Child Pedestrian safety, Idaho involvement in Washington pilot
highlight Jan. 17 Idaho Transportation Board meeting          

Several safety, mobility and economic opportunity issues will highlight the monthly meeting of the Idaho Transportation Board, Wednesday (Jan. 17) at the ITD Headquarters Auditorium, 3311 W. State Street in Boise.

Some of the main items include funding status on the Children Pedestrian Safety program, and how Idaho can participate in the Washington State Transportation Commission’s road-usage charges pilot program.

Road usage charges
The state of Washington is conducting a road usage charge pilot program. The intent is to address the gas tax revenue decline as vehicles become more fuel-efficient. The fuel tax is the main source of funding, so Washington wants to assess new funding approaches to sustain its transportation system in the future.

Washington is inviting 50 Idahoans who drive across Washington and Oregon state lines on a fairly regular basis to participate. Interested individuals would gain experience with road usage charges, allowing them to compare fuel taxes against such charges on a quarterly basis. The mileage reporting options are flexible. No actual monies would be exchanged or collected differently

Children Pedestrian Safety projects
In 2017, the legislature approved the allowance of children pedestrian safety projects on the state and local system as eligible projects for the Strategic Initiatives Program.

Staff has been working with the Local Highway Technical Assistance Council (LHTAC) on this initiative. The LHTAC Council and board approved a maximum of $2 million for children pedestrian safety projects, with approximately 60% funded on the state system and 40% on the local system.

LHTAC conducted extensive outreach and training on this initiative and solicited projects. Seventy-one applications requesting over $12 million in funds were submitted. The applications were scored and staff will present the recommended list of projects to fund to the board for approval.

Miscellaneous
Some of the other highlights for the January meeting include annual reports from the Dealer Advisory Board and Aeronautics Advisory Board and an informal luncheon with the Aeronautics Advisory Board members.

Published 01-12-18