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Council reviews draft six‑year Transportation Improvement Program; Oak Street, interurban trail and sidewalks highlighted
Summary
Public Works Director Madden presented the city's draft six‑year Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), outlining funding sources and prioritized projects including Oak Street sidewalks, interurban trail undercrossing, Milton Way improvements and traffic calming. The resolution to adopt the TIP will return for council action next week.
Public Works Director Madden described the TIP as an annual, planning‑level document that sequences projects and supports grant applications. "The item before you tonight is an annual exercise the city of Milton goes through to, place or or establish a 6 year transportation improvement program," Director Madden said, and noted that only the plan — not construction authorizations — was before council.
Director Madden reviewed funding sources the city expects to use, naming motor vehicle fuel tax funds, federal aid programs, the Transportation Improvement Board (TIB), the Safe Routes to School program (WSDOT), the Public Works Trust Fund and local sources such as real estate excise tax and traffic impact fees. He said some federal programs are under heavy scrutiny and that the city is treating federal grants as uncertain in the near term.
Council discussion focused on several priority projects. Director Madden said safety improvements near schools are budgeted at approximately $220,000 per year, with roughly $20,000 expected from the city and $200,000 anticipated from grants. He described the Milton Way pedestrian projects, including a sidewalk from Juniper to Porter Way and a longer corridor to the city limits near Fife; the Juniper–Porter segment was moved to 2027 to accommodate other priorities. Council members urged staff to consider a sidewalk on 20 Eighth Avenue between Alder and the trailhead to improve access for seniors and trail users; Director Madden said staff had reviewed that segment during trail design work but it was not currently scoped and that council could add it to the TIP.
Other projects discussed included Porter Way improvements (earmarked for a TIB grant), Millway intersection work at Eighth and Meridian, 20 Eighth / Birch to Alder extension (working with developers), Taylor Street sidewalk and traffic mitigation projects (bump outs, speed humps and traffic calming), and the interurban trail undercrossing and related pedestrian work on SR‑99 where coordination with Sound Transit may change partners and funding. Director Madden noted the city had submitted updated cost estimates for the interurban trail undercrossing and that legislative funding decisions (if received) would speed engineering work.
A range of ongoing programs also appear in the TIP: miscellaneous asphalt overlays, citywide traffic calming (city match of about $100,000 per year), signal interconnect and intelligent transportation systems work, citywide street lighting improvements, unsignalized mid‑block pedestrian crossings (rapid flashing beacons), and ADA access upgrades. No TIP resolution vote occurred at the study session; Director Madden said the resolution (Resolution 25‑1988) would return to council for action next week.
Staff follow‑up items include preparing a list of candidate streets for asphalt overlays, analyzing recent speed data for traffic‑calming proposals, and refining cost and grant match assumptions for key sidewalk and trail projects.
