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HomeMy WebLinkAbout045 95 u~; ,v.IA]. lp-LJ-Cf5 STATE OF WASHINGTON COUNTY OF JEFFERSON In the Matter of: Road Project Programming Priority Process x x Resolution 45-95 x x WHEREAS, Road projects in Jefferson County are selected and prioritized by applying a system developed during the 1970s when state law was adopted requiring a "priority array" be developed and utilized by all Counties for programming road needs, and WHEREAS, The present system is typical of systems developed in response to the mandate of law for their era. They never were developed to be consistent with what we now know as growth management or even to openly support land use p I ann i n g or goals and policies of elected officials or Boards of County Commissioners, and WHEREAS, the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners has provided fixed weighting factors included in Attachment "A", and WHEREAS, the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners has detennined that it is in the best interests of the public. NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the County adopts the Road Project Programming Priority Process as outlined in Attachment "A". ADOPTED THIS 5+-" DA Y OF~" ,1995. SEAL: Richard E. Wojt, M ber C t.\(L,~5-e d Ah~Æ YlC~ Robert Hinton, Member- " ;\ ~ " ~ ~a ~l1f!~~ Lorna L. Delaney a Clerk of the Board VOL 21 rM,; 705 Attachment" A" JEFFERSON COUNTY, WASHINGTON ROAD PROJECT PROGRAMMING PRIORITY PROCESS APRIL, 1995 CURRENT STATUS: 3. Road projects in Jefferson County are selected and prioritized by applying a system developed during the 1970s when state law was adopted requiring a ~priority array" be developed and utilized by all Counties for programming road needs. The current system includes data fields for the following information: 1. Identification of project (name, log number and mile post) 2. Classification information with width geometry and abbreviated topography. Service Rating - a factor for acknowledging bus routing and average traffic Use. Condition rating criteria a. surface type and width b. ride quality c. structural condition d. drainage ,;. .r.o 4. Mathematical ratings are applied to measured conditions for the above data fields. The product of this system is a numerical value the higher of which represents the greatest public need. The present system is'typical of systems developed in response to the mandate of law for their era. It is appropriate to recognize such systems for their value and not expect them to be more than they are. They never were developed to be consistent with what we now know as growth management or even to openly support land use planning or goals and policies of elected officials beyond traditional ~road needs". ISSUE: The present system, while it has done its job for many years, leaves some Users questioning whether or not it satisfies current needs of County goals and policies, equity, fairness, compliance with GMA or providing high quality coordinated services. The present system does not deal well with the diversity of needs being served by our County Transportation network today. Those needs are represented by traditional general transportation (road) needs, both capital and operational; road safety needs; non-m?torized needs; transportation planning needs and others. VOL 1 21 rAG~ 706 The list of competing needs as identified above does not lend itself to universal prioritization. By that we mean that it is difficult to equitably compare and rate safety needs against routine road needs or non-motorized needs. Attempts to do seem to lack equitible representation of all categories of needs indicating, among other things, likely bias on the part of the system operators. Staff of the Department of Public Works has developed a proposal for consideration by the Board of County Commissioners of Jefferson County for developing and implementing a new road priority programming process. The following recommendation outlines the conceptual model which we envision developing for your consideration. GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF A NEW ROAD PROGRAMMING PROCESS: Public Works staff proposes system goals and objectives which will provide the Board of County Commissioners and Public Works staff a dynamic guide for future transportation decisions. Transportation needs in Jefferson County are increasing as the County grows and as needs diversify with changes in economic land use, population and employment center changes, non-motorized uses increase and operational problems occur. Additionally, the county still has approximately ninety miles of gravel road which are a maintenance