Seattle/Lake Washington Corridor Urban Partnership Agreement: National Evaluation Report

This document presents the final report on the national evaluation of the Seattle/Lake Washington Corridor (LWC) Urban Partnership Agreement (UPA) under the United States Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) UPA Program. The Seattle UPA projects focus on reducing congestion by employing strategies consisting of combinations of Tolling, Transit, Telecommuting/TDM, and Technology, also known as the 4Ts. Those strategies include tolling all lanes of the SR 520 bridge, additional bus service in the SR 520 corridor, implementing active traffic management systems, and real-time traveler information signs on highways and at transit stops and stations. The national evaluation of the Seattle/LWC UPA projects is guided by the National Evaluation Framework, the Seattle/LWC UPA National Evaluation Plan, and individual test plans for various components. This report provides information on the use of the new Seattle/LWC UPA projects. Changes in travel speeds, travel times, trip-time reliability, park-and-ride lot use, and transit ridership are described. The results of interviews and workshops with local stakeholders, surveys of different user groups, and interviews and focus groups with Washington State Patrol officers, bus operators, and service patrol personnel are presented. The air quality, energy, and safety impacts of the Seattle/LWC UPA projects are examined. Information on changes in unemployment rates, gasoline prices, and parking costs is also summarized.