Gregoire, Rossi talk traffic to AAA

Gov. Chris Gregoire and Dino Rossi answered questions about transportation for the venerable AAA – and you don’t need a AAA card to read them.

Go here to see what they said.

There’s not a lot of new ground broken by these two.

It’s notable that Rossi does continue to refrain from expressing any substantive view on the role of buses and light rail in relieving congestion. He calls them a “piece of the puzzle” best left in the hands of local governments to handle.

He repeated his often used line that as governor “I’m just going to be in charge of the state’s highways.”

That ignores the fact the governor is represented on the board of Sound Transit (and has a vote) and would play a role in creating a much discussed new agency to oversee transportation policy in the Puget Sound region.

Gregoire restated her endorsement of a regional transportation group saying “we, obviously, in the Puget Sound corridor have got to work together. We’ve got to coordinate.”

Though not asked directly, it’s also worth noting Gregoire is backing the November ballot measure from Sound Transit ballot to expand bus and light rail service in Snohomish, King and Pierce counties. Funding would come from a half-cent increase in the sales tax within the district.

Rossi has declined to take a position on the measure.