King County Metro received WTS Puget Sound chapter’s Innovative Transportation Solution Award for its Renton Kent Auburn Area Mobility Project; the award acknowledges a local innovative transportation project led by a woman or team of women.
In partnership with the community, King County Metro designed RKAAMP to provide greater mobility options to BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) and underserved communities in south King County. The project increased the frequency of routes in Renton, Kent, Auburn, Wash., and surrounding areas.
The WTS Puget Sound chapter recognized the work done by King County Metro’s female employees in this project to ensure the focus was to, “center the voices of community and stakeholders in planning.”
RKAAMP involved an 18-month community engagement process to hear from residents and riders about what they needed from their transit system. King County Metro worked with a diverse group of 27 transit riders that included native English, Somali and Spanish speakers, and bilingual individuals who speak Arabic, Farsi, French and Somali.
King County Metro highlighted the work of these subject matter experts and their ability to provide personal experience perspectives in the packaging of service, bus stop and access improvements.
“We consider mobility a human right,” said Christina O’Claire, King County Metro Mobility Division director. “For an area that has been historically underserved, we wanted to ensure the community co-authored a transit approach that supported their needs. The work of our RKAAMP team to collaborate with the residents of Renton, Kent and Auburn reflects Metro’s commitment to having equity and social justice be integral to transit planning and service. We’re excited about this well-deserved recognition for our talented team members and how they prioritized equity.”
King County Metro was presented the award at the 2021 Virtual WTS Puget Sound Chapter Awards and Scholarships Gala earlier this month. Transportation Planner Natalie Westberg accepted the award for Metro.
