Milton council discusses city transportation program

Milton City Council heard a yearly update to the city’s six-year Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) during its June 21 meeting.

Although there were no changes to the TIP this year, the current plan reveals the city would still need more than $1.6 million to complete all the projects listed.

The TIP is a planning document that lists all transportation-related projects that officials hope to complete over the next six years (2011-16). Local agencies are required to develop and adopt a six-year TIP each year, regardless of their financial ability to complete the projects listed.

In the past council has discussed adding a new interchange to Interstate 5 in the vicinity of 373rd Street. This project is included in section 2.4 of the TIP. The estimated cost of the interchange is about $5 million.

Other projects listed include $950,000 worth of safety improvements in the vicinity of local schools (which may include adding sidewalks, crossings and signage), $3.1 million for improvements to Milton Way from 20th Avenue to Porter Way, and nearly $3 million in beautification to the Interurban Trail.

Within the last several years the city has been able to complete a major project listed on the TIP. The Milton Way improvement project, a nearly $2.5 million plan, is aimed to improve access and safety along the Milton Way corridor. This project will improve the safety and efficiency of this corridor, promote pedestrian and bicycle traffic, and improve access to Pierce Transit stops.

Improvements include eight-foot wide cement concrete sidewalks for pedestrian use, five-foot wide landscape strips between sidewalks and curb line for an added pedestrian barrier, and cement concrete curb and gutter – all improvements to both sides of the street.

The roadway will be widened to include a center continuous left-turn lane, and a three-foot bike lane on both sides of the street. Traffic signals will be installed at the 28th Avenue, 27th Avenue, and 23rd Avenue intersections, which will provide pedestrians with opportunities to safely cross Milton Way.

Other related improvements include illumination to meet current lighting standards; drainage and stormwater improvements to correct ponding that currently occurs within the roadway and along paved shoulder areas; and landscaping improvements, including installation of planter strips, to enhance aesthetics and create a pedestrian-friendly corridor.

Mayor Katrina Asay said the current TIP list of projects are not listed in any priority order.

“We’ve just been working so hard, for so long, on the projects we have money for,” Asay said.

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