MUNICIPAL LEAGUE OF KING COUNTY

SUPPORTS Proposition 1

Roads and Transit

November 6, 2007 General Election Ballot

SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND

Proposition 1 is a combined regional capital program of Sound Transit and the Regional Transportation Investment District, proposing $10.8 billion in transit investments and $7.0 billion in road investments for the Snohomish/King/Pierce county area (the numbers reflect expected expenditures, expressed in 2006 dollars). The combined ballot for both roads and transit was required by the Legislature and is intended to provide a balanced transportation solution to address regional population growth, traffic and congestion, and safety problems and chokepoints.

Proposition 1 authorizes new sales taxes of 0.6% (0.5% Sound Transit and 0.1% RTID) and 0.8% motor vehicle excise tax (car tabs) or $80 for every $10,000 of vehicle value. These local taxes would be supplemented by state gas taxes, federal funds, fares and bond proceeds.

The dollar figures used to describe the scope of improvements and taxes have been the subject of disagreement between proposition supporters and opponents. The $17.8 billion dollar price tag includes total construction costs, expressed in 2006 dollars. The figure assumes Sound Transit will comply with its tax rollback commitments. As is common with bond authorizations, the figure does not include bond interest costs.

The transit portion of the package would include the following projects:

• 50 miles of light rail extensions to Lynnwood in the north, Tacoma in the south and Overlake in the east;
   

• A street car line serving First Hill and Capitol Hill;
   

• Parking garages and enhancements at the Sounder commuter rail stations at Mukilteo, Puyallup, Sumner and Auburn;
   

• Permanent commuter rail stations at Edmonds and Tukwila;
   

• Funding for bus transit centers and parking garages in Bothell, Renton and Burien;
   

• Funding for future studies of transit enhancements to extend systems to Everett, Ballard, Issaquah and the SR-520 and I-405 corridors.

The roads portion of the package includes funding for:

• Corridor improvement projects in Snohomish County on SR-531, I-5, US 2, SR-9, SR-99 and SR-522, among others, as well as help funding the Edmonds Multimodal Terminal and 990 park-and-ride stalls;
   

• In King County, projects include funding for SR-520, I-5 Direct Access to Industrial Way, I-90 HOV lanes and I-405 corridor improvements and an HOV to HOV interchange at I-405 and SR-167;
   

• Seattle projects include Mercer Street, Lander Street overpass, Spokane Street Viaduct and the South Park Bridge;
   

• In the south, there are corridor improvements on I-5, SR-167, SR-509, SR-18, and interchanges at SR-410/162 and I-5/Thorne Lane.
   

• Bike lanes, sidewalks and construction mitigation are included in projects to add travel options and minimize traffic disruption.

ARGUMENTS FOR PROPOSITION 1:

Arguments made in support of Proposition 1 by its proponents:

• Light rail operating in its own right-of-way offers speed and reliability of travel time, free of traffic congestion, accidents or weather. It offers capacity to satisfy the demands the of population and employment growth and has projected ridership of 311,000 daily boardings in 2030.
   

• Light rail and commuter rail stations integrate with local bus routes, transit centers and park and ride facilities to offer integrated transportation options to commuters. Buses will move more easily in traffic by the addition of bus-only ramps and turnouts and by the elimination of highway chokepoints.
   

• Urgent bridge safety problems are addressed, including SR-520, South Spokane Street Viaduct, South Park Bridge and the SR-9 bridge over the Snohomish River.
   

• Prop. 1 invests in alternatives to driving and addresses high-accident locations on the highway system to save energy, improve air quality and lower greenhouse gas emissions.
   

• Prop. 1 includes accountability measures and tax rollback provisions once the capital projects are completed.
   

• Both the transit and roads portions of the package incorporate geographic equity, with citizens in each county benefiting in proportion to the amount of taxes paid.
   

• Prop. 1 is a balanced package of improvements that acknowledges our regional need for both roads and transit. As a comprehensive regional measure, it represents a compromise and a winnowing of a much larger list of projects based on the deliberations of regional officials and with extensive input by the public.
   

• Prop. 1 makes use of the only taxing resources available under Washington’s current tax system.

ARGUMENTS AGAINST PROPOSITION 1:

Opponents of Proposition 1 made the following arguments:

• The Roads and Transit measure is the largest local tax increase in the history of the country and over 50 years will collect almost $160 billion
  .

• The cost is too high and the package is fatally flawed. It delivers too little in the way of benefits for the money and takes too long.
   

• The proposed light rail system is inflexible and may not serve the population centers that will exist in 50 years.
   

• The sales tax, which is the major funding source for the package, is a regressive tax and should not be used for transportation.
   

• The original Sound Move plan cost much more than promised and is still not completed. The original projects should be completed before asking taxpayers for more money.
   

• The one person-one vote provision of the state Constitution is violated because the boundaries of the Sound Transit and RTID districts are not the same.
   

• The package fails to include 34 critically deficient bridges in the region and does not fund the Alaskan Way Viaduct. Individual projects are not fully funded and may not be completed.
   

• Prop. 1 fails to include known and cost-effective means of reducing congestion such as bus rapid transit, tolling and congestion pricing.
   

• The package ignores global warming and the carbon impact of the miles of new roads that will be built.
   

• As a regional compromise, the package includes something for everyone and does not focus on getting the most for the money.
   

• Prop.1 continues the policy of building new roads in response to congestion, which will soon become over-congested again, rather than discouraging the patterns of life that result in heavy automobile use and traffic congestion.

RECOMMENDATIONS and RATIONALE

Municipal League of King County SUPPORTS Proposition 1:

While not without flaws, the Roads and Transit measure represents a comprehensive regional compromise that is the result of years of planning and community process. Almost every project in the package is a must-have for some constituents and a waste of money for someone else. The total cost is high. The heavy use of the sales tax has problems: it is regressive and, as it approaches 10% in many affected communities, may be nearing its limits. A number of major regional transportation projects and improvements are not included. A number of other tools for addressing transportation problems (such as broad congestion pricing) are not implemented. Nevertheless, we believe that Proposition 1 represents a large and vital move forward in addressing road and transit requirements in the region. The need for systemic regional transportation investments is more urgent with each passing year. We must address known safety problems and chokepoints in the roadway system and we must continue to invest in dedicated transit rights-of-way that bypass congested roads. Both well-developed transit choices and a smoothly functioning roadway system are essential as our region’s population and business base continue to grow. Proposition 1 takes a huge step in addressing these needs. It takes this step making reasonable use of the limited taxes, fees and revenues available for the purpose. The Municipal League is also concerned that a failure to act on the present opportunity in hopes of better, different solutions (to be crafted, approved and implemented later) will result in less functional and (in many cases) more expensive fixes. For these reasons, we recommend support of Proposition 1.