Commentary: ST3’s Prop. 1 will provide range of transportation improvements

Published 1:30 am Sunday, October 23, 2016

By Ray Stephanson and Jennifer Gregerson

Each morning commuters from Snohomish County tune in to the daily traffic report hoping the commute time is better than the day before. It has become an exercise in futility. Gridlock is an everyday occurrence on roads and highways in the Puget Sound region.

Navigating traffic congestion while moving at a snail’s pace on our morning and evening commutes is siphoning precious time from our lives and taking time away from our families. It’s also draining money from our bank accounts. Studies show commuters from our region waste almost $1,500 annually while stuck in rush-hour traffic.

Our population is steadily on the rise, and we’re already feeling its impact during morning and evening commutes. Between 2012 and 2014 alone, there was a 22 percent increase in the time it takes people traveling in high-occupancy vehicle lanes to get from Everett to Seattle. HOV lanes were supposed to make commutes faster; today they’re slowing us down.

By 2040 Everett’s population will grow by 63 percent. Over the next couple decades, traffic congestion will get even worse as nearly 1 million more people flock to the Puget Sound.

Challenges of daily commuting inspired nearly 40,000 Snohomish, Pierce and King County residents to provide ideas and input to transportation planners seeking the best way to move the most people possible, in spite of congested traffic patterns.

The result: Sound Transit Proposition 1.

Proposition 1, also known as ST3, delivers a light rail system that connects Everett to Seattle, Bellevue, Redmond and Issaquah and further south to Tacoma. With the support of voters, Proposition 1 will help Snohomish County residents reach the University of Washington in a reliable 52 minutes and downtown Seattle in an hour from Everett, and even less time from Lynnwood south.

Proposition 1 adds dedicated bus rapid transit lines on I-405 and Highway 522. The addition of parking capacity at the Mukilteo and Edmonds Sounder stations will make travel on commuter rail even more convenient.

And during construction of the light rail and bus rapid transit projects, nearly 13,000 hours of Sound Transit express bus service in Snohomish County will be added along with dedicated bus lanes on the shoulders of I-5.

Investing in a full-scale system means new transportation projects will be completed every three to five years. This type of infrastructure investment will keep our local skilled-trades workforce employed for many years, even if a recession hits.

Sound Transit projects generate good-paying jobs that support local families. To date nearly 13 million construction labor hours have been completed and another 17 million have been funded as part of Sound Transit 2. Proposition 1 will create more than 220,000 good-paying jobs during construction, and invest in 44 million work hours for union members. Proposition 1 will provide an estimated 9 percent of the region’s construction jobs by 2029.

Snohomish County is home to about 20,000 businesses, with Boeing as the largest. With an additional new light rail station at the Paine Field job center, aerospace workers will have a reliable transit option to avoid congestion and get to their jobs, minimizing impact to Highway 526 and the Mukilteo Speedway.

Snohomish County’s 50 largest employers account for more than 100,000 jobs. The people who work at these companies come from all over the region. Proposition 1 makes it easier for workers to get to and from Snohomish County.

In total, six of the 37 new stations — Everett Station, Highway 526/Evergreen Way, Paine Field/Southwest Industrial Center, 128th/Mariner, Ash Way and Alderwood Mall — will exist right in our community.

Proposition 1 will remove the anxiety one feels from being stuck in traffic while commuting to the state’s No. 1 manufacturing center in Everett, and other regional employment centers such as Microsoft, Expedia and Amazon.

Everett and Snohomish County will receive tremendous return on our investment in expanded light rail, bus rapid transit and commuter rail service.

Please join us in voting Yes on Proposition 1.

Ray Stephanson is the mayor of Everett. Jennifer Gregerson is the mayor of Mukilteo.