LYNNWOOD – U.S. Sen. Patty Murray got the message loud and clear.
“They’re telling me that without the transportation infrastructure in place, the quality of life in this area is going to deteriorate,” Murray, D-Wash., said after an hour-long meeting with mayors from south Snohomish and north King counties Oct. 10.
The only other major issue discussed was a federal moratorium on taxing on-line services and electronic commerce. The moratorium, which has been in place for years, means Internet access can’t be taxed. Local leaders say they’re losing out on millions of dollars in revenue because of it.
But the big issue was transportation.
Murray, a ranking member of the Senate’s transportation, treasury and general government appropriations subcommittee, is looking to prod Congress into passing a new transportation appropriations bill in March.
Congress has put off updating the bill, which would include a formula that decides how much money states would get for new transportation projects over six years.
Murray said she is concerned that no one will want to make the tough decisions during an election year and the bill will continue to be put off through 2004.
She encouraged the mayors to give Congress a piece of their minds.
“I think we need to hear a lot more pressure from the local people to get Congress to get some courage and pass this bill,” she said.
Edmonds Mayor Gary Haakenson said the Edmonds Crossing terminal – which ultimately will connect rail, ferry, bus, bicycle, walking and ride sharing – needs more money.
“So, if you’ve got a spare $125 million sitting around, feel free to send it our way,” Haakenson said.
Other transportation projects mentioned were improvements to the Bothell-Everett Highway and Highway 525 in Mukilteo.
Mukilteo Mayor Dan Doran said thousands of cars travel through the six-square-mile city every day to and from the ferry. He said he would like to see Highway 525 extended to the waterfront and provide ways for drivers to get in and out of town without going through the middle of it.
Murray said the transportation issues are the most complicated for towns that get mostly cross-traffic, such as Bothell, Brier, Kenmore and others.
“They’re the ones that get all these cars coming right through the middle of their towns,” she said.
Meanwhile, Murray said the Internet tax moratorium is one issue that hasn’t received much attention in Washington, D.C.
“I think the moratorium likely will be extended until there’s some kind of agreement on where the tax money should go,” she said.
But she said the Internet tax is a prime example of why the meeting was necessary.
“Issues like this end up being the ones that go through in the middle of the night when only a couple of senators are paying attention,” Murray said.
Lynnwood Mayor Mike McKinnon said the opportunity to meet with Murray was valuable. “It’s good that we can come together and share some views with the senator,” he said.
Victor Balta is a reporter for the Herald in Everett.
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