Bainbridge Island has issued a draft environmental impact statement on options to its Comprehensive Plan update and has invited public comments on it. This is my comment.
The Comp Plan update reflected in the DEIS will not be comprehensive. The Growth Management Act requires Comp Plans to have transportation elements, and requires that updates adapt to changes and local policy priorities. The DEIS only considers zoning changes, and no changes in the transportation element.
The main climate objective for the transportation element is reducing greenhouse gas emissions by reducing vehicle miles traveled. The chosen transportation element is the Sustainable Transportation Plan. The DEIS says the STP will not achieve that objective, but sees no reason to consider alternatives.
The STP will have no significant impact on the climate because it directs the city’s attention and funding to projects that have little or no transportation impact. Contradictions in the STP and DEIS begin with the Core 40, which would consist of road shoulders that allow cyclists and pedestrians to stay out of auto lanes on 40 miles of arterials.
It would provide good connections for non-motorized travel. It would greatly improve drivers’ ability to avoid cyclists and pedestrians. The STP claims that the Core 40 is an existing asset, but that asset does not exist. The DEIS includes a figure from the STP showing an expected network of bikeway improvements that include the Core 40. The STP priorities and funding method described in the DEIS do not support those improvements.
Six years ago, the STP began by rejecting the Core 40. Now the STP claims the Core 40 is done, or will be done, but there is no plan to do it.
Similarly, the city recently promised to evaluate the costs and benefits of proposed non-moto improvements, but declined to do so when the Park and Trails Foundation asked for transportation funding to extend the Sound to Olympics Trail, which has minuscule transportation use at best. Last year a consultant found that supporting rapid growth in e-bikes would have a much greater impact on greenhouse gas emissions than the STP. The DEIS and STP ignore that.
There are a variety of contradictions in the STP and transportation element. They can be fixed. Sustainable transportation is within reach. After a strong debate, the current plan for Eagle Harbor Drive is a step in the right direction. It will dramatically increase non-moto safety on what may be the most dangerous road section on BI. It will support bicycle and e-bike commuters from the south end who are saving gas today and will encourage more in all seasons.
How can we continue?
First, make safety for people cycling and walking on our roads a top priority. On most of our main roads, cyclists and pedestrians are forced into the auto lanes, where cars go 35 mph or faster, regardless of the posted speed limit. Due to increased traffic and little low-speed enforcement, road safety has been declining for years. Without immediate action, it will continue to decline.
Second, transportation means traveling from where we live to where we need to go, and a route is only as safe as its weakest link. Trails without complete connections are useless for transportation, no matter how attractive and comfortable they may be. The park district is doing a great job in recreation, and is well funded for it, but recreation is not where we should spend transportation funds.
Third, the need for climate action is urgent. There are good questions about how much Bainbridge can do in that, but any help is beneficial. The climate needs thousands of actions, and the time for action is now. If we want to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by reducing vehicle miles traveled, we should increase non-moto road safety as much as we can afford today. Promising custom trails in 30 years with no known funding is not planning and has no significant benefit for the climate.
Whether the DEIS and Comp Plan update comply with the GMA, I leave to others. Climate action is supposedly a top priority. If the city is serious about this, the Comp Plan and its transportation element would deliver.
Peter Harris of Bainbridge Island was a planner, budget analyst and legislative analyst for Seattle for 30 years. As such he was involved with transportation plans for environmental quality and public safety.
