to this motion, are hereby approved.