burden and low service facility for users, some of which, it may be desirable to hard surface and reconstruct to appropriate standards over time. As transportation needs increase and Jefferson County policy goals are adopted by the Board of County Commissioners, competition for transportation revenues will intensify. Therein lies the need for an objective, systematic and equitable decision making tool reflecting Board of County Commissioner policy direction and sound technical data input. The new model will contain at least three major steps which are summarized as follows: 1. Needs Identification and Screening: In the first step of the process a comprehensive list of potential improvements is compiled, using many different sources such as: reports and input from various county departments, including engineering and road maintenance staff, results of special transportation studies, community plan recommendations, input from other governments, County residents and businesses. 2 VOL 21 rAL,707 Proposed projects are then screened to eliminate proposals that are: (1) not feasible; (2) maintenance projects rather than capital improvements; or (3) inappropriate because they conflict with county policies as set by the Board of County Commissioners or are not the best solution to a specific problem, or are responsibilities of other governments. The remaining projects are grouped according to the category of project. 2. Technical Evaluation and Ranking: In the second step of the priority process the projects remaining from the initial screening are evaluated on the basis of eighteen individual criteria. The evaluation uses a system of criteria rankings to develop individual project scores. Additional data are collected if necessary, to provide sufficient information for the evaluation. 3. Applying Policy Direction from the Board of County Commissioners: Twice in the process the Board of County Commissioners will direct policy by selecting two variables which when applied will determine categorically how transportation revenue will be split between categories and, later in the process, how much weight will be applied to each criteria. It is anticipated the Board will review the discretionary policy elements of this process at least once each year prior to program development. In step two, Public Works staff will conduct field reviews and information reviews from available data sources such as various inventories, land use planning data, economic data from the business community and others. Staff will then apply this information to a set of rating guidelines which will establish the intended relative standard for rating purposes. TECHNICAL EVALUATION AND RANKING: Step two of the process will include the following priority criteria which are not listed in order of significance. 1. NON-MOTORIZED NEEDS This encompasses bicycle, pedestrian, equestrian and other non- motorized needs as might evolve. 2. TRAFFIC INPUT Safety defects, hazards, locations of statistical significance 3. PRESENT OR FUTURE CAPACITY (LOS) This criteria includes Average Daily Traffic Counts present and forecast based on adopted land use goals of the County. 4. PUBLIC REQUESTS OR COMPLAINTS 3 VOL 21 rM/708 Includes common service request that are not maintenance related. 5. RESOURCE, CRITICAL OR SENSITIVE AREAS This criteria includes timber land, ag land, mining land, aquaculture or other land of economic significance to the County as well as critical or sensitive areas as defined in the adopted comprehensive land use plan. 6. SCHOOL PEDESTRIAN ROUTES This includes all routes officially sanctioned and mapped by school district transportation coordinators for school pedestrian Use. 7. TRANSIT AND SCHOOL BUS STOP This includes roads which have bus stops on them with needs not currently being safely met by present conditions. 8. FUTURE LAND USE/COMPREHENSIVE LAND USE CONSISTENCY Projects which when implemented will support the adopted County land use plan and its future goals. 9. FLOOD ZONE OR OTHER HAZARD LAND AREA Projects crossing, adjacent to or impacting lands which are mapped and identified as FEMA flood zones or other mapped land hazards such as steep slopes, slide prone areas or others. 10. TRANSIT ROUTES Projects which are currently served by public transit systems or are planned for such service. 11. RECREATIONAL LAND USE Projects which will access or serve land use of a public recreational nature. 12. COMMUNITY CENTER USE Projects which will provide access to or serve County Community Centers. 13. GEOMETRIC CONSISTENCY WITH STANDARDS Project consistency with applicable standards. 14. SERVICEABILITY Present ride quality, structural condition or operational liabilities. 