Seattle Variable Tolling Study

In 2007, the City of Seattle adopted a Climate Action Plan.  The Plan identified a series of strategies for Seattle to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, in accordance with the Kyoto protocols, by 5 percent below 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012. It also identified 18 actions for the City to take, several of which focused on transportation. One of the identified actions with a high potential to reduce GHG emissions was the implementation of congestion pricing or tolling.

The purpose of the Seattle Variable Tolling Study is to provide information for Seattle’s decision makers on options to reduce GHG emissions through tolling. This study also aims to further define congestion pricing and its benefits, establish Seattle’s tolling interests, create a checklist against which Seattle can assess how different pricing concepts meet those interests, evaluate regional pricing concepts, and identify next steps and future analysis that Seattle can undertake to further explore this tool.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS: Pages 2-3
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Pages 4-8

Appendix A:  Pricing and Tolling Terminology and Options
Appendix B:  Legislation and Related Area Tolling Studies
Appendix C: Urban Partnership Agreements (UPAs) and Congestion Reduction Demonstration (CRD) Initiatives
Appendix D: Domestic and International Road Pricing Examples