Anacortes presents draft Transportation Master Plan; staff to open six‑year improvement program for public hearing

Public Works Director Andy Rayum and consultant Chris Como presented a draft Transportation Master Plan and an outline of the city’s six‑year Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) at the June 2 City Council meeting. The session was informational and set a timeline for public hearings and for the annual concurrency report that will feed the TIP.

Rayum emphasized that the material in the packet is intended to inform the transportation element of the comprehensive plan rather than to adopt the comprehensive plan itself. He said staff will return with a redlined version for council review when the comp plan update advances.

The draft plan groups projects by mode (vehicular, pedestrian, bicycle, transit and trails) and introduces multimodal level‑of‑service standards to comply with recent Growth Management Act and state guidance. Consultant Chris Como said the plan identifies an active‑transportation network that builds on the city’s 2016 walks‑and‑bikes work and noted the city will need to prioritize where to invest for sidewalks, bike facilities and ADA improvements.

Key technical findings presented to the council included: - Most city intersections currently meet adopted vehicle level‑of‑service standards; the intersection at 12th and K was cited as a congestion bottleneck in the draft model and projected to degrade under a 2045 build scenario. - Anacortes has more than 70 active‑transportation projects identified across the 20‑year planning horizon; the Bicycle‑Pedestrian Advisory Committee prioritized the list used to form the TIP project map. - The plan recommends tying ADA transition‑plan investments and bus stop improvements together so Skagit Transit and the city can coordinate improvements and make bus stops accessible as sidewalks and ramps are constructed.

Rayum and Como outlined implementation and funding options. They described the TIP as the city’s principal investment and grant‑coordination tool: the first three years typically show funded projects and the outer years show priorities that lack identified funding. Staff recommended an annual concurrency report to provide a concise status update on system performance and project priorities in advance of each TIP cycle.

Councilmembers asked questions about truck routes, Highway 20 impacts, the feasibility of major corridor changes (grade separations or intersection consolidation), and how projects should be prioritized when grant opportunities appear. Councilmember Walters asked that street‑classification and truck‑route language match the city code; Rayum noted staff would reconcile any differences. Councilmember Moulton asked that maps use color choices that reproduce clearly for public documents.

Council directed staff to open the TIP for a public hearing (staff indicated the first public hearing would be held in two weeks) and accepted the general approach of an annual concurrency report ahead of each TIP update. The draft transportation element will also be submitted to the Skagit Council of Governments for certification, a step the city must complete to remain eligible for certain state and federal grants.