Politicians, planners and pundits have a tricky task in analyzing the defeat of Proposition 1, the roads and transit measure rejected by voters in Snohomish, King and Pierce counties.
Deciphering voters’ message seems easy to some, especially those looking to validate their own views. It was too much money, and government can’t be trusted with it, anyway. Too much would have been spent on transit, and not enough on roads (or vice versa). Projects took too long to complete, or weren’t even the right ones. Voters will never approve more car-tab fees, and they think the sales tax is already too high.
We don’t think it’s that easy to explain, although follow-up polling may help leaders get a handle on some of voters’ key concerns.
What’s clear is that Tuesday’s results left the region without a solution to worsening traffic congestion, and the need to come up with new ones is urgent.
Some key points leaders should consider moving forward:
n New funding sources, particularly tolls and congestion pricing, need to be moved from the back to the front burner. Some say voters aren’t ready that. We say get them ready by showing them how such concepts can work. Tolls are a fact of life elsewhere in the country, and represent a transparently fair user fee (much more fair than using sales taxes for highway construction). They’re already working well on the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge.
n The time for congestion pricing has come. Charging single-occupant vehicles variable rates to use carpool lanes in busy corridors could be a highly effective tool for managing traffic flow, and it recognizes the reality that with current growth projections, we can’t build ourselves all the way out of gridlock. Better traffic management has to be part of the solution. A pilot project on Highway 167 between Renton and Auburn is scheduled to begin in the spring.
n Sound Transit should wait until its first phase, from downtown Seattle to Sea-Tac airport, is up and running before asking voters for another big tax bite.
n Regional transportation governance is murky, as is its accountability and, sometimes, its coordination. That doesn’t engender voter trust. State lawmakers need to reconsider proposals to create a directly elected board to oversee regional transit and highways.
Finally, voters must come to realize that solutions won’t come free — or even cheap. Significant investments in our transportation infrastructure are needed if we’re to keep people, goods and our regional economy moving. The work that gets us there can’t wait.
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