The only plan on the table that attempts to solve the Puget Sound area’s massive transportation conundrum has had a major setback, according to the Snohomish County council member who is leading the charge to put the measure on the ballot in November.
Transportation officials from Snohomish, King and Pierce counties had hoped to put a $14.5 billion fix-it-all road plan before voters this fall.
Called the Regional Transportation Investment District, the tax proposal was to raise $2.3 billion for Snohomish County road projects.
But foot dragging by the Legislature and King County’s inability to decide what to fix have virtually eliminated any chance of going to voters in November, said Gary Nelson, chairman of the Snohomish County Council and leader of the three-county committee trying to get the proposal on the ballot.
“It’s too late now,” Nelson said. “I don’t think we can resolve this by November. I can tell you that the probability of going in November is less than 20 percent.”
To get the tax measure on the ballot, Nelson said, the Legislature would have to remove several borrowing hurdles, ensure that taxes collected are spent in the county they are collected in, and include all sections of Highway 9 in Snohomish County in the proposal.
Snohomish County Council member Dave Gossett, who is also on the three-county steering committee, held out hope that the taxing plan might still come together this year.
“If we don’t see some significant changes in the next 30 to 60 days, then it would be really hard to hit November,” he said. “If we want to get this done, then we need to get moving soon. I do believe that by the end of the (Legislature’s) session, we’ll have the legislation we need.”
The list of transportation fixes that the tax proposal would fund has largely been hashed out in Snohomish and Pierce counties, but the King County Council has yet to agree on its list of projects.
King County needs big money to replace the Alaska Way Viaduct, widen Highway 520, add lanes to I-405 and fix Highway 167.
“We should be ready to go this November if the public tells us that’s what it wants,” said Metro King County Council member Rob McKenna, who is pushing for a November vote.
“Given the state of the economy, it may be that the public is not ready to make this set of investments this year.”
If King County Council member Julia Patterson has her way, the tax proposal will be kept off the ballot until November 2004. That would give backers more time to iron out problems and do a better job selling the measure to voters, she said.
“It seems prudent and wise to wait a year,” Patterson said. The plan would likely benefit by going before voters during a presidential election year, when voter turnout is higher than normal.
Nelson said it could also be put before voters next spring.
Pierce County remains solidly behind the proposal, as lonmg as the Legislature comes through, said Shawn Bunney, a Pierce County councilman.
In Snohomish County, the proposal would add carpool and merging lanes on I-5 in Everett, widen most of Highway 9 to four lanes, and redo the U.S. 2 trestle’s intersections with I-5 and Highway 204.
Other local projects include building a new interchange at I-5 and Highway 531, erecting a ferry, rail and bus hub in Edmonds, and widening Highway 522 to four lanes from the Snohomish River to U.S. 2.
As proposed, the Regional Transportation Investment District would raise the sales tax by half a percent, charge an annual $75 vehicle licensing fee and create a .2 percent motor vehicle excise tax based on the value of a vehicle.
If the plan is adopted, local transportation officials would have some tough decisions to make, because the $2.3 billion that would come to this county would be $600 million short of what local planners say is needed to tackle more than 40 proposed projects.
Lukas Velush writes for the Herald in Everett.
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