For Immediate Release:

Tuesday, September 24, 2002

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) announced that more than three and a half million dollars to build a new park-and-ride lot located off Interstate-5 at NE 99th Street in Vancouver will be released this week. Murray secured the federal funds in last year's Transportation Appropriations bill.

The Clark County Public Transportation Authority (C-TRAN) will receive $3,663,107 to support the construction of the new park-and-ride lot.

"The growth of Clark County's population has made an increase in public transportation services essential to our quality of life and the efficiency of our trade corridor," said Murray. "I am proud to have secured this important funding for a new park-and-ride lot to reduce commute times and improve the quality of life for Clark County residents."

C-TRAN provides transit services in one of the fastest growing counties in Washington state, operating twenty-nine routes. Ridership in Clark County has nearly tripled over the past decade, growing faster that the county's population. Daily occupancy of the two existing park-and-rides on I-5 currently exceed ninety percent, making the new lot vital for transit growth and the reduction of commute times.

Murray, who serves as Chair of the Senate Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee, wrote the bill that provided the funding for the NE 99th Street park-and-ride. Congress approved Murray's bill late last year.