If regional transportation planning were easy, we wouldn’t be in the fix we’ve been in for years: stuck in daily congestion, with no quick or cheap solutions.
Figuring out how to move people and freight around the region, which is fundamental to a strong economy, has become so politically polarizing that no compromise will ever approach unanimous support. You’ve got those who believe an extensive light rail system will encourage denser, pedestrian-friendly development along its routes and draw more commuters out of their cars. Many of those folks are dead-set against major new investments in roads because cars and trucks contribute so heavily to global warming. You’ve got others who think light rail is a boondoggle, that it invests far too much for too little return, and that buses offer a more flexible transit option. Those folks tend to believe that adding hundreds of new lane miles to the highway system is the most efficient way to get people and goods where they need to go.
We believe the region needs both — more lane miles to at least keep congestion from getting worse as about 1 million people move to Snohomish, King and Pierce counties over the next 20 years, and a robust light rail system that plans responsibly for the future.
Proposition 1, the roads and transit measure on the Nov. 6 ballot, is a compromise that represents five years of planning and debate, and one that serves Snohomish County particularly well. We urge voters to approve it.
Prop 1 includes the highest priority road projects for Snohomish County. Highways 9 and 522 would be widened, easing congestion in growing areas that already back up for miles during commuting hours. The U.S. 2 trestle would get extensive ramp improvements that will improve traffic flow. Interchanges along I-5 in Everett and Marysville would improve access on and off the freeway. Widening projects along Highway 531 (Smokey Point) and Highway 524 (between Lynnwood and the Bothell-Everett Highway), a U.S. 2 bypass in Monroe to finally provide relief there, and a new ferry, bus and train hub in Edmonds are included in the county’s $1.5 billion roads package. It would be financed by a sales tax increase of a penny on a $10 purchase, and an annual car license fee of $80 per each $10,000 of a vehicle’s value. All the road money raised in Snohomish County would be spent here.
Light rail would come north to Lynnwood (164th Street SW at I-5) by 2027, a significant negotiating victory by the county’s contingent on the Sound Transit Board, led by Executive Aaron Reardon. It would connect to a system that goes all the way south to Tacoma and east to Redmond. The cost is an additional 5 cents in sales tax on a $10 purchase, charged within the Sound Transit district borders (in Snohomish County, that’s generally the urbanized areas from Everett south).
Opponents argue that Sound Transit so badly mismanaged the first phase of light rail in King County that it shouldn’t be authorized to build more, at least not until the first phase proves itself. There is no sugar-coating the fact that the agency was beset with poor planning and engineering problems in its first five years, but it’s also true that it rebounded nicely after former Snohomish County Deputy Executive Joni Earl took the helm in 2001. Lessons were learned, and under Earl’s competent leadership, we believe Sound Transit has become a trustworthy organization that can deliver on its promises. The federal government agrees, and passing Prop 1 is likely to bring even more federal dollars here to support light rail.
Snohomish County’s population is projected to grow by 300,000 in the next 20 years. That’s triple the population of Everett, and 85 percent of it is to be funneled into existing urban areas. If transportation improvements don’t start soon, gridlock will get even worse, and solutions will only become more expensive. Smart growth management strategies will melt down without adequate transportation systems, which is why conservation groups like Futurewise and the Cascade Land Conservancy support Prop 1.
And passing Prop 1 doesn’t preclude coming innovations, like congestion pricing, bus rapid transit (which Community Transit will launch along Highway 99 in 2009) and tolling for other projects.
The region has debated transportation solutions long enough. It’s time to start making real progress by approving Proposition 1.
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