Regional 25-year transportation plan stresses safety, equity and funding uncertainty amid federal guidance changes

Thurston Regional Planning Council Executive Director Mark Daley told the Thurston County Board of County Commissioners on April 30 that the council’s draft 25‑year Regional Transportation Plan aims to guide the region’s investments across all travel modes, but it will not by itself eliminate congestion as the area grows.

The plan, updated every five years, sets regional goals and contains about 80 recommended projects the council says are fiscally constrained — meaning the plan shows a reasonable expectation of funding sources for listed projects. Daley said the package includes an estimated 18 miles of new roadway, about 36 miles of widened lanes and turn lanes, 65 miles of bicycle and pedestrian facilities and 29 miles of multi‑use trails, along with transit and operational improvements.

Why it matters: The plan shapes which projects are eligible for federal and state funding and guides local land‑use and transportation coordination. Daley said the draft is intended to help the region compete for state and federal dollars, but he warned that planned land use and road capacity alone will not meet the regionally adopted performance targets.

Daley said safety and equity are major emphases of the draft. “Roads don't know boundaries,” he told the board, arguing for coordinated regional planning. He also cautioned the board that “we cannot build our way out of congestion,” noting that adding road space often induces more driving.

The presentation included modeled future conditions: the council expects sustained growth and discussed planning assumptions that shaped the plan’s land‑use and travel forecasts. Daley summarized the plan’s goals as reducing traffic fatalities and serious injuries, decreasing vehicle miles traveled per capita, increasing transit and active transportation mode share, and maintaining the transportation system.

The council is accepting public comment on the draft through May 9 and plans to return the draft to its policy board in June, with the council scheduled to consider action on July 10. Daley also described a concurrent, unsettled policy issue: recent federal executive orders and guidance that, in some recent reviews, have prompted requests to remove or alter language related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) or greenhouse gas reduction from documents submitted to federal agencies. He said the policy board discussed exploring edits to ensure compliance with new federal certification language, and that the council will consider that issue at its Friday meeting.

Commissioners asked how the plan accounts for economic development and whether local jurisdictions are consulted on likely land‑use changes; Daley said jurisdictions feed land‑use assumptions into TRPC’s updated travel model. He also described corridor‑level work such as the Martin Way corridor studies and a state‑funded preliminary design effort to add up to 10 pedestrian and bicycle crossings there.

No formal county action was taken at the work session; commissioners discussed the draft, asked questions and were advised of upcoming TRPC public comment and decision dates.

Ending: TRPC will continue public outreach and technical work; the county and cities will consider the draft and a related internal debate over DEI and climate wording before TRPC’s policy board and council take final action in June and July.