Our legislators and governor have come up with a $9.7 billion transportation package and are now looking to fund it with a 10-cent increase in the gas tax. The big question is how did they come up with the $9.7 billion in projects? With an economy that already has stretched personal budgets super thin, how many of these projects are needs, how many are projects that maybe we should consider down the road, and how many are just plain old bling?
Consider some of the road works projects in the Lake Stevens, Marysville, and Arlington areas. Last year WSDOT pulled out a traffic light that was controlling traffic just fine at Highway 531 and Highway 9 and replaced it with a roundabout. Is a roundabout at that location better than a traffic light, probably. But why did we trade in our Chevy for a BMW when our roof needs to be repaired (paving of 72nd Street.)
In the Lake Stevens area, WSDOT is putting in not one but two roundabouts on Highway 92. As opposed to improving these two intersections with traffic lights, this is probably a good move. But then next year they are going to replace another perfectly good traffic light with another round about at 84th Street NE and Highway 9. With a brand new Walmart going just over a mile up the road, you know it won’t be long before they widen Highway 9 to two lanes and have to rework the new roundabout. At the same time, there is currently no money to fix 84th Street with some simple turn lanes before someone gets killed.
These spending habits affect every one of us. Contact your state tepresentatives and senators. Write to the governor. Tell them about the ridiculous projects you see in your neighborhood and maybe a more pressing project being overlooked. Our involvement is the only way we can get the state to spend our money as carefully we spend what we have left after taxes.
George Schlosser
Lake Stevens
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