Agency staff says the Puget Sound regional long-range plan won’t achieve 2030 sustainability goals set by the state.

The recently adopted Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) long range transportation plan won’t do enough to meet the region’s 2030 climate goals, reports Ryan Packer for The Urbanist. This is according to a report from the Council’s own staff, which revealed “a projected 13% gap between anticipated emissions and the goal of reaching a 50% reduction of the region’s 1990 greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, even with the help of numerous newly adopted statewide climate policies.”
Packer outlines the analysis made by PSRC staff, which claims that nixing planned road expansion projects in the region would not reduce emissions because that would increase congestion, a claim labeled by The Urbanist as “myth #1 on our list of five wrong planning claims around highway expansion that are causing the US to fail to make progress on its climate goals.” The predictive models used by PSRC also claim that improving transit wouldn’t make much impact, assuming that people would continue to drive at roughly the same rate, and that the most impactful initiative would be a per-mile road charge, an action that would require legislative action at the state level.
These predictions matter because the analysis is meant to inform how federal funding is allocated. “If the models show accelerating transit investments gets the region closer to its climate goals, there will be an effort to tilt funding in that direction.”
FULL STORY: Adopted Regional Transportation Plan Isn’t Aligned With 2030 Climate Goals

The Right to Mobility
As we consider how to decarbonize transportation, preserving mobility, especially for lower- and middle-income people, must be a priority.

America’s Best New Bike Lanes
PeopleForBikes highlights some of the most exciting new bike infrastructure projects completed in 2022.

Early Sharrow Booster: ‘I Was Wrong’
The lane marking was meant to raise awareness and instill shared respect among drivers and cyclists. But their inefficiency has led supporters to denounce sharrows, pushing instead for more robust bike infrastructure that truly protects riders.

L.A. County Towns Clash Over Homelessness Policies
Local governments often come to different conclusions about how to address homelessness within their respective borders, but varying approaches only exacerbate the problem.

A Mixed-Use Vision for Houston Landfill Site
A local nonprofit is urging the city to consider adding mixed-use development to the site, which city officials plan to turn into a stormwater detention facility.

Milwaukee County Makes Substantial Progress on Homelessness
In 2022, the county’s point-in-time count of unhoused people reflected just 18 individuals, the lowest in the country.
Town of Palm Beach
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension
York County Government
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Harvard GSD Executive Education
City of Fitchburg, WI
City of Culver City
Sonoma County Transportation Authority
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.