Roads and Transit
Roads and Transit was a ballot measure in the U.S. State of Washington concerning transportation, that was sent to voters in Snohomish, King, and Pierce counties for approval on November 6, 2007. It was defeated by a margin of 56% to 44%.
In 2006, the Washington State Legislature required Sound Transit and the Regional Transportation Investment District or RTID planning committee to jointly submit to voters a transportation financing plan in the 2007 general election. RTID and Sound Transit began working together on the Roads & Transit plan in June 2006. Along with regional planning and transportation agencies, they conducted years of engineering and design work. They also informed the public and collected public comments through open houses, surveys, letters, meetings and hearings.
Content
Roads and Transit proposed to expand mass transit and improve roads in the most heavily traveled corridors in Snohomish, King and Pierce counties. It is a unified program of investments in highways, light- and commuter-rail, HOV lanes, park-and-ride lots, and express and local bus service.
Working together, Sound Transit and RTID combined two plans in order to create a comprehensive and balanced Roads and Transit package.
Sound Transit's portion of the Roads and Transit package, ST2, was intended to extend the Puget Sound region’s light-rail system to 70 miles (110 km), created thousands of new Park and Ride slots, and expanded bus and commuter-rail service. It was projected to cost approximately $24 billion over twenty years, to be financed by extending a regional sales tax of 0.4% and adding an extra 0.5% sales tax.
RTID's portion of the Roads and Transit package, Blueprint for Progress, would have invested in state highways, bridges, and local roads in Snohomish, King, and Pierce counties in order to ease choke-points and improve safety. Increasing sales tax by 0.1% and the motor vehicle excise tax by 0.8% was projected to fund the package's twenty-year cost of $14 billion.
People and Organizations Involved
Supporters
Supporters of Roads and Transit argue that the package provides a balanced and comprehensive approach to solve the traffic problem in the Puget Sound region. The plan provides commuters with options for when they travel. For instance, it extends the region's light rail system to 70 miles (110 km), which helps lift commuters out of congestion and make the environment cleaner. Additionally, nearly 12,000 park and rides slot will be created. Supporters concerned with the safety of roads have also endorsed the Roads and Transit proposal because it replaces and retrofits overpasses and bridges vulnerable to earthquakes. Moreover, by reducing congestion, first responders and emergency services will be able to move more quickly on roads. By reducing congestion, Roads and Transit plans to help the Puget Sound region's economy, allowing people and goods to move more quickly and reliably. Improving freight mobility will help the region compete in an expanding global economy.
Endorsers
Organizations that endorsed the Yes on Roads and Transit proposal include:
- Washington Conservation Voters
- Washington State Labor Council
- City of Bellevue
- Futurewise.org
- American Council of Engineering Companies – Washington
- Downtown Seattle Association
- Puget Sound Energy
- Washington Association of Realtors
- City of Edmonds
Opponents
King County Executive Ron Sims was the most well-known opponent of the plan. He charged in a Seattle Times op-ed on September 19, 2007 that the plan did too little to deal with the problem of global warming and relied too heavily on a single technology, rail. Prominent in the opposition against the Roads and Transit proposal was Kemper F. Freeman, chairman and chief executive officer of the Kemper Development Company, which owned and operated Bellevue Square. Freeman was also chairman of the First Mutual Bank, and had served as the director of First Mutual Bancshares since 1968. The Cascade Chapter of the Sierra Club also declared its opposition to the Roads and Transit proposition because of concerns about the impact of road expansion on global warming. Another declared opponent of Roads and Transit was Phil Talmadge, a Seattle attorney with past service on the Supreme Court and the State Legislature. Eastside Rail Now also opposed the plan in connection with its advocacy of converting BNSF's Woodinville Subdivision rail lines into the core of a regional commuter rail system.