Building on prior feedback from our HSP Advisory Committee, virtual public meetings, and an online survey conducted by the University of Washington, we gathered additional community feedback about the scenarios through a statistically representative survey, virtual open houses, scenario workshops, equity workshops, and an online opinion poll.
We found that Washingtonians want a lot of the same things from their state highway system, including:
- Strong support for preservation and maintenance funding across all regions and groups.
- Preference for strategies that increase safety and efficiency for the existing system while still funding some highway expansion.
- Importance of addressing equity by increasing travel options, improving housing access, and creating economic opportunities from investments for overburdened and vulnerable communities.
While no investment recommendation will satisfy everyone, the HSP’s purpose is to propose a recommendation that strikes a reasonable balance based on all of these important factors:
- Legislative direction.
- WSDOT’s duty to steward the transportation system.
- Consistency with federal requirements.
- Alignment with state and regional plans.
- Professional expertise and industry best practices.
- Responsiveness to public input.
Our hope is that the Highway System Plan identifies common ground for state highway investment priorities that make sense for Washington.