15. COMMUNITY PLAN PROJECT Projects which are included by reference in adopted community plans reflecting long range planning goals of the County. 16. GRANT AVAILABILITY Outside revenues which directly support this project 17. FATAL FLAWS INVOLVING PUBLIC SAFETY OR ECONOMIC WELL BEING Projects which, if not implemented, will have measurable and obvious negative impacts on public safety, economic development or other rational measures of public necessity. 18. NON-QUANTIFIABLE Projects which evolve due to measures not included in this process. 4 VOL 21 h\f,' 709 RATING PROCESS: Each criteria shall be eligible for a maximum of ten points. Ten represents the highest, greatest or most significant measure. Professional judgment shall be applied to quantify between guideline values as represented below. Criteria one. 0 points - 5 points - 10 points- Criteria two. 0 points - 5 points - 10 points - NON-MOTORIZED NEEDS: project has no known non-motorized needs. (bike, ped, equestrian, disabilityetc) project has recognized use by non-motorized users project is on adopted trail or non-motorized route maps. Is used regularly by non-motorized users. TRAFFIC INPUT: project has no known, inventoried or obvious traffic defects, hazards or collision statistics. project has known hazards, defects or collision statistics but each are of low magnitude or statistical incidence. project has significant hazard potential, defects and/or collisions. Has experienced one or more fatalities within past five years. Criteria three. PRESENT OR FUTURE CAPACITY: 0 points - project has no capacity problems. experiences no congestion related symptoms, no inter. delays. project occasionally experiences congestion during peak hours, seasonal busy peaks or intersection delays or project is LOS or concurrency critical to future land use which has not yet developed. project presently has concurrency problems; LOS D or worse. or; project has LOS C and land use zoning and projections forecast LOS D within five years without project. 5 points - 10 points - Criteria four. 0 points - 5 points - 10 points - PUBLIC REQUESTS OR COMPLAINTS: project has not been the subject of public interest. Public at large has not been requesting improved services or facilities at this location. project has occasionally generated public in quiries requesting improved service. May be a localized or special interest group rather than public at large. project is receiving on a regular basis. at large rather than public complaint and request Requests are defiantly public special interest group. 5 VOL 21 rAU 713 Criteria five. RESOURCE, CRITICAL OR SENSITIVE AREAS: NEGATIVE WEIGHING FACTOR 0 points - project has no impact on critical areas, sensitive areas or resource areas as mapped and identified by Jefferson County Comp Planning. project slightly impacts critical areas, sensitive areas or resource areas by being adjacent or up stream in a manner which would be negative to their environmental quality. project bisects, crosses, damns or otherwise negatively impacts county mapped and identified sensitive area or resource area. 5 points - 10 points - Criteria six. 0 points - 5 points - 10 points - SCHOOL PEDESTRIAN ROUTE: project is not identified by school districts as an authorized or desirable ped route. project is recognized as being used by school children or others to access school facilities although it is not an authorized ped route. project is an authorized school ped route sanctioned school transportation coordinator. Criteria seven. BUS STOPS (TRANSIT AND SCHOOL) 0 points - project has no known bus routes with stops. 5 points - project has stops but not many and low volume users. project is regular route with numerous stops and high volumes of users. 10 points - Criteria eight. ACHIEVEMENT: 0 points - 5 points - 10 points - FUTURE LAND USE/COMP PLAN CONSISTENCY AND project is not necessary to support future land use by permitted zoning. Land use could and would happen without project. Has no known or obvious economic benefit to the community. project may be important for future land use development as zoned and authorized. Not speculative but not absolute either. May have future economic benefit but not of obvious nature. project has known land use or immanent nature which is consistent with zoning and approved land use. Project will create positive economic benefit for Jefferson County. 6 ','OL 21 r,~v711 Criteria nine. FLOOD ZONE OR OTHER HAZARDOUS LANDS: NEGATIVE WEIGHING FACTOR 0 points - project is not in a mapped Jefferson county FEMA flood zone project is adjacent to mapped Jefferson County FEMA flood zone and will displace minor flood waters. project will displace mapped Jefferson County FEMA flood zone waters creating positive back water effect and worsening flooding above. 5 points - 10 points - Criteria ten. TRANSIT ROUTE: 0 points - project has no current or planned transit routes. 5 points - project has planned transit route importance in future. 10 points - project has current transit route Criteria Eleven. RECREATIONAL LAND USE: 0 points - project has no known or planned public recreational land project has planned public recreational land use project has current public recreational land use (judgmental values between thresholds shall include active recreational land use vs passive, numbers of public participants and seasonality) Criteria Twelve. COMMUNITY CENTER: 0 points - project is not a an arterial which directly accesses a community center. project is an arterial which does directly provide access to a community center. project directly accesses a community center and has been prioritized highly in the community centers transportation input to Jefferson County. 5 points - 10 points - 5 points - 10 points - Criteria Thirteen GEOMETRIC CONSISTENCY WITH STANDARDS: 0 points - project is geometrically consistent with vertical and horizontal standards of lane width, sight distance and shoulder width and has no operational problems at this time. project is not geometrically consistent with one or more vertical or horizontal standards of lane width, sight distance and shoulder width and may have slight operational problems. 5 points - 7 VOL 21 rAG~ 712 Fourteen SERVICEABILITY: (each quality of maintenance shall be rated for a maximum of 2.5 points) project has adequate ride quality with reasonably smooth surface texture, few if any dips or surface irregularities. project has good structural characteristics without linear or lateral cracking of significance. Also has no depressions, pot holes, slumps or slips. project has good drainage with adequate sized and maintained ditches, cross drains and get a way. Project does not flood with normal annual rain fall. project has good geometry with transverse slope of normal ratio, good radii of curvature and good vertical sight distance. 10 points - Criteria 0 points - 0 points - 0 points - 0 points - 2.5 points - 2.5 points - 2.5 points - 2.5 points - project is not consistent with geometric standards at all and has significant operational problems project has less than adequate ride quality, would be a good candidate for serious pre-level and resurfacing. project has structural defects exhibited by linear and or lateral cracking, surface subsidence, slips, slumps or depressions, with pot holes and delaminations. Project would be a good candidate for serious pre-level and resurfacing if not being considered for a capital project. project has inadequate drainage with symptoms of surface failure and frost heaving. Project floods too frequently from seasonal rains and water ponds along road. project has poor general geometry with flat pavement or excessive crown slope, poor vertical or horizontal sight distance. Criteria Fifteen COMMUNITY PLANNING PROJECT: 0 points - project has never been included in a community plan nor brought to the attention of Jefferson County by a formal community planning committee. project has been mentioned during community planning processes but is not on their formal project list. 5 points - 8 VOL 21w7~ 10 points - project is on the formal priority list of a community plan. Criteria Sixteen GRANT AVAILABILITY 0 points - project has not had applications filed for grants nor is there any knowledge of potential grant eligibility. project may be eligible but has not as yet been applied for nor are there positive inferences from grant agencies of eligibility. project is eligible for grants, has application filed to grant agencies and has indications of grant availability. 5 points - 10 points - Criteria ECONOMIC Criteria Seventeen FATAL FLAWS INVOLVING PUBLIC SAFETY OR WELL BEING OF THE COUNTY. projects which, if not implemented will create excessive public risk, or create intolerable hazards or cause an economic hardship to the public at large as opposed to individuals or special interest groups. Eighteen NON-QUANTIFIABLE Projects which are not commonly amenable to modeling but which come to the attention of county agents or elected officials which, when considered by the Board, have merit and public necessity. POLICY DIRECTION FROM THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS: step Three, Public policy, as adopted by the Board of County Commissioners of Jefferson County is applied twice during the road priority programming procedure. First, the Board is presented with projects developed during step one (Needs Identification and Screening) which are organized into a categorical system by common nature. Once organized by category, the Board then considers alternative Road Fund distribution ratios which essentially determines how much Road Fund or grant money is allocated to each category. Secondly, the Board considers the list of criteria and adopt a weighting factor which is then applied by Staff to the criteria ranking. 9 VOL 21 r,~f/ 714 CATEGORIES: Road and Transportation projects can logically be categorized into several groups which reflect common needs, traits or services. Projects within categories are unique to each other and not easily rated against projects in other categories for purposes of determining relative priority. For that reason it is recommended projects be rated internally, by category, against each other. Rated and categorized projects can then be considered by the Board when making annual road fund distribution decisions by category. The category groups recommended by Staff of the Department of Public Works are as follows: 1. GENERAL TRANSPORTATION: Projects in this category include all capital construction projects and major maintenance projects. Examples include all capacity driven projects, all land use or growth related projects and major or minor widening unless for non-motorized use. Major maintenance projects would include all projects which would be classified as ~construction" by the State Auditor and BARS accounting and which would be reported as such on the annual construction report. 2. NON-MOTORIZED NEEDS: Projects in this category include all non-motorized transportation needs such as but not limited to bicycle, pedestrian, equestrian and handicapped needs. 3. SAFETY NEEDS: Projects in this category include all projects which originate exclusively out of transportation safety goals. They may include such projects as shoulder widening, sight distance improvements, intersections improvements, guardrail or hazard mitigation. 4. PLANNING PROJECTS: Planning projects are those for which there is no clear or present need or, for which there is no funding at present, but which are probably needed in the future and will receive funding at that time. This category may be used to fund preliminary engineering to ~get projects on the shelf" and ready for construction funding. Commonly used for State or Federal grant projects. 5. OTHERS: This funding category is for all other projects which do not fit into the above categories. These may be projects needed to create economic stimulus in Jefferson County or to serve significant public facilities being constructed in Jefferson 10 VDr- 21 rAC~ 715 County. These projects are usually the product of policy development by the Board of County Commissioners. WEIGHTING FACTORS: Economic, social, demographic, employment and many other factors will change over time and by annually reviewing the relative weights or importance of the various criteria the Board of County Commissioners can accommodate that change by modifying the weights accordingly. They thereby ensure their annual road priority programming procedure reflects their intentions regarding appropriate public policy. It is recommended the weighting factor be implemented as follows: 1. Each criteria is multiplied by a factor which will be between 0.0 and 1.0. This value will significantly impact individual project scores by as much as 10 points (out of a total maximum of 140) or 7.1% for each criteria. While one criteria will most likely not cause a project to be ranked high or low, it is anticipated that the cumulative effect will reflect the policy direction of the Board. 2. Weighting factors are not intended to be technically objective factors but are instead expressions of official public policy direction of the Board. 11 VOL 21 rH; 718 Sheet1 JEFFERSON COUNTY, WASHINGTON ROAD PROJECT PROGRAMMING PRIORITY PROCESS SCORING SHEET ROAD NAME = TERMINI CLASSIFICATION = LOG NO. = MP TO MP ~ . RANKING CRITERIA Range Score Weight Score X Weight 1. NON -MOTORIZED NEEDS 0.63 2. TRAFFIC INPUT 1.00 3. PRESENT OR FUTURE LOS 0.73 4. PUBLIC REQUESTS/COMPL 0.37 5. RESOURCE, CRIT./SENS. LAND 0.83 6. SCHOOL PEDESTRIAN ROUTE 0.83 7. TRANSIT/SCHOOL BUS STOPS 1.00 8. COMP. PLAN CONSISTENCY 0.53 9. FLOOD/HAZARD LAND 1. 00 10. TRANSIT ROUTE 0.20 11. RECREATIONAL LAND USE 1. 00 12. COMMUNITY CENTER ACCESS 0.57 13. CONSISTENCY W/ST ANDARDS 1.00 14. SERVICEABILITY 1. 00 15. COMMUNITY PLAN SUPPORT 0.93 16. GRANT AVAILABILITY 0.58 17. FATAL FLAWS 1. 00 18. NON-QUANTIFIABLE 0.87 TOTAL SCORE = VOI- 21 Hu717 Page 1