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Sound Move - The Ten-Year Regional Transit System Plan

The Original 1996 Sound Move Plan (continued)

Sound Move is the first step toward improving the way we, as a region, move. In turn, the plan maintains our region's economic strength locally and globally. It focuses on the most congested areas of our region, creating a comprehensive, regional high-capacity travel network. Whether people are traveling to work, school, recreational opportunities or shopping, the goal is to provide more options - dependable alternatives for getting around in our communities and the region.

One of the most important features of Sound Move is that it provides a network of frequent, convenient and dependable services that can be used with a single ticket (see the ten-year system plan map). The services are tailored to the unique needs of the diverse subareas within our region.

Think of Sound Move as the tie that binds the region together, connecting the communities of the Central Puget Sound region in a way that supports local land-use plans, joins economic centers and expands local transit services. By providing direct connections to many destinations, Sound Move will help reorient local services to meet more community needs.

New regional transit services will free up significant bus service hours now provided by local transit agencies. The RTA will work with local transit agencies to identify local service and/or community connections such as park-and-ride lots that support the regional transit system. These local resources will be distributed to subareas based on the investment each makes in the regional service responsible for freeing local bus service hours.

Transit centers, park-and-ride lots, commuter rail and light rail stations will be developed to encourage and promote joint development through public/private partnerships and partnerships with local jurisdictions. These partnerships will provide opportunities to attract and shape development at and around community connections in ways that benefit both transit users and adjacent communities. The joint development program will encourage services and businesses that support transit-use, walking and bicycling. Paired with improved access for pedestrians and persons with disabilities, the joint development program will broaden the scope of community connection benefits. 

High-Capacity Travel Corridors

In developing a comprehensive transportation plan, planners look at the main travel corridors or routes that people use to go from one point in the region to another. For example, Interstate 5 is a major north-south travel corridor in the region. Sound Move expands on existing travel corridors and creates new HCT corridors linking our economic centers and communities. The types of investments made to create this system of HCT corridors have three objectives:

• Do more with what we have,
• Build on existing facilities, and
• Begin building new corridors.