Heavy cost for light rail

Spokane voters may be asked this fall to approve the most ambitious public works project the region has ever undertaken – a light rail system between Spokane and Liberty Lake.

At a cost of as much as $300 million, the Spokane Transit Authority project would dwarf previous and ongoing projects at a local level.

The closest contender, the Spokane Regional Waste to Energy plant, cost $134 million to build in the early 1990s, which adjusted for inflation amounts to about $189 million today. Larger projects like Interstate 90 and now the North Spokane Corridor have been spearheaded by the state rather than local government agencies.

Though a final option hasn’t been selected, the transit group studying the issue is preparing a recommendation that calls for single-car diesel trains running at 15-minute intervals. The plan would set a spending cap of $300 million and have the light rail system up and running by 2014.

But where the money would come from has yet to be determined.

A recent survey of voters found that light rail was the most popular choice among rapid transit options for easing traffic congestion. But the same survey shows most voters would oppose a 0.3 percent sales tax increase to pay for its construction.

Just 39 percent of those polled earlier this month said that they would approve such a tax.

“What we’ve gleaned from this is folks want to do something. They want to do it soon. But they want us to look beyond STA’s taxing authority,” said Light Rail Steering Committee Chairwoman Phyllis Holmes.

Some committee members wondered aloud if support could be improved with a light rail campaign.

“It can turn, but I’d suggest that you consider other alternatives,” said Bob Moore, who headed up the Moore Information survey.

With the exception of Spokane Valley City Councilman Rich Munson, all committee members polled last week said they favored pursuing light rail over bus rapid transit because of light rail’s ability to generate more transit-oriented economic development near stations.

“If we’re going to do something, we jump in with both feet. We don’t settle for something,” said Spokane Valley Councilman Gary Schimmels.

Such development could mean 16,000 jobs and a $780 million boost in property values by 2025, according to a report commissioned by STA last year.

It’s too expensive, said Munson. “I’d love to own a Porsche, but I simply can’t afford it, and I don’t think we can afford it, either,” he said of light rail. Munson said he’d prefer to pursue a bus rapid transit system, which could be built for about $65 million.

Committee members said outside funding sources for light rail are available.

But since state and federal options are limited, some suggested that STA pursue corporate donations.

Spokane would most likely not win Federal Transit Administration “New Starts” funding, which is issued in large part based on the amount of congestion in a community. Spokane’s traffic situation just isn’t bad enough when compared with other metropolitan areas.

Another federal option, an emerging “Small Starts” program, could be a possibility, but the current parameters call for only funding projects that cost $250 million or less, with a $75 million maximum federal contribution.

Small grants can add up, though, said Light Rail Project Manager K.C. Traver.

The spending cap of $300 million is more than the lowest cost option STA studied, which has an estimated cost of $226 million. But that option has serious limitations, said Traver.

Spokane County Commissioner Mark Richard, however, questioned whether there would be enough ridership.

Nineteen percent of survey respondents said they would ride a light rail system one or more times a week.

“It gets back to ‘I’m hoping you’ll ride it so I can get to work faster in my car,’ ” said Richard.