2. Marco teórico
2.7. Detección de las emociones
When asked a question about policies and programs the agency is administering to support polycentric development, our Sound Transit respondent simply told us, “Well, this is kind of a chicken and egg issue, isn’t it?” More to the point, however, they went on to say that Sound Transit is “building the bones of a polycentric type of regional development.” Sound Transit, being the regional transit authority, is currently tasked with planning and building an expanding regional, high-capacity transit system. The existing system consists of light rail, heavy rail and express bus service, with a huge amount of additional service planned. The current Seattle region’s transit system is commensurate with what one might expect in a large U.S. city, but what is planned will make the transit system rival large legacy systems like New York and Washington, D.C.
Figure 11.6 shows the Sound Transit 3 Plan Map depicting proposed and current service.
Figure 11.6: Sound Transit 3 plan map
11.4.1 Sound Transit 3 - The Regional Transit System Plan
An integral part of Seattle’s regional growth plan includes a major expansion of the transit system. The level of growth that the region predicts, even with impeccable regional land use planning, would cause crippling stress to the transportation system.
An essential way to ameliorate that problem is to drastically increase the capacity of the transit system. The Sound Transit 3 plan does just that with increases to existing
service and investment in capital projects unlike any U.S. transit system plans to or has undergone in decades. For context, the Sound Transit 3 plan, as written, is estimated to cost $53.85 billion in capital and operating investments. Figure 11.7 illustrates the agency's estimated allocation of those funds.
Figure 11.7: Sound Transit 3 expansion planned fund expenditure
The most striking takeaway from Figure 11.7 is the proportion of funds estimated to be allocated to light rail capital investment. Our interviewee proudly shared that the plan allows for the construction of 115 new miles of light rail. While this type of investment in transit infrastructure is unprecedented in contemporary American planning, it is
necessary for the region to be able to achieve its goals of polycentric development without adding similar levels of highway capacity.
11.4.2 System Access Plan
For such astonishing levels of capital investment to be seamlessly tied to the existing multimodal transportation network, the Sound Transit 3 plan contains what it calls a System Access Plan. The System Access Plan (SAP) is a series of programs and policies to facilitate access to the transit system such that it is accessible by active
transportation modes, supports transit-oriented development, includes innovative practices, and is sustainable. Essentially, the SAP is an acknowledgement that the proposed transit system will not be successful without intentional multimodal access. A critical element of the SAP is dedicated funding, included in the total budget outlined above, for multimodal access to the system. Funding for access is dependent on the context of planned stations; funding levels will reflect the type of stations being planned, and access orientation will depend on the surrounding land uses. Funding is dedicated for project-level planning where bus-rail integration allowances will provide for
construction that permits convenient passenger transfers between bus and rail modes.
Access allowances will provide funds that facilitate the development of safe and direct walking and bicycling routes to neighborhoods surrounding station areas. Dedicating funding to system access will strengthen the region’s ability to create polycentric
development because concentrations of development in centers will require mode shifts away from auto travel. Furthermore, a well-designed and multimodally integrated transit system is paramount to achieving such a shift.
11.4.3 Transit-Oriented Development
TOD is the best example of fine-grained development that utilizes existing or planned infrastructure in a way that promotes a polycentric development pattern. In fact, the modern paradigm of land use and transportation planning has been described by Ewing and Bartholemew (2018) as centered development connected by high-quality transit service. TOD exemplifies this practice at a small scale, and promoting this style of development is crucial for advancing a polycentric development pattern. Like the System Access Plan, the Sound Transit 3 plan contributes dedicated funds for TOD planning activities for areas within the system expansion that are expected to maintain surplus land. The plan includes a TOD Fund of $20 million to include TOD
considerations during the process of land acquisition. This is to ensure that there is adequate surplus property for Sound Transit to meaningfully support TOD development as the system becomes operable.
11.5 CONCLUSION
The Seattle region is another excellent example of coordinated regional planning that utilizes multiple levels of government to enact a shared vision of polycentric
development. Similar to the Portland, OR case study, the Seattle MPO has additional authority beyond what is typically afforded to an MPO. This allows PSRC to facilitate a regional agenda of centered development through overarching policy like the Regional Centers Framework, the Regional Growth Strategy, and the Growth Boundary. Unlike most MPOs where such policies would be more like voluntary guidance, in this case the MPO has the ability to enforce these policies through their ability to approve or demand changes to comprehensive plans. This process allows PSRC to ensure that
municipalities within the region are in line with their regional goals, like centered development.
Additionally, the City of Seattle and Sound Transit share this goal for a polycentric region. The City is contributing to centered development with many policies that explicitly work to that end. Specifically, the City of Seattle employs a hierarchy of
centers for focusing growth in areas that can best accommodate it. The City also has its own Growth Strategy for achieving centered development in a way that is in line with the regional approach but also incorporates the City’s unique context. An essential
component for directing growth within the Seattle region is also the expansion of
important transportation infrastructure. Sound Transit exists as a regional transportation authority that is charged with developing this infrastructure to facilitate polycentric development. The region is planning the largest public transit expansion in the US, and Sound Transit is carefully coordinating with other regional actors like the MPO and City to ensure that capital investment is made in a way that promotes the goals of
responsible, centered development.
11.6 DOCUMENTS REVIEWED IN THIS CHAPTER
• Puget Sound Regional Council (2019). Draft Vision 2050 Plan. Retrieved from https://www.psrc.org/sites/default/files/draft-vision2050-plan.pdf
• Puget Sound Regional Council. Part II: Regional Growth Strategy. Retrieved from https://www.psrc.org/sites/default/files/part_ii_regional_growth_strategy.pdf
• Puget Sound Regional Council (2018). Regional Centers Framework Update. Retrieved from
https://www.psrc.org/sites/default/files/final_regional_centers_framework_march_22 _ver
• Knaap, G., Ding, C., & Hopkins, L. D. (2001). Managing urban growth for the efficient use of public infrastructure: toward a theory of concurrency. International Regional Science
Review, 24(3), 328-343.
• Laschever, E. S. (1998). An Overview of Washington's Growth Management Act. Paific Rim Law & Policy Journal, 7, 657.
• The City of Seattle (2016). Seattle 2035 Comprehensive Plan. Retrieved from comprehensivePlan/CouncilAdopted2019.pdf
• Sound Transit (2016). Sound Transit 3 The Regional Transit System Plan for Central Puget Sound. Retrieved from
https://st32.blob.core.windows.net/media/Default/Document%20Library%20Featured /8-2