What would really reduce the congestion that has been clogging Puget Sound’s roads for years and now threatens to slow the region’s economic growth to a crawl, too?

The obvious answer to many people is more roads, more lanes, improved intersections and even another north-south alternative route to lessen the growing pressures on I-5 and I-405.

But only 10 percent of Proposition 1, on the Nov. 6 ballot, is devoted to road work, the rest to light rail and rapid transit, critics maintain. Opponents say inflation and debt service will balloon the $17.8 billion tax package to either $157 billion by 2057 or to the $57 billion calculated by studies of the independent Washington Policy Center.

Proponents argue that a rapid-transit system needs to be developed for the region, specifically light rail like the systems in San Francisco; Portland; Vancouver, British Columbia; and other cities, to get more people out of their cars to reduce freeway congestion.

Without voting for billions of dollars in debt for rapid-transit funding, voters won’t be able to vote for billions in road work to solve important choke points, critics say, because solutions to both needs are co-mingled in Proposition 1.

Those were the prominent views in a recent debate over the pros and cons of the Proposition 1 transportation plan at Snohomish County Councilman John Koster’s Business Roundtable on Oct. 11 at the Holiday Inn.

Government affairs consultant Doug Levy and retired Sultan police chief Fred Walser supported the tax measure, while opponents included Doug Simpson, a campaign adviser for the NoToProp1.org effort, and Bruce Nurse, vice president of Kemper Development Co. of Bellevue, a business that closely tracks transportation issues in the region.

Before introducing the two sides, Koster said Proposition 1 is “one of the most important ballot issues this year, affecting the economy of the region for years to come.”

Levy urged support of the proposition, noting that the area expects “dramatic population growth continuing, bringing 1.5 million people to Puget Sound by 2040 and increasing Puget Sound population from 3.5 (million) to 5 million.”

In recent decades, the region has had similar rapid growth, yet virtually nothing has been invested in new transportation infrastructure, he said, adding that this fall is the time to decide to do something major.

Walser agreed, talking of Monroe’s population growth and the congestion that gridlocks U.S. 2 through the town during rush hours and holiday traffic periods.

“This may not be the best plan, but we have to step up and do something. There is no other plan. Delaying the implementing of this plan will cost us another $1 billion for every year we delay,” he said. “Already, 78 people have been killed on U.S. 2 between Everett and Stevens Pass since 1993. We need to also take care of this safety issue.”

Simpson replied that “there’s never a right time to do the wrong thing, such as voting for this package … the brochure we’ve distributed from truthabouttraffic.org — The Truth about Sound Transit and Light Rail — wasn’t stuff we just dreamed up. Sound Transit and the Puget Sound Regional Council provided the information.”

If Proposition 1 is approved for light rail and more transit, he said, it also authorizes Sound Transit to collect money for its operations and maintenance budgets perpetually.

“This is a light-rail financing plan that’s being promoted as a congestion-solving plan, and that’s not true,” Simpson said. “There is too little for roads, and the plan won’t reduce traffic congestion. People are being conned because they’re not being told the truth. It’s the largest proposed tax increase in state history. Yet even if an estimated 74,000 people do go from autos to transit, it will be less than 0.5 percent of the total daily commuter trips in the three-county region.”

Levy replied that Proposition 1 will provide 186 new lane miles for congestion relief, adding that other important road projects also will be financed by the plan.

“As for rapid transit, I rode BART in San Francisco and it was full, with trains every two minutes,” Walser said. “And, Portland’s light rail seems to work well, too. You’ve got to start somewhere to create a ridership way of life for people.”

Simpson reminded the business group that Sound Transit said it would not come back to the taxpayers for Phase 2 financing until it had finished all of its Phase 1 promises.

“That hasn’t happened. They’re 10 years behind schedule, with huge cost overruns and they’re coming back already,” he said. “How can we trust their numbers and promises now? It’s an accountability issue, too. Even if the rail is built, studies have shown that most of the riders will be transfers from bus transit, not from automobiles.”

Nurse said, “There is a plan B, to develop a balanced plan. … Today we only have a light-rail plan, which will use most of the funding; we need more for roads. As the population grows, traffic grows. We don’t have the population density to make a light-rail system effective. … People are still dependent on their cars to get to thousands of jobs.”

More information on Proposition 1 can be found online at www.washingtonpolicy.org, www.truthabouttraffic.org and www.yesonroadsandtransit.org.