Commissioners                                                  Tay Yoshitani 
Bill Bryant 
Chief Executive Officer 
Commission President 
Tom Albro                            P.O. Box 1209 
John Creighton                       Seattle, Washington 98111 
Rob Holland                          www.portseattle.org 
Gael Tarleton                             206.787.3000 

Audio and video recordings of the meeting proceedings and meeting materials are available on the Port of
Seattle web site - http://www.portseattle.org/about/organization/commission/commission.shtml 

(The approximate point in the audio recording for the specific item is identified by minutes and seconds;
example: 01:30) 
APPROVED MINUTES 
COMMISSION SPECIAL MEETING MARCH 29, 2011 
The Port of Seattle Commission met in a special meeting at 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, March 29, 2011, at Port
of  Seattle  Headquarters,  Commission  Chambers,  2711  Alaskan  Way,  Seattle,  Washington.
Commissioners Albro, Bryant, Creighton, Holland, and Tarleton were present. 
1.   CALL TO ORDER 
The special meeting was called to order at 10:37 a.m. by Commission President Bill Bryant. 
2.   EXECUTIVE SESSION pursuant to RCW 42.30.110 
None. 
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 
3.   APPROVAL OF MINUTES 
None. 
4.   SPECIAL ORDER OF BUSINESS 
None. 
5.   UNANIMOUS CONSENT CALENDAR 
None.



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TUESDAY, MARCH 29, 2011 
6.   DIVISION, CORPORATE AND COMMISSION ACTION ITEMS 
None. 
7.   STAFF BRIEFING 
None. 
8.   NEW BUSINESS 
None. 
9.   POLICY ROUNDTABLE 
a.   (00:01:17) Policy Roundtable on Seattle Freight Mobility. 
Presentation documents: Commission agenda memorandum dated March 22, 2011, from Mike Merritt,
Local Government Relations Manager, and Geraldine Poor, Regional Transportation Manager.  Also
provided was a computer slide presentation. 
Commissioner Bryant introduced the issue of freight mobility within the City of Seattle and the region and
explained that the purpose of the roundtable was to discuss the current state of freight mobility in Seattle,
particularly in industrial areas, and to discuss the relationship between freight mobility, industrial districts,
and job retention in King County. Mr. Bryant introduced the following roundtable participants: 
Seattle City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, chair of the City of Seattle  Transportation
Committee; 
Peter Hahn, Director of the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT); 
Dr. Anne Goodchild of the University of Washington, Assistant Professor of Transportation
Engineering and Chair of the Freight Advisory Board; 
Eric Candelaria, Division Manager of Air and International Operations at UPS and a member of
the Freight Advisory Board; 
Terry Finn, Director of Government Relations at the BNSF Railroad and member of the Freight
Advisory Board and the Washington State Freight Mobility Strategic Investment Board (FMSIB); 
John Odland, Vice President of MacMillan Piper and Chair of the Manufacturing Industrial
Council; 
Michael Turek, Director of Licensed Transportation at Boeing; and 
Herald Ugles, Washington Arbitrator of International Longshore and Warehouse Union/Pacific
Maritime Association. 
Seattle City Councilmember Rasmussen described his participation on the Board of the Association of
Washington Cities (AWC), which exposes him to the concerns of his counterparts in other communities
regarding freight mobility in and through the City of Seattle to the Port of Seattle and the regional
significance of local decisions affecting freight mobility and the Port.  Mr. Rasmussen described the
importance of the City of Seattle's responsiveness to the concerns of the freight community and his efforts
to establish Seattle's Freight Advisory Board, which ensures that the concerns of the freight community are


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TUESDAY, MARCH 29, 2011 
considered by staff and the City Council when planning projects and crafting policies, such as the Complete
Streets Policy. 
Seattle Department of Transportation Director Hahn noted that about a third of the Freight Mobility Board
was in attendance at the roundtable, and stated he is optimistic about the board's ability to contribute to a
comprehensive policy-making approach to mobility for everyone, together with the pedestrian and bicycle
advisory boards. 
Public comment was received from the following individual: 
Kirk Robbins, 2540 Sixth Avenue West, Seattle, Neighbors Advisory Committee representing the
Queen Anne Community Council. Mr. Robbins commented on the detrimental effects of street
rechannelization ("road diets") in the Interbay manufacturing area, especially on Nickerson
Street, where he stated that travel times for transit, cars, and trucks have increased. He noted
that Seattle's transportation policy-making approach from the perspective of freight, pedestrians,
and bicycles omits cars as a mode of transportation. 
Mr. Robbins submitted for the record additional comments in emails from himself, Susan Casey,
and Rodney Guest related to road diets, Nickerson Street truck traffic, and staggering truckdriver
lunch breaks at T46.  Copies of the emails are, by reference, made a part of these
minutes, are marked collectively as Exhibit A, and are on file in Port offices. 
Commission President Bill Bryant thanked Mr. Robbins for his comments and asked the panelists to
introduce themselves. 
Mr. Herald Ugles, Washington Area Arbitrator for the ILWU and Pacific Maritime Association and past
president of ILWU Local 19, described his experience on the Alaskan Way Viaduct Committee and various
freight mobility boards. Mr. Ugles commented on the importance of industrial lands as a generator of jobs.
He stated that maritime uses support approximately 22,000 jobs regionally, and that it is imperative to
prevent gridlock, which drives away jobs, and preserve industrial lands for industrial uses. Mr. Ugles
emphasized that cutting capacity on industrial routes segment by segment hinders jobs. 
Mr. John Odland, Vice President of MacMillan Piper and Chair of the Manufacturing Industrial Council,
explained that MacMillan Piper is the largest freight company in the Pacific Northwest, handling between
7,000 to 10,000 loads monthly. Mr. Odland made the following assertions about road diet constrictions: 
population growth brings increased demand for freight transport and creates need for greater
truck capacity rather than less; 
with the variety of disruptive transportation projects underway, now may not be the right time to
consider road constrictions; and 
proposed improvements for Airport Way will force truck traffic onto East Marginal Way, which is
proposed to be rechannelized, and that appropriate consideration has not been given by SDOT
to the opposition of the Manufacturing and Industrial Council to these street improvement plans.

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TUESDAY, MARCH 29, 2011 
Mr. Terry Finn, Director of Government Relations at the BNSF Railroad, commented on the work of the
Freight Mobility Board and the timing of decisions on rechannelization on East Marginal Way and Airport
Way. He described his background with the Port of Seattle and the BNSF and the similarity of freightmovement
goals of the two organizations. Mr. Finn also described his work on FMSIB and the tension
between projects with conclusions based on traffic analysis and observations from truckers about actual
driver choices. He described the importance of retaining businesses and stated that Portland, which has
successfully accommodated pedestrians and bicycles in its transportation planning, has also lost many
businesses and has income levels 20 percent lower than Seattle. 
Mr. Michael Turek, Director of Licensed Transportation at Boeing, introduced himself and described the
amount of freight moved through the region by Boeing and the concern caused by congestion and traffic
constraints that reduce Boeing's ability to move parts freely and efficiently. 
Mr. Eric Candelaria, Division Manager of Air and International Operations at UPS, described recently
joining the Freight Mobility Board and stated that while he understands SDOT's direction with recent
projects, it seems the freight community was left out of much of the project planning. Mr. Candelaria
expressed UPS's interest in maintaining and building commerce in the Seattle area and the West Coast,
his concerns over some projects in the State's transportation funding plan, and his focus onfreight and
commerce in and through Seattle and road safety. 
Dr. Anne Goodchild, Assistant Professor of Transportation Engineering at the University of Washington,
described her research in freight and logistics estimating economic impacts of freight and freight projects
and in the relationship between ports and landside transportation networks. Dr. Goodchild stated that it
would be important for the Freight Mobility Board to invest in preparation of a master plan in order to
effectively advocate for its perspective as do advocacy groups for pedestrians and bicycles.  She
commented that it would be helpful to have an established process for working out conflicts between
competing interests on specific projects.  Dr. Goodchild also stated the importance for the freight
community to educate the public about the economic benefits of freight and the value of learning to
communicate these benefits in a way that is meaningful to the public. 
Commissioner Bryant directed the first discussion question to Mr. Hahn and asked why road diets would be
implemented at the present time, given the number of jobs dependent on Seattle's working waterfront and
the importance to those jobs of a truck-friendly transportation system. 
Mr. Hahn responded by pointing out that SDOT has considered all the concerns mentioned by other
panelists and similar concerns posed by the City of Seattle Transportation Committee when debating road
diets on Nickerson Street and that one reason to rechannelize streets now, rather than wait, is to improve
safety. Mr. Hahn stated that SDOT sought not to negatively affect capacity and mobility. He described the
kinds of data gathered and explained that SDOT's position is that the harm forecasted by road diets has not
really occurred and the affected streets still have enough capacity to handle the changes. Mr. Hahn added
that SDOT has committed to monitoring traffic on Nickerson Street and to reconsidering and restriping the
street if the road diet there did not work out. He concluded by emphasizing that safety is an area where
SDOT does not want to compromise. 
Commissioner Bryant requested clarification on the safety issues to be resolved by road diets on East
Marginal Way and Airport Way. Mr. Hahn responded that the road diet on East Marginal Way was
implemented because the street was designed to accommodate 47,000 daily trips in 1961, but daily trips

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TUESDAY, MARCH 29, 2011 
have been reduced to 26,000, making the third traffic lane unnecessary. This particular road diet was not
due to a safety concern. 
Commissioner Bryant asked how the potential restriction of East Marginal Way and Airport Way South with
curbs for pedestrian bulb-outs would affect the ability to evacuate the downtown in a six-hour period in the
event of an emergency evacuation. Mr. Hahn stated that he didn't believe the major roads in and out of
Seattle have been restricted to capacities that cannot handle existing traffic and added that it was unclear
why there would be 1961 traffic volumes on East Marginal Way in 2011. 
Councilmember Rasmussen opined that considering emergency conditions when planning road-system
changes was a reasonable evaluation to expect before altering the road system. He commented on the
practicality of the Complete Streets Policy, which he said recognizes each street's uniqueness and
classifies some streets as truck streets. 
Commissioner Tarleton asked for a discussion of the pros and cons of an advocacy planning approach to
transportation planning and how to engage the public to understand the value of freight in transportation
planning. 
Mr. Ugles commented on the approach to resolving differences over recent work on SR-519 and asked for
more information about the urgency of rechannelizing East Marginal Way and Airport Way, the statistics
supporting the road diet, and anecdotal problems, rather than simply making the changes because the
decision was made to do it. 
Dr. Goodchild remarked on the pros and cons of seeking public input when making transportation
decisions. She pointed to the Puget Sound Regional Council's (PSRC)Freight Mobility Roundtable and
efforts by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) to consider both individual and
corporate interests when resolving transportation questions.  Dr. Goodchild added that one possible
outcome of a constituent-oriented decision-making process is that opposing parties become invested in the
same process and outcomes. 
Commissioner Creighton pointed out that when transportation data differs from the public's anecdotal
experience, the anecdotal evidence can affect the industrial community's opinion of the value of industrial
property. Mr. Creighton said he supported the idea of preparing a renewed freight master plan in order to
ensure consideration of freight issues alongside pedestrian and bicycle issues. 
Mr. Odlund recalled road construction planning, such as for First Avenue South, that engaged diverse
groups at the planning stage and resulted in better understanding of each transportation mode's interests
and the result of having achieved a well-planned, effective roadway. He said that current frustration over
road diets by the industrial community boils down to whether their voice was heard during the road-diet
decision making process. 
Commissioner Albro stated that these are questions of pragmatic policy and that the problem calls for a
conversation about the fundamental vision of the city and the region. He cautioned that only discussing the
details, such as bike lanes or road diets, creates the risk of becoming entrenched in positions that while
seemingly in conflict, don't necessarily have to be. Mr. Albro shared his vision that Seattle remain a
dynamic, industrial, maritime city and asked the group to consider the economic and cultural enrichment for
the entire community that would result from doubling the number of Port-related jobs. He offered the

PORT COMMISSION SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES                              P. 6 
TUESDAY, MARCH 29, 2011 
opinion that moving forward with road diets on East Marginal Way and Airport Way compromises the
community's infrastructure for an unnecessary benefit and sets up a conflict. 
Mr. Finn commented that involvement by advocacy groups leads to political, rather than scientific or data-
based, decisions and that the city's policy seems to be aimed at compromising freight routes for the benefit
of other transportation modes rather than making the total system work better. 
Responding to Commissioner Albro's vision of the community, Michael Turek proposed the importance of
looking at the entire system of movement of people as well as freight.  Mr. Turek described the
transportation system as a production system and warned that developments like road diets deteriorate the
system over time. 
Councilmember Rasmussen commented that advocacy boards, such as the Freight Mobility Board, should
contribute real-life experience, knowledge, and professionalism to discussion of transportation issues. He
stated that it is the responsibility of SDOT and the city council to make sure all groups are represented and
heard during the decision-making process. He added that the Complete Streets Policy is not intended to
balance every use on every street but to ensure that modes of transportation appropriate to a particular
street are accommodated there. 
Mr. Hahn talked about the possibility of applying the decision-making model used for SR-519 to the
improvements on East Marginal Way, possibly in April. 
Commissioner Holland suggested looking at Seattle as a regional leader and consulting further with the
freight community, PSRC, and FMSIB from that perspective. He stated that now was not the time to adopt
road diets, especially during an economic recovery period. 
Mr. Candelaria stated that restricting the streets in and out of the Port would hinder the Port's ability to
serve as a driving force behind the state's economy and that he would like to hear more about how
Seattle's transportation policies tie in to the state's economic development efforts. 
Commissioner Bryant remarked on the disconnect in the state between stated long-term goals and the
budgets and policies that are adopted on a day-to-day basis. He echoed Commissioner Albro's comments
on the importance of considering overall vision rather than focusing on individual projects and emphasized
the Port's goal of growing its container business by a third and the need to be able to move cargo quickly
and efficiently through Seattle and over the Cascades to the Midwest. Commissioner Bryant indicated he
was impressed with the quality of SDOT analysis prepared on options for West Mercer Place and indicated
his desire for a similar analysis for proposed road diets on East Marginal Way and Airport Way South. 
Commission Albro and Mr. Hahn commented on the importance of completing improvements to SR-509 to
accomplishing the Port's goal of growing container business. 
Mr. Ugles emphasized that growth in Port commerce is affected by grain shipments and the cruise
business as well as container cargo. 
Port of Seattle Chief Executive Officer Tay Yoshitani thanked the roundtable participants for their insightful
contributions and stated he was encouraged by the inclination of the group toward further collaboration.

PORT COMMISSION SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES                              P. 7 
TUESDAY, MARCH 29, 2011 
Mr. Yoshitani posed for consideration whether the city's policy of prioritizing streets based on function was
consistent with implementing road diets on a freight corridor. 
Commissioner Tarleton commented on the importance of having a vision and discussing that vision with the
public because the choices being discussed have impacts that are broader than the City of Seattle. She
pointed out that increasing freight movement along freight corridors also affects the quality of life of
communities along those corridors and that increased population brings increased automobile traffic.
Given the support of or disagreement with existing policies of the Port, the City of Seattle, King County, and
the State by various communities of interest, Commissioner Tarleton asked for further discussion with the
public about a vision for the community that relates to jobs, opportunities, and the future economy of the
State. 
Commissioner Albro asked the City of Seattle to revisit its decision to implement road diets on East
Marginal Way and Airport Way in order to reconcile different visions of the community represented by the
key stakeholders. 
10.  ADJOURNMENT 
There being no further business, the special meeting was adjourned at 11:57 a.m. 
(A digital recording of the meeting is available on the Port's website.) 

John Creighton 
Secretary