I-985 won't fix traffic mess in Seattle area But it will use tax dollars from Eastern Washington to fund the misguided effort.
Voters should reject Initiative 985 -- being promoted as the Reduce Traffic Congestion Initiative -- because it won't do what its backers claim.
According to the official ballot title, I-985 "would open high-occupancy vehicle lanes to all traffic during specified hours, require traffic light synchronization, increase roadside assistance funding, and dedicate certain taxes, fines, tolls and other revenues to traffic-flow purposes."
These are issues, while important to Washington state, that are not overriding concerns in Walla Walla or, frankly, anyplace else outside of Seattle and its suburbs.
The measure would take money from Eastern Washington taxpayers and toss it at a piecemeal effort to solve a serious and complicated traffic mess in the Seattle area. All Eastern Washington residents will get out of this proposal is a lighter wallet.
The sales tax collected from car sales could be put to better use than trying to micromanage the traffic situation in King County. It's also a mistake to siphon money from the current road projects around the state -- one half of one percent -- to be used to ease traffic congestion in the big city. Exactly how this money will be used to improve traffic flow isn't particularly clear.
One thing the initiative specifically does is mandate HOV lanes be opened before and after the rush hours. The problem is the traffic rarely lets up anytime of the day, which means those carpooling or riding buses would find their commute slowed.
The Legislature and local governments must continue to work on the Puget Sound-area traffic congestion problems. It is a statewide concern.
But approving this initiative undercuts a comprehensive approach to reducing traffic congestion with narrow mandates that don't address the real problems.
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JoJo wrote on Oct 28, 2008 4:48 PM:
" Seattle and the I-5 corridor planners should of built a better system back the in the day. Nothing compares to Los Angeles gridlock 24/7. Seattle needs to have better planning for their growth. "
JoJo wrote on Oct 28, 2008 4:48 PM: