Planning is the process of thinking ahead about what you would like to achieve and aligning efforts to realize those goals. What does planning mean in your community?
Every October, the American Planning Association recognizes the contributions of planners throughout the country. Check out their highlight on the City of Seattle!
We want to share more of what planning has done for our region. A truly remarkable level of coordinated multijurisdictional regional planning has mobilized the landscape over the last five years as transit agencies have debuted major new services.
Community Transit launched the Green and Orange Swift Lines, which connect to light rail, Paine Field Airport, and each other. Kitsap Transit deployed a new fast ferry fleet, connecting Bremerton, Kingston and Southworth to Seattle. Sound Transit opened 23 new light rail stations, extending Line 1 to Lynnwood, extending the Tacoma Line to St. Joseph’s, and opening service on the Eastside.
Every city along these new routes did considerable station area planning and many new transit-oriented developments were built to complement the new services. Over 168,000 new housing units have been constructed since 2019. About half of the new units added in the region have been in centers or near transit since 2010. More so in King County where that percentage jumps to 70.
At PSRC, we know it doesn’t end there. We are hard at work on continuing the process to improve and build a livable future for everyone in the region. Take a look at some of our recent planning highlights:
- Equity Tracker: a new tool to identify disparities and track performance in addressing them.
- Housing Research: past work includes data analysis, monitoring reports and surveys. PSRC, in partnership with Bellwether Housing, is supporting efforts to create a new Housing Research Center in the region.
- Regional Safety Planning: PSRC is working to address the alarming rise in traffic-related deaths, which have nearly doubled in the region since 2010. Development of the Regional Safety Action Plan is underway, learn more.