The City of Shoreline’s Aurora Corridor and Interurban Trail Bridges received a 2008 VISION 2020 Award presented by the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC). Shoreline Mayor Cindy Ryu and Shoreline City councilmembers accepted the award at a dinner ceremony on April 24.
The projects were honored “as an exceptional effort that promotes a livable region and exemplifies VISION 2020, the region’s growth management, economic and transportation strategy.”
“The Shoreline community worked on the vision of improving the Aurora Corridor and building the Interurban Trail Bridges for many years to make them a reality,” Shoreline city manager Robert Olander said. “It’s gratifying to receive regional acknowledgement for the hard work and creativity that went into the project.”
PSRC honors businesses, local governments, and non-profit organizations that do creative work to focus new housing and jobs in urban areas, provide transportation access and mobility, protect the environment, and improve the quality of life in the central Puget Sound region.
“Tonight’s award winners are outstanding examples of vision and action working together to make a positive difference in our region. The winners advance freight mobility, invigorate urban centers with multimodal transportation, provide housing choices, improve access to the arts and plan for the future,” Snohomish County Councilmember and VISION 2020 Awards Selection Committee Chair Dave Somers said at the ceremony.
“The Aurora Corridor Project plans to revitalize a three-mile stretch of Aurora through Shoreline’s main retail corridor. The new design enhances safety, transit and vehicle flow, as well as pedestrian access, and is attracting additional businesses to the area,” Somers said. “The first mile was done in tandem with the completion of the Interurban Trail, which provides non-motorized recreational and business access to the Aurora Corridor, and is becoming a centerpiece to the community.”
In June 2007, the city of Shoreline completed the Aurora Corridor Project, North 145th to North 165th Streets, and the Interurban Trail Pedestrian Bridges. Improving safety for both pedestrians and motorists was the driving force behind the project. The new corridor provides sidewalks, landscaping, business access/transit lanes (BAT lanes), pedestrian crossings, undergrounding of overhead utilities and landscaped medians with left and u-turn pockets.
With construction of the first mile complete, the second phase of the project, from North 165th to North 205th Streets, is now under way. The city completed the environmental process and is now in 30 percent design and right-of-way acquisition for the second mile between North 165th and North 185th Streets. Construction on the second mile is expected to begin in 2009.
The other VISION 2020 award winners are:
•Olympic Sculpture Park transformed the largest undeveloped waterfront property in downtown Seattle and a former industrial site into a vibrant new open space, including environmental restoration and transportation integration.
•City of Tacoma’s D Street Overpass, a strategic project to increase freight flow and improve pedestrian access between the Dome District transportation hub and the Thea Foss Waterway esplanade.
•City of SeaTac Station Area Plans are regional examples for planning transit-oriented areas that accommodate future growth through high-quality residential and mixed-use developments with good access to employment centers.
•Pierce County’s Housing Affordability Task Force Final Report and Recommendations successfully brought together diverse interests to identify a broad range of solutions, from financial tools and incentives to inexpensive building design.
PSRC develops policies and coordinates decisions about regional growth, economic development and transportation planning in King, Pierce, Snohomish and Kitsap counties. The Council is composed of over 80 county, city, port, transit, tribal and state agencies serving the region. It coordinates the distribution of about $160 million in Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration funds each year. PSRC sets priorities and evaluates the most efficient ways to target those funds to support state and local transportation and growth management plans.
For more information about Shoreline’s Aurora Corridor or Interurban Trail projects, visit www.cityofshoreline.com or contact Aurora Corridor Project manager Kirk McKinley at 206-546-3901.
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