Gray
Notebook
Lite

Pedestrian & Bicyclist Safety

• Pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities in Washington increased in 2015 to 100, up from 85 fatalities in 2014
• Most pedestrian (82%) and bicyclist (75%) fatalities occurred on roads with posted speeds of 30 mph or higher from 2011 through 2015

There has been a general upward change in the number of pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities from 2011 through 2015 with an average over the five-year period of 82.4 fatalities per year. These increases may be partially due to the increase in the number of people walking and biking. Preliminary results from the Washington State Bicycle and Pedestrian Documentation Project indicate a 10% increase in walking and biking between 2011 and 2015.

Air Quality

• Biodiesel made up 4% of fuel used by WSDOT's ferries and 14% used by its heavy-duty vehicles and off-road equipment in 2015

WSDOT's ferry vessels used roughly 692,000 gallons of biodiesel fuel in 2015, down about 3% from the 716,000 gallons used in 2014. Biodiesel made up 4% of all ferry vessel fuel used in 2015, down from 4.2% in 2014. The Legislature mandates WSDOT to ensure biodiesel makes up 5% of ferries' total fuel use and the agency continues to work to address cost and supply issues.

WSDOT has undertaken various projects to further reduce emissions from its ferries. In December 2015, the agency replaced the old fixed-blade propellers on the 124-car Motor/Vessel Chelan with new critical pitch propeller blades which help vessels run more efficiently. Test data shows an average fuel savings of about 9% resulting from the change.

Safety Rest Areas

• Visits to safety rest areas increased statewide by 3% between 2014 and 2015, to 23.1 million
• WSDOT met its 2015 safety rest area maintenance goal

An estimated 23.1 million visitors used WSDOT safety rest areas in 2015, which is about 600,000 more than the 22.5 million estimated visitors in 2014, and the highest number in the past decade. Since 2011, about 21.9 million visitors stop at WSDOT's 47 rest areas annually.

Workforce Levels & Training

WSDOT had 6,490 permanent full-time employees as of March 31, 2016. This is 53 more than the same quarter one year ago, and 10.9% below the peak of 7,280 employees in June 2010. WSDOT's 2015 retirement forecast indicates that 39% (about 2,530) of employees agency-wide have the possibility of retiring by 2020; 19% (roughly 1,230) of employees agency-wide are probable to retire.

Wetlands Protection

• WSDOT added 15 new wetland and stream mitigation sites on 47 acres in 2015, bringing the total to 263 sites on 1,474 acres
• WSDOT closed out eight mitigation sites in 2015; one site closed before the end of the 10-year monitoring period

WSDOT added 15 new wetland and stream mitigation sites on 47 acres in 2015, bringing the total to 263 sites on 1,474 acres WSDOT closed out eight mitigation sites in 2015; one site closed before the end of the 10-year monitoring period

Transportation Economic Update

Gas prices boost transportation funding
Gas prices in Washington dropped 24.2%, from $3.56 per gallon in 2014 to $2.70 per gallon in 2015. This was the lowest average annual price since 2004, when gas was $2.45 per gallon.
Lower gas prices in 2015 led to increased vehicle miles traveled and 2.6% more gallons purchased in Washington, which is directly linked to increased funding for transportation projects.

Noise Quality

WSDOT working to reduce highway noise

• WSDOT evaluated and approved 28 traffic noise studies for upcoming transportation projects between April 2015 and March 2016
• Approximately 90 miles of noise walls have been constructed since 1963, with 26 miles constructed between 2001 and 2016

WSDOT prepared, reviewed and approved 28 traffic noise studies for Type 1 transportation projects from April 1, 2015, through March 31, 2016, to comply with federal and state noise requirements. Type 1 projects include new construction found to have potential increases in traffic noise for nearby residents. WSDOT works to mitigate noise to improve quality of life for residents living close to major roadways across the state.

CVISN

• WSDOT's electronic screening system helped the trucking industry avoid 106,000 travel hours and $12.4 million in operating costs
• The Washington State Patrol reopened the southbound I-5 Everett weigh station which now electronically screens 3,800 trucks daily

WSDOT gave commercial trucks equipped with Commercial Vehicle Information Systems and Networks transponders the green light to bypass open weigh stations 1.27 million times in 2015. Trucks not equipped with CVISN transponders must pull into each open weigh station they pass. CVISN stations saved truckers an estimated 507,000 gallons of diesel fuel. As a result of the reduced diesel, carbon dioxide emissions were cut by 11.4 million pounds.