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EVERETT COMPREHENSIVE PLAN <br />BROADER ECONOMIC TRENDS <br />Driving in the U.S. began to decline three years <br />before the severe recession of 2007 to 2009. After <br />5o years of steady growth, total national vehicle <br />miles traveled (VMT) leveled off in 2004 and <br />declined 8 percent between 2004 and 201.2. <br />Understanding the factors that drove this decline <br />and estimating their trends for the future are vital to <br />Everett's long range transportation planning. The <br />societal, environmental, and financial impacts <br />associated with transportation infrastructure <br />policies all relate directly to vehicle travel trends. <br />The City should explore the following questions to <br />understand future travel trends: <br />• What are the travel patterns of <br />Millennials (those born between 1.982 <br />and 2000), and will their behavior <br />continue as they age? <br />• What are the travel patterns of the aging <br />Baby Boomers as they leave the work <br />force, and how will their changes affect <br />transportation? <br />• As the number of people per <br />household declines, how will this <br />change travel demand? <br />• What impacts will new technology <br />such as autonomous vehicles and ride - <br />sharing applications have on the <br />transportation environment? <br />• How will land use patterns change as <br />cities continue to develop? <br />Three major trends with significant implications for <br />Everett's future transportation system needs are <br />described below. <br />REGIONAL GROWTH AND REGIONAL <br />ROADWAY OPERATIONS <br />Significant regional growth is expected to occur <br />over the next 20 years and beyond. Regional growth <br />will particularly affect state-owned routes. Table 9 <br />shows the planned improvements to state-owned <br />routes in order to support the growth. <br />Table 9: Planned Improvements to State -Owned <br />Routes <br />Route <br />LocationImprovement <br />1-5 to 20th Street <br />US2 <br />in Lake Stevens <br />HOV Lanes <br />1-5 <br />US2 to Marysville <br />HOV Lanes <br />15 <br />Interchange <br />Downtown <br />Improvements <br />1-5 <br />Interchange <br />128th Street SW <br />Improvements <br />R86 <br />_ <br />1-5 to Seattle Hill <br />Transit- HOV <br />( <br />Rd <br />enhancements <br />Street) <br />Despite these improvements, it is still anticipated <br />that these facilities would continue to operate at <br />LOS F conditions during the PM peak period. While <br />Everett's future growth contributes somewhat to <br />the poor operations, much of the increase in traffic <br />and resulting LOS degradation is caused by regional <br />growth compounding already heavy traffic on these <br />state facilities. It is assumed that WSDOT will <br />continue to work on improving regional mobility <br />while balancing issues such as costs, right-of-way <br />impacts, air/noise pollution impacts, and <br />impediments to other modes of transportation. <br />TRANSPORTATION ELEMENT 61 <br />