'Move Ahead Washington' Launches a New Era of Transportation Planning in Washington State

The Washington State Legislature approved a $17 billion, 16-year transportation package that Washington Democrats promise marks the beginning of a new era of transportation planning and funding in the state.

Ryan Packer reports for the Urbanist on the legislative approval for the Move Ahead Washington package, approved in the final hours of the 2022 legislative session and headed for Gov. Jay Inslee's signature. Packer has been reporting on Move Ahead Washington since Democrats in the legislature announced the package of bills on February 8—just a few weeks ago.

"This new era will not represent a complete sea change from the 2015 transportation package, dubbed Connecting Washington, but it will represent several significant shifts in how the state funds mobility investments," according to Packer. While Connecting Washington was packed full of mega-projects, explains Packer, Move Ahead Washington has comparatively few mega-projects, focusing instead on climate- and safety-friendly projects.

"The language in Move Ahead Washington includes a new complete streets requirement for state transportation projects over $500,000 that start design later than this summer," reports Packer. In addition, the Washington State Department of Transportation will be required to "plan, design, and construct facilities providing context sensitive solutions that contribute to network connectivity and safety for pedestrians, bicyclists, and people accessing public transportation" (text from the bill).

The bill supplies $1.45 billion for public transit support grants, including free transit for kids, and doubles the amount of funding for safe routes to school and bicycle and pedestrian projects. Packer stops short of describing the bill as fully transformational, noting that the funding package still provides funding for the widening of I-5 in Vancouver, Washington, including a replacement of the Columbia River Crossing. Packer also lists a few of the other road projects funded by Moving Washington Forward that could end up reaching mega-project levels of spending after all is said and done.