Summary

The City of Renton will receive funds for housing in the Renton Highlands and a study for future transportation improvement options.

Story

An investment in homes for working families in Renton, along with expanding transit and transportation options in the city are part of the $11.7 billion 2019-2020 County Budget unanimously adopted today by the Metropolitan King County Council. The City of Renton will receive funds for housing in the Renton Highlands and a study for future transportation improvement options.

“Traffic and housing affordability are two of the biggest challenges facing South King County, and these dollars will go towards solutions to the City of Renton,” said Budget Committee Chair Dave Upthegrove, who represents a portion of Renton on the County Council.

Creating and maintaining affordable housing is one-step the County can take to address the homelessness crises in the region. The County’s adopted budget includes $100 million invested in housing projects for working families around the region, including $5 million for Renton Housing Authority Sunset Area development project in the Renton Highlands.

“Though partisan politics has muddied the waters in DC, the members of the County Council continue to find common ground by addressing critical issues facing the residents of the county such as traffic and housing affordability,” said Councilmember Reagan Dunn, who also represents Renton on the County Council.

Renton has become a key piece of the busy transportation corridor, and the 2019-2020 budget provides funding to help meet the growing transit needs of the region. Council funding will support an overall increase of 200,000 bus service hours, while investing in bus bases to maintain current and future fleets. The budget also funds a study of future transit options in the City of Renton, exploring connections to a private Renton to Seattle ferry, more bus service in non-peak and weekend times, and specific multimodal updates to traffic strangleholds in the city.

“I want to thank Budget Chair Councilmember Upthegrove and Councilmember Dunn for their leadership on these important investments for Renton,” said Mayor Denis Law. “As a growing city, it’s important to have regional partners to address housing and transit and the County budget allows us to develop tools for future planning."