Brian Lagerberg Acting Director of Public Transportation

Brian SmithDirector of Strategic Planning

Paula J. Hammond, P.E.Secretary

David L. Dye, P.E.Deputy Secretary

Steve ReinmuthChief of Staff

Moving Washington ForwardWSDOT’s Contribution to Sustainable Transportation and

Reducing GHGs

SSTI Community of PracticeFebruary 25, 2011

WSDOT profile

WSDOT owns, manages, and maintains:

Highways• 20,000 state highway lane miles (carries 86

million vehicle miles/day)• 225 lane miles of a planned 320-mile HOV

freeway system• More than 3,600 bridges and structuresFerries• 22 ferry vessels, 20 terminals, and 500 daily

sailings (carries 23 million passengers/year)

Passenger rail• Partner in Amtrak Cascades state passenger

rail (carries over 700,000 passengers/year)

Freight rail• Grain Train (runs 89 grain cars)• 492 miles of public owned short-line rail (including the WSDOT owned Palouse River and

Coulee City Rail System)

Transit support• Commute programs support more than 810,000

commuters statewide (61.5 million vehicle milestraveled reduced 2007 to 2009)

• Vanpool program includes more than 2,400 vans(Washington has the largest public vanpool fleet in the nation)

Aviation• 17 WSDOT managed airports• 138 public use airports

Funding (includes 2010 supplemental budget)

$1.4 billion 2009-2011 operating program budget

$5.3 billion 2009-2011 capital program budget• State dollars - $3.4 billion• Federal dollars (non ARRA) - $1.0 billion• ARRA dollars (highways and rail) - $0.9 billion

2

RCW 47.04.280 – Transportation system policy goals:

• Economic Vitality- Promote and develop transportation systems that stimulate, support, and enhance the

movement of people and goods to ensure a prosperous economy;

• Preservation- Maintain, preserve, and extend the life and utility of prior investments in transportation

systems and services;

• Safety- Provide for and improve the safety and security of transportation customers and the

transportation system;

• Mobility- Improve the predictable movement of goods and people throughout Washington State.

• Environment- Enhance Washington’s quality of life through transportation investments that promote

energy conservation, enhance healthy communities, and protect the environment; and

• Stewardship- Continuously improve the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of the transportation

system.

3

Our transportation vision: An integrated transportation system that is …

Reliable Improved travel times for drivers

Better reliability and choices for commuters and increased intercity service

More efficient freight movement across state and in and out of our ports

Responsible Safer roads, and fewer fatalities and serious injuries

Cost effective asset maintenance and preservation

Highways, transit and ferries provide users integrated travel options

Increased special needs transportation to provide access for jobs and lifeline services

Sustainable Cleaner air and water

Strategic and balanced approach to climate change

Predictable funding and affordable improvements and operations

4

Providing more travel choices and options for people and freight helps improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our transportation system

Managing Demand

Moving Washington improves the system’s performance and generates revenue through variable pricing and other traffic management tools

Operating Roadways Efficiently

Moving Washington – We manage and operate a sustainable transportation system to complement the future we want.

5

Adding new capacity to our currently over-stressed transportation system is a critical component of Moving Washington

Adding Capacity Strategically

Transportation accounts for 47% of greenhouse gases in Washington

Climate Change LegislationLegislation in 2008 and 2009 specify sustainable transportation, GHG emissions and vehicle miles traveled (VMT) requirements of WSDOT:

• directs WSDOT to report energy usage to assess the need for energy audits (RCW 19.27A.190).

• requires WSDOT to install outlets for electric vehicle charging in our state’s fleet parking and maintenance facilities (RCW 43.16.648 (4)).

• instructs the department to participate in the development of a statewide integrated climate change response strategy (RCW 43.21M.010).

• establishes VMT reduction benchmarks and assigns specific implementation, monitoring, economic assessment and analysis tasks to WSDOT (RCW 47.01.440).

• establishes GHG emissions reduction goals for the state (RCW 70.235.020).

• directs WSDOT to quantify and reduce our GHG emissions to achieve state agency’s mandatory targets (RCW 70.235.050).

GHG/VMT Reduction Goals

• 2007 Senate Bill 6001 (RCW 70.235.020) – Target reduction of Washington’s greenhouse gas emissions to:

• 1990 levels by 2020• 25% below 1990 levels by 2035• 50% below 1990 levels by 2050

State’s baseline = 94.6 million metric tons CO2 equivalent

• 2008 House Bill 2815 (RCW 47.01.440)– State to reduce per person VMT

(for vehicles under 10,000 lbs)– 18% by 2020– 30% by 2035– 50% by 2050

What We Do Now – Greenhouse Gas Reduction Strategies

Four Legs of the Stool Plus Land Use• Improve fuel

- Lowering the carbon content of fuels

• Advance Vehicle Technology- Support improved vehicle technology

• System Efficiency- Operate our transportation system to maximize efficiency and improve traffic flow

• Increase Options and reduce Vehicle Miles Traveled- Support efficient transportation options like carpooling; working from home; riding

a bus, train or bicycle; walking; or telecommuting.

PLUS• Land Use

- Leveraging transportation investments to encourage land uses that are accessible to alternative travel options

9

FuelsVehicles

vehicle miles traveled

System Efficiency & Travel Options

Sustainable Transportation:Sustainable transportation is a system that preserves the environment, is durable and takes into account how we build it and the materials we use. We manage and operate a sustainable transportation system to complement the future we want.

• Economic Vitality and Stewardship

• Preservation and Maintenance

• Safety

• Mobility and Traffic Operations

• Environment and Adaptation

• Community Partnerships

• Fuels and Energy

• Design and Construction

10

What We Do Now – Greenhouse Gas Reduction Strategies

• Improve fuel- Leading development of the West Coast Green Highway Initiative from Canada to

Mexico (the nation’s first trans-national interstate for electric and alternative-fuel vehicles)

- Supporting market development for alternative fuels to help power state-owned ferries, trucks and cars with ultra-low-sulfur and biodiesel blends.

• Advance Vehicle Technology- Encouraging advancements in alternative vehicle technologies and increased fuel-

efficiencies- Upgrading the WSDOT fleet with more fuel-efficient vehicles

• System Efficiency- Electronic variable speed limit signs;- Real time traffic information;- Synchronizing traffic signals;- Tolling electronically to eliminate toll booths;- Responding quickly to help clear traffic incidents;

11

What We Do Now – Greenhouse Gas Reduction Strategies

• Increase Options and Reduce Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT)- Support efficient transportation options like carpooling; working from home; riding a

bus, train or bicycle; walking; or telecommuting.

- Vehicle Miles Traveled Measurement Analysis (Executive Order 09-05)• High level summary of potential vehicle miles traveled reductions from strategies.• Focused primarily on findings from several major studies;• Intended to:

o Highlight the types of strategies for reducing vehicle miles traveled, and possible ranges of reductions.

o Provide a high level indication of potential greenhouse gas reductions that may be needed from other strategies beyond vehicle miles traveled reduction to meet state greenhouse gas reduction goal.

• Land Use- Leveraging transportation investments to encourage land use that is complementary

to alternative travel options

- Growth and Transportation Efficiency Center (GTEC)• Successfully influencing Land Use changes (Spokane GTEC)• Focused investments achieve objectives shared with our partners:  Drive alone

commuting in GTECs dropped 11% statewide and 16% in King County between 2007-2009.

- Seattle Center City Parking (Construction Mitigation)

12

Executive Order 09-05 What is required?(a) In consultation with the Departments of Ecology and Commerce, and in collaboration with local governments, business, and environmental representatives,

• Estimate current and future state-wide levels of vehicle miles traveled, • Evaluate potential changes to the vehicle miles traveled benchmarks established in RCW

47.01.440 as appropriate to address low- or no-emission vehicles, and • Develop additional strategies to reduce emissions from the transportation sector. • Report findings and recommendations to the Governor by December 31, 2010; and,

(b) Work with the Puget Sound Regional Council, Spokane Regional Transportation Council, Southwest Washington Regional Transportation Council and Thurston Regional Planning Council to cooperatively develop and adopt regional transportation plans that will:

• Provide people with additional transportation alternatives and choices, • Reduce greenhouse gases and • Achieve the statutory benchmarks to reduce annual per capita vehicle miles traveled • In those counties with populations greater than 245,000.

By December 1, 2011, the Department will report to the Governor on which regional transportation planning organizations have developed, or are developing, plans with greenhouse gas strategies, which strategies appear to have the greatest potential to achieve the benchmarks, and what policy or funding issues need to be resolved to ensure implementation.

13

• Established a Executive Order Working Group

14

• Studies/Analysis Included– Washington Climate Action Team transportation policy options analysis

(December, 2007);

– Transportation Role in Reducing U.S. GHG Emissions: Report To Congress (April, 2010)

– Moving Cooler (July, 2009)

– Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs Study, Analysis of Policies To Reduce Oil Consumption and Greenhouse-Gas Emissions from the US Transportation Sector (February, 2010)

– EPA Analysis of the Transportation Sector Greenhouse Gas and Oil Reduction Scenarios (February, 2010)

– U.C. Berkeley Study: Review of Modeling Analysis of Transit, Land Use, and Auto Pricing Strategies to Reduce VMT and GHG Emissions, C. Rodier, for CARB and Caltrans (October, 2009)

– PSRC T-2040 Modeling Analysis

Executive Order 09-05 – Study Approach

Executive Order 09-05 – Findings and Recommendations- 1

• Current Vehicle Miles Traveled• HPMS is an appropriate tool to monitor VMT statewide.

• HPMS may also be an appropriate tool for monitoring VMT at the local and regional levels.

• Estimating Future Vehicle Miles Traveled• The statutory VMT benchmarks in RCW 47.01.440 used a baseline of 75 billion VMT for

2020.• This baseline for 2020 was established by the February 2008 VMT forecast and serves as

the basis for the VMT per capita reductions benchmarks in 2020, 2035, and 2050.• Based on a new methodology developed specifically for forecasting VMT, the June 2010

forecast projects total statewide VMT in 2020 to be 66 billion. WSDOT will update the VMT forecast annually each June.

15

Recommendation WSDOT recommends that the legislature use historical, measured VMT (e.g., 2000, 2005,or 2010levels), rather than forecasted VMT, to set the VMT baseline.

16

Do the VMT benchmarks need to be changed to address low or no-emission vehicles?

• Ecology’s research showed that projected vehicle technology and fuel changes will occur relatively slowly.

• The rate at which significant vehicle and fuel technology advances and regulatory changes are likely to happen over the next 40 years is highly uncertain.

Executive Order 09-05 – Findings and Recommendations- 2

RecommendationWSDOT recommends that the VMT benchmarks should not be changed at this time to address low- or no-emission vehicles.

Greenhouse gas reduction strategies from the transportation sector fit into four broad

categories:• Operating the system more efficiently• Advancing vehicle technology• Improving fuels• Reducing VMT

There is no silver bullet• Major contributions from each of the strategies are needed to reduce GHGs• Many transportation sector strategies would require changes in policy,funding, and authority• The state cannot significantly reduce emissions from the transportation sector without collaborative and

comprehensive actions by private citizens, businesses, and regional and local governments.Implementing combinations of aggressive transportation emission reduction strategies can achieve roughly a ten percent reduction in total statewide GHG emissions compared to the 2050 baseline.Did not assess the political or financial feasibility of implementing the strategies

17

Executive Order 09-05 – Findings and Recommendations- 3

RecommendationWSDOT recommends that the state consider the most viable ways to reduce statewide GHG emissions across all sectors. In 2011, WSDOT will continue to work with the four largest RTPOs identified in the Executive Order as part of the Section 2(b) work, which would further inform practical approaches for reducing GHG emissions at the regional level.

Partnerships and Technical Excellence

• ETC and ETC, ETC (Cabinet and Senior staff Ecology/Transportation/Commerce---Energy/Transportation/Climate Change)

• National Governor’s Association Policy Academy on Shaping a New Approach to Transportation and Land Use Planning– SWRTC (Vancouver, WA) Jan-November 2010

• FHWA Climate Change and Scenario Planning workshop Fall 2010• SHRP 2 Climate Change/Collaborative Decision-Making

Framework workshop Fall 2010• WSDOT/FHWA/MPOs “Growing Wealthier” workshop—Center for

Clean Air Policy Jan 2011• Scenario Planning workshop Volpe/FHWA with SWRTC Spring

2011