The opposition makes some good points in their arguments against Referendum 51. The only problem with their arguments is that they are meaningless. The state has grown and will continue to grow and we need roads.
Highway 9 should have been made a four-lane freeway five years ago based on growth patterns and traffic. The “let’s don’t pass new taxes group” never tells us how to get more people from one place to another. Rapid transit, even in best-case scenarios like BART only take about 3 percent of traffic off the highways.
It isn’t good enough to tell people who live in Marysville and work in Issaquah to ride a bike or take a bus. Telling them to move into an area that cost twice as much for a home won’t work either. People live where they can afford a home and they work where they can get a job. Many times the two aren’t in the same area. They need to get from one to the other and that means roads.
As for Los Angeles, Houston and Atlanta, I travel over 40 percent of the time and have done so for the last 10 years. No major city, including the three mentioned, has traffic problems that are as bad as ours.
Finally, my children and the children of others who live here want to be able to stay in the Puget Sound area after they get out of school. For this to happen companies need to expand their facilities and new companies need to be started. None of this will happen without building new roads and highways.
R-51 hurts, but we need it. I’ll hold my nose and vote yes.
Edmonds
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.