The months-long process of redrawing Pierce Transit’s boundary lines is under way, and a new draft map leaves out large chunks of eastern and western Pierce County.
The map is far from final. Some officials described it as a starting point for discussions.
But if its changes are approved, Pierce Transit’s territory will shrink by roughly 40 percent, and the transit agency will lose millions of dollars in sales tax revenue.
“(The map) is something we’re working off of. I think it’s safe to say it’s the direction we’re headed in,” said Derek Young, a Gig Harbor city councilman and chairman of the group of elected officials working on the boundaries.
The group, called the Public Transportation Improvement Conference, or PTIC, includes representatives from county government and from most of the towns and cities inside the county. The group eventually will settle on a map, which will go to a public hearing before a final boundary decision is made. Officials have said the boundary revision process will take about six months.
Cities and the county are now invited to comment on the early map, which would cut out 217 square miles from Pierce Transit’s 530-square-mile territory.
In general, land to the east and south of Puyallup and Sumner, including the cities of Bonney Lake, Buckley and Orting, is carved out. So is most of the land west of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, except the City of Gig Harbor. The City of DuPont also is out.
Most of the excluded areas aren’t served by the buses, but they still contribute revenue to the transit agency. Pierce Transit collects a 0.6 percent sales tax within its boundaries.
The agency last February proposed raising the sales tax to 0.9 percent to maintain service and make up for recessionary losses. The measure failed, and Pierce Transit responded by laying off employees and cutting service by 35 percent.
John Ehrenreich, a DuPont city councilman and PTIC member, said he understands why the agency cut routes. But his city wants transit service, and the best option may be to pull out of Pierce Transit and find an alternative, he said.
In 2010, DuPont and the other areas that may depart contributed an estimated $5.5 million in sales tax to Pierce Transit, according to data from the state and transit agency. Pierce Transit collected a total of about $65.3 million in sales tax revenue that year.
The agency would lose that revenue from departing communities, but it also could have greater success passing sales tax measures in the remaining territory, where people see more reason to vote yes.
Buckley Mayor Pat Johnson said she’s glad Pierce Transit’s board initiated the boundary review process by convening the PTIC.
“The ideal would be for Buckley to stay in and get service. But if they’re not going to offer us any service at all, we need to know what the ramifications (of leaving) are,” she said. “That’s what this process does – it give us the facts.”
Sara Schilling: 253-552-7058
sara.schilling@thenewstribune.com
blog.thenewstribune.com/street
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