Editorials

<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   HAVE YOUR SAY Feel strongly about something? Share it with the community by writing a letter to the editor. You’ll need to include your name, address and daytime phone number. (We’ll only publish your name and hometown.) We reserve the right to edit letters, but if you keep yours to 250 words or less, we won’t ask you to shorten it. If your letter is published, please wait 30 days before submitting another. Send it to: E-mail: letters@heraldnet.com Mail: Letters section The Herald P.O. Box 930 Everett, WA 98206 Fax: 425-339-3458 Have a question about letters? Contact Carol MacPherson (cmacpherson@heraldnet.com or 425-339-3472).   Published: Thursday, November 8, 2007 Transportation fixes still need to be made 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.

1. Waves wash away Explosion's title hopes 2. You've got your pick of Fourth of July fun 3. Snohomish entrepreneur bounces back with new venture 4. Inslee downplays fears Boeing will send second 787 line elsewhere 5. Popular park changing hands 6. Deputies shoot armed man near Arlington 7. Why, governor? 8. Edmonds backs off red-light cameras 9. Vehicle that killed girl was Chevy Astro minivan 10. Arlington buys up more water rights 2 - Top 10 Stories Most Talked about 3 - Top 10 Stories Most Emailed

• Warriors looking for balance • Three Scots vying for QB slot • Jackson looks for another title • Decorated veteran continues to serve as active volunteer • City Council reviewing sign regulations • Wildcats get a peek at newcomers • Lynnwood still in rebuilding mode • Shoreline feels a kindergarten growth spurt • Leave the patriotic pyrotechnics to professionals, cities urge • Trading dollars for kilowatts New PUD energy conservation programs save ... • By John Wolcott SCBJ Editor • Record crowd at Paine Field’s General Aviation Day as FHC Celebrate ... • Celebration of aviation's history and future presented in multiple venue ... • The time is ripe for small businesses to take no prisoners • EPA proposal to regulate global-warming gases would be costly for small ... • Innovation helps the town of Forks to offset tough economy • Powering the people