QUADCO talks transportation with legislators
Event to educate decision makers on Central Washington needs
MOSES LAKE - Legislators get an education on the transportation issues facing four Washington state counties next week.
On Monday, QUADCO Regional Transportation Planning Organization holds an education session for legislators in Big Bend Community College's ATEC Building.
QUADCO Chair Gerry McFaul, the city engineer of Moses Lake, said QUADCO is an organization mandated by the state Legislature 10 to 15 years ago, at a time when the state required all transportation entities in certain areas to form into either a regional transportation planning organization or a metropolitan planning organization in order to make sure all transportation planning in an area makes sense.
QUADCO covers Adams, Grant, Kittitas and Lincoln counties.
"So when you look at a map, that is a huge portion of our state," McFaul said. "In fact, the state Department of Transportation has about 7,100 center lines of miles of road, and QUADCO has about 6,800 miles, so it's a fairly large portion of the state. However, the DOT budget is huge compared to our budget."
The legislative mandate has not changed, McFaul said, but QUADCO is rather unique in that the members of the four-county organization work well together. He cited one instance where all 30-plus entities elected to give all their $80,000 annual funding to Kittitas County for one project.
"You never see that, usually it's a peanut butter approach for everybody to get something," he said.
The event Monday kicks off with a bus tour of the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the State Route 17 project from Pioneer Way to Stratford Road project, then returns to ATEC for a welcome and introductions at about 11 a.m.
The QUADCO event is not open to the public; it is open by invitation only.
"QUADCO has been around for 15 years; most people don't know it exists, much less what it does," McFaul said. "Our hope is to let the legislators know we are in an organization, that we are working together, we have had some success and to show what our priorities are so we can let them know what our thoughts are."
The group decided to piggyback along with the ribbon-cutting ceremony to show legislators there are other important transportation issues in the area, McFaul said.
"Everybody hears about congestion over on the west side, and that's all they think about in transportation, is how bad it is in Seattle," McFaul said. "They forget all the farm-to-market roads are out here, all the wheat farming, all the potato farming is out here and if we don't provide access for those potatoes to get to the market, then everybody suffers."
McFaul also hears a common sentiment that the four counties get more money provided as funding from the west side , but notes the funding primarily goes toward Interstate 90 and State Route 17, roads which serve more through traffic than local traffic.
TransCo Director Karen Bonaudi said she and former state senator Joyce Mulliken were appointed as advisors to QUADCO's education committee.
"It really speaks to how important this is when you see the names" of the people in attendance, Bonaudi said, noting the audience includes House of Representatives members, Senate staff member, members of the Senate and House transportation committees, elected officials from the four-county area and area representatives of industry.
QUADCO wants to educate the legislators on the transportation needs of Central Washington, Bonaudi said.
"What we want to do is lay a foundation for future asks of the Legislature for transportation projects," she said. "We want them to recognize us and our needs."