The city of Renton is keeping growth in mind by amending the transportation element of its comprehensive plan.
The Renton City Council recently passed an ordinance that made amendments to the city’s comprehensive plan due to technical work required to develop and model future year forecasts for 2044 land use growth, according to the city’s website.
The model was last updated in 2024, but the Puget Sound Regional Council required additional amendments for transportation-related provisions in the 2024 plan.
“The updated transportation element of the City’s Comprehensive Plan aims to address the connection between transportation and land use over the next 20 years, while establishing measures to increase travel options,” Transportation Planning Manager Ellen Talbo said.
The 2025 transportation element is meant to promote the safety and improvement of non-motorized and motorized transportation systems in the city as it meets its long-term growth goals. The change is largely focused on Renton’s travel demand forecasting using the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) regional trip-based travel demand model to meet state compliance.
“With growth anticipated to happen in the Rainier Grady Transit Oriented Development subarea, the Civic Core, the Sunset neighborhood, and the Longacres areas of the city, the transportation element update is the city’s general plan to anticipate transportation needs, such as signal improvements, along with overall investments in transit and non-motorized modes,” Talbo said. “Completing the update is significant for the city’s compliance with the state Growth Management Act, as well as for acknowledging and planning for the appropriate levels of service that the transportation system should provide in relation to planned long-term land use growth.”
The new refined travel model for developing travel forecasts in 2044 assumes there will be about 24,800 new households and 28,400 new jobs citywide.
The transportation element designates the roads and other transportation modes the city will prioritize over the course of the plan’s lifetime.
“Transportation investments shape development patterns that, in turn, influence the economic health, safety, and character of a community,” the new transportation element in the comprehensive plan reads. “The design, construction, maintenance, operation, and location of city streets, roads, sidewalks, trails and other transportation facilities impacts all Renton residents, employees, and visitors. The ownership, control, development, and maintenance of public rights-of-way are primary functions of city government.”
Some of the future plans in the element include converting S. 2nd Street and S. Third Street from one-way to two-way with wider sidewalks and parking, protected bike lanes on S. 2nd Street, and additional direct access ramps to and from I-405, considered at N. 8th Street and Lind Avenue SW.
The updated transportation element and the ordinance making the changes can be found in the meeting agenda of the Dec. 1, 2025, city council meeting on the city’s website